Luce's silent musings on the existence of Dawn were ultimately interrupted when Iris tapped her shoulder. Luce was positive she was about to be bombarded with questions about her glassy eyes and unfocused gaze, but much to her surprise, Iris didn't say anything of the sort. Instead, she pointed towards the far end of the courtyard. The DJ booth (stand?) was still unoccupied, but the head teachers were walking towards it. Zylphia snapped when she was a few feet away, prompting the machinery to lift itself from the ground only to resettle away from the stage it had been on before. She made it look effortless, which made jealousy stir in Luce's core. She wanted to do that one day. It would certainly make mercenary work easier.
"I guess it's time for them to make a speech," Tanith said, a frown on her face. "I wonder what it'll be about..."
The six teachers all filed onto the stage, led by Zylphia. Jin was beside her. Altina stood at the center, a hardened gaze on her face. Minerva came after Altina, followed by Caius and finally Fromir.
"They look like they've practiced this," Helena whispered.
"I doubt it. They couldn't have gotten here even an hour before the rest of us," S.M. pointed out. She took a bite of a small orange cake while tapping one foot against the ground.
"I don't think it really matters," Iris shrugged. "We should probably quiet down though. I don't want to be too much of a distraction."
As if on cue, a hush fell over the crowd of students. Everyone's gaze unanimously found the group of six teachers atop the stage. Luce wondered dimly where the DJ was for the evening, but she figured it wasn't important and refocused herself on the subject at hand. She wouldn't be doing herself any good by spacing out more than she already had.
No microphones appeared before the teachers, but it seemed as if a spell was being used to make their voices louder when they did speak up. They at least sounded louder than was natural to Luce.
"Welcome," Zylphia began.
"I hope you're enjoying your time at Acadia here tonight," Altina continued, her hands pressed firmly together behind her back. "We're here today to celebrate the start of a new school year. For the freshman, welcome to the Millennium Six."
"You'll be spending the next three years here, so you had better get comfy," Jin joked, making a small chuckle rise up from the crowd.
"We encourage you to get to know one another, as we collaborate as a group frequently. It's best if you make yourself known among students at other schools," Zylphia went on, shooting Jin a small eye roll at his joke.
"However, we don't want you making any enemies," Fromir spoke up. "We don't tolerate inter-school rivalries. They tend to get people hurt, which is the last thing we want. Don't let hate fester. Talk to an administrator if you feel tension is building."
Luce glanced over at Sylvia with a frown. Was her mission in the first place based around a such rivalry between Sylvia and the cantor from Sierra she had fought against before? She couldn't say for sure, as it felt odd to call in a mercenary company to deal with a rivalry that should have easily been settled between two teachers of different schools. Luce could ask her about it later, as she doubted Sylvia was going to simply open up about it without being prompted.
"In other words, don't kill each other, for the love of all things holy," Minerva cut in bluntly. While all the head teachers were intimidating in their own ways, she was a special kind of terrifying. Her red hair looked ready to burst into flames at any moment, and her glare was enough to strike fear into even the bravest of hearts.
"I think that's about all we wanted to say," Zylphia said after a brief pause. She looked down the line of teachers with a tilted head, a silent question of if they were finished.
Altina took a small step forwards with an exasperated sigh. "Speaking of all things holy, I have caught students nearly every year doing dirty things at these parties. Get a room," she told the crowd bluntly.
Zylphia kept talking as if she hadn't said anything of the sort. "That should be it. Please, enjoy the party. The next set of hot dogs and burgers will be finished soon. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have. We want to be approachable," she finished. With a quick glance at the far edge of the line, the teachers filed back off the stage. It only took a brief snap to return the DJ equipment to its regular place.
The crowd of students began talking not long after. Music struck up despite the lack of a person behind the booth. Luce couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the mysterious DJ, as if they were just going to play the music with magic, why even set up all that equipment to begin with? It seemed a bit unnecessary.
Luce ignored it and turned back to the group. "What now?" she asked.
"I guess we can talk about boys like we were planning on before," Iris suggested. "Carys might not be here, but I'm pretty sure this is a routine development for groups of girls. I can't say for sure. I'm not used to this sort of thing."
"I... I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Luce shrugged. She didn't think she had much of anything noteworthy to talk about though. Her whole life, she hadn't been around many boys. Besides, they would probably just get in the way of her life as a mercenary, which was the last thing she needed. If she was going to follow in her father's footsteps one day, she couldn't get distracted with boys along the way. It was an unnecessary stop in the path that was her life.
"Who wants to start?" Iris questioned, glancing around the circle. When nobody volunteered, she smiled. "I suppose I can start... I guess I haven't ever thought much of the kind of guy I want to end up with. I guess I'm neutral on if I want a guy or a girl to live with me forever after. That's okay too, right? If we talked about girls instead?"
"Girl cute," Sylvia murmured numbly. She had slumped back forwards onto the table before her, head cradled in her forearms. Judging by her sleepy tone, she had been asleep until the notion of female attraction had been brought up. A small snore from her indicated she was returning to dream land a few seconds later.
"Um... I think girls are pretty cool. So are guys. So are others. I guess everybody's fine," Helena shrugged. "I never really had a preference."
"You know what they say about gays. All the gays know all the other gays," S.M. commented with a relaxed shrug. Her voice was deadpanned.
"Honestly, dating a girl from Alitia sounds much better than falling for a hero at Ridgeview," Tanith admitted. "I mean, think of all the benefits. You don't have to go through Millennium City whenever you want to see each other, you're closer, you can have sleepovers... Plus, girls are cute." She was quiet for the next bit, barely above a whisper. "I want a strong woman to hold me in her arms..."
"Raise your hand if you're in favor of overthrowing all men from our society and living with only women," S.M. said, throwing her arm into the air. With her monotonous way of speaking, it was hard to tell if she was being serious or not, but Luce was too busy snickering under her breath to care much.
Sylvia, still half-asleep, raised her hand. "Bye, men," she grumbled before slipping back into slumber.
"Well, this conversation has certainly taken an interesting turn," Helena laughed, taking a sip of a red cup before her. "Carys is certainly missing out on this. I didn't think I needed to see S.M. joke about overthrowing all men until now, but I think I like it."
"Is Carys straight?" S.M. asked bluntly, taking a large piece out of a strawberry cake and shoving it in her mouth before washing it down with a gulp of punch.
"I don't know. She's never shown any interest in girls, but at the same time, she doesn't really talk about it with me. She might be bisexual, but I wouldn't know. I guess I can ask her at some point, but I don't know if she'll be willing to answer it. I assume we'll find out at some point regardless of if she tells us now or not though, as like the head teachers said, we'll be spending the next three years of our lives together," Helena replied. She continued to nibble at a cookie as she spoke. "We can see, I suppose."
"I don't think we need to focus on it right now. There are other things to talk about, right?" Sophia asked. She had been incredibly quiet during the prior question, though Luce didn't question it, as Sophia seemed like the shy type.
Tanith glanced around with a frown. "Do you guys feel that?" she questioned uneasily.
"Feel what?" Helena asked.
"It feels like there's been a disturbance in the air," Tanith murmured. "I can't be the only one who feels it, right?"
"I... I guess I sort of know what you're talking about... It's like something really bad has happened, but I can't describe what," Sophia agreed.
Luce frowned and tried to see what was wrong with them. Iris seemed to be picking up on it as well, but S.M., Helena, and Luce were all oblivious. Sylvia was still sound asleep, so she didn't seem to have noticed anything.
Luce figured out what was wrong pretty soon after though. She looked skyward upon hearing the sound of cracking glass. She was met with shards of the clear dome overhead falling down. She swore under her breath and threw her arms up to protect her face from the sharp pieces.
The other girls appeared to have followed suit in hiding their faces from the pieces of glass as screams pierced the suddenly tense air. Sylvia had snapped out of her sleepy trance just in time to cover her head with her arms, which were red from her using them as a pillow.
Once the onslaught of glass had halted, Luce looked up to see a figure appear in the place of the glass dome. It looked like an older man. He was wearing all black underneath a dark hood. The shadows seemed to move to keep his features obscured. He didn't even appear to have a face behind the darkness, which only served to unnerve Luce further.
A spire of flame rose into the sky, striking the figure head on. He seemed to fly backwards for a few feet before righting himself and continuing to levitate where he had before.
When Luce followed the path of the flame, she saw it had been fired by Minerva. The witch had a frown painted on her face before turning to face the rest of the crowd. "Everyone, get out of here. Return to your schools. Acadia students, go to Sacred Heart," she called out, her voice demanding. It was clear she wasn't going to be taking any objections.
Luce's group was far from the entrance, which meant they would have to wait for others in the way to file out through the doors before they could go. Luce pushed herself to her feet and gestured for the others to do the same. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was used to danger after living so many years as a mercenary, but since she hadn't been anticipating it, she was struggling to find her calm place with the screams of fear echoing in the evening sky.
Helena glanced around in a panic, trying to locate her sister in the chaos reigning over the courtyard. She eventually found Carys among the crowd and dashed over to fetch her. Tanith, who had been holding Helena's hand out of fear, was dragged with her to greet Carys. They were lost in the chaos not long after. Luce's height wasn't helping her to locate them at all, prompting another swear to leave her lips.
Suddenly, a figure burst into the sky. It took a moment for Luce to recognize her as Altina. She looked different now, her hair tied into a braid down her back. Due to the distance, it was hard to tell what she was wearing, but she had wings sprouting from her back. Luce's mouth fell open. She had seen mages and leaths with wings a few times before, but Lianna didn't show them much. It was a rare occurrence at best.
Whether one was leath or mage, wings naturally came about at a given age, usually around sixteen or seventeen. Luce hadn't gotten hers yet, nor did she know how it was even supposed to happen. The details were fuzzy, as she had only ever heard them once from Lianna, and it had still been years ago.
Luce pushed the thoughts from her mind as Altina drew one blade from its sheath at her hip and sliced forwards. The cloak of the hooded figure was torn cleanly in one segment, leaving black fabric to drift towards the ground. It wound up landing in the punch bowl.
The hooded figure tried to punch her, but Altina dodged by moving swiftly to one side and dealing a punch to the figure's cheek. The sickening crack could be heard even on the ground, making Luce cringe. It sounded as if Altina's punch had broken the man's nose. That had to hurt.
The hooded figure ducked under another slash from Altina and went to retrieve the lost fabric in the bowl of red punch. When he grew nearer to the ground, screams increased in volume. All near the punch bowl scattered, but he didn't seem at all bothered by them. He didn't try to lash out at those in his range, instead surveying the area in search of something.
Luce looked around frantically for her companions, praying they would be able to escape before he could decide to attack. However, she didn't see anyone but Sylvia. S.M., Sophia, and Iris had vanished into the chaos, leaving Sylvia, who was practically shaking with terror, alone with Luce.
The mercenary curled one arm around her friend and went to whisper words of comfort into her ear as they waited for the crowd to clear sufficiently for them to escape. However, she never got the chance, as the hooded man came rocketing towards them seemingly out of nowhere.
Luce dove to the ground, taking Sylvia down with her. She was thankful nobody was close enough to be pushed as well as she got to her feet, pulling Sylvia up.
The man landed roughly on the table Luce had been sitting at mere moments before. By some miracle, he was still on his feet. Luce grabbed Sylvia's hand and started dragging her towards the exit. She could hear Sylvia whimpering in fear as they moved.
The hooded figure burst into the sky once again, but Altina was ready for him. She nocked an arrow onto her bow and fired it, but she wound up missing, lodging an arrow into the wall of the building. The hooded man held up one hand, creating a rough pulse through the air. A noisy echo reverberated around the courtyard, making Luce cover her ears. It appeared the man had some sound-based magic. The sound was already hacking at her brain, bringing on the warning of a headache. Sylvia whined once again.
Altina was sent backwards due to the sudden energy. It knocked her out of the sky, sending one of her blades flying from its sheath as she hit the stage, all air yanked from her lungs. Her sword slammed into the turf a few feet from Luce and Sylvia. When Luce cast Altina a brief glance, she saw the warrior clutching at her abdomen and coughing up blood. From that height, a sudden crash was sure to cause significant damage. Luce cringed at the sight when she saw blood begin to flow from her temple. She prayed somebody around here could heal her wounds.
Zylphia was already on it. As shadows and fire danced into the sky, she pressed her hands against Altina's torso. Light passed from her fingers to the heroine's body, making her head wound dry of blood. She stopped coughing up red liquid soon after, and her hand left her abdomen. She gave a nod of thanks to her subordinate before bursting up into the sky once again.
Fire and shadows swirled skywards, but the hooded man dodged the attacks in the nick of time. He let out another pulse of energy, sending a soundwave echoing through the evening air a second time. Luce covered her ears as she attempted to push through to the exit, her arm linked with Sylvia's still. She saw Altina's sword in its sheath and broke away from Sylvia to pick it up. She was still rattled from the hooded man's direct assault on Sylvia, and she got the feeling she would need an extra push to keep her safe until she could properly control her magic.
The hooded man saw her retrieving Altina's blade and ducked down towards Luce and Sylvia. He punched the ground, knocking all remaining figures on the turf off their feet. The remaining students collapsed before scrambling to their feet to escape the chaos. Sylvia was knocked into Luce, leaving the pair a heap of tangled limbs on the green. Across the lawn, the head teachers were tossed backwards into the walls. Altina was the only one who escaped his assault due to her airborne position.
Luce and Sylvia managed to get to their feet, though both were shaking. Luce's head was ringing from the pounding noise. She was dimly aware of her right hand clutching at Altina's sword, which was struggling to keep hold of the handle. Luce was stumbling, her legs on the brink of collapse. Sylvia wasn't doing much better, hugging herself tightly.
The hooded man dove for Sylvia and grabbed her by the center. Sylvia froze as the hooded man attempted to fly skywards with her in his grasp. Tears flowed emotionlessly down her face. She was shutting down, dissociating from the danger of the present situation.
Luce lashed out, adrenaline pumping wildly through her veins, as the hooded man began to rise. She swung Altina's blade blindly, leaving a wide gash on the hooded man's leg. He let out a roar of pain and crashed down to the ground. Sylvia was released. She slid along the turf and landed a few feet away, leaving a wicked burn on her arm from the friction. She was still too numb from her fear to acknowledge her pain, instead curling in over herself and beginning to cry silently.
When the man hit the ground, he reached one arm out and tried to grab at Luce's ankle. The second his skin made contact with hers, the burning began once again. Luce yelped and fell to the ground to attend to her injured foot. She swung the sword once more, hitting the man's forearm. Blood flowed freely onto the green.
A sudden ignition of energy stirred in Luce's core. The adrenaline that had been controlling her subsided, if only slightly. Renewed vigor spread throughout her body as she got to her feet. Her eyes narrowed as a peculiar sensation spread to every fiber of her being.
Before she knew it, a wave of light covered her body. When it cleared, her outfit had changed, and her determination had been restored. She was now wearing a cropped cerulean shirt with her right sleeve going just past her shoulder. She had shorts of the same color. White wristlets appeared on her hands. A white sarong reached her knee on one side (Luce's right, though a viewer's left). Her boots reached her knees and were a white color. Pale blue wings had sprouted from her shoulder blades, sitting dormant behind her.
The hooded man unfolded his palm and released yet another energy blast. Luce slashed through the air with Altina's sword, leaving a gash on his shoulder. He retreated his casting hand to his upper arm to nurse his wound, but Luce didn't give him time to rest. She clenched her free hand, her left one, into a fist. When it unfolded, a delicate sphere of pale yellow light came into view. She fired it towards him.
The light sphere slammed into his chest, sending him flying backwards. Luce lunged towards him. She didn't know what controlled her to do this, but she pressed her left hand to the back of his neck. The palm of her hand began to burn. The same effect spread to his neck.
The hooded man let out a scream of pain. His cries slowly grew softer before diminishing entirely. His hood evaporated into thin air along with his dark clothing, revealing a man curled up and bloodied on the ground.
He had brown hair and was wearing neon green and blue clothing. He was breathing heavily, chest heaving every few seconds. His eyes were shut against the bitter pain from his three cuts and burned neck.
Luce fell to her hands and knees not long after. Her outfit returned to normal as her exhaustion crept in once again, banishing all senses of adrenaline instantly. The foreign feeling of wings on her spine faded. She continued to pant wildly as breath returned to her lungs following the excessive exertion of energy.
Altina returned to normal as well. She and Zylphia approached the man on the ground. The other four head teachers joined them.
"Wait... This was the man we hired to take care of the music for tonight's event," Fromir remarked with a frown.
"That's why he didn't show up," Minerva commented softly before looking harshly to the man on the ground. "What happened? Tell us. Now."
The man scrambled into a sitting position, cradling his injured arms. Zylphia used her magic to heal his wounds the best she could, though he remained incredibly pale as he spoke. "I-I got here about two hours ago to set up my equipment... I put everything in place, even if nobody was here yet... Then, there was this older man who approached me. I couldn't see his face. It was like he had no features at all... He said I was going to be his puppet for the night. Everything gets fuzzy after that," the man explained. "I think he was controlling me."
Luce dimly heard what he was saying, but she didn't remark on it. Instead, she shakily pushed herself to her feet and looked around the courtyard. The stage was a mess from when Altina fell into it, dented where she had impacted. Food littered the turf, making it nearly impossible to see much of the green below. Tables were on the verge of collapse. Bloodstains from Altina and the man who had attacked them looked eerie in the dying rays of the sun. Glass was everywhere, making it near impossible to step without shattering the shards further.
"We're going to need to report this to the police," Jin commented. He made his way over to Sylvia and helped her to her feet. She was still in shock, her eyes glazed over as she stared emotionlessly at the ground. "Are you alright?"
Zylphia approached Luce and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on. Let's get you back to Alitia," she said firmly. "Should I make an announcement to the students?"
"Broadcast it throughout all of Millennium City too. Tell them not to come to Acadia until we say so. This place is a wreck," Altina instructed. She was still pale from the battle as she limped over to Luce to take her blade back.
"Will do," Zylphia nodded. "I'll come back as soon as I'm able. Jin, we should take them back. I bet the students with healing magic are exhausted by now. The glass likely injured most of our students..."
"Nothing like this has happened in years," Minerva frowned. "In fact, the last time there was an attack at this event, it was when we were students..."
"Do you know anything about the man who caused this?" Caius questioned, looking to the DJ once again.
"No... It looked like his face was completely blank. I didn't see eyes, ears, a nose, or a mouth. It was just... skin," the man replied. "He touched the back of my neck though. That's where my memory stops."
"You're lucky we were able to snap you out of it," Fromir commented, shooting a small glance at Luce. She examined her burned hand with a frown. Her ankle felt much worse, but the pain on her palm was still noticeable. If Sophia hadn't run herself dry with healing yet, she could certainly use some help in patching up the burns. She didn't understand why they had come into existence to begin with, but she was too exhausted to bother questioning it then. All Luce wanted to do was get back to Alitia.
"What happened to your hand?" Zylphia asked, a frown on her face.
"I don't know. When I touched his neck, when he was still possessed, my hand started burning. I don't know what caused it," Luce explained. "He grabbed my ankle too..."
Sylvia wandered over in her direction, Jin not far behind her. "Thank you," she said softly.
Luce smiled gently, able to ignore her exhaustion and burns for the first time that evening. "You're welcome," she replied.
~~~~~
It was about another hour before Luce and Sylvia were clear to return to their rooms. Zylphia had patched up Luce's burns and ushered her and Sylvia alongside Jin back to Alitia. She encouraged the younger girls to rest as much as they could for the evening. In the morning, they could talk more about the incident if need be.
Luce limped into her apartment, Sylvia at her side. Even if her burns were mostly healed, the dull ache on her ankle was still present. She was surprised to see the other six girls in the main area when she entered.
Sophia was asleep, her head resting on S.M.'s shoulder. She had a large cut on one cheek that had mostly healed over. Tanith's hair had blood staining the edges on one side. She was sitting beside Helena, whose arms were cut from the falling glass. Carys' arms were much the same, though their cuts were mostly healed, likely thanks to Sophia's influence. Iris had ice on one ankle, which was propped up on a pillow. It looked swollen and bruised, as if it had been badly sprained.
"You're back!" Iris exclaimed. She tried to get to her feet, but a gentle tap on the shoulder from S.M. had her sitting back down. "We were really worried about you guys. What happened to you?"
Tanith hushed her and pointed to Sophia, who looked practically comatose in her heavy slumber. There were dark circles beneath her eyes as she snored lightly. She was paler than usual as well, which sent a shiver of nerves sprinting up Luce's spine.
"I fought a crazed DJ," Luce explained, helping to ease Sylvia onto the couch beside her. She rubbed at her eyes. She hadn't realized how tired she had been until getting back, now that her bed was calling for her to take her place inside it.
"I want that full story," S.M. said with a small smirk. "Don't hold out on us. I want details."
By the time Luce had finished detailing the fight with the DJ, she was slightly less tired. It was as if recounting the events of the evening had stirred her energy once again and rejuvenated her fully.
"That's awesome! You transformed for the first time!" Helena exclaimed in excitement.
"It was a shock, that was for sure," Luce sighed. "I hope we learn more about that stuff in class. I'm practically clueless on the matter. It's been years since I heard details."
"I want to know more about who the faceless man who approached the DJ was," Carys murmured. "He sounds like a real creeper."
"He's probably not one of your precious heroes. No hero could possess somebody by simply touching them," S.M. told her, earning an eye roll from the princess.
"I'm more unsettled by the fact that this is the fifth person who's burned me," Luce admitted. "First, it was the cantor from when I first came to Alitia. Then, it was the trio at the party. Finally, it was the DJ. I don't get any of it."
"What cantor?" Tanith asked.
"I guess I forgot to explain that part," Luce sighed. "It's how I wound up here in the first place. Sylvia might be able to help me tell you about it."
Unfortunately for Luce, Sylvia had already fallen asleep. She wasn't surprised, but Luce lacked the energy to take her to her bed, and instead left her where she was.
"What happened to you guys after we were split?" Luce asked. "We can go over my part later."
"I found Carys, but Tanith was dragged along with me. We got back here pretty quickly and waited. Sophia, S.M., and Iris followed afterwards. Sophia had been healing people. She's exhausted by now. I doubt she'll be waking up until tomorrow," Helena explained.
"Now, I want to hear about this cantor you came across before the school year," Tanith said, looking to Luce intently.
"Alright," Luce nodded. "It all started when I got a mercenary job..."
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I still suck at author's notes by the way
-Digital