After Michaela and Luce spoke, not much happened for the rest of the week. Classes continued on as normal despite the impending attack. Homework was just as boring as ever before, irritating students at all six of the schools. The weekend came soon after, offering brief respite from the weeks of tough study at Alitia.
S.M. enjoyed the following weekend with her sister on the campus of Sacred Heart. Since her older sister had a project to do with some students of the school for witches, the two decided to head to the school and talk for a brief period before the project and work on it officially began.
Mina Maestre sat beside her sister on the campus' courtyard stairs. Other students were milling about. Many from Acadia and Sierra were scattered about as well to visit the witches for a variety of purposes. S.M. would have worried about feeling out of place, but nobody seemed to care that she was present, so she didn't give it any second thoughts.
"I've barely gotten time to talk to you with all that's been happening," Mina remarked, leaning back slightly. Her hair was the same dark color as S.M.'s. She was wearing an orange dress with a gray cardigan on top. She had gray tights on with black flats as well.
"It has been moving a little fast... Alright. I'll get you up to speed," S.M. said with a frown and a nod. "Long story short, there's a hooded man running around and attacking people for seemingly no reason. I can't say what his motive is, but it's like he's got a grudge against the people in my dorm."
"Great. The school year has practically just started, and you're already in trouble. What could be coming next for you? A lifetime of suffering?" Mina joked with a roll of her eyes. "I suppose it's sort of normal for some students to have beef with each other. They'll form a rivalry and hate each other for the duration of their time here at the school, but it rarely goes much further than that."
"This has already gone too far. Before even coming to the school, my friend Luce was attacked by this guy. He retreated at the end of the fight, but the issue has persisted ever since. You remember what happened at Acadia, right? With the start of the year dance and all?" S.M. prompted.
Mina nodded. "Yeah, I do, as a matter of fact. Didn't somebody show up and start attacking?" she asked.
"Yeah. It was the DJ set to give us music for the dance. He was late, which came off as suspicious to most people, but it didn't end there. When he did finally show up, he was being possessed by some other power. He attacked the students and gave us all a real scare. It wasn't until Luce fought against him and hit him with some of her magic that he finally calmed down and revealed what had happened. Apparently, he had been cornered by a mysterious man, who then took control of his mind. Creepy, right?" S.M. questioned.
"I don't understand what in the world he could possibly want... It sounds like you're in trouble, obviously, but I don't know what anybody would have against a group of Alitia freshmen. I mean, older years make a bit more sense. They go out and take on missions to help other people from different realms as practical exams or battles. Any villains defeated in those fights tends to have a bit of a grudge against the students who took them down... But you're still kids. Whether you like to admit it or not, you're not technically adults until after this school year ends. There is no reason for anybody to be after your head. Something has happened here, and I'll give you a hint. It isn't good," Mina frowned.
"Yeah, I could have figured that out. I just don't know what we're going to do about it. I guess it's been good for giving us Isolis up to this point. I mean, Luce got hers because of it in the fight with the DJ. Three other friends of mine have also reached Isolis by fighting this mysterious enemy. I still don't know what they have against us, but they've been sending a few possessed people out or merely taking us on themselves. When the latter happens, we're as good as screwed. We can usually try and pull out a win if it isn't the mastermind, but if it is... We're in trouble," S.M. sighed.
"I guess you guys are going to need some help getting out of this mess then, huh?" Mina asked. "Maybe my roommates and I could lend you a hand. We haven't gone out on any missions yet this year, so perhaps we'd be available to help defend you guys."
"Shouldn't you be focusing on the project you came here to work on in the first place?" S.M. questioned.
"Perhaps. It's part of an exchange program or something. Half of a given dorm group is sent to train with half of a dorm group from its opposite, so for Alitia, that would be Sacred Heart. The other half of both dorms is paired up too. We aren't supposed to start training for a few more hours, about two or so. I know I should concentrate on the project, but at the same time, you can't blame me for wanting to help you. You're my little sister. Of course I'm going to worry if I think you're in danger. That's how family works, right?" Mina smiled.
S.M. didn't give much of a response. She looked down at her feet, but without even communicating, Mina understood what she was thinking of. She wrapped her sister in a hug and pulled her close. "I know it's not easy, but you get used to it after a while. I mean, you'd never imagine I missed them still... It's hard, but it gets easier over time. The longer you're apart, the better you feel," Mina told her optimistically.
"I don't want to get used to it though. For crying out loud, they're my parents. They're our parents. What kind of parents simply cut off their kids and act like nothing is wrong? It's ridiculous and monstrous. Hell, we weren't even of age when they ditched us. Normally, it's supposed to wait a year, but since both of us were accepted into Alitia... I didn't think I would care as much as I do, but here we are. I can't stop thinking about it," S.M. sighed.
"I understand... I mean, everybody else is so excited for breaks when they can go back home and talk to their parents again for the first time in what feels like forever, and we're stuck here since they don't want to see us or, as a matter of fact, have anything to do with us. I know it's part of the culture, but that doesn't make it any easier on us," Mina admitted.
"To hell with culture. If culture means that we can't see our parents over eighteen to 'increase independence', then I'd much rather toss that culture in the garbage and make something new. Igni is ready for change. There's enough negativity taking place as it is. We don't need to make it worse with all these ridiculous traditions that hinder more than help," S.M. complained bitterly.
"Calm down, little sis. I know you want to scream and punch whoever came up with this idea in the face, but that isn't an option now. You can go back home and talk to Grandfather about it one day," Mina offered.
"That's the main thing that bothers me. It's starting to seem like it's not a culture thing at all. I mean, our mother didn't have to cut off Grandfather. She's still living under his roof now with Father. What, are we too 'common' for him to give a crap about us?" S.M. questioned angrily.
"I understand. I was thinking the same things when I first came here. Why does everybody else get a choice but us? We're out here on our own when others still have a place to go with their parents... It does get better with time, but the wound doesn't ever heal completely. I mean, I haven't seen them in over two years, and it still twists my gut to think about them knowing how they left us here without so much as a goodbye," Mina murmured.
"We should be able to see our parents, for crying out loud! I'm still a kid, and even if you're an adult, taking that choice away when they're still alive and well is terrible!" S.M. shouted. She gained the attention of many people in the courtyard, prompting her to look down and away from the wandering gazes of the witches spread about.
"Do you want to talk for a little longer about it?" Mina asked, pulling S.M. into a loose yet comforting hug.
S.M. shook her head, feeling tears enter her eyes. They fell down her face regardless of her free will. Mina got to her feet and pulled her sister up with her. "Come on. Let's go and clean you up," Mina whispered.
S.M. nodded slowly and let Mina lead her towards the bathroom. They avoided any witches they passed by, who in turn didn't have much to say to them. On weekends, it was much more common to see students from other campuses mingling for activities between the schools or to visit friends and partners. Most were used to it and didn't give it a second though.
When they finally got to the bathroom, Mina approached the sink and wet a small towel before dabbing at her sister's eyes with it. "Do you want to talk a little bit more about the attacks you've been enduring?" Mina questioned gently.
Before S.M. could give much of a response, the lights went out. The change was sudden, and it took a moment or two for S.M.'s eyes to adjust to the new darkness. She found the outline that was her sister and pointed for the door. "Let's see if anybody outside knows what's going on," she suggested.
Mina nodded through the darkness and took S.M.'s hand before dragging her towards the exit. Mina pushed it open and glanced around once they were in the hallway. "Darkness as far as the eye can see... My guess is that it's for the whole school... But something is wrong," Mina frowned.
"What do you mean?" S.M. asked, rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the last remaining tears.
"All of the schools have a magical system in place to keep power outages from being total. Relying on a blend of magic and technology normally keeps this from happening, but since it's dark in spite of that, somebody must have found a way to turn the backup off as well," Mina explained.
"Should we try and get outside?" S.M. questioned. "We can just go back to Alitia, right?"
"I'm afraid that isn't going to work."
S.M. turned upon hearing the voice, which she soon realized belonged to none other than Minerva. She was holding a small flare in one hand to keep things lit. "The doors to the outside are locked as well. A barrier has appeared around the courtyard to keep all students stuck inside as well. Communications are dead. Somebody wanted to effectively trap us inside," Minerva explained.
"Why would they want to do that? Most of these students have never been out on a mission before," Mina frowned.
"I can't say yet, but it's imperative to stick together. Don't be caught alone in case you're ambushed by whoever caused this incident. I'm going to go see what I can do," Minerva said. She turned on her heel and started running down the hallway, taking the light she brought with her.
S.M. focused all her energy into a small area on the palm of her hand. A rock appeared surrounded by lava. Control of fire and earth magic was common on Igni, but she had been born with a blend much like her sister. The flaming stones had no impact on her skin thanks to this, though they did bring with them a comforting warmth she needed in that moment of uncertainty.
Mina listened to the air around them for a moment before pointing down the hallway in the direction opposite where Minerva had gone. "There are people down there. Maybe we can help them break the wall down," Mina suggested before taking off in a sprint. S.M. followed her, being careful not to drop the lava rock in her fingers.
When they came to a halt in front of the people Mina had mentioned, S.M. realized that it wasn't really people. Instead, it was a single person, a girl about S.M.'s age. She didn't seem to have gotten it that they were stuck inside, so she continued to pull aggressively against the door handle in an attempt to get it open.
"Do you need some help?" Mina asked.
The girl turned upon hearing Mina's voice. It was then that S.M. got a better look at her. Her hair was long and brown with several streaks of pink. Her eyes were brown as well. She had a white jacket with a pink interior. A brown corset was beneath the jacket, showing off her hips. She had brown trousers and black gloves on. Several necklaces adorned her neck. An umbrella sat at her feet beside her white boots with heals tall enough to stab someone.
"Who are you two? I don't think I've ever seen you around campus," the girl remarked, picking up her umbrella. She held it gently and tilted her head to one side.
"We're from Alitia. I'm Mina, and this is S.M.," Mina replied. "What's your name?"
"Nebula," the girl answered. "I'm Nebula Denholm. It's nice to meet you."
"There's no point in trying to get out of here. The door's locked... The headmistress said so herself," S.M. told Nebula. "Unless we use some magic ourselves, there's not much we can do."
"She's normally against using magic unsupervised, but I feel as if this is an exception," Nebula murmured.
"I hope she's willing to forgive me for this," Mina whispered. She pressed one hand to the door, causing heat to pass through her fingers. It spread throughout the door before stopping at the edge where the door and wall met. Suddenly, the door began to melt, turning to a pile of ash on the floor in front of the burned hole. Mina leaned down and blew on the ash to calm its crackling before gesturing to the hole. "After you, my fair ladies," she said with a small smile.
S.M. grinned and nodded before walking through the hole. Nebula followed her with Mina taking up the rear.
~~~~~
"Does Sacred Heart have a dome normally?"
Luce had been finishing up a history paper about the founding of the land of Etruna, where Carys and Helena were from, when she heard Iris ask the question. She leaned back, setting her laptop on the couch beside her before thinking. She hadn't been to Sacred Heart before, but she was sure she would have remembered if a dome was over it normally.
"I don't think so," Helena frowned, taking her headphones off her ears. She looked up to Iris, who had poked her head in through the main door to their apartment. "What are you talking about? Did something happen?"
Iris opened the door wider to allow them a view of the courtyard of Alitia. In the distance, a large metal dome could be seen over the top of the tall Sacred Heart school. It was dark in color and let not even a slim stream of light inside.
"Wasn't S.M. going to see her sister at Sacred Heart?" Luce questioned.
"She was," Iris nodded. "We should go and see what's going on. For all we know, she could be in trouble. I can't just sit by if she's in trouble."
Luce looked around their dorm. Only she, Iris, and Helena were in at the moment. Tanith was off spending the day with Zylphia and Jin. Carys was out in Millennium City, and the same applied to Sylvia and Sophia, who were together. There was no guarantee any of them would see the dome, so it was up to her, Iris, and Helena to take care of the other three.
"Let's go and take care of this. I agree in thinking that S.M. could be in danger. I don't want to leave her there when something can easily go horribly wrong," Luce said firmly. "Let's get away from the campus and then transform into Isolis to get there faster."
"I can make a metal platform for Helena too," Iris cut in.
"Perfect. There isn't a moment to lose. Let's go save our friend," Luce declared before dashing out the door.
~~~~~
When the trio arrived outside, they saw the full extent of what it meant to be trapped inside Sacred Heart. A large metal dome had appeared over the school and its courtyard, keeping anyone from escaping. Countless students were transformed and firing off energy blasts at it to hopefully eliminate its looming presence, but nothing was working. All energy bounced off and was sent flying in another direction. Most of the time it hit the ground, but the occasional rogue blast hit an unsuspecting student.
One blast in particular came dangerously close to where S.M., Mina, and Nebula were standing. Mina tackled the other two to the ground at the last possible second to keep them from being struck by a thin line of electricity. It hit the grass instead, where it sizzled out and faded in a matter of seconds.
S.M.'s heart was pounding faster than it had in a long time. "That was way too close for comfort," she said, adrenaline starting to work its way through her body. "I'm sure there's a way to break through this barrier..."
"What we need right now is a rift spell of some sort. There are teleportation spells, but I don't know if we all have the power to get out of here. A mage who specializes in such a thing would be great, but I'm afraid I don't know of anybody who has that sort of power," Nebula remarked with a frown.
"Great. If we're going to be stuck in here forever, I hope I can find a boyfriend or girlfriend somewhere around here soon. I don't want to die alone, you know?" Mina asked.
S.M. didn't think it was the time for jokes, but she ignored her sister's remark instead of snapping at her. She knew it was the concept of being stuck that was getting to her as opposed to her sister's unique sense of humor.
"Hello there, students of Sacred Heart."
A voice came from above, startling S.M. out of her thoughts. She could see a pair of figures at the top of the dome. She couldn't see much more than that, but they were both wearing hoods. At the very least, that was what she thought. It was difficult to tell with how dark it was.
"I understand that you've come to be trapped within this dome... It's a combination of metal and magic created by some powerful mages of our time. One of them has lived for a hundred years," came the voice of one of the two figures. This voice sounded relatively masculine, unlike the one that had spoken before.
"You all surely want to escape this dome we've set up. It's impossible to escape, and even now, it's slowly killing you all. Without enough air, you're doomed. It's just a matter of time," the first person, a young woman as far as S.M. could tell, remarked.
"You are going to be trapped here until a certain group of people arrives. I'm sure they're going to notice sooner or later, and when they arrive, you will be set free in exchange for their lives. It's your standard hostage situation," the young man explained.
"Who could they be talking about?" Nebula murmured, her eyes wide.
The two figures crashed towards the ground roughly. A few screams echoed from the area near where they landed. S.M. herself covered her eyes to keep from being hit with a few flying rocks. Their sudden impact had kicked up more debris than they had anticipated, it seems.
"A group of Alitia students has been causing us more grief than we need. We'll set you free, assuming they come soon," the young woman said, her gaze drifting over to Nebula.
S.M. extinguished her flaming rock and stared through the darkness at the two figures. She had to bite her lip to keep from gasping. These two were familiar to her. They were the reinforcements from their first fight in Millennium City. When the hooded man, the initial enemy, was starting to lose, he had called upon their help to take care of the rest of her dorm room.
S.M. swore under her breath but made no move to step forwards. She would have to wait for the others to arrive. Hopefully, they would notice the dome sooner rather than later and try to break through it.
"This magic is incredibly strong... If nobody has yet been able to break through it, something must be fueling it, and that something is powerful magic. I have a bad feeling about all of this," Mina murmured. She didn't notice the recognition on S.M.'s face.
"Surely Headmistress Claudere will be ready to fight them off soon. She's one of the most powerful mages alive right now," Nebula said, though S.M. could hear her voice shaking. "She isn't going to let this happen on her home turf, right?"
"She's still inside the school at the moment. Hopefully, she'll be out here soon, but until then, there's not much of anything we can do," Mina frowned. "We'll have to wait until another path proposes itself. Until then, all we can do is wait. If we're lucky, they won't make any moves to lash out against us once again. Things will get messy if they start killing students."
"Don't they need to keep us alive if they're going to use us as hostages?" Nebula asked.
"Not exactly. They have an entire school's worth. If a few die, it'll only show they mean business, and I doubt it will stop their plans in their tracks... It's a risky move on their part... Plus, if we're all trapped in here, there's no way of making sure outside if we're alive or not. The people they're trying to lure in will believe them if they say we're still alive since they have no way of proving otherwise. They're at a serious advantage here, and if I'm being perfectly honest here, I have no idea on how we're supposed to catch them off guard," Mina told her.
"If the dome is made of metal, maybe we could try and manipulate it. I know somebody with metal magic allowing her to bend metal to her every whim. Maybe she would be able to change the dome into something else and let us out," S.M. offered, though she knew she was more trying to convince herself things would be alright than come up with a serious escape plan.
"I don't think that would be possible. This dome is much too big for any normal mage to cast. They must have something else at their disposal allowing them to pull off such a large display. Most Inlustris mages struggle to make something on this scale, and yet, here they are... It raises a lot of questions about how they're doing it. I can't say much else on the subject, but I have a really bad feeling about everything. We can't do much about it now. We just need to wait," Mina said.
She took a seat on the grass and gestured for S.M. and Nebula to do the same. Nebula shook her head. "You can't be serious... This is a dangerous situation. We could be in some serious trouble if we're caught off guard. We could die, for crying out loud," Nebula said quickly, her voice hastened in her panic.
"If we're going to be here for a while, I'm going to get comfy. If you choose not to, that's your choice, but don't drag me along with it," Mina shrugged, laying back into the grass.
S.M. hesitantly sat down, going with her sister's laidback way of approaching the situation. It was certainly refreshing when compared to the panic she was feeling at that moment, even if it felt out of place.
"Please get here soon, girls," she murmured, even if she knew they wouldn't be able to hear her pleas.
~~~~~
"Here we are. Sacred Heart."
Luce and Iris were flying outside Sacred Heart silently, Helena sitting on a metal platform made from a streetlight nearby. Luce explored the outside with a frown. "I don't see any holes... Do you think we'd be able to dig underneath it?" she asked.
"That would be possible... Makes me wish we had S.M. or Sophia with us. Their earth and nature powers could do us a lot of help here," Iris sighed.
"Can you try and bend the dome to help somebody get through?" Helena asked.
"Good idea," Iris nodded. She headed towards the dome and placed one hand on it, ready to bend a hole in the material.
A shock of energy traveled through her body, making her scream in pain and shock. She nearly fell to the ground, breathing heavily from the sudden agony. "There's something in that dome... It's powerful dark energy. I haven't felt something that strong in a long time. I don't know what's causing it, but it hurts a ton..." Iris sighed.
"Dark energy... I mean, not all dark magic is inherently bad, just as not all practitioners of it are evil. What makes this so awful?" Helena questioned.
"There's negativity behind it... Whoever is powering it has a lot of negative energy, and it's reinforcing this dome to be stronger than most other magic in existence. It's incredibly inconvenient, to say the least... We'll have to go underneath the dome if we want to get people out. There's no way to go through it or over it, so we'll have to go underneath," Iris explained.
"In that case, we had better start digging," Luce sighed, heading for the ground. "I don't think we'll be able to get much done quickly. It'll take forever to go underneath this thing with how thick it is, and we don't have any magic at our disposal to speed up the process."
"I'm afraid that isn't going to work. The dome goes underneath the school as well, so digging beneath the ground to get people out is impossible."
The three girls turned to see another figure standing behind them. It was a young man with short, dark green hair. He was wearing a dark red mask covering much of his face. There were small slits for his eyes and mouth. He had a blue scarf on with a red tunic and navy tights. He had tall red boots on. He wore dark blue gloves as well. Finally, armor was scattered about the ensemble to cover vital organs. A sword was in his hand.
"How do you know the dome goes underneath the school?" Helena questioned of the newcomer.
"I've been trying to get inside. I first attempted to go underneath, but I just found more of the dome under the ground," the young man replied. "I'm willing to help you out if you desire."
"That would be great," Luce said, rising to her feet. "Who are you though?"
"You may call me Rune," the young man answered. "I'm your ally in this situation. I'm willing to help you get into Sacred Heart to take care of whatever business you have inside. I'll also help you defeat the one powering the magical barrier."
"Defeating them will make it go away, right?" Luce questioned. "I would assume that to be the case anyways."
"It will, yes. All we need to do is drain enough of their energy to force them to drop the barrier. Everyone inside will be freed, and if all goes well, they won't want to come back and attempt such a stunt ever again," Rune said.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get in there!" Iris exclaimed. "How are you going to get us inside?"
Rune began to conjure a small portal between his fingers. He spread it wider, creating a rift wide enough for the four of them to step inside. "Dimension magic is incredibly helpful in this situation, let me tell you," he remarked. It sounded to Luce like he was smiling, though it was impossible to tell for sure with his face covered that way.
"You're sure this is the right way to go in?" Iris asked unsurely. "This isn't a trap?"
"Of course not. I would never lead you into a trap," Rune assured her.
"We don't have any time to ensure if he's lying or not. We'll just have to trust him for the time being. If something goes wrong, we can fight our way out. I'm sure we'll be okay. I just want to get in there and make sure S.M. is okay," Helena said quickly.
"Then come on in," Rune told her, gesturing to the portal. "There's not a moment to lose when your friends are in danger. We must do all we can to save them as soon as possible."
The other three shared a brief nod before walking towards the rift. They were obviously concerned about following through with it, but there was no hesitation in their actions. Within seconds, they had disappeared inside.
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I'm happy to say my stories officially have a discord server now! I've made a server for people to come and talk about my stories or just to me and my cowriters in general. The link is https://discord.gg/3PzAXdA and I hope to see you there!
-Digital