3rd Person POV
SADIE: I'm gonna make this short and simple. Remembrance day is where we write letters to our lost loved ones and then scatter them throughout the cemetery. It's basically like saying you're at peace with their deaths. I hate this day. How can I be at peace with my family's deaths when their killer still roams?
SADIE: But this is where it gets interesting.
Hope, Sadie, and Raf are walking down the hallway at night when a girl walks in all banged up and barefoot through the front door
Raf puts an arm out in front of the two girls to his side
"Cassie?" Raf asks
The girl, Cassie, turns to look at Raf
"Raf." Cassie breathes
"Cassie?" Hope asks. "Isn't that your...?"
"My girlfriend." Raf says, rushing forwards and hugs her
***
Sadie sits at her desk in her room with a notebook in hand and a pen hovering over the page. Nothing had been written down yet
SADIE: If I hadn't mentioned it before, I had a dad, mother, and an older brother -- a half brother. I love them so much but coming to terms with their deaths is something I still haven't done...and I'm not sure I'll ever come to terms with it. People think they can just name a day and have it mean something, but all Remembrance Day is for me is a reminder of what I don't have.
Sadie stares at the page
She groans, throwing her pen down
"This is stupid." She sighs, her head hitting the notebook in front of her
"Not going well?" Hope asks, walking over
"Nope." Sadie says, her voice muffled from her notebook. Sadie looks up at Hope. "What's up?"
"There's a new monster." Hope says. "Wanna come?"
Sadie shrugs
"Sure." Sadie says. "Not like I got anything else to do."
The two girls walk down the halls
Hope and Sadie walk into the cell room where Dr Saltzman is with the most recent Malivore creature
Dr Saltzman holds up a blowtorch
"Dr. Saltzman." Hope says as they walk in
Dr Saltzman lowers the blowtorch, turning it off
"Oh, there you are, lovely girls." The monster says. "I was wondering if you'd come visit me again. How's your friend, the one I saw you with earlier, trying to steal an illicit peek at me?"
"As we speak, he's having an emotional reunion with his dead girlfriend." Hope says. "I assume we have you to thank?"
"Poor dear." The monster says. "Her spirit was clinging to him like a vine in winter. It took barely any effort. Just a little wrinkle of the nose, and poof. Young love reborn. You're lucky that's all I did. The way you've treated a man of my stature, you should be ashamed."
"Literally nobody knows who you are." Sadie says with her arms crossed
"That's impossible." The monster mutters
"I'll check on Raf." Dr Saltzman says, leaving
"If you want an end to this misery, simply bring me the knife and I'll be on my way..." The monster says
"Hope! Sarah!" Dr Saltzman calls
Hope turns around and leaves
Sadie gives the monster a glare before leaving the room as well
Sadie catches up with Dr Saltzman and Hope in the hallway
"I take it things aren't going well?" Hope says
"He's a diva." Dr Saltzman says
"So what's the plan?" Hope asks. "I know you don't want to give over the knife, but we can't have him raising the lost loved ones of every person in this school."
"I will handle it." Dr Saltzman says. "I have questions that need answers."
"Okay, well, I'm not sure your methods are the most effective." Hope says
"Hope. I said I will handle it." Dr Saltzman says, stopping her. "Now, just stay away from him."
Dr Saltzman walks away
Sadie looks to Hope
"What're you thinking?" Sadie asks
"Hmm." Hope hums. "Something."
Hope turns around and leaves
"Well that was vague." Sadie says, following after her
***
SADIE: Hope and I had enlisted the help of Mr Williams to find anything on this monster in the library. I don't know why though, I know this library like the back of my hand -- practically read every book in here
"Find anything yet?" Hope asks as Mr Williams searches
"Necromancy is everywhere in occult literature." Mr Williams says, looking at a book. "It's a form of sorcery that dates back to ancient Greece. It involves the ability to communicate with and raise the dead. But there's nothing about a specific necromancer, so whoever this dude is, he's been erased from history like every other monster that comes looking for the knife."
"Is there any way to stop him from bringing back dead people?" Hope asks. "Because if this week is any indication, it's kind of becoming a thing."
"I'll look into it, but tomorrow's my day off, so it might take a minute." Mr Williams says
"Evil never takes a holiday, Dorian." Hope says
"Well, every year on Remembrance Day, I do." Mr Williams says. "I write my letters, pack my lunch and I head to the cemetery and ring that bell in honor of my dead family. So for the next 24 hours, ask Dr. Saltzman."
"Fair." Hope says. "But I'm worried about him. Do you think he's okay?"
"I think after the week he's had, he needs a nap." Mr Williams says. "And a therapist. Maybe even a vacation of his own. You girls take these to him for me, would you?" He asks, handing the girls the books
"Thanks." Hope says
Sadie and Hope grab the books from Mr Williams
The two girls walk out of the library and make their way down the hall
Hope stops in the foyer, looking into the lounge where Dr Saltzman is talking to Raf and Cassie
Sadie watches them
"Come on." Hope says, walking away
"Where are we going?" Sadie asks, following
"We're taking a little detour." Hope says
Hope leads Sadie down the stairs
"This is a bad idea." Sadie whispers
"Shh." Hope tells her
They stop, hidden to the side of the doorway
"You two have a powerful scent of death on you." The monster says. Hope and Sadie walk into the doorway, now visible. "Uh-huh... It's quite lovely, really."
"I thought maybe we could talk." Hope says, uncuffing him with magic
"Such puny creatures dares to dalliance with The Almighty Necromancer?" The monster, the Necromancer, says
"The what?" Sadie asks
"The Necromancer!" Necromancer exclaims
Sadie shrugs
"Unbelievable." He mutters, sitting down
"Here's the thing." Hope says. "You don't exist."
"I won't fall for your mind games." Necromancer says
"This isn't a game." Hope says. "Let me lay it out for you. You died, you were in a dark place for what felt like an eternity, until suddenly, you were pulled into the light with a singular, inexplicable mission to retrieve a knife."
"Do continue." Necromancer says
"It's been the same with all the creatures that came before you." Hope says. "A dragon, a gargoyle, a... an Arachne, a dryad."
"Bah. Such creatures exist only in fiction." Necromancer scoffs
"No. They've been erased from history, and so have you." Hope tells him
"That's preposterous." Necromancer says. "I'm world-renowned. People tremble at the sound of my name."
"Don't believe me?" Hope asks. "Read up." She says, holding the book out to him
Necromancer takes the book
***
The Necromancer was having a temper tantrum, throwing the book and the pages around the cell
Hope and Sadie sit in chairs by the wall
"No! No! No! No! No! No!" Necromancer yells, continuing his tantrum. "A lifetime's work, my legacy, reduced to something as-as pitiful as a brand of sorcery? Where I am barely a footnote? Who's responsible for this vile affront?"
"That's what I'm hoping you can help me figure out." Hope says
"Well, then, I'm all ears." Necromancer says, picking up his chair and sitting down
"Oh, are you finally done with your temper tantrum?" Sadie sarcastically asks
"I don't have--!" Necromancer yells but cuts himself off. "I'm calm. I'm calm."
"If you want to get to the bottom of this, we need to know who's communicating with you." Hope tells him
"No one's communicating with me." Necromancer says. "My mind is a steel trap."
"But you knew to resurrect Dr. Saltzman's dead fiancée right after he mentioned her to the dryad." Hope says. "That's why he had questions. It can't be a coincidence. You're all coming after the same thing, communicating in some way, so who's pulling the strings?"
"I am no puppet." Necromancer says, standing up. "It's less a voice, more an instinct. I simply know things."
"Like you know you're here to retrieve a knife and return it to a place called Malivore." Hope says
"If I return the knife to Malivore, I will be free." Necromancer says
"Of what?" Hope asks
"The blackness." Necromancer says. "The void. The empty oblivion."
"Do you ever just say things once?" Sadie asks, annoyed
"And more importantly, do you know how to get there?" Hope asks
"Only that the knife will lead me." Necromancer says
Hope holds out a drawing
"I'm assuming you know this symbol." Hope says
"It is the sign of the worst existential nightmare." Necromancer says. "The ultimate hell. The--"
"You're doing it again." Sadie says. "And it's annoying."
"Focus." Hope tells him. "What does it mean?"
"That symbol represents what you say has happened to me." Necromancer says. "It means no one remembers you. No one celebrates you. No one mourns you. Loosely translated, it means permanent death."
***
"Do you remember how you died?" Hope asks
"I was wandering the beach of Normandy in need of a pick-me-up, so I thought I'd resurrect a few G.I.s to toy with some Nazis." Necromancer says
"I'm glad to hear even evil creatures don't like Nazis." Hope says
"Nobody likes Nazis." Necromancer says. "One minute, I'm dancing with the dead on the sand, and the next, there was just blackness."
"But you don't remember who killed you?" Hope asks
"No, although that's not uncommon." Necromancer says. "The subconscious has a way of protecting the mind against the trauma of death."
"Yeah, I'm pretty well versed about that." Sadie says
"And it shows." Necromancer tells her. "I see it all the time in my line of work."
"But theoretically, that memory still exists." Hope says. "Right? What if there was a way to access it?"
"You want to go into the blonde's subconscious?" Necromancer asks, looking at Sadie. "She's got such a tangled web up there, so full of twists and knots that unravelling it might be impossible. No one knows the truth of her trauma...only her subconscious--"
"Not hers." Hope says. "Yours."
SADIE: I kind of wish she hadn't cut him off. I wanted to hear more about this "tangled web" as he called it
"You want to take a walk through my subconscious?" Necromancer asks "Oh, oh, oh. Well, at your own peril, my dear. 'Cause I'm not sure you're quite tall enough to ride the scary rides, huh? I assume you've got a powerful vampire handy?"
"Absolutely." Hope says. She turns to Sadie. "I'll be right back." Hope turns around and walks through the doorway
"No way are you leaving me here with him." Sadie says, following her out
Sadie catches up to Hope
"So who is this powerful vampire?" Sadie asks
The two walk past Kaleb into the gym
"MG?" Hope asks, the two girls walking over to him. "Do you know how to do a head dive?"
"Is that a thing?" MG asks
"It is, it just takes a little, um, precision." Hope says
"I don't know. I mean, you might want to get Kaleb." MG says
"Kaleb's not on our Avengers squad, now is he?" Hope says. "Here." She hands him the book. "But not a word of this to Dr. Saltzman."
***
"It's so cool." MG says excited as the girls lead him down to the cell. "It's like compulsion, but while I'm on the surface of his mind, heroic-like, I'm plunging you into the deep end..." He sees Necromancer and stops dead in his tracks. "Holy Mary, mother of demons."
"Hello, Milton." Necromancer says. "Your great-nana Imogene is waving hello just over your shoulder."
"You can see my great-nana?" MG asks
"Oh, I can see everything." Necromancer says. "She's most disappointed in you for forsaking Jesus, who I can also see, but, oh, I know, that's another can of worms. Shall we begin?"
"Uh... We're going in there?" MG asks, scared as Hope unlocks the door. "With him?"
"With me." Necromancer says. "The Almighty Necro--!"
"Please. Can we not do all that again?" Hope asks
"Seriously, it's annoying." Sadie says
"Did you steal them keys from Dr. Saltzman?" MG asks
"Yeah, I did." Hope says, opening the door
"Oh, boy." MG whines
"MG, pull it together." Hope says
The two walk in
Sadie closes the cell door behind them
"Wait, wait, wait, Sarah isn't coming?" MG asks, looking back at Sadie
"No." Sadie says. "Apparently my mind is a...how did you put it Mancy? A 'tangled web'?"
"Who are you calling Mancy--!" Necromancer growls
"I don't want to do this." MG says
"You have no reason to fear me, I assure you." Necromancer tells him, sitting in a chair
"You're basically the Grim Reaper." MG says
"Oh, the Reaper is a carnival sideshow hack!" Necromancer says. "No, you... you dirty your mouth mentioning his name in my presence. Perhaps I should summon Nana to wash it out with soap?"
"No, you leave my Nana be." MG says. "Don't nobody need to be whupped by Nana right now."
Hope stands behind the Necromancer
MG stands in front of him
"Okay. I stand here, hands on his shoulders." MG tells Hope. Hope puts her hands on Necromancer's shoulders. "Now, you and I join hands."
Necromancer extends his hands to MG
MG holds Necromancer's hands
"Now I look into your eyes." MG says. "Open your mind to me. Like, lifting a window to let the breeze in."
Hope closes her eyes
They're in a trance like state
Sadie watches
A few minutes later, Hope's eyes open
"I'm glad that's over." MG says, standing up. Hope walks around and faces Necromancer. "I'm shaking, my hands are sweaty, I..."
Hope waves a hand in front of Necromancer's face
"Unbelievable." Hope says. She turns around to MG and Sadie. "He ditched me."
"Uh-oh." Sadie says
"Send me back in." Hope tells MG
"I'm not that good at this." MG tells her
"You'll be fine." Hope says, standing behind Necromancer. "If he's going in search of answers, I need to be there when he finds them. I'm ready."
"Cool. That makes one of us." MG says
Hope gives him a look
MG takes Necromancer's hands and Hope's eyes close
They're in a trance again
Sadie watches again
A few minutes later, MG's eyes open
But Hope's don't
"MG?" Sadie asks
"Hope?" MG asks, staring at her
Hope starts breathing heavily
Sadie fumbles for the keys, unlocking the cell door and running in
"What happened?" Sadie asks
"I don't know." MG says
Hope starts whimpering and crying
"Hope." Sadie says, her and MG moving on either side of her, shaking her. "Come on. Come on."
"Come on out. Hope." MG says. "Hope!"
Hope cries out
"Hope!" Sadie exclaims. MG runs to be in front of Necromancer. "MG stop this!"
"Head dive's over." MG tells Necromancer. "Come on, man. Let her out. She's scared. Come on. Let her out, man!"
"Hope!" Sadie yells as Hope's cries get louder
Necromancer starts laughing
MG starts backing up
"Where are you going?" Sadie asks
"To get Dr Saltzman." MG says, making his way for the door
"No!" Sadie says, running over and grabbing his arm. "He can't know about this."
"Sarah, I can't get back to Hope." MG says. "I don't know how to help her. He might."
Sadie thinks, looking between Hope and MG
She combs a hand through her hair
"We don't have time for this." MG says, pulling away from her and walking out
Sadie lets him go
"Shiiit." Sadie whines
She leans against the cell bars, watching Hope and Necromancer
Dr Saltzman runs into the cell room
"Sarah!" Dr Saltzman exclaims
Sadie whips around, standing up from the cell bars
"I--I tried--" Sadie stutters out
Then, Hope gasps awake, her eyes opening
"Oops." Necromancer says, now awake too. "Daddy's home."
***
"I mean, how could you be so reckless?" Dr Saltzman yells at Hope and Sadie as they walk with him to his office
The door closes behind Sadie
"You weren't getting anywhere." Hope snaps
"And so you took it upon yourself?" Dr Saltzman asks. "And how did that go?"
"Not well." Hope says
"Yeah?" Dr Saltzman says. "Well, I have it under control, Hope."
"Oh, really?" Hope asks. She goes over to his trash can, pulling out a bottle of liquor. "Then you want to explain this? Or this?" She asks, pulling another bottle out. "Or anything else that would explain your utter lack of progress?!" She yells at him
"I am grieving, Hope." Dr Saltzman snaps at her. "And maybe you two should try that sometime instead of pushing everyone away. Look, I am trying to protect you."
"Oh, that's rich." Sadie says. "You only care about yourself."
"Look, that thing is a master manipulator." Dr Saltzman says. "It resurrected my fiancée, it raised a cemetery of zombies and it brought back Rafael's dead girlfriend, so let's just talk about the ways in which it could torment you, starting with your dead mother, ending with your dead father, and how about all the ghosts of all the people that you killed in between, huh? You and Sarah have a number of dead bodies under your belts. I can't believe you'd do this--"
"Don't do that!" Hope yells, walking up to him. "You don't like that I broke your rules as a headmaster? Fine, punish me. But don't you dare play disappointed dad, because you are not my father."
"Oh, I know that." Dr Saltzman says. Hope grabs Sadie, pulling her out of the room. "And where are you doing?"
"To finish what I started." Hope says
"Like hell you are." Dr Saltzman says
"Cloditay." Both girls chant and the door slams closed
"Come on." Hope says, pulling Sadie with her
"Hope, are you sure?" Sadie asks
"Please, Sades." Hope says. "I have to find out."
"Fine out what?" Sadie asks
They reach the Necromancer's cell
"Back for more?" Necromancer asks
"Tell me where my father is." Hope demands
"I will tell you everything you want to know, but wouldn't you like to hear about what I've just learned of Malivore first?" Necromancer asks
The two girls share a look
"After I left you, I returned to the scene of my death." Necromancer says. "I saw a shadow. I felt a searing pain. And when I looked down, there was a knife in my heart and emptiness all around me."
"A knife?" Hope asks
"The knife." Necromancer says. "Interestingly enough, that which I seek is that which did me in. You've got to understand, to be killed by such a trifle of an object... I was curious as to its power, so I jumped out of my subconscious and summoned the spirit of the man who forged the knife in the first place."
"You left me in there on purpose?" Hope asks mad and upset
"Oh, I had work to do, and you had lessons to learn." Necromancer says. "From this man, I heard the remarkable story of Malivore, created to wipe the scourge of the supernatural off the face of this Earth. Malivore consumed us, erased us. It was permanent death. And it was in Malivore that we were left to perish. Until recently, when the knife started beckoning us to bring it home."
"But why a knife?" Hope asks
"Decades ago, Malivore was contained." Necromancer says. "Three locks created to seal Malivore shut. The knife is one of those locks. When all three locks return home, Malivore is free to open its jaws of death once again."
"What does that even mean?" Sadie asks
"Oh, my dearies... ...let's just hope neither of you are alive to find out." Necromancer says
"So let me get this straight." Hope says. "You left me inside your freaky twisted mindscape so you could... what? Stall me?"
"My apologies for the melodrama, but I needed to buy meself some time." Necromancer says
"To talk to some dead knife maker." Hope says
"That, and to retrieve the knife your friend Dorian had hidden behind the stacks in the library." Necromancer says
"What?" Hope asks
"Because while you were trapped in just a small semblance of the blackness I suffered, experiencing just an ounce of my agony, I was busy doing what I do best: controlling the dead." Necromancer says
"I don't get it." Sadie says
"The answer, my darling, is yes." Necromancer says. "I was stalling you. Just as I'm stalling you now. Did you know that there's a lot of Bennett witches buried in the local cemetery that excel in the art of mystical transportation? I summoned a little help to ensure the knife returned to Malivore quickly and without incident."
"Oh, my God." Hope realizes
"Come on, look on the bright side." Necromancer says. "You can get back to the daily grind of your young life. And in moments, when the knife is returned to Malivore, I will be free to find peace. As for your father, he watches over you every day. He did die with love in his heart, and he doesn't regret his choice." Hope smiles sadly with tears in her eyes. "But he won't find peace... ...until you do. Eh, good luck with that. As for the blonde...."
"Yes, Mancy?" Sadie asks, her arms crossed
"Your family..." Necromancer starts. But then the room starts shaking. "The knife is destroyed. One lock is released. And with it, so am I."
He puts his arms out
"Hey, wait. What about--" Sadie calls to him but he's disappeared by now. "No!" She screams, grabbing her head with tears in her eyes. "No..." She says, falling to the ground
Her sadness turns into anger
Sadie stands up, visibly mad
"Sadie..." Hope says. "What's wrong?"
Sadie walks out
"Uh-oh." Hope mutters
Hope follows Sadie all the way up to her room
Sadie slams her door open and it makes a loud bang
"What the hell did we do?!" Sadie asks, slamming her door open and walking in
Hope follows, closing the door gently behind her
"Hey, calm down." Hope tells her. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Sadie asks, whipping around to face Hope. "What's wrong is us! You and me. What the hell did we ever do to fate to get screwed over so badly?" She slams her bookshelf to the ground, books pour out. Hope watches in silence. "What did we do?!" She throws pictures hanging on her wall to the ground. "Dead people are coming back left and right. The twins got their mom back, Raf got his girlfriend." She slams her dresser against the ground. Sadie steps up onto her bed, walking over to the other side. "We haven't gotten anyone back for us." She drops down from her bed and rips her blankets off
"Sadie, they weren't real people." Hope says. "They were monsters."
"It doesn't matter!" Sadie yells, throwing her textbooks on her desk to the ground. "They were still people. The twins got to say goodbye to their mom. Raf got to say goodbye to his girlfriend. My family was RIPPED from me. I didn't get to avenge them!" She throws her desk to the ground. Glass shatters. "I didn't get to come to terms with their death." She throws her drawers to the ground. "I didn't get to say goodbye!" She slams her light down on the ground
"Sadie!" Hope yells
"What?" Sadie snaps, facing Hope
"Fire." Hope points to where her lamp is smashed. "Fire!"
Fire is burning her blankets
"Uh..." Sadie stutters, shooting her hands forwards but her magic doesn't work. "Shit!"
SADIE: My magic doesn't work correctly when I'm angry. In this situation, I was annoyed at that, but normally when I'm having an episode, I'm glad my magic doesn't work.
Hope puts the fire out
"What the hell is going on in here?" Dr Saltzman asks, running in
"No!" Sadie yells, her teeth and eyes shifting. "Get out!"
"Sadie, it's okay." Dr Saltzman says. "Calm down."
"No!" Sadie yells, holding her head with her hands. "You don't get to pretend you care about me right now. You never have!"
"Of course I --" Dr Saltzman tries
"Bull!" Sadie yells, slamming her hands to her sides
A magical gust rips through the room
Hope puts a protection spell around her but Dr Saltzman flies backwards, hitting the wall and falling to the ground
"If you don't calm down..." Dr Saltzman groans, standing up and holding both hands over his stomach. "I'm gonna have to call Dorian to put you in the chambers."
"RAAA!" Sadie growls, barring her wolf teeth
Dr Saltzman, in one quick move, pulls his right hand in front of him, shooting Sadie with a tranq dart
Sadie falls to the ground, unconscious and her features turn back to human
Hope runs over to her, kneeling down and touching her face while Dr Saltzman pulls out a phone and dials a number
"Dorian, I need some help in Sarah's room." Dr Saltzman says through the phone
"On my way." Mr Williams answers
Dr Saltzman puts the phone away and takes a step towards Sadie
Hope puts out a hand, stopping him and looks up, giving him a glare
"Hope, I had to." Dr Saltzman says. "She was out of control."
"You're messing up with her." Hope says. "Everytime an episode starts, you either tranq her or put her in the cells. You're not giving her a chance to figure it out for herself and work through an episode. Every time you do this," She gestures to Sadie's unconscious body. "You're actually hurting her more." Mr Williams arrives in the doorway, out of breath from running. Dr Saltzman holds him back for a second. "You can't always stop something before it starts. Some people just need to explode so they can figure out what's wrong."
Hope leans down, pressing a kiss to her best friend's forehead
She stands up and starts walking out
"Thank you, Dorian." Hope tells him before leaving
Once gone, Mr Williams makes his way over to Sadie's body, kneeling down and placing a hand on her forehead
Dr Saltzman watches silently. He rubs his forehead with his hand
"You know she's right." Mr Williams says. "Maybe the only way to help her is to let her explode."
"Dorian." Dr Saltzman says. "You're an expert on dealing with Sarah. You've been doing it since the night she came to us. Is there something else that isn't dangerous that we can try--"
"You don't 'deal with' a child, Ric." Mr Williams tells him. "You take care of a child."
Mr Williams puts his arms under Sadie and lifts her off the ground
Mr Williams walks past Dr Saltzman
He stops in front of the doorway, turning around
"Maybe we should consider telling Sadie the truth." He says
"We can't risk--" Dr Saltzman tries
"This girl is hurting." Mr Williams says. "I didn't hide her memories nor did I want to in the first place, so you're going to be the one to tell her." He takes a few steps outside of the room. Dr Saltzman turns around, looking at the destruction of the room. "Oh, and Ric?" Dr Saltzman turns around to him. "If she finds out the truth herself instead of you telling her, her wolfing out is going to be the least of our concerns."
With that, Mr Williams turns around and starts walking down the hall with Sadie in his arms
Inside the room, Dr Saltzman squats down, looking around at the destruction and thinking
From the hallway, Raf peeks out his door and looks to his right, watching Sadie be taken away
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-MC
Stay safe everyone!!