Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 3: Bad End?

[SinrXIII]

What.

The.

Fuck.

Kohana repeated this mantra several times in his head, following close behind Diana. He'd abandoned trying to keep pressure on his wound; it was becoming increasingly difficult to run with a hand clapped over his shoulder. He experimentally flexed the fingers on the arm affected by that shallow cut; still moving, which meant he wasn't in deep shit just yet.

That didn't mean things could get easier though, did it? No. Of course not!

Several figures appeared in the path they'd been taking, and the wolf-boy could only snarl halfheartedly in response.

"And of course I have a plan! I always have a plan! Everything that has happened in this battle since we first began has been according to my design!" She raised a triumphant fist, the camera bangle dangling from her wrist glinting with ominous light. "Though I did not expect those guys," she continued, looking ahead to where their path took a sharp right.

"Really? I thought this was absolutely normal by this point. At least tell me you aren't surprised." Regardless, the pair surged forward, undaunted by the incoming hail of fine eatery.

Kohana, despite bleeding from the shoulder still, managed to feint to the side, breaking away from Diana and using the wall to pass over the group that had been obstructing their path. He ran up the side and, as gravity reminded him it was still annoyingly in effect, he pushed away with his legs and landed next to the redhead just as she shouted something about forgiving him and his cousin.

"City girl, if we make it out of this alive, I promise I'll give you whatever interview you like." He glances over his shoulder to make sure Hie is still following, and sprinted right behind the camera girl.

[Arhra]

As she lay crumpled in a spreading pool of her own chill blood, Jo knew she had failed utterly.

With her dark eyes blank she lay curled on her side. She'd bet and she'd lost. The barrier had been almost as bad as she'd feared. The possibility that its strength lay in specialisation hadn't occured to her. The thought slipped away. Moving. That hurt. Lying still. That was easier.

Jo lay there feeling her ruined body and wondered what it had all been for.

Darkness roosted about the edge of her vision. No auras this time; unconsciousness creeping up to wrap her in its comforting, velvety folds.

In the end, she supposed, there was no choice at all.

* * *

Largely surrounded by shimmering planes of fire above, to one side and ahead, Jo confronted the Masked Sorceress, seemingly outmatched. Dal burst into the scene and knocked into her, sandwiching the jotun between the pair. Jo gave an oumph as the air was knocked out of her, stepping back to regain her poise.

"Listen, I can handle this." the tall, elegant, dark haired and gossamer winged boy said, eyes darting over where the other Jo lay beyond the firewall and back to the Jo at his side. "She's too good for you. Go make sure the others are okay."

Jo shook her head, moving sideways in a quarter circle to flank Marisa. "I can continue." the jotun stated, enunciating each word with an iron resolve.

* * *

One of Jo's bloody hands clenched.

Her aura flickered madly around her as that arm slowly slid across the slick ground, tucking itself under her body. Her mangled hand warped back into a frozen talon as she used that arm to leverage her torso up into a kneeling position.

Hunched over as she pulled herself together, Jo's robe shifted as the wounded section of her back transmuted into a jagged edged mass of crystalline ice. The jotun twisted one leg around, using her arm to steady herself, getting a foot under her body. From there, she stood up, right shoulder rolled forward and arm hanging loosely as if the weight of her claw was a heavy burden.

Her face framed by dishelved bangs of icicles that had sprouted from her head in a crude, hacked off approximation of hair, Jo shuffled back toward the fray, leaving a red pool and a pair of high heels behind her.

* * *

Exploring the spiral staircase, Jo's remaining double found that she'd emerged practically on top of a quintet of strange robots, which had fired... broken pieces of crockery at what looked like Diana's more attractive sister and a strange person with dog ears. Much to her surprise Diana shot right past with fantastic athletic ability, flinging a dagger back offhandedly as she did. Kohana ran on the wall in a similar display of unexpected athleticism.

Very quietly, Jo retreated a few steps back down the stairway and waited for the robots to pass.

[Teal Mage]

Note: Will be editting an updated map into my last discussion post - PMs may also come later this evening.

"Fuck!" Heat radiated outward from the steadily spreading pool of green tea beneath the bare feet of Sao Opallios. The dark haired girl adjusted her grip on the scalded and sodden shape of Jay Miles, desperately struggling to haul the youth to safety. "We could use some help, here!" Sao shouted, as another pair of tea-bombs closed - followed quickly by Princess Teanne.

As if in response to Sao's plea, Shinobu swept in. Roaring her outrage, the red skinned Oni charged through the slowly cooling tea-puddle - into the path of Teanne's explosives. Shin's spike-headed club lashed out, shattering the closest of the teapots in mid air. A sphere of scalding liquid erupted. Steam billowed and waves of heat raced outward, as Shinobu vanished in the translucent green mass. The second pot - caught in the first's blast radius - erupted soon after, adding a second sphere of boiling liquid to the fiery conflagration.

Black hair billow behind her, Teanne appeared above it.

She landed lightly, throwing up drops of tea, as the spheres behind her ruptured. A wave of tea - knee deep - swept outward, leaking heat enough to warp the gold-tinted air above it. Spinning in place, Teanne's hands locked together once more. A new teapot appeared, before flying at the - still steaming and now drenched - shape that was Shinobu.

Shin was utterly consumed in the next blast.

When it cleared, Teanne was closing again on Sao and Jay - leaving the thoroughly steamed Oni to simmer, quietly, under the field's cloudy sky.

At least she'd bought her classmates some time.

* * *

Throwing herself forward with all the strength in her undead body, Astarte leapt to meet her Puma foe in mid air. Bandaged arm tensed behind her head, she narrowly slipped passed the cat's sweeping claws. Her fist flashed forward!

It was like punching an oncoming train.

The puma barely seemed to notice, as the force of its lunge drove the mummy's arm back. Astarte suddenly found herself borne down by the cat's weight and thrown hard to the tiles below. A heavy paw slammed down on the arm Astarte hadn't used to punch the cat, pinning it to the ground. The mountain lion's maw - ice covered still - lowered until it hovered inches above the fire-head's face. A low growl issued -

Before a bolt of air slammed into the side of its head.

Stumbling, the Puma lost its footing, and its heavy paw vanished from Astarte's arm. Growling again, the massive cat's head snapped up, golden brown eyes fell on Jack, approaching from the south west. Cautiously, the cat backed off Astarte, eyes wary and fixed on the wizard.

What good timing!

* * *

Making her way through the spreading puddle of cooling tea, Sao seemed intent on guiding Jay to the south-west tower's entrance. Blue supernatural light played over the pair, as Sao's healing power caused their collective burns to fade. Patch-by-patch, their heat damaged skin was healing, the angry reds of their bodies replaced by healthier shades. Though effective, Sao's forced healing was only partially complete - moving still hurt, but at least breathing didn't.

A pair of forks whisked past their faces.

Teanne was closing quickly, her mechanical body allowing her to catch up with the pair easily. Her steak knife - once more stowed in its hidden sheath - had been replaced with a set of forks, butter knives and sharpened spoons. Black hair trailing, and red aura burning around her, the ninja launched herself into the air. Silver flashed from her hands!

And utensils pounded the tea-slicked tiles around Sao and Jay. Remarkably, none had done more than graze them.

Teanne landed in front of the pair, steak knife in her hand again. "Monster girl!" She levelled the weapon's point at the Class President Elect, "For my servants and husband, I will exact vengeance!" Three sharpened spoons appeared in her hand.

She hurled them at Sao!

These ones, unfortunately, were well aimed.

* * *

"Triginta septem," Hannah whispered, waves of blond hair framing her pretty face. Filled with hate, her green eyes were pinned on the darkly clad Professor Landry standing on the opposite side of the marble tower. "spiritus silices, coeuntes -" In her hands a longbow of green-tinted silver was held. Upon a seemingly imaginary string, an arrow of sharpened stone rested - levelled at the auburn haired woman opposite Hannah. "-tunc incedo caelum!"

Smile fading, Professor Landry brought a hand to her chin. "I believe." Thoughtful, the woman's dark brown eyes rested on Hannah's lips, and a frown slowly appeared on her forehead. "That is Latin, or at least an attempt at it." The auburn haired professor glanced toward Professor Shuyin. "Your doing, I assume?" She called, voice carrying to the winged man's position.

Professor Shuyin cracked a golden eye open, before shaking his head slowly.

"- Sagitta Magica," The hand on Hannah's bow went white, as her muscles tensed. "Series Silex!" She released!

Blue energy flared, spreading out in a brilliant starburst of light from her bow and obscuring Hannah behind it. From its center a dark blur streaked outward, racing toward Professor Landry. Auburn hair billowing, the darkly clad woman slid to the side, bare arm snapping out. Her hand closed upon the fired arrow, snatching the stone shaft from the air as it passed. Around her, an inferno of blackness raged.

"Hm." Raising her captured arrow to her eyes, Professor Landry appraised it critically. She's scrapped her hand when she caught the projectile. Then, "That's all?" The auburn haired woman asked, before sighing and throwing the javelin dismissively over her shoulder. "How disappointing." It struck the circular firewall around the central tower, exploding in a blast of white light.

"I'm afraid I'll need to revise your grade to a C -"

Around her body, blue supernatural light raged - an inferno to match Professor Landry's own - as Hannah swept her free hand down. "Inimicum frendat!"

High above the tower, thirty-seven stars of blue light floated. At Hannah's a command, they seemed to pulse. In a flash, they were falling - each a comet of solid blue fire - streaking down toward Professor Landry.

"Oh." Staring into the quickly falling projectiles, the Professor's expression had become unreadable. She returned her gaze to her student. One of her fingers flicked upward. "I did not know you could do th -"

A series of impacts sounded, as the comets rocked the marble tower. Chunks of stone burst upward, accompanied by gouts of smoke and dust, as the floor was pulverized by Hannah’s spell. Blue energy flared upward in wild columns of light, splitting the veil of debris. Professor Landry – and her black aura – vanished completely in the conflagration.

"Did I get her?" Hannah breathed, eyes slightly wide. It almost looked like she was surprised at the effects of her own attack.

* * *

In the dimly lit, pale fog shrouded, hallway, a wave of deadly edges swept down on the charging pair of Diana and Kohana. As if planned, the classmates broke in opposite directions, one making for the balcony, the other the wall. Behind the pair, Hie put on the breaks to her own charge and let out a maniac laugh. Pale aura flaring, the coyote-eared girl snapped a gesture behind herself, and a black bladed sword appeared in front of her.

Red hair billowing, Diana launched herself from the north balcony. The sound of whistling wind erupted behind her, as the robot's spell swept over the place she had occupied a moment ago. Instants after, her high heels clicked sharply on the tiles of the east hallway. She spun left, drops of liquid spraying around her ankles, and hurled her stolen dagger toward the nearest robot.

It lodged itself in the silver skinned creature's head.

Emerald light flared around Kohana, as the youth's leg's tensed beneath him. Standing vertically for on the north wall, a current of edged daggers swept through the air just below him as gravity fought to pull him down. Inhuman strength poured through his legs, as Kohana launched himself forward! With arcobatic skill, he flipped over the robot blockade and burst through the edge of Hie's fog bank, before landing heavily beside Diana.

They'd escaped.

* * *

White light danced and swirled around Marisa, as the sorceress fell into a wary guard stance. Expression unreadable beneath her featureless plaster mask, the woman's white irises slid coolly from Dalbhach to Johanna, as the pair quickly conferred. Twin walls of crimson iridescence glowed at her back, translucent surfaces offering a glimpse of the original Jo. Though her aura surged and boiled, the girl had yet to move.

"Listen, I can handle this. She's too good for you. Go make sure the others are okay."

"I can continue."

Dal fell into a practiced duellist’s stance, sparkling green eyes watching Marisa warily. Jo pushed herself to her feet. Resolute, the girl padded to the side - seeking to gain a better angle of approach. Behind her white mask, Marisa slowly dipped her head in a nod. "Well then." Moving slowly, the blond woman raised her gloved hand, the broad sleeve of her dress slipping down her arm. "Let us continue." Marisa murmured, hand closing on her purple shawl.

She sprang forward.

Her slippered feet landed soundlessly a few paces in front of Dal. She feinted east, before unfurling her shawl in a sudden motion. She threw it into the space between them, intent on using it to obscure her movements, and faul Dal's own. Dress billowing behind her, she emerged in a burst of fluid motion to the west. Right arm defensively interposed between Dal and herself, she lashed out with her left - if her fient had worked, she'd have an opening.

If not, she'd just have to deflect his rapier, and press her assault.

Further to the east, a new firewall sprang into existence. Connected to the others, this one ran parallel to the eastern platform's edge - effectively cutting the trio off from the purple void that surrounded the Field of Honor.

* * *

Diana ran down the east hallway - as fast as her shapely legs could carry her. Keeping pace easily, Kohana followed the red-headed directress, his dark hair billow like a cape behind him. Behind them, Hie's supernatural fog bank had stalled. If the sounds that rose from it were any indication, the coyote eared girl had engaged the robot blockade, and was having a wonderful time.

Diana would never forgive her for that.

The dim hallway around them blurred passed - the dark brown stone that made up its walls seemingly becoming redder with every step they took. Straight ahead, the pair could make out another mass of the darkly clad, silver skinned, robots - clustered in the south-east corner of the second floor of the Field of Honor. Another figure, in a bright yellow dress, wove through the crowd - cutting down the robotic beings with wild sword strokes. Red auras rose from the corner, so solid that it was difficult to distinguish where one ended and another started. Still, it was clear that the girl (?) was vastly outnumbered.

Abruptly, Diana stopped.

They'd reached their destination.

A large hole gapped in front of her. Perfectly square, the opening was cut directly into the brown marble that made up the wall of the east hallway. Beyond it was another hallway; with even worse lighting than the one Diana currently occupied. In spite of this, she could make out a faint square of white at its far e -

Something cool dripped onto her neck.

Coming back to reality with a start, Diana realized something. Her ankles were wet.

In fact, her feet were wet too. A glance down revealed that red liquid had been spattered over the girl's pale skin, and now coated the bottom and sides of her high-heels. Periodic specks of the same substance had found its way onto her back and neck - and into her hair. Kohana was similarly speckled, though the liquid hadn't managed to get through his clothes; he likely wouldn't notice unless Diana pointed it out.

But, as the redhead looked - really looked - at her surroundings, the thought of doing that might have slipped her mind.

Names covered the floor. Written in jagged red letters, and placed in orderly rows, they surrounded the directress and stretched out to fill the hallway in all directions. The red ink - it had to be ink! - they were written in still glistened wetly and the smell of copper permeated the air. How hadn't she noticed before? If she looked back, she'd see a trail of smeared red that had marked the path of her reckless charge down the hallway. It appeared that she'd smeared countless names beyond recognition.

Had she looked around, she'd see more names - staring back at her. They covered everything, the ceiling, the east-wall - the stone hadn't been red, it had been covered in red letters! - and the balcony behind her. The drop that had fallen on her neck was from a name on the afore mentioned ceiling.

And there were even more of them in the adjourning hallway. Now that she looked, she could see they were packed closer together down that corridor - the stone of its walls was almost completely obscured. Unlike the hallway she currently stood in, the new - darker - one was also clearly less even. In fact, it looked more like a natural cave than a hallway. At its far end - Diana could now clearly see - a door. Painted a solid white, it seemed out of place in the red smeared darkness of the passage around it. Ajar, a weak light issued from behind it. Hues constantly shifting, it reminded Diana of something a TV in a dark room would give off.

Diana's senses, unfortunately, were pulling her straight toward that door.

...

This might be a good time to stop listening to them.

[Girasol of Chaos]

The pain was beyond brutal. Had Shin been able to scream she would have, but only silence spilled from her maw as the two tea bombs seared her flesh. Too busy trying to stay standing, the oni girl failed to notice that Teanne landed and summoned another teapot. Shin's reflexes kicked in just in time to see the next explosion, drenching her and her eyes in the tea. This third blast engulfed her and she collapsed, for a moment not quite feeling the pain.

She wished the moment lasted longer, but the oni's composure was gathered barely enough to let loose a scream to rival a banshee's. Shin would have kicked herself for being weak, but there was no room for that thought. The oni's flesh felt as in a constant inferno, and the tears that attempted to wash the tea from her eyes did nothing to stop that pain or blindness. Writhing on the ground she managed to roll to the edge of the puddle, attempting to remove the source of pain from her now-peeling skin. Her throat weakened from the sudden, high-pitched outburst and she silenced herself.

Shinobu's ears honed to hear Teanne's footsteps charge towards Sao and Jay. Fuck! Anger and regret fought to keep her conscious and was losing, tormenting her that her new friend and a teammate would suffer the same pain.

Blind, humiliated and defeated, Shin had no choice. The embrace of unconciousness was too sweet, and her body could not fight it off any longer. Not even comprehending anything beyond the end of the pain, darkness enclosed her mind and she fell limp. Only upon this collapse did her fingers relent their grasp of the kanabo.

[Krylo]

Dal's eyes traced Marisa's movements as she leapt forward and tossed the shawl, silently wondering for a moment exactly how amateur she believed him to be as he flicked his eyes down to watch her her foot work, extrapolating her movements from there. She would be attacking from the west.

However, she was unarmed, and he was okay with taking a single blow if it put him at a greater advantage in the long run. He moved to his right, following the shawl, shifting his stance ever so slightly as though he expected her to attack from behind it and, leaving an opening for her to strike on his right side with her left hand, which she took. A feint upon a feint.

When she struck Dalbhach's right arm came down, hooking around Marisa's arm, his elbow locking around her forearm and pinning it against his body, as he quickly swiveled, the sudden grip yanking at her in an attempt to pull her off balance, as he swung his left hand up, still wrapped around the grip of his rapier, directly toward her face, even as he pulled her into the blow.

[Riin Whitewind]

"Brace yourself." With that scant warning, Sao twisted and released her deathgrip on Jay. He crumpled to the floor behind her, laying on the mercifully cool tiles of the battlefield's floor. The light that had been pouring between the two halted, leaving patchy glimmers of magic over the worst areas.

Dropping into a roll, the swimmer ducked under the flash of silver. Her faithful sword recalled into her hand, Sao leapt back to her feet. "I may be a monster, yes!" She looked tired, bedraggled and soggy, but not monstrous. "But you lot attacked us!"

Shifting her weight, the Class President Elect lunged forward to protect her classmates.

[Overcast]

Jay lay breathing on the cool marble floor that Sao had left him on. His form a pale and shivering waste of human flesh. The scars that marked his back all the more visible against the canvas that the pain from the burns had caused on his pallor. Knees pulled themselves below legs, and hands met marble to push his body up.

Feet curled on marble as knees pushed the body up, eyes stared desperately around for something to swing, hands grasping and hoping for fate to intervene. Heart beat heavy enough that his ears were pounding. A soft curse fell from his lips as the same eyes calmed their fleeting search, and moved to stare in the direction of the sharpened objects that had been flung at him and his savior.

He closed his fist, hoping it enough of a weapon to serve against all these blades, his mind told him no. Yet still his feet pushed him forward, running toward the robot, as his mouth opened wide, screaming loud till his vocal cords were raw,

"Just fucking die!"

[Steel Shadow]

Diana stepped forward. Her high heels clicked, once, twice.

She stopped. Her head turning to look at the wall. Blue eyes narrowed as she tried to pick out one of the names written there. "Lucia McGriff." A pause. "Huh."

She looked back to the door. It was still calling out to her...

In her head, new calculations were being drawn up. This had started as a 'quirky high-school' plot, then evolved into 'school with a secret' overnight. Then it had hit 'martial arts free for all' when the duels had begun, and the strange shift in the world hadn't really changed that, just made it more dangerous. But this...

Names on the walls written in something red which apparently dried a lot slower than ink. A mysterious corridor leading to an out-of-place white door, bad lighting and now, a creeping feeling of dread that ran through her whenever she looked at the hallway...

This is turning into a horror genre story, Diana faintly realized.

In a trance, she found her body walking forward. Her first step into the hallway made her black aura writhe, and it diminished to a flickering, frail, outline around her body. Like an addict, she found her steps wavering, as she moved slowly toward the door. Sure, dreamily, her thoughts flowed through her head, eyes fixed on the distant door, I could quit. Her expression firmed, But I don't want to.

I need to know what's back there.

Darkness surged around her, and she straightened. Strength filled her limbs again - a strange radiance seeming to come over her body. The colors of her tattered dress grew vivid - the blue brilliant, and her hair a lush red. If Diana could see herself then, she'd have no doubt that yes, she was the main character.

Was this all just random chance? She wondered, No, that's not important. I know why I'm here.

Come on, something in her head - not her voice - urged her, it's waiting for you...

Step, step, step. She tried to avoid smearing on any names on the floor, but as she walked on, avoiding them became impossible. They were just too cluttered, too crowded in. What the hell's with these anyway? Her eyes were on the floor, They're not really written in blood, right?

With a start, she realized her hand was reaching for the door's handle.

Someone was laughing.

She could hear it, somehow, but she knew it wasn't coming through her ears. Laughing at me? She couldn't tell. But it was just getting her on edge. This is stupid. She nodded firmly, hand closing firm on the doorknob - it was cool. Just open the door.

"Kohana." she said calmly - not looking to see if he'd followed or not. "Maybe you should go see how Hie's doing? She should have been here by now, and I know you don't want her to get killed doing something stupid while she's crazy."

If he'd followed her this far, she didn't want to drag him further.

He had promised her an interview, after all!

She pushed the door open.

[Astral Harmony]

Throwing herself forward with all the strength in her undead body, Astarte leapt to meet her Puma foe in mid air. Bandaged arm tensed behind her head, she narrowly slipped passed the cat's sweeping claws. Her fist flashed forward!

It was like punching an oncoming train.

The puma barely seemed to notice, as the force of its lunge drove the mummy's arm back. Astarte suddenly found herself borne down by the cat's weight and thrown hard to the tiles below. A heavy paw slammed down on the arm Astarte hadn't used to punch the cat, pinning it to the ground. The mountain lion's maw - ice covered still - lowered until it hovered inches above the fire-head's face. A low growl issued...

"Somebody get this pussy out of my face!" Astarte shouted while struggling with the puma about to tear out her more or less useless throat.

And then a bolt of air slammed into the side of its head.

Stumbling, the Puma lost its footing, and its heavy paw vanished from Astarte's arm. Growling again, the massive cat's head snapped up, golden brown eyes fell on Jack, approaching from the south west. Cautiously, the cat backed off Astarte, eyes wary and fixed on the wizard.

What good timing!

Astarte's whole body ached as she struggled to her feet and got her distance from the puma. "As a mummy, I alledgedly don't have a brain. Yet somehow I still feel pain as though my nerves work as intended. Ishn't dat veird?" Astarte said to herself, then tried to ignore everything else that was going on. The puma needed her undivided attention. Still, all that was going on was getting really distracting.

Fighting against a double-whammy of vertigo and agony, Astarte thought she saw Professor Landry vanish in a peppering with some kind of radiant blue projectiles. Astarte refocused on the puma. She couldn't possibly do anything other than fight her own battle.

She had bruises, but no blood. Her bones ached, but not in the kind of way that suggested they were broken. And the knuckles on her right hand were almost immobile from the impact shock, forcing Astarte to keep her right hand clenched in a fist.

[Teal Mage]

Soggy and bedraggled, Sao relinquished her grip on Jay. Diving forward, the swimmer dodged beneath Teanne's thrown silverware. "I may be a monster, yes!" Behind her, the partially healed form of Jay lay still on the ground - he might have been knocked out. "But -" Springing up from her roll, Sao's aura flared blue. Corrosive light gathered in her right hand, scything out and forming her Corrodere Blade again. Sword flashing, Sao lunged for the robot. "- you lot attacked us first!"

With agility befitting a robot-ninja, Teanne jumped away. Sao's attack met only air, as the faceless princess's hands darted to the hidden pockets of her black tuxedo. "It is no crime to stamp out evil!" The butler cried, aura flaring. Her arms snapped out in another flash of silver.

A new spray of sharpened silverware flew toward Sao.

"Just fucking die already!" Teanne landed several paces away from Sao, as Jay let out a cry of frustration. Surprised, the dark haired robot's knife lept into her hand, as she spun toward him. Surrounded by a burning corona of chartreuse energy, Jay swept up on the robot, and drove his sharpened spoon into her chest. His arm, strengthened by magic, plunged after it.

Blinding black light exploded.

* * *

Green eyes slightly wide, Hannah allowed her bow to lower a fraction. "Did I get her?" The girl whispered, blond hair swaying slightly around her face. The blue supernatural flames around her body began to dwindle, as the echoes of her spell faded. A column of dust wafted silently upward into the cloudy sky and, after a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Wind whistled in her ears.

Flash Step!? Letting out a soft gasp of surprise, Hannah spun round. A shape had appeared behind her, tall, dark and -

A blow of massive force slammed into the side of her face, throwing her across through the air, and into the veil of dust on the tower's opposite side. With a clatter, the girl struck the crater poxed marble and, like a limp doll, bounced to a stop. Miraculously, keeping hold of her bow, Hannah lay there, stunned and panting.

Wind whistled again.

Gasping, the girl's aura flared and filled with black flecks. Blurring in place, she sprung away. A massive impact of force struck the place she had been laying on a moment ago, spraying chunks of marble outward.

Landing lightly, Hannah's bow snapped up. Aura glowing bright around her arms, she drew back on the imaginary string of her weapon and an arrow of energy formed -

A bolt of force slammed into her stomach, and, she doubled over in surprise.

Wind whistled, and she suddenly felt a presence at her side. I invoke the Con- Another ringing impact of force cut off her thought, as something slammed into her side - sending her flying. This time, when she hit the ground, she let out a pained gasp. A sickening snap sounded, as she felt something inside her break.

She rolled to a stop, panting, at the tower's edge.

* * *

Bruised, aching and battling vertigo, Astarte stumbled to her feet again. Her right hand was clenched into a fist, but hung limply at her side - the puma's pounce had injured it. Slowly, she backed off.

Loosening a soft growl, the Puma's eyes flickered between her, and the pair of male students nearbye. Jack continued his slow approach - his blue aura appeared stronger than before; apparently the rest had done him good. Sean, meanwhile, had not moved much. He seemed content to stand back, and allow the others to deal with the mountain lion. Slowly, the three youths were regrouping.

Without warning, the Puma spun round and bounded away.

It vanished into streams of magic-mint light.

…they'd won?

Just to their north, a series of impacts rocked the tower in the field’s middle. Dust rose in a billowing plume from that high platform, and as a pained gasp exploded into the air – it sounded like someone was losing. But, the circular barrier of glowing red light still surrounded the pillar-like structure – still, Professor Landry might be in trouble…could they afford not to risk it?

To their west, a pair of dark flashes exploded into the air. In the east, a figure – oddly angular and seemingly deformed – moved across the top of a raised platform, in front of a box of red light. Within that cube, impressions of motion could still be seen.

Whatever they did, it was definitely too soon to relax.

* * *

A knife clattered to the tiles.

Jay Miles, shirtless, shoeless and with only a faintly damp set of boxers covering his legs, found himself standing in front of a pale-crystal statue. His arm was extended through a hole in its torso. Panting, the young man suddenly felt his strength drained - as the surge of supernatural energy faded, leaving him weak.

Many paces north, another flare of dark light issued.

!

That was where Shin had been!

A statue of crystal had taken the Oni's place. Diffuse golden light reflected off the many mirror-like edges of the pale-blue, vaguely masculine, shape, making it glint brightly. Seemingly fused with the tiles below it, the statue lay unmoving in a steady spreading pool of green tea - it was difficult to tell if it was face up, or face down.

* * *

Soft carpeting, pale grey in color, met Diana's blood soaked heels as she stepped into the next room. Ears ringing in the sudden silence around her, Diana's eyes blinked rapidly, adjusting to the room's light. Distantly, she realized that the whitenoise of her supernatural senses had vanished - leaving a strange emptiness in their wake. It was as if she'd entered a bubble of calm.

Bare stone walls painted eggshell, a shade of off-white, surrounded her on four sides. She was in a small, cube-shaped, room.

A single bed, unmade and covered in thick white covers, dominated the middle of the wall to her left. Opposite it, a small television lit the room with mute and constantly shifting light. Upon its screen, cartoon figures in the style of Japanese Animation played across brightly coloured backgrounds. Beside the TV, directly on the directress's right, was what appeared to be a folding door, likely leading to a closet. It was slightly ajar.

The wall across from Diana was dominated by two tall bookshelves, one set in either corner of the room. A smaller, waist high, shelf filled the space between them. All were wooden. Books filled the taller of the two shelves, most were small and colourful. A handful of larger hard-cover tomes were interspersed among them, though. Brightly coloured figures littered the middle shelf - though from this distance, Diana couldn't make any of their features out.

Directly in the room's center, small teddy bear lay facedown on the carpet.

A Child’s Bedroom, then.

Had she looked behind herself, she may have been surprised to note that the door had closed. More surprisingly, perhaps, was the warm golden light that leaked beneath the doorframe.

She may not have been surprised, however, to find that it was now locked.

* * *

Closing swiftly, Marisa rammed her left hand into Dal's stomach. The elegant youth accepted the blow, folding into the strike and skilfully lessening the damage. His right hand snapped out, diving beneath the woman's extended arm and trapping it against his elbow. Pivoting, he yanked her forward, and lashed out with his own left.

Marisa seemed surprised when Dal's fist, still clenched around his rapier, struck the side of her face. Her mask was knocked free by the blow and sailed to the north, landing with a clatter onto the tiles. Marisa tumbled to the right; thanks to Dal's grip, her descent to the marble below was halted, with bare inches to spare.

Blood dripped from her cheek – the Fae's fist had cracked her mask. Even now, blood was rising from the flesh between Dal's own knuckles, from cuts created by splitters of plaster. Marisa's long blond curls had fallen over half of her face, veiling one of her white eyes – and shading the other. She was -

Smiling.

A fifth firewall sprang up, to the pair's north. Muscles suddenly tensing, the Sorceress gathered her slippered feet beneath her in a rush of kinetic force. She drove right side – and shoulder – at the Fae's chest. To their south, a series of nine green cubes appeared, and a new ball-segmented worm formed. It blocked the circling Jo's approach.

Hissing, the new creature launched itself forward. Its motions – far more fluid than the ones before – were disorienting to watch, as acid dipped from its vicious-looking teeth. At the last moment, it changed its course, head snapping downward. The monster's maw would cut through Johanna's robe, and brush deletion acid against one of the girl's ankles – if she didn't dodge.

Meanwhile, regardless of the success or failure of her shoulder charge, Marisa turned her momentum into another strike. Her right arm straightened, angled like a wedge between them, elbow pointed at the place where the Fae's ribs ended and his stomach began. Driving it downward, she closed her left hand (still, possibly, held captive by Dal) on the Fae's shirt. Assuming he hadn't dodged before and she got a grip, she'd yank him forward into her strike - like he'd done to her.

In the unlikely event that her combination attack worked, and she weakened his grip on her left hand, she'd use it to follow-up – with powerful upward palm-strike to his jaw.

But even if he did dodge, Marisa still had him trapped inside a box of magic destroying fire.

* * *

Behind Diana, the white door shut.

The sound of impacts, echoing piano notes, nonsensical singing, gleeful bursts of laughter, the sound of shattering dishes and metal clanging against marble filled the blood-painted cave Kohana stood in. The light from beneath the doorframe was slowly fading away - as if the source casting it was being moved.

He couldn't move.

Something was holding his limbs in place - he couldn't even blink. Before his eyes, the door Diana past through began to blur, shape warping and fading to white mist - revealing another patch of names, hidden beneath the wood. With a chill, he realized they all had the same last name.

Landry.

"Well." Something warm closed on his blood slicked shoulder. "That is an unnerving coincidence, isn't it?." Customary labcoat covered with blood, Professor Landry stepped up beside Kohana – and the dog-eared boy felt the force on his limbs vanish. Auburn hair hanging free around her face, the studied the names on the wall – expression unreadable. "This," She added, voice sombre, "may have been for the best."

"Now then," With a smile, the Professor spun around toward Kohana. The hem of her labcoat swept over the stone beneath her feet, smearing the blood-written names it touched and making them illegible. Her hand snapped out, pointing back toward the battlefield, "Let us rejoin the fight! This hall is too dreary for an educator of my calibre. Come!" She extended her other hand to Ko -

A growling black shape – surrounded by a corona of green light – lunged at Professor Landry from the right.

Letting out a cry of surprise, the auburn haired woman was knocked from her feet. A grunt of pain followed, as the Profesor fell heavily to the blood-soaked stone below, something black flowing up her chest. It stopped at the woman's throat and Kohana saw a flash of teeth –

Professor Landry started laughing.

She had been tackled by a small dog - and it was licking her, happily.

More surprising, perhaps, was that Kohana and Professor Landry were suddenly in the center of the east hallway again. Smears of bright red liquid surrounded them, as if someone had come through and obliterated all the names that had once littered this corridor. The entrance to the cave leading to the mysterious white door had vanished, replaced by a wall of unbroken marble stone; it was as if it had never existed.

So strange.

* * *

Shin felt something cool on her forehead.

"You," Above her, a woman spoke. "did well." Soothing and gentle, the speaker stroked Shin's burned face with a damp cloth. To the Oni's heat ravaged flesh, the sensation was heavenly. "I am very proud of you Shinubo." The washcloth was retracted momentarily, before returning to her face, freshly wetted.

The voice fell silent, the woman above her seemingly content to gently brush the cloth over Shin's head. Slowly, the red-skinned Oni's senses were returning to her – she was on her back, on something soft – a bed? Cool softness surrounded her limbs, cradling them gently and muting the sting of her wounds to a dull ache. Blankets? When the Oni opened her eyes, all she could see were vague blurs of color – too indistinct to make out. But, most of them were white.

"I wish I could send you back." The woman was speaking again, voice hinting at an emotion, below its calm cadence. "But not just yet. Wait a little longer." Another short pause followed, "It was my hope that my gift would protect you from this." She added, "But, I suppose it didn't suit you – perhaps it will be more useful later."

The cool cloth continued to move over her face.

"Just a little longer."