Dormer Academy

(sorry for crap post in advance, I'm rather distracted)


Faith hears Macal talking to her and also hears the "all of you" added at the end of it. Not knowing who he is including when he talks, she ignores him, gritting her teeth, for almost fifteen minutes. But in all of that fifteen minutes he is all she can think about.


Is Jirro gone? Are Izzy and Mitsy? How long will Akira stay gone? Is Liza driving Sheena absolutely insane trying to keep her from getting into everyone's business? Is Macal going to apologize, or just tell her how wrong she is and how disappointed he is in her? Because if that's the case, she really has no intention of sticking around to hear it.


Sheena, as Faith had predicted, is having a hard time keeping Liza corralled, so she almost melts with relief when she hears her father tell her to meet up with them. Standing up quickly, grabbing Mitsy's hand in one of hers, Liza's in the other, she says to Liza, "Dad said to go meet him, teleport us there?"


"Okay!" Liza proclaims, thrilled to have a job to do, and she teleports them to Macal as asked, immediately running up to him and latching onto his arm. "Daddy!"


Faith is later in coming and says nothing, standing back with her arms crossed.
 
*Mac stood there with his back to them as they arrived, looking at the sky silently, when he senses Faith finally arrive he turns and gives her a weak smile.* I'm glad you're all here because I have something to confess to you. I'm sorry, lately I have been off my game..I haven't been at my best and as a result my relationships with you all have suffered. *He looks at Liza and kneels* Liza I have broken my promises to you and have pushed you off on your sister, instead of doing what I said I would do, I'm sorry. Sheena, you're a young responsible woman, who I treat like a little kid, I fail to tell you the truth of matters because I failed to understand that you can handle things. And lastly Faith, I've taken you for granted, disregarded your concerns and even dismissed you..For a man that says you are my Queen and my equal, I don't seem to understand the meaning behind those words. I've acted selfish towards you and dishonored the code of my father which was instilled in me from birth..Duty to the People. This duty stresses courage, justice, mercy, valor, protection of the weak, and faithfulness to church superiors of officer of righteous law. Duty to the Arch-paladin. This duty stresses obedience to Heironeous himself, devotion to the church, generosity, championing good against evil, putting the needs of the church and the faith above those of mortals. DUTY TO A LADY..This duty pertains to the concept of courtly love, devotion to one's beloved, and respect toward all women in general. Sometimes I long for the days when I was my only responsibility..I only needed to take care of myself, if I wanted to go off and battle someone that was far more powerful then me just for the trill of it I would have, the days when I only needed to worry about myself and my missions..As much as I miss those days they are shallow..no empty compared to what I have now. Now I have people that actually care if I live or die, that miss me when I leave, worry when I go into battle, remind me of what I risk losing if I fail. As much as I miss those old days I know for a fact that I can not live with out you, my family my one and true reason for living is for you. Lately I've taken my family for granted and I asking you to forgive me and allow me the chance to amend my mistakes. *He stands up and moves in front of Faith then kneels in front of her.* Forgive your foolish husband, for he is a dumbass of epic proportions.
 
(Aw, too late. I had hoped to be post #500. Oh well. I can still aim for 1000.)


Lilith started off her attack, sending a small cyclone toward Mel who jumped out of the way. "Come on, Lilith. Is that all you've got? Your skills are as pathetic as when we first met." Mel then snapped her fingers and three large knives appeared and were sent flying at the angel. Lil simply knocked them out of the way with a few gusts of wind. "I could say the same for you. Is this all you've got?" The angel then noticed that Mel was no longer standing in front of her. She looked around but was startled by a voice coming from behind her.


"That was actually a distraction." Lil was then met with a swift kick to her ribs, sending her into the air. Luckily, Lilith was able to spread her wings and stabilized herself in the air. Damn, she had forgotten how quick Mel was in her old body. The little demon princess was rather proud of the strength in her legs. However, that was on land . . .


The anger in her face subsided as a smile formed. Lilith flew a bit higher into the air, smiling down at Mel. "Let's see your attacks reach me up here." "You underestimate me, Lilith," Mel said as she crouched down before using all the strength she could muster to jump. By the time she reached the angel's level, she noticed how Lil's smile only widened. "You're faster than me, Princess, but that's on the land. The air is my territory." She then sent a ball of light straight into Mel's stomach, and Mel, not being able to move freely in the air, had no choice but the take the attack full on. Then as she was falling back down, she was pulled back by her hair. "Oh, I'm not going to let you go that easily." Holding Mel by her hair, Lilith swung the girl around and around before sending her face first into the dirt.


Mel wiped the dirt and grass from her face as she struggled to stand, glaring at the angel. How dare that b*tch mess with her hair? And who even resorts to hair pulling anymore? She took a minute to think. She couldn't just rush up there again and she couldn't bring Lil back down. Or could she?


Lil raised an eyebrow at the arrogant smirk on Mel's face. She watched as the demon princess summoned up a kodachi blade, crouched down and jumped again. Lilith nearly laughed at Mel's poor choice of action. Was she really going to try that again? Maybe she hit her head on a rock with the last attack. Preparing to grab Mel again, Lilith was puzzled when Mel just flew past her, landing on the ground again without doing anything.


The angel burst into laughter. "Did you forget to do something?" But then she started falling from the sky, landing square on her butt. And when she tried to fly again, she couldn't even raise herself six inches off the ground. She then noticed Mel chuckling softly, looking up at the girl. "B*tch! What'd you do to me?!"


Mel only smiled and brought something out from behind her back, a large white wing although some feathers were stained red about now. "Can't exactly fly without this, can you?" Lil's eyes widened and she looked behind her. Sure enough, there was only one wing and a bloody stump. H-h-how dare she?! She was actually arrogant enough to rip off an angel's wings? And how could she have cut it off without Lilith noticing?!


Lilith shouted something incoherent as she jumped Mel, pushing the girl onto the ground. The two rolled about the ground, pulling at eachothers' faces and hair, turning it into more of a catfight than an actual battle. That is, until Mel slammed her forehead into Lil's, forcing the angel off her. Lilith stumbled back, rubbing her head. Damn, that b*tch's skull was thick. Mel stood before the angel, pointing a knife at her, maintaining a calm facade as a small trickle of blood flowed down her face. "Lil, you couldn't even defeat me when I was a child. What made you think you could win now?"


The angel swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat as she looked at the knife. Was she going to die now? But then a smile formed as she heard Mel's words to her. "You're right. What was I thinking? There's no way I could defeat a monster like you."


Mel's face paled as Lil called her a monster as she started shaking. "I-I'm not a monster!" "Oh, but you are. You've always been a monster. You've always known it. Everyone around you knows it too. Wasn't that why your parents locked you up in that hidden room in the first place? It was because they knew you were nothing more than the incarnation of evil. Only bringing misery and misfortune to those around you. That's what happened to your hometown, didn't it? As soon you were born, famine, disease and death riddled the land. In fact, it got so bad that they began the torture, right? The priest said that as long as you were suffering, they wouldn't have to."


Mel stepped back, eyes wide and skin whiter than it had ever been. The knife dropped from her hands as she tried to block the angel's voice from her ears. Lil strutted toward Mel as the girl's legs gave out beneath her. "And that wasn't even the sickest part. The best part was that it worked. The fields became fertile. Livestock grew fatter and healthier before. The sick were healed. Life became wonderful. And all they had to do was to continue cutting and lashing out at the little girl hidden away from the world who honestly believed all the pain was to help her. Your blood became their water. Your screams became their music. Your pain became their duty."


"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Mel was now crouching on the ground, hands to her ears and knees to her chest. She didn't want to hear anymore. She had left that life behind that life and now just wanted to forget all about it. Eyes shut tight, she opened them when she heard Lil say, "You've left yourself open." She looked up to see the angel with a large amount of light gathered in her hand before she fired a large white beam of light at Mel. In her current condition, Mel was shaking too much to dodge the attack.


And yet, it didn't hit her.


Mel's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she looked at what, or rather who, had stood between her and the attack. The familiar ice-like figure with the face of a woman and the tails that swayed in the air. Riff? He was standing before her in his demonic form. A large chuck of the right portion of his head as well as his entire right arm, shoulder and three tails were gone, looking as if they melted from Lilith's attack. He stood his ground for a bit before falling. Mel dove out and caught his head before it hit the dirt, eyes still wide with shock.


Riff reverted back to his human form, weakened greatly by the angel's holy attack. His head seemed to have regenerated but his right eyes was still missing, as was his right arm. Looking at Riff with his good eye, he smiled gently at her and laughed softly. "Lucky. I made it in time." He brushed her cheek with his left hand. "I'm sorry, Miss Mel. I know you don't like us interfering . . . but my body just moved on its own. I'll do better next time."


"Riff, shut up! Did I give you permission to speak?" Riff, a bit startled by the sudden outburst, looked up to see Mel, trembling even more than when Lil had been poking at her past. Seeing Riff like this and hearing his words, Mel had forgotten about ignoring him or why she started to in the first place. All she could remember was that he was her servant . . . Her friend . . . Tears started falling down her face, something that hadn't happened in 7 years, and she began yelling at him. "Riff, I order you to stand up this instant. I never gave you permission to die! Do you intend on being defiant to the very end?!"


The blond boy could only smile as he watched his old master crying for him. "Why the Hell are you smiling?! You're being scolded!" Riff let out another chuckle as a tear fell down his face as well. He had really wanted to take care of her for so much longer, until she could at least take care of herself. No matter how strong she seemed, she was still just a teenage girl. And she's had to be strong for so long already. But it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. And so he smiled. "I'm sorry, Mel*. I'll accept any punishment you see fit."


His eye closed and his body went limp in her arms. Mel felt a sharp pain in her chest and started slapping the corpse's face over and over again. "Wake up. Wake up, you idiot! This is a poor joke! Didn't you promise to follow me to Hell itself?!" The hand she was hitting him with fell and so did her face as she cried some more. And in between sobs, she whispered, "Didn't you promise not to leave me?"


"Crying over such a stupid man? You certainly are weak Mel. Did you cry as much over Cobra?" Mel's head shot up, staring at the angel with a tear stained face. "What did you say?" "Hm? I was just asking if you cried as much for that other guy, Cobra. Such a weak, naive boy. It didn't take much to provoke him into using to much of his power. He was no fun either. He reached his code break so soon. I almost got caught in the fi-Ah!" Lilith screamed, falling to her knees, as her right eye filled with pain, like it was being ripped out of her skull. Bring her hand up to the area, she noticed that it was just an empty socket. She looked at Mel with her left eye to see the girl standing now, with a sky blue eyeball in her hand, Lilith's eye. "B*tch! Give it back!"


But Mel just smiled. "An eye for an eye, you c*nt!" And she threw the eye on the ground before crushing it under her foot. Then she started laughing loudly, manically. Much like her servants, Mel carried an emotion into battle as well, pure joy. Happiness didn't enhance her powers though like sorrow or anger did for the others, but it did make her scarier. Because Mel didn't lose herself to the emotion. When she laughed, she got a bit more "creative" and "playful", and she knew exactly what she was doing.


Mel then began advancing slowly toward Lil. With only one eye and one wing, there was no worry that the angel could get away. "Stay away!" Lilith shouted, holding her arm out to Mel as if it actually compel the girl to stop. But Mel simply snapped her fingers and the arm was gone in an instant, falling onto the ground behind Mel and replaced with more pain and screams. Mel was now standing only a foot away from Lilith. The angel's eyes widened in fear as Mel summoned a guillotine blade above her head. The blade was about to come down on her head when Lil tried a last ditch attempt to save her own life.


"Wait! It's not my fault Riff died. The attack was meant for you not him. So it was your own weakness that killed him." Mel stopped laughing now. Head down as if reflecting on her actions. The guillotine blade disappeared and Lil smiled out of a mixture of awkwardness and relief. "Yeah, besides killing me won't bring back Riff. So would my death really make you happy?"


Mel immediately lifted her head, looking at Lilith as if she were an idiot. "Duh! Of course it will." Before Lil could say anything more, Mel's leg met with her face and the angel's head went flying with the impact of the kick.


As if a sign of Mel's victory, the remains of Lilith's body slowly disappeared in a shower of light. "NO!" Mel shouted. "You can't die that easily. You need to suffer more! I need to punish you for everything!" Mel stomped on the ground with the leg she used to decapitate Lil and swore as a sharp pain filled her calf, making her fall to the ground. It seemed she had broken a bone as her leg collided with the angel's skull.


After another round of swearing, Mel stood up shakily and hopped over to Riff's body before sitting by his side. She took one of the knives from the fight and sliced her wrist a bit, dripping her blood into the boy's mouth. "Come on, Riff. Drink up and you'll be all better. We'll fix up that eye and arm for you." But nothing happened. Riff's arm didn't grow back and he didn't open his eyes. Mel, still in denial, frowned. Was there something wrong with her blood? Maybe Lil using her body tainted it or something. There had to be someone who could help Riff. Mel then thought about the school. But could she go back after dropping out like that? It shouldn't matter since Riff was the one in need of medical attention and he was still a student.


So Mel hoisted Riff's limp form onto her back and summoned a cane that fell to the ground with a thud and the sound of an old man falling down in the distance . . . awkward. Using the cane, Mel dragged herself and Riff in the direction of the school only to fall down after three steps. Damn, her leg was already swelling. She was in no condition to walk with or without Riff on her back. Now on her back, she looked up at the sky as dark clouds seemed to form over the clearing.


Then it began to snow. That was weird. It was May. Why was it snowing? Wasn't it too hot? But it was snowing or at least it had been until the heat turned the snowfall into rain. After feeling the flakes and now drops of water hitting her face, Mel realized how tired she was. Maybe it was from the fight or maybe from being back in her body but she was tired, sleepy even. Rolling onto her side, she curled up next to Riff and tugged on the black sleeve of his jacket. "Riff, my leg hurts. Actually all of me hurts right now. When you wake up, make me a splint for my leg, okay?" And the fatigue pulled on her eyelids, making her close them and fall asleep.


(*No, I didn't forget to put in the "Miss" in front of Mel. Riff left it out intentionally, using his last words to refer to her as someone he cares about and not just his master or a stranger. Also, anyone from the old FA rp notice that these are the same conversation Mel and Riff had after she kicked his heavily injured a** into the stone wall?)


(God, this took forever to write. Also, if it isn't clear. Riff is dead.)
 
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(do you want or need your people to be found, dreams?)


Liza looked up at Macal, somewhat puzzled. To her, the only difference in their family lately had been that she hadn't been getting as much attention as usual and hadn't been spending as much time with her parents. She understands that much of what her father is saying and smiles, hugging his leg.


"That's okay Daddy. You can be nicer to me now and play with me and let me do fights and stuff and it's okay then."


Sheena for her part is somewhat glad to hear Macal acknowledge that she is no longer a child, that she can be trusted and treated as an adult, and though she doesn't quite trust yet that he will stick by what he is saying, she nods slowly and gives a small smile.


"Yeah. Uh, okay...we can all do better, I guess."


Faith is the one who is taken aback. She had expected to have more of Macal reasoning with her, telling her how she was wrong, filling her in on what she had done to Jirro and the trouble it was causing, or maybe even announcing that he was leaving her to go with Alex. She expected him to announce he was off on some mission alone, or something...anything but this. But he seemed sincere, and as she slowly reached out, taking his hand and releasing a slow breath, she did feel somewhat softer towards him.


"Well I'd be a real b*tch not to accept that, huh?"
 
(Well, I suppose someone can find them if they want to. I was originally going to have Mel find her way back on her own. However it might be interesting if someone else found her. Since with Lil's real body gone, Mel's doll body in a trash heap, and Mel still being blonde and wearing Lil's clothes, people might assume she's still Lil at first.)
 
(Hmm, I'll have my troubled trio find Mel and Riff if that's alright, since I'm bored and they haven't got much to do right now xD Oh also, would it be alright if Chameleon heard what Lilith said to Mel about her past? If you're not okay with it I'll just edit it out and pretend he didn't hear that bit, but he's not the type to use it against her or anything)


Faye, Raina and Chameleon all watched together as Mel ran off, Lilith quickly following. Guess they were going to go fight then. Faye frowned slightly, thinking better of going after them even though she wanted to help; Mel probably still hated her and she knew for a fact that Lilith was a sadistic b*tch. Raina just smirked, hoping that Mel would kill Lil because if not she would do it herself.


Raina turned to look at the little girl as she spoke, noticing that Chameleon was now gone but not mentioning it out loud, "I don't really care if Mel has a body to return to or not, and I don't give a damn what she thinks about it either." Faye simply rolled her eyes at Raina and turned her attention to Nick as Faith began speaking to Raina about having problems and how to handle them, she gave her a soft smile, "Thank you for helping me earlier Nick, I won't forget it." She then grabbed Raina's hand - who was already beginning to try and argue with Faith - and gave both girls a nod, "I'll see you guys later!" Before speeding her older squabbling sister out of the room.


*******


Chameleon when Mel and Lilith left was the one who glanced around at the occupied people and swiftly exited without saying a word; no-one seemed to notice anyway.


He followed in the direction of where Mel and Lilith had left, he wasn't stupid enough to try and get involved in their actual fight, but he did want to make sure Mel was alright. He didn't know why he was so insistent on helping her, he knew that despite what had happened with Lilith a lot of students still thought Mel was a demonic b*tch with no emotions; but he didn't. Was it stupid for him to say he thought he could see something more in her? Maybe. Or maybe he was just so damn sick of people dying, so fed up of waking up in the morning knowing that someone he knew or someone he had met had died the day before that he just didn't want anyone else to have to die unnecessarily.


And despite what others said, Mel was still a person, and until he was proven wrong Chameleon was going to keep looking for that glimmer of humanity. He had found it in Raina after all.


It wasn't long before he found the two in the midst of a fight and he immediately decided to hang back in the cover of the trees to watch and make sure Mel would be alright, he even silently shifted into a bird to sit on the branches and look natural.


He had arrived just as Mel looked to be winning, with a knife pointed at a downed-Lilith. But then Lilith's words rang out to his enhanced ears and he would have frowned if possible for birds to do so. A monster? He listened silently as Lilith went on and on about Mel being tortured when she was young, about how everyone thought she was evil. He watched even as Mel collapsed and shook, curling in on herself. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" There it was. What he had been looking for. But then Lil was approaching, light gathering in her hand and before Chameleon could intervene there was a blur of white and blue and there was something infront of Mel, having taken the hit. He watched as Riff turned back to human, as Mel broke down and as they bickered. Riff was dying. Sh*t. Riff was dying. Mel was crying. Chameleon had to do something. The idea hit when Mel sobbed about Riff not leaving her. Faye. Faye was a healer, she could save him. He knew he had to stay and make sure Mel wouldn't die either, but they needed Faye. He flew off instantly, heading back to the school and shifting just in time to hit the floor and speed through the hallways.


It was pure luck that he found her so quickly, almost bumping into Raina and Faye in his haste to find the healer, he grabbed her wrist immediately, making the poor pyro jump as he looked at her with uncharacteristically wide eyes, "Faye! I need your help, it's Mel and Riff, they're in trouble, Riff is dying." Faye's eyes widened, "What? Where?" "Come on!" Chameleon pulled the girl away with Raina quickly following with a whine, "But Fayeee, we were about to go watch a filmm!" "Raina! This is serious!" "Not as serious as missing our film!" Faye decided not to answer that, seeing as in her mind it was a stupid reply, and let herself be lead out by Chameleon.


By the time the three got to the area, Mel was on the ground, looking pretty unconscious, and Riff's body was beside her. Raina was the first to react, eyes blazing in anger as in her mind she saw Mel's doll body burnt beyond re-construction and the b*tch Lil laying on the floor defenseless, "I knew she wouldn't be able to fuckin' kill her! I'll just finish the job off then." Raina darted forward, about to plunge a dagger through 'Lil's' head when Chameleon grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "What the f*ck? Let me go Leo!" "That's not Lil. It's Mel. She took her body back and I'm assuming she killed Lil since she's still alive." His eyes grazed over Riff's body, he could see the lack of life already, even as Faye dropped down beside him and covered him in a warm pink light, and his mood dampened considerably, his panicked eyes turning to almost emptiness. Another corpse to fill his memory. He let go off Raina's arm, now moving his eyesight over to the collapsed Mel, the Mel who would always reject his offers to help, but was the same Mel who had been crying only a few minutes ago over the loss of someone she claimed was only her 'servant', the same Mel who had apparently been tortured as a child simply because her stupid ass village had some bad luck for a while and decided to blame it on an innocent child.


Ignoring Faye's pleas for Riff to wake up as she healed him, - knowing that the little girl had been quite fond of both of Mel's 'servants' as shown when she had tried to get them away from Mel, thinking she was evil - Chameleon stepped around them all and bent down, carefully placing one arm underneath the back of Mel's neck and the other at the back of her knees, he then proceeded to lift the sleeping girl up into a princess carry and only then did he allowed himself to look back at Faye, Riff's corpse and Raina, "He's gone Faye." Both girls looked up as Chameleon spoke, Faye had been crying, he could tell, but he noted in Raina's eyes slight shock, probably at how oddly empty his voice sounded. "Do you think you two can pick his body up together? We need to get them back to the Academy, it's cold and wet out here and Mel will get sick if we don't get her to infirmary." The girls nodded, Raina oddly compliant for once, and both managed between them to pick up Riff as they headed back to the Academy.


(Dreams, it's up to you if Faye's healing power helped to bring back Riff or not)
 
Izabella felt Jirro place his jacket around her, up until that point, she hadn’t even realized how badly her body had been shaking. She had just watched in shock as one of her best friend’s had almost had to destroy the love her life in one moment, then sent them off to a safe house in the next. She could still hear the sound that his sword had made as it flew through the trees. The Hybrid gave herself a tiny shake and grunted, hearing the last of what Jirro was saying and shook her head.


“Like hell!” her eyes narrow and she growls softly. “I’m not letting you go off alone again!”


Turning around to look at Jirro, her expression softens slightly when she sees the concern and fear in his eyes and sighing softly, she shakes her head, shifting her weight.


“Mitsumi is a big girl… and she’s with Sheena and Faith…I’m sure she knows what is going on, she’d want me to stay here and watch you. I wouldn’t trust anyone else right now anyways…”


Not waiting for her husband to reply, she moves a little past him in the direction of the cabin, pulling his jacket tighter around herself, and pauses only once to make sure he is following her. Keeping an eye on his shadow as they walk, she feels slightly vulnerable, realizing the only weapon she really had on her was her ability to shift…if Hard Time did indeed have a hold over Jirro still, she would be screwed if he decided to suddenly take over. It dawns on her that she’s protecting a walking time bomb.


After a few minutes into their walk, the silence starts to get to the Hybrid and she clears her throat, slowing down her walk until she falls into step with her husband. “You ah…you asked me why I would do…well, what I did back there…do you really not know? Even after all this time, do you doubt my loyalty to you…to the bloodline? Do you even have to question my love to you…” Pausing, she tilts her head slightly to look up at him, and reaches up, pushing back some of his dark hair which hid his face from her. She locks eyes with him and tries to smile. “I’d follow you to Hell itself if it meant keeping you safe…” Realizing the irony of that, she lets out a low chuckle and shakes her head. “Well…I’m sure I’ve done that now several times, but you know what I mean…we’re in this together…I’m sticking with you through this…”


Seeing the safe house up ahead, Izzy drops her hand away from his face and moves ahead, opening the place up, and checking the area for any scents of intruders. “We’re clear…”


Holding the door open for him, she looks around, snapping on a few lights. “I’m…gonna try to find some clothes…you should really try to get some sleep. I’ll take the couch, there should be a decent enough bed for you somewhere in the back…”


---------------------------------------------------------------------


Once inside Kat’s room, Bucky hangs back, leaning against one of the walls even as the young girl motions for him to join her as she takes a seat on her bed. He shakes his head and smiles, mumbling an excuse about needing to stretch his legs and instead, turns his attention to her room, looking around at everything she had.


“The students rooms…they’re much smaller than the ones they stick the teachers in, that’s for sure…” He looks over at Kat and smiles.


“Mine’s alright, there’s a bedroom, and a small kitchen…bathroom…I guess it’s like a small apartment or something…but I didn’t really bring much with me so it’s a bit bare…I mean, I have some paintings up…and this shelf with these really old books that I brought with me from Rome but…”


Trailing off, the Lycan shrugged and leans back against one of the walls, facing Katarina. “When all this dies down, I’ll show you…”


((Not sure where Mitsy is or who she was with atm…))
 
(well, uh, the Cords and Mochizukis seem occupied, but someone feel free to track down Faith and explain the mass destruction, lol. Liza could heal Mel or anyone else)


"It's nice though. My room," Katarina assures Bucky, though it is simple and sparse in decor at the moment. "I mean, I never had a room to myself before. I always shared with my sister Alice."


She swallows, her eyes dropping to the bedside, and lightly scratches at her wrist before looking up at him again, elaborating. "And at one point, Adrian and I shared a motel room. So...this is a lot of space for me."


She seizes on the chance to change the conversation as Bucky describes his books and paintings, standing up and coming closer to him. "You like to paint? Or are they paintings you brought? I used to like to draw, but I haven't in a while. I wasn't very good anyway...I read sometimes too, but I don't have any books."


She feels like she's chattering, asking too many questions, but she's curious. "Sorry if I"m asking a lot...it's just, I'm...interested. I've never been to Rome before either, or...anywhere, really. Is it nice?"
 
(I know exactly who you are talking about. Her mary-sue of a character irked me too. And yeah, I was just offering up the option of healing incase you didn't want Riff to die, like with Myra for me I was getting uncomfortable RPing her so that's why I killed her off - plus it helped with Raina and Faye's development, but if you want Riff to stay dead then that's cool too)


Chameleon almost jumped in surprise when Mel suddenly woke up and pushed him away, dropping to the floor as she told him she didn't take charity. Then the injured girl was suddenly over by Raina and Faye, and had taken Riff from them angrily, telling them not to touch her property. Chameleon just stood with a frown as he watched Mel numbly panic over Riff's body, then his eyes widened slightly as her back was revealed momentarily. Is that what Lilith had been talking about when she said she was tortured? Was that part of it?


Faye meanwhile had paled at seeing the complex scar, wondering who would do that to Mel and why, and glanced beside her to see her older sister staring at Mel's back with a grim expression, almost angry. Why was Raina so angry?


Raina bit her lip in an attempt to calm herself as she saw Mel's back and the scars across it, it reminded her of her own back, littered with scars that criss-crossed up and down and would never heal, no matter how hard she tried. Had someone else done this to Mel or had she done it to herself? It looked like an actual pattern of some sorts, almost like a drawing or a complex maths equation, so it was possible Mel did it to herself in an attempt to gain power. Raina didn't know either way. She noticed Mel's teary eyes as she handed Riff over to Chameleon - and she knew Leo and Faye had both noticed it too - and all three watched as she tried to stumble away. Raina sighed, seeing that Faye was still affected by Riff's death to do much in the ways of going after her, but she noticed Chameleon was about to step forward. "Pass him here, you go get the stubborn charity-hater while me and Faye start heading back," Faye nodded her agreement, "I'll see if I can find Faith as well to help out...maybe..maybe Liza can help me heal Riff." It was too much, for her to have Riff die as well, she had tried to heal Myra after her death, she really had, but she was only one healer, and she was in too much shock and sadness to do much good back then, but maybe if she had Liza to help too..


Chameleon nodded, remembering Raina had vampire strength so carrying Riff's body would be no problem for her, and handed Riff over with a small, "Be careful," before heading after the run-away Mel, pulling off his t-shirt as he did so. He got to her rather quickly, seeing her on the ground, bleeding, and swearing. He held back his sigh and before she could protest again he managed to pull his t-shirt down over her head to cover her up. He then picked her up in the same carry as earlier but held her a bit tighter this time to try and keep her in place. "Before you try and tell me to put you down again listen. This isn't charity, this is me not wanting anymore people to die because I'm fed up of having to bury someone every frickin' week of the month." His voice dropped a bit then, heading back to where he had left Raina, Faye and Riff's body, so that only he and Mel could hear what he was saying, "Besides, I watched you fight Lil, I didn't intervene because I knew you'd just go for me too, but I saw the damage she did to you. You're in no condition to go crawling through the woods, injured and with no shirt on in this weather." It was unclear whether Chameleon was talking mental or physical damage; maybe both.


Placing his voice back to normal level of sound now, he spoke again, "It doesn't matter if you're not a student anymore, I'm not about to leave you out here to die, if the school refuse to treat you because you're 'not a student' - which I'm sure they won't - then I'll just have to help you myself."


****


Faye meanwhile had headed back to the school, Raina at her side with Riff in her arms, it wasn't too long before they found the group of Cords huddled together. "Faith!" Faye was the one who ran over, her cheeks still a bit stained from her earlier tears at seeing Riff, and Raina walked over, holding Riff's corpse in her arms still, watching as her little sister suddenly went on a full-speed explanation, "Mel and Lil went outside and fought and we don't know what happened but Chameleon came and got us and he told us that Mel was in trouble and Riff was dying, so we ran to go help and then we saw Mel but she's back in her old body now - the one that Lil took from her - and Lil's apparently dead now but Riff's dead too and Chameleon is bringing back Mel right now but she says she can't come back since she's not a student anymore and we have Riff with us because we thought maybe if me and Liza heal him together he might come back to life and--" "Faye, calm down. You carry on speaking that fast and your mouth will burn off." Raina's serious voice cut through Faye's panicked rant and she flipped her head back to look at her older sister, she sucked in a breath and nodded before looking back at the Cords' with big eyes, mainly Liza, "Liza will you help?"


Raina came closer, then laid Riff's body on the floor, "You can go ahead and try if you want, but I'm pretty sure it won't work Faye, his body is already ice cold." She then lifted her eyes to Faith, Macal and Sheena, "Just to sum up, Riff's dead, so is Lil and Mel's being too stubborn to come back here, but Leo's working on that."


She let out an exasperated sigh then, raking her eyes over the trio, "So....it's been a fun day right?"
 
Sheena heard Faye approaching before Faith or Liza, her Lycan hearing prompting her to look up before her sisters. She gasped when she saw Raina coming up behind her, Riff's body dangling from her arms, and blurts out with shock, "Raina! Did you KILL him?"


Liza too screamed, though hers was not accusing but rather horror stricken, and immediately burst into tears as she ran over. "Riff!!! Riff is hurt! I'm gonna heal him!"


She darted over before Faith could catch hold of her, and Faith ran after her, calling for her to get back but knowing her daughter would ignore her. As she took Riff from Raina gently, setting him on the ground as her eyes scanned over him to try to determine a cause of death, she looked up at Raina, her eyes dark. She had given Mel and Lil permission to go at it, in effect...so in a way, it was difficult to keep herself from feeling that this was her fault.


"Lil did this to him? And Mel killed her? Is anyone else injured or dead?"


As Liza squatted next to Riff and took hold of his hand, putting all her energy into trying to heal him, Faith stood, calling for Sheena to come join them. As Sheena came to stand over him, Faith lay a hand briefly on her shoulder as she explained.


"Stay here, watch over everyone and make sure they all...don't come to any harm. Help Liza if she needs it, try to keep everything together, okay? I'm bringing Mel back...back home."


Looking back at Raina, she motioned for her to come to her. "Faye will be okay with Chameleon and Sheena and Macal. Take me to Mel, please."
 
(Well . . .This is awkward. I had originally deleted the post to rewrite it to be less . . . crappy. Hm . . . Oh well, might as well go with the flow I started. And I appreciate the option, Jo. But I'm fine with Riff's death. When I first created him, I had already planned his death. Yeah . . . I had grown attached to him. After everything they went through during their time before meeting Vash, I had actually shipped them. They were actually eachother's first kisses but it was more of an experiment since 12 year old Mel was curious about what it was like. But Riff's death was meant to sort of knock Mel down a few pegs, make her seem more human, and give people an opportunity to get closer to her.)


(I do wonder if Raina or Chameleon would show bits of jealousy if the other was getting a bit too close to a member of the opposite gender. Leon might be a bit more calm but Raina seems like a tsundere character to me. I might be wrong. It's just the impression I get.)


Mel looked down at Chameleon's shirt with a disapproving eye. "You couldn't have something more tasteful? Or at least better fitting?" But she supposed loose was better than tight. Mel didn't fight back this time when the shifter lifted her up. She was just too tired to fight back now. Her eyes fell down when he mentioned not wanting to see more people die. "Don't be nice to me," she said. "People are only nice to me if I control them or if they plan to back stab me. 'Friends' are nothing but a bunch of selfish liars. They go off an die on their own without even considering your feelings. I don't need such traitors. I only need people I can control."


Mel clenched her hands weakly as she thought back to Cobra. The same thing had repeated itself with Riff now. How could she call herself strong? How could she even think that she might break free of the title of villain? When she wasn't able to help even one friend? Once again, she was powerless. She needed to train more. She glanced at Leon's face. She wasn't allowing him to help because she needed it. She just needed to pack up her things at the castle before she went on her way. That was it.


"It'd be best for you not to associate with me. A mama's boy like you would just ruin your mom's reputation by helping a murderer."
 
(Yeah, Raina is definitely a tsundere xD She's a b*tch to everyone who she doesn't consider as close: the close ones right now only being Faye and Liza, though Chameleon and the rest of the Cords' are slowly edging their way in. And yeah, I think right now she's not feeling jealous because she knows it's a serious situation, but she would so get jealous if Chameleon got very close to another girl, and Chameleon oddly enough would get a bit jealous too. He'd keep an eye on the guy and watch out for any signs of anything bad. Oh and Faith, Chameleon isn't with Faye, he's with Mel xD )


Raina rolled her eyes as Sheena assumed she had killed him, not bothering to answer as it was a stupid question anyway. She looked up when Faith spoke with dark eyes, "I don't know if it was Lil who killed him, I'm assuming so, but Chameleon will know, he watched their fight I think. It's just Mel now who's injured."


She fell silent and watched as Faye joined Liza in trying to heal the dead boy. She knew it was hopeless. He was dead and he wasn't coming back; life sucked like that. Still, it was almost heartbreaking, watching her two little sisters - even if Liza technically wasn't blood related to her, she was still sort of her sister - try and desperately bring back a dead man.


Raina looked up when Faith spoke again, asking to be taken to Mel, she paused momentarily, glancing at Faye, she didn't notice but she bit her bottom lip lightly while pondering whether or not it was alright to leave her alone like this, but after a while she stopped and glanced to Faith with an annoyed huff, "Fine. But I'm coming back as soon as you get there; I'm not leaving Faye alone for too long after she just found a dead guy that she cared about."


She then walked past Faith without giving her another glance, not waiting to see if she'd catch up or not.


******


Chameleon simply smirked lightly as Mel lightly chastised his taste in clothing, he did however mutter with amusement in his voice, "Sorry, I don't tend to wear teenage girl's tops very often, I'll keep that in mind for the future." He fell silent though as the girl looked down, and told him not to be nice. He let her speak, his mind racing at her words. He assumed she was talking about Riff when she spoke about going off and dying. But did she really think he was only being nice because he was planning to back stab her? Was that all she was used to? He couldn't help but think back to Raina once again, she had been the same, probably still was. She had even tried to kill five-year-old Liza when she first met her - and that kid is as sweet as they come. He supposed it wasn't a stupid view, he didn't have many friends, but that was more for their own protection than his. In fact, who did he count as a friend? It was a bit tricky with Rai; since they had kissed and all, but she had also tried to kill him...so he wasn't too sure what she was to him. Maybe Faye? She was kind, big-hearted...but was she his friend?


He snapped out of his thoughts just in time to hear Mel warn him off of her...and call him a mama's boy. He immediately scowled then, eyes turning dark, everything was wrong with that last sentence. Every single thing in it. Maybe the very first part was correct; but only because it would be more likely Mel would get hurt than Chameleon would. His Mother had a nasty habit of sending assassins after anyone Chameleon got too close too. Ah yeah, that was why he didn't have 'friends'


"I'm not a mama's boy," He spoke quickly, the distaste in his voice clear as he lowered it to a whisper, just in case any unwanted people were listening in, "I hate her more than anything, as soon as I find a way and the courage to do it I'm putting her six feet in the ground, along with my Uncle." He spoke quickly and bitterly; he already knew Mel hated his Mother from the interaction they had, and she was the only person around to hear what he had said, so it would be fine. Plus, it was nice to vent, even if it was to a girl who wouldn't offer him advice or sympathy; which was alright with him. His voice volume went back to normal as he carried on, though his tone was still bitter - he always got that feeling when his Mother was involved, "I don't care about my Mother's reputation, and that fact that you're a murderer doesn't matter at all. What if I said I was a murderer? Do you think suddenly no-one would like me anymore? Of course not. I'd still get those idiots who would whisper things and avoid me entirely, but the people who actually know me beyond any murdering I may have done would know better than that." Chameleon chose his words carefully then; of course if Mel found out he was a murderer then fine, there was nothing he could do to stop that. But the way he had spoken he had tried to make it sound like he was speaking metaphorically.


His bitter, slightly angry look changed then and he looked down at her with a small grin, "And I'm not being nice to you because I'm going to back stab you or because you're controlling me, I'm doing it because I want to, and I think you've figured out by now that I'm a stubborn b*stard, so telling me not to be nice to you will have the opposite effect."
 
"Thank you, Raina," Faith told her with sincerity, and she reached briefly to pat her back before withdrawing her hand quickly, stepping back to let Raina lead her in the right direction. As they walked she tried to think of something she could say to soften the girl, something to show that she appreciated her help, that she was glad to have her back in the school, whatever circumstances had brought her here.


"Thanks for keeping your head and helping. I know Faye probably really appreciates you helping her like this and looking out for her."


She isn't going to think too hard about Riff and what's just happened to him right now. It's enough to put one foot in front of the other and to deal with each student and their needs. She can have time later to really let sink in what has happened- what she has LET happen- in her school, to her students, to her own family.


As she came up with Raina to Mel and Chameleon, she slowed her walking, scanning them both with her eyes to see if they were injured. Mel appeared to be, so she quickened her pace again but made sure she could see her approaching.


"Mel. I saw what happened to Riff...I'm very sorry. Liza and Faye are trying right now, they're doing everything they can to help him if he can be helped. Let me help you now. I know you probably hate me and everyone in this school but that doesn't matter to me. You might have quit, but I didn't kick you out, and the school can be your home when or if you want it to be. You're probably gonna tell me to leave you alone, but since you're hurt and I can probably drag you up there no problem, you'll probably not get your way. Why don't you make this easier on yourself and let me help without hurting yourself saying no?"
 
*Mac nodded to Faith as she left and bent to one knee behind Liza and watched over her as she tried to heal Riff. He watched her closely so that she wouldn't exhaust herself by putting to much of her own energy into the boy or try to resurrect him something that is within his and her powers but she has not been trained to do so and it's a dangerous thing to do, because in order to bring back the dead, she would have to sacrifice some of her own lifeforce, sort of a chip of her own soul is given to bring back someone but again this is very dangerous, some that have tried in the past exhausted their own lifeforce and died themselves. He hopes his daughter as brave as she is will not try something so dangerous because he'll have no choice but to stop her right away so he monitors her energy closely. He also is debating rather or not to send a security team to assist Faith but in the end he refrains from making the call. One girl is hardly any danger to Faith...After a few minutes he decides enough is enough, patting Liza's shoulder finally to stop her from wasting anymore energy on Riff.* Liza enough, you can't heal the dead, I'm sorry but you've done all you can for him. You're going to hurt yourself if you spend to much of your own energy.


(Do you want Riff brought back or is everyone happy letting him go? Mac can bring him back..If he's not evil his powers of healing and resurrection don't work on beings that are evil.)
 
Liza barely notices anyone else around her now as she puts forth every bit of effort she can muster into trying to heal Riff, concentrating so hard that her eyes squinch shut and her body begins to shake. Watching her, Sheena is concerned for her, knowing how little experience she has in resurrecting and the consequences it brings about even on her father. If Faith were there surely she would tell her to stop, but Sheena knows better than to try to make her sister try when she has her mind so set on something.


"Liza," she tries, but Liza hollers back at her, not even turning her head, her eyes wide.


"SHHHH SHEENA, I GOTTA THINK BETTER!"


"Dad, it's not working," Sheena almost whispered, her lips pressing into a thin line with her worry as she started towards Liza, dropping behind her ready to grab her, if he were to give her the sign to do so.


As Macal acknowledges this and tells Liza himself to stop, Liza, panting by now, continues determinedly anyway, even after it is clear that her father's judgment is right. Finally she drops back on her haunches, her face crumpling as she begins to cry again.


"I didn't get him back. How come I didn't get him back? He's all dead and I didn't get him back. He's gonna be mad at me in heaven and Mel is gonna be mad at me and I don't like looking at dead people, it makes me feel bad!"
 
(Nah, I'm fine with Riff's death. But I do have a question. Would Mel be able to get permission to leave school for a day or two to bury Riff in her hometown?)


"You do whatever she says without much, if any, resistance. Close enough. Besides, if you haven't killed her yet, it means you don't actually hate her, at least not enough. Don't go saying you didn't act already because there were no opportunities. When strong enough, hatred has a strange way of creating opportunities." She stayed quiet for a while, listening to Chameleon as he spoke about how people would still understand him and be nice. Mel scoffed at the idea. That's all good for him. But what if all anyone ever knew about you were your crimes? What if no one knew you before the killings, or at least no one alive? What if you were already branded evil since before you were born? She kept these questions to herself though, too tired to say anything.


Then she caught sight of Faith and Raina approaching them out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes seemed to darken as Faith told her about how Liza and Faye were trying to heal him. "It's pointless." Mel knew better. Even if Riff used to be a human, he was a demon now. Lilith's holy attack practically charred his insides. He was gone now.


When Faith refers to the academy as a possible home for her, saying that even if Mel quit, the woman didn't kick her out again, Mel couldn't help but let her pale cheeks turn a light pink as the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. There had only been one place Mel called home before, her hometown, a desolate, isolated, village on the coast of England, filled with nothing but corpses and ruins now. It wasn't exactly the sort of home most people thought of, but it was the only place she could return to. Or at least until now. Could she really take Faith up on her offer? Could she really return to the castle? A single tear fell from Mel's eye before she quickly rubbed it off. "I . . . I suppose I can stay for a little while. A-at least until I figure out where to go next."


~~~~~


Vash had been struggling to escape his prison ever since the first moment he felt that searing pain in his head. And when it stopped, it only made him try more, seeing as it presented the possibility that Mel was dead. He eventually lucked out when his sneakers scuffed one of the lines of the Devil's Trap and Vash went flying into the door of his room. Fortunately, it didn't break but it looked like the chains did. He looked down at his wrists, the cuffs had left dark marks from digging into his skin, but there was no blood so that was something, right?


Feeling his mind already edging toward raging raven mode, Vash grabbed Raina's dagger off his desk and ran into the hall, gripping the blade tightly.


After a bit of aimless running, he made it outside to see the Cords and Faye gathered around something. He stepped closer only to fall back at the sight of Riff's body. "W-what's going on?" he shouted at the group. "Why is Riff . . . why is he . . . like that?! Where's Mel? Who did this?"
 
*Mac wraps his arms around Liza and lifts her off the ground, turning his body so she didn't have to look at Riff anymore.* He won't be mad at you Liza, he knows you've done all you can. healing the seriously injured or the dead is not something that can be taken lightly, it's a skill that's taken me centuries to learn how to do without doing dangerously high levels of damage to myself, in fact everytime I've been lucky enough to bring someone back, it's cause me pieces of my own soul shaving time off my own life. Not to mention our powers are Divine and don't work on everyone especially those with darkness in their souls. I don't know if that matters with this boy because he was long gone by the time he was brought to us. *Pressing his commbadge he calls down some medics.* Take his body to the infirmary until arrangements can be made for him. *The medics follow instructions and take the body away.* We should head inside, and wait for Faith to report back.


(do alex next time)
 
Nickkie had decided not to go back to her room, she didn't really want to be there by herself right now, she still felt like she needed to keep an eye on everyone, to try to help as much as she could because she wanted to be helpful. When she saw everyone gathered around something and noticed that Liza was crying she felt like she had to go and see if she was alright and to find out what was going on, that was when she saw Riff, she stopped, her eyes going wide.


No matter how wise Nickkie was, this was her first encounter with death, and she was still a child, though there seemed to be a strange feeling of understanding, that life had to come to an end, that was the natural order of things, but staring at the motionless body wasn't anything resembling easy. She stared at how badly injured he was and could only hope that death had come swiftly and that he hadn't had to suffer long, she could almost imagine that the life had been ripped from him. As she stared at the body tears started to form in her sapphire eyes, she didn't know him, but listening to Liza cry was making it hard not to cry herself, and then she realized that those who did know him would be hurt and she didn't think anything she could say would help. She wanted to look away, but she was having trouble taking her eyes off of the body.


She looked up as Vash came running outside, almost thankful for the distraction, something to look at that wasn't the body, she quickly rubbed her eyes, though she didn't say anything to him, not knowing what to say.


***


Ezra stayed off to the side, he had been with Riff right before he ran off, and he hadn't followed, figuring that Riff must have had something important to do. Now he wished he had tried to stop him, but if he had... would there have been another body in his place? He had seen the doll run off and the other fly after her, would one of them taken his place? Just another tragedy for people to cry over?


He sighed, he hadn't known Riff well, but he had been enjoying his company and had been glad to have met him, only wishing that he had known him better, but then the pain would have been worse. He looked toward the little girl who had started crying after trying to bring Riff back to life. He closed his eyes, death was hard, and he wanted to be able to tell her that it was fine that she couldn't bring him back, life was only meant to go one way, when you died that was supposed to be it. Yet here he was, and now that he was here and didn't know how to move on, he was trapped, stuck between worlds, no, it was probably better to actually die and move on than to stay.


He looked toward Vash as he came running up and yelled at the group, wanting to know what was going on, he would let someone that knew the man better take care of talking to him, instead he just slowly looked back at Riff's body, he felt sad, but he didn't feel like he would cry, and found himself wondering if he could even cry at all.
 
Faye was trying her best, she really was. She knelt beside Liza, pouring all her effects into healing Riff; Riff, who she hadn't known all too well, but still did care for. She had tried to help him back in the old academy, thinking that Mel had brainwashed him and Vash. How wrong she had been.


She barely notices Sheena and Macal trying to get Liza to stop, them shouting to her that it's useless and he's gone. No. He can't be gone. Faye doesn't register the tears dripping from her cheeks to land onto Riff's corpse as she lets her pink glow brighten with her efforts. She can't let anymore people die; why is everyone always dying? Liza was crying now, audibly unlike the silent tears falling down Faye's face. Faye continued to heal aimlessly, but when Vash runs in, asking what the heck is going on, she falls back much like Liza did, clutching her body as she sobbed lightly. She had failed, again. She looked up to Vash, still crying lightly even though she was trying to stop, "Lil.." She croaked out, "Mel, Mel went to fight Lil and...Riff..he...Lil killed Riff.." She lets out a choked sob she manages to get out her words. Why did everyone have to die? When would it stop? She looks back just in time to see Macal have the body taken away and her eyes widen as she looks at the God, "No! No I..I wasn't finished healing him yet! I..I can bring him back, I can! I..I have to!"


*******


Chameleon frowned lightly as Mel spoke, not finding himself with a response to her words. She was annoyingly right. Why hadn't he killed her yet? He would blame it on that he hadn't found a way, since she was after all still the Queen with a whole herd of personal bodyguards where ever she went. But Mel's words did ring true, after all, his Dad had been King, with his own bunch of bodyguards, and his Mother still managed to kill him off with no troubles. His chest pounded slightly at the thought of his Dad; still missing him wholeheartedly even after all these years.


Maybe, the reason he hadn't killed her yet was because despite himself and his hatred, there was still that wide-eyed, innocent little boy inside him telling him that he was scared of the woman who had carelessly killed her own husband without a hint of remorse.


He looked up as Faith and Raina approaching, the latter giving him and Mel a small frown, he remained silent as he held Mel, not finding anything that he needed to say, and since he was holding the girl he missed the tear that escaped, but he had seen enough of Mel's tears earlier anyway.


Raina had seen the tear, and it confused her thoroughly, though, she supposed it did make sense. Mel had just lost Riff, who seemed very close to her; she was fragile right now. It was silent now, after Mel's acceptance of Faith's offer, and something was still annoyingly nagging on Raina's mind.


"Why is she wearing your shirt?" She didn't know why she cared, but it bugged her a bit. Chameleon seemed to come back to life at that statement, and he titled his head slightly, giving the vampire a smirk, "Wow Rai, if I didn't know you better I could say you sound pretty jealous." The vampire glared darkly at him for that, though her cheeks tinted slightly and she almost shouted when she spoke, "I am not! I'm just worried that Mel will get infected by your lizard-y germs from wearing it!" Chameleon's smirk grew, "Uh huh. Sure." Raina glared hotly at him; if looks could kill Chameleon would already be in a coffin by now. "Pfft, whatever. I need to go back and check on Faye anyway." With that, the vampire turned to leave, muttering lowly under her breath about some 'stupid-ass shifter getting on her last nerve'
 
Mel was crying, a sight Faith never would have thought she would see from the girl who had such pride, composure, and refusal to let herself be seen as weak or anything less than arrogantly certain. She wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not, but she chose to at least try to be optimistic. Riff's death could not possibly be a good thing, but perhaps something good could come from it.


She nodded, speaking to Mel softly. "That would be good. Your old room is still open and waiting for you, nothing has been touched. You're excused from classes, not that we were having them anyway."


Annoyed when she hears Chameleon and Raina snapping and bickering, she narrows her eyes at them both. "Look, let's take care of his body if Macal hasn't already, show it the respect it deserves. Mel, if you want to help us...or you can go up to your room to rest. Whatever you like."


Back with the body, Liza continues to cry, burying her face in Macal's shoulder and clutching his shirt as she sobs against him. "I wanted to help him. I wanted him to be alive. Now he's still dead and Mel's gonna be so sad and mad and I just want him to be alive 'cause he was nice...it's just not fair daddy. There are too many dead people."


Sheena, uneasy and sad herself watching her sister and Faye cry, starts to go to Faye to try to comfort her when she sees Macal take over with Liza, but Vash appears to be taking over. Turning, feeling helpless, she tries to find someone she can go to and do something for, and her eyes fall on the tearful Nickkie, standing silently. Making her way over to her, Sheena drops to her knees in front of her and hugs her close.


"It will be okay," she tries to tell her, hoping her voice is strong. "You should go inside, Nick."
 
As Faye tried to explain what was going on, Vash simply stared at Riff's body. Lil had killed Riff? Riff was dead? "No. No, he can't be dead. Mel . . . she hasn't forgiven him yet." He remembered how back at the old school, the blond had been so optimistic that he would be allowed to come back. How even when he was fired, he always thought of Mel first. And now he was dead before accomplishing that small thing. He started crying as his fists tightened, ignoring the silver blade cutting into his palm. Vash was going to slaughter that angel.


Wait? Faye had said that there was a fight between Mel and Lil? Knowing those two, it wouldn't end until there was a corpse created. A sense of dread filled him as he remembered when the signal stopped. "Faye? How did it en- Who . . . who won?"


Watching Faye cry like that, Vash couldn't help but feel rather awkward. What were you supposed to do in that sort of situation? His sister, Maria, was almost always smiling. And Mel, well Mel didn't really do the whole sad thing, did she? How was he supposed to make Faye feel better? Give her a llama? But where was he going to get one on such short notice. Besides, he was sad here as well. But he supposed he should do something at least. He put out his hand and placed it on her head, petting her, sort of. "Um . . . it's okay?"


As Macal ordered for personnel to carry Riff away, Vash shouted, "Drop him!" He then turned to the war god. "Sorry, sir. But don't you think his . . . family should have a say in what to do with him?" Vash was referring to himself and Mel of course. Riff's parents were dead and there were no blood relatives they were aware of. Riff wasn't his brother or anything, but they were still a family, right? Their weird, and maybe even dysfunctional family.


~~~~~


Mel raised an eyebrow at Raina's little bout of jealousy-but-not-jealousy. "Sunshine, you should be grateful to me for giving you an opportunity to see your little boyfriend half naked." With that comment, Mel decided that she had shown enough weakness already to kill her three times over. Straightening herself in Chameleon's arms, she did her best to compose herself. A worthy effort, but with her red eyes, tear and blood stained face and her rather sloppy appearance, it was probably not as effective as she would've liked.


As Faith spoke about taking care of Riff's body, Mel turned toward the headmistress. "I want to bury him in my hometown. Next to his mother. It shouldn't take more than a day to do and since classes are already cancelled for tomorrow, I . . . I think I should give him that at least." He deserved to rest by his mother, not in between a couple of strangers. Especially after all that she had put him through during their years together. Having to sleep outside or in the attics of some buildings. Being targeted by random bounty hunters. Not to mention that one kidnapping incident.
 
*Mac held Liza tighter then looked up at Vash and spoke to him calmly so not to upset Liza anymore then she already is.* Calm yourself son, until all the details are in I'm not willing to speculate on anything at the moment, we know Riff was mortally wounded, from what looks like combat, Raina is with Faith they are investigating this situation, in the meantime I'm having Riff's body taken to the infirmary so his body can be dealt with. Understand this clearly, I will not order another lockdown at the moment, I think doing that would do more harm then good right now, However I'm asking everyone here to go back inside and not speak about this until the investigation is completed. Please go back inside now, Sheena, Liza lets go there is nothing more we do here. Nickie, you could come back to our quarters if you want, I'm sure Liza would enjoy the company. *He starts to walk back towards the building once the medics are gone with Riff's body.*


*Alex now shower and changed clothes decides to finally face the music from Sheena and Faith, pretty sure Mac won't have a problem with him leaving like he did because recovering an agent under his command is a high priority. Still getting yelled at by Mac is not out of the question either. Making his way up one floor and into the wing where the Cord's Quarters and knocks on the door, when no one answers he leans against the wall and decides to wait.*
 
Nickkie looked around at everyone gathered, she knew what was happening, but it was still a little hard to face, this was her first encounter with death, and though it wasn't someone that she knew, seeing death was not an easy thing, the worst was seeing those that did know him cry, what was that like? To lose someone that you knew, to have them there one moment, and then to just see a corpse the next? She looked up at Sheena as she walked toward her, and suddenly she was being hugged for the second time in one day, she hugged Sheena back, closing her eyes, "I know that it will be okay for me, I didn't know him.... but for those that did.... how long will that take?" she asked quietly, she slowly pulled back and looked up at her as she mentioned returning to her room, Nick slowly shook her head, she didn't want to be alone.


She looked at Vash as he yelled out, almost as if she expected another fight to happen, but as he calmed down, continuing to speak in a calmer voice she relaxed. When Macal started speaking she wasn't really listening until she heard her name, she nodded slowly, "Yes, that would be better." she said, better for Liza to have company, and much better than being alone. She hugged Donnie to her chest and then slowly followed Macal.
 
"That's fine, Mel, we can arrange for that," Faith told her, nodding. She maintained enough distance from the girl to not be invading her space, but yet stayed close enough that if somehow Mel did require physical support, she would be close. "I'll get right on that. If you can come with me and give me the name of the town and phone number, or I can find a way to look it up...we'll take care of him, I promise you."


She hadn't mentioned Lil's body yet. Clearly this would also have to be taken care of, and in her head she asked that Macal discreetly begin this process, also asking if Liza was okay.


As Macal began to carry Liza towards their quarters, Sheena followed, reaching to take Nick's hand. She felt sorry for the little girl, who seemed to have no real family of her own or even close friends. She looks frequently between her little sister and Nickkie as they make their way through the academy and up the stairs to the Cord quarters. Sheena herself is troubled; how many more people will die, how much more chaos can happen in a single morning?


She comes to a halt as she sees that Alex is already in front of their doorway, and she backs up, dropping Nickkie's hand. Even Liza lifts her head, snuffling, and looks at Alex curiously.


"You got back fast," she said, but Sheena was less generous.


"What the hell are you doing here, cancel your big hero trip already?"
 
Faye was slowly calming now after Vash 'comforted' her, feeling herself becoming numb - a state she used quite often currently - and so she had stopped her crying now as Vash asked her who won, she sniffled slightly and gave him the tiniest of smiles, "Mel won. She's back in her own body now," At least some good came out of this tragedy. She was sure Mel wouldn't have won unless it was through killing Lil.


She watched as Vash shouted for Riff to be left alone, and she noted how he said 'his family' She knew he was talking about himself and Mel of course, and she whole-heartedly agreed. They were a family, she had always seen the odd trio as such, so it was their choice what to do with Riff's...body.


Then of course, Macal had to go and ruin her current state of stableness. Calm yourself down? First of all, Vash was INCREDIBLY calm considering he'd just seen his practically-brother dead! He was much, MUCH calmer than Faye had been with..Myra. And you don't tell someone to calm down when they've just seen their dead brother either! That's wrong! Vash should be encouraged to yell, and get sad and mad, it's what you're supposed to do! Macal was speaking like he was Riff's brother! Like he was looking at dead puppy rather than a young man who had been full of dreams and hopes and wishes!


"You asshole!" She didn't even bother to think as she yelled out after him, flames already eagerly licking at her fingertips, "How dare you tell him to calm down! His brother just died! Are you made of STONE!??" She continued to screech, not caring if he was listening or not, "If that was Liza or Sheena on the floor there would you appreciate me telling you to calm down!?! NO! So don't be such a jerk!" She took in breath, then continued, eyes ablaze with anger, "And what happens to his body is none of your damn business! You're not his Father or his brother so don't tell Vash where it goes or what to do with it!"


"GRAH! You're so annoying!" She was mainly getting out her own frustrations now, "You walk around acting like you're all high and mighty, like everyone should be scared of you and respect you because you make some damn lightning tricks happen, when really you're just a big jerk who abandons people when they need him and tries to control things that have nothing to do with you!"


Fine, that bit about abandoning mayyyy have been a snide comment relating to herself, Raina and Myra, but that didn't matter right now. All she could think about was how angry she would have been if Macal said these things to her after Myra's death.


"In fact, I'm super glad that you weren't there when Myra died if this is how you would have handled it!" She was shaking visibly, but she managed a glance at Vash, remembering this was his brother, not hers, and she shook her head, trying to calm herself, "You want me to go with you to the infirmary? Or do you want to go see Mel first?"


************


Raina glared at Mel, and just as she growled out, "He's not my boyfriend!" Leo spoke at the exact same time, "She's not my girlfriend!" They both gave each other a glare - Leo's albeit was more sheepish - but both fell silent as Mel told them what she'd like to do with the body. When Faith agreed, and the silence fell once more, Chameleon shifted slightly, "Okay..um, we should be getting back then. It's still raining a bit, and Mel's been out in it for way too long to not be getting pneumonia or something."


Raina snorted lightly at that, "Yeah sure, you mean you're getting tired of carrying her and want to get back so you can put her down." Chameleon just rolled his eyes and began heading back to the school with Mel in his arms and Raina and Faith hopefully following.
 
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