Monday

Naively unaware of what Madison could possibly be doing on the other side of the door, Owen shrugged in response to Nicola, sticking his hands in his pockets. He knew he shouldn't have to thank her, but he knew it was the polite thing to do. There wasn't an immediate response, and Owen wondered if it had really been the right decision to come here after all. If he was sick, he would have liked people to come visit him, but he forgot that he wasn't everybody else, and that Madison really might not want people coming to see her.

When she finally opened the door, Owen felt relieved, glad that it hadn't been the wrong decision. He hardly took notice of the glazed look in her eye, taking it instead as evidence that she truly was sick.
"I know," he said, shrugging his shoulders up in an attempt to look at least a little sheepish. "I-- We just wanted to see if you were alright, and if you needed anything." And he wanted to say he had missed seeing her in the hallways that day, but he stopped himself. She was sick, and he had brought Nicola; she didn't need anything else to bother her.

Waiting for the door to open might've killed her in the next few seconds. Part of it was her own impatience and the other half was the possible knowledge that Madison had gone and done something stupid as hell; she didn't want to explain it to Owen and she definitely didn't want to deal with the faculty. When there was a loud creeeek, Nicola let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding, the familiar bundle of dark hair prominent against the sleek wooden doors. She glanced over at the taller boy at the corner of her eyes before shifting back to Madison, a cat-like gaze narrowing as she inspected her features.

While Owen was trying to explain something, Nicola took it upon herself to figure out what was wrong. Dead-looking eyes that betrayed weariness and desolation, as though no light could penetrate through them. She craned her neck a little higher, in hopes of seeing anything behind that could give her a hint. Knife, gun, pills, anything. But there was nothing of the sort. Only a stray object resting on the couch that she couldn't make out clearly. Too blurry, on her weaker side of vision.

Did Madison hide everything before coming to greet them? Was that why she took so long?

She rolled her eyes once she fully processed what Owen said in her mind. Jabbing him gently with her elbow, Nicola replied, "What he means is that he misses you." Her throat cleared itself before she straightened up, one hand on her hip as the other hung limply at her side. With another quick glance to the dorm behind them, she let out a soft huff. "I don't remember you telling me not to come." She reached into her pocket for her phone, skimming over her recent texts to confirm, and blue eyes locked themselves onto Madison.

" 'less you want me to leave. Which I can't do, by the way." Nicola suppressed the smile that was twitching the corners of her lips. It wasn't meant to be funny. Hieta wouldn't let her leave, even if she wanted to. "So... yeah. You're kinda stuck with me for awhile."

"I'm fine." She looked like a child, certainly sounding like one, and when Nicola brought up that she had to stay, Madison's heart sank. Why? What was keeping her there? She fought the urge to shut the door in their faces, and bit her lip. "Do you want to come in...?" She certainly didn't want to let them in, but she had already stepped aside, opening up her room for them to step inside. She'd probably have to change. The girl felt a little dirty; sure, she took a shower the previous night, but she had been putting on pajamas each day. Nothing too formal, and there was the sweated feeling of laze and hermit-life on her forehead. Perhaps opening the window was nice. She'd have to do it again after they left.

At Nicola's jab, Owen rubbed his side good-humoredly with a nervous smile directed at the floor. He shrugged, neither confirming nor denying the claim the girl had made. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nicola craning her neck to see into the dorm, almost like she was looking for something specific. That was rather rude of her, he though, to just look past her friend. It was his first indication that there was something else happening here, and he suddenly wanted to know what it was exactly.

Madison stepped aside to let them in, and Owen did so without hesitation. The dorm was rather tidy for someone who was sick. He knew that at home, when he stayed home with a cold, he would have his place on the couch. It would be surrounded by tissues, empty bowls of soup, a dog at his feet, and various papers from half-hearted studying. He didn't want to question it, however, so he merely stood just inside of the door and tried hard to look anywhere but everywhere.

Nicola took another odd glimpse at Madison before shrugging off her words and sauntered inside, wasting no time to flop onto the couch. She leaned back, practically feeling at home in her friend's dorm - all dorms were the same anyway -, blue eyes scanning the vicinity. Just like when she was a bit further off, there wasn't anything really noteworthy that could potentially lead to a problem. The living quarters were tidier than the ones she shared with her roommates, but there was still some signs that they were normal teenagers. It wasn't complete disorder. It wasn't completely squeaky clean either. Some bits and pieces of plastic bags here and there, paper plates sitting on the table, and sheets littered small patches of the floor. Not too bad.

She pulled her hands upward into a stretch, taking care to not mess with her hat. Once she was done, Nicola lifted her head, leaning back on the catch, keeping her focus on the ceiling. There was only so many ways she could go through with this and one wrong move would result in an undesired consequence. She had to think this through. Or was it worth the risk to wing it and hope that everything works out? Those were the policies of an idealist, were the not? An exasperated sigh resonated in the awkwardly quiet room. "Just so 'ya know, my brother's been spying on people as his pastime." Her words were nonchalant, unabashed by the actions that he had taken and still sounding so sure of herself.

"Made me come talk, and I need to fix things with you." Nicola never liked be wrong in her actions or anything along those lines. That was the life she held - an infallible genius. But, there were so many things that could be counted as flaws. And that day was one of them. A major flaw. She prided herself in her ability to socialize and talk to people easily; she never took into account her directness until everyone constantly pointed it out. A few words were muttered underneath her breath before there was an 'ahem'. "Sorry 'bout the other day and all." No need to elaborate or get all sentimental and shit. Straight to the point.

Her body shifted a little to her right and her hand itched itself a few centimeters away from its original position.

Madison closed the door as they walked in, breathing slowly as they came in. She rubbed her eye, her clear one glancing at the window, and back at Nicola. What did she say about her brother? She didn'r really care. "It's fine," she murmured, like she hadn't gotten much sleep. It wouldn't be much of a lie to say so; she leaned over her counter. "I've already forgotten all about it," the girl lied, pushing the bowl she left out into the sink. "You didn't have to come."

It felt like something was hanging in the air between the two girls. Owen was afraid to say anything, positive that they would somehow work it out if he just stayed out of it. The feeling in the room was tense, however, and he was suddenly worried that maybe bringing Nicola hadn't been the best idea. He glanced between her and Madison, becoming hyper-aware of everything in the room.

Desperately, Owen tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. Instead, he continued to stand and watch them, feeling a lot like a lamp.

If Madison told her that maybe a good thirty minutes ago, she wouldn't have come. But the few minutes Nicola had been lingering in her dorm was enough to tell her that something was off. No, even before that, she knew. Madison had skipped class today apparently and had been acting like a complete shut-in. It was pathetic to watch her try and hide it like it was nothing. There was a never-ending silence passing, Madison's words sinking like an anchor drifting to the bottom of the sea without anyone to pull it back up.

Think...

Her fingers curled into a fist, inching further away from her body, left leg shaking in frustration. Something seemed to be ringing in her ears and Nicola bit her lip, half-willing it to stop. She shouldn't have an outburst right here, right now. The moment that happened, it would be another thing going downhill. Madison sounded so exhausted, and as nobody could find the right words to say, Nicola didn't know how to react.

Turning her head over to the window for a few moments, she let her mind do the talking. It was useless to try and find a better solution at this point. She couldn't think. Her head wasn't clear. This was all too frustrating - she hated it. A question that she couldn't solve, couldn't find the answer to. "You 'forgot' about it?" Her hands raised themselves, creating the quotation gesture. "That would be fine and dandy and I'd believe you if you didn't sound so dead."

"What the hell have you been doing in here?"

Madison's expression did not change as Nicola barked at her once more. She was like a rapid dog, snappy and relentless. It pissed her off, but her mouth didn't waver, and her deadpan sleepiness lingered. Nicola. She hated Nicola. Why did she have to die for Nicola?

"Shut up," she said, leaned on the counter, holding her head as if it ached, because it did, pulsing under the pain of her resentment. No more. She'd do this no more. She'd be this no more. The lightbulb above the oven shattered with the sharp ding of tungsten. The sun waned to the darkness of the room's corners.

"Shut up!"

A snake coiled over Madison's back, a giant serpent, purple scales swerving over her head. Onyx pincers were latched to its amethyst form, its eyes dead to any form of benevolence, and it jerked belligerently, to the arm-twitch of Madison, striking like a cobra over Madison, crashing into the girl, and it latched her to the wall, pincers squeezing around the girl's body. Figures, humanoid figures, insectual figures, all appeared from the endless space behind Madison's back, and she held her head, not even looking, eyes cast down to the pain of her head, and these figures moved, crawling over tables and walls, surrounding Owen and Nicola like an infestation. A lanky woman crept out of the room across, Madison's room, and it went against the wave of twitchy monsters, moving towards the girl who controlled this. A chance, a chance, a chance, it charged against the force of the crowd that stopped before Owen, hissing and spitting at him, almost waiting on a command. They didn't notice the woman; New Mother.

Everything changed so rapidly, Owen barely had time to react. He was frozen against the wall, watching the creatures in horror, shocked that someone like Madison could possibly produce such things. In fact, if Nicola hadn't been pinned to the wall, he would have assumed that, somehow, she had done it.

They stopped in front of him, clearly waiting for something to tell them to continue. Fear shot through his body. In desperation, he looked up to Madison and saw a woman. The way she moved reminded him of the other creatures, but she was different. Owen knew nothing about her, but he didn't like the way she looked at Madison, almost like she was hungry, almost as if she were finally retrieving a prize that should have been hers ages ago. This wasn't safe, he knew it, but what could he do? He wasn't close enough to do anything to stop her.

In a moment of panic, Owen yelled, "No!" At the same time, he harnessed all the light in the room, pulling it towards himself and then blasting it outwards to every inch of the room, banishing all of the darkness from the area. He didn't know what it would do, he wanted to help, and it was the only way he knew how.

Fuckfuckfuck.

This wasn't what she had intended.

Good fucking God, she should've kept her mouth shut or found a better way to confront Madison about this whole thing. A normal person would've been less direct or something, right? Nicola was still acting on impulse. People can't change overnight, let alone in half an hour. For all of that confidence and determination she had to fix things before, it turned into a living nightmare. Her teeth clenched themselves as the light bulb shattered and the room warped into an eternal, bleak abyss, only the tiny bit of sunshine filtering past the curtains. This wasn't what she wanted.

Jumping to her feet, Nicola reached for her wrist, ready to grab her sword, only for a group of monsters  to viciously shove her towards the wall. She couldn't fight back and her back smashed into the divider loudly, her expression twisting into a wince. A quiet, shaky billow of air filled in front of her and her eyes closed. Mutilated body parts crawled all over her, and she tried in a futile attempt to break free - or at least move her own head - but it wasn't working. Chills shivered down her spine.

The grips loosened for a few moments when a voice blared and light washed over the entire room, breaking it free from the dark spell. Under normal circumstances, she would've let her guard down or wince from how bright everything was. But this wasn't normal. Taking the opportunity Owen gave her, she muttered a few words under her breath, a red blade cracking out of her skin and emerged. Her hand reached for the hilt and once it was removed, the entire thing hardened without leaving so much as a slit of crimson. Hallucinations... wait no, they weren't anymore. They were completely real. Burning eyes turned back towards her and a horrific screech echoed in the eerie hall.

This wasn't anything too bad. There were worse things than the amalgamations in front of her. Nicola had fought enough demons to keep a decently clear head. That would've been the case. But her own anger, restlessness and exhaustion was thick in her eyes, and there was desperation. She hated it. Without thinking, silent phrases rang from her mouth and a crumpled feather emerged in her hands. Fix everything. Was this the way to do it?

Only one way to find out.

Just as her own enemies were about to crash into her, her leg shifted and she bounded upward, writhing in the air as her finger brought itself into a gun-like gesture. A bloody red sphere ripped through the ether, forcing a hallucination down, cutting its body cleanly in half. Landing gracefully on the ground, a whirlwind of slashes steered clear in the room. From where her shot had smacked onto the floor, a flare burst from it before dissipating.

Shit.

One hand held itself out, palm facing towards the general area as she tried to focus and keep some of the creatures away from her. Leaning backwards, Nicola backflipped, her heel contacting the chin of one hallucination, and she used her sword as a pole, digging it into the floor, and spinning with her feet. She just had to cover for herself... and Owen. Just for a few moments, until the creature would arrive from the depths of hell and she could do something for Madison. God, could Owen even fight? The thought crossed her mind and her expression darkened, her teeth gritting themselves against each other.

Another flare erupted. With a small sigh of relief, she cut off the spell just as a shadow emerged. A humanoid-like creature arose, red eyes flaring with an unfathomable hatred. The face was shadowed, chains wrapping around its arms and dragging it down with weight. Cracked was the rib cage, capturing a vermilion globule that sparked inside it. A spinal chord floated above its back and bony wings protruded from the area. With a massive swipe, it threw a few of the former-illusions off to the side. Owen should be okay. The demon was under her control and wouldn't attack him.

"Command: protect humans."

With that out of the way, Nicola made for a mad sprint for Madison, hacking and slashing her way through, only to be completely blocked by a literal wall of monsters. Goddamn. Even if she made it through, what could she do against the one keeping her captive? That stupid thing could dodge decently and last time... Last time was...

Fuck this. Fuck it all.

A tiny smile broke on her features and for the first time in awhile, she was having actual fun.

"No way in hell I'm giving up just like that." The feather in her fingers slipped and slid in her hands, and Nicola raised her sword behind her, gesturing the monsters to come after her, taunting them with a mocking tone. "Let go of my friend, you assholes. Pick on someone your own size."

It was like they were protecting their queen. The monsters shielded themselves from Owen's light at first, but they were too far real, and hissed some more. A womanly figure wearing a flesh-colored sunhat jumped on him, tackling the boy to the ground, scratching at him with long nails.

Meanwhile, Nicola faced a larger onslaught, her being the receiver of Madison's loathing, and multiple creatures went at her; a dog/bird hybrid chomped at her with its beak, razorblade teeth wedged within it. A hairy humanoid with huge claws stabbed at her, trying to impale her. Meanwhile, New Mother crossed, and had reached Madison, and with her bodyguards preoccupied, grabbed the girls head, raising it up to look at her. Madison did not look too good. Tears streamed down her eyes, and she peered up at New Mother wildly. A chance, a chance, a chance. The huge monster seemed to smile on its stitched mouth. It traced the girl's cheek with a slender claw, wiping her tear and replacing it with blood, the finger carving a deep gash across her face.

It didn't work. The blast of light didn't work. Owen was too surprised to immediately react to the woman-like creature that tackled him to the ground, her large sun hat flopping in a way that made his stomach turn, its flesh-color looking horribly wrong. The nails it wielded scratched at his face, his neck, his arms, any exposed skin it could reach. He felt the sting of the cuts it created before he was able to throw up his arms in a weak shield.

He cried out as the pain reached him. How could something that wasn't real be stronger than him? His energy was drained from how much he had exerted with the blast of light, but it wasn't as low as it usually was after this. Panic flooded his mind. What if he and Nicola didn't make it? He had come to this school to find a better way to harness his power, but now, because he wasn't a great friend, it was going to end.

Shitshitshit. She completely miscalculated.

When one of the former hallucinations had zipped past her and thrown Owen to the ground, his agonizing cry caused her spin on her heel and look at him as her eyes widened in shock, completely dropping her guard. Her sword was gripped within her fingertips tightly, knuckles white. This was stupid of her. Even after all of that determination and confidence that she'd fix things, the moment she had noticed something was off, she had called Madison out on it. It would've been fine if she had chosen any other way besides what she had said. Old habits couldn't die, could they? She had been too direct. Too straightforward. She could've been more polite, more gentle about it. But instead, she had been the fucking fool who went straight to the point and was more than passive-aggressive.

Look where that got her and the people around her.

They were practically being eaten alive.

Nicola clenched her teeth, whipping back to her own enemies and violently slashing at them without so much as remorse in a crimson flurry. She quickly backstepped to gain more ground and room to attack, the blunt of her blade knocking the ghastly human-like figure away just as its claws were so close to piercing right through her heart. What she hadn't noticed in her stupor, redirecting her demon to knock the mutilated person off Owen, was the avian canine charging right at her, razor-sharp fangs digging into her ankle. Her teeth bit her lips to hold back a scream, a soft hiss seeping as she threw her sword straight into its head.

The clamp it held, even after death, was tight. It was almost as though it was embedded right in her, and all of her movements were completely slowed down by its weight, the slumped body dragging across the floor. She was confined to one spot, rooted down by invisible vines. Swinging her sword was a more and more difficult task without decent footing; she couldn't get a good grasp on the floor. Her eyes turned over towards Owen and then to Madison - Dammit dammit - neither of them were in a good position either. The demon was weak and had already scattered to dust. She didn't think it would be this bad.

How did she mess up so terribly? Nicola readjusted the sword in her hands, the hilt threatening to slip out. It was that monster again... Great. Madison was going to get killed. Owen wasn't much of a fighter. She didn't want to deal with this anymore. Her breathing had grown ragged and heavy, beads of sweat dripping down her forehead. Consequences... consequences. She got them all killed. Where the fuck was the help from staff? Didn't they have video cameras or something?

One shot. She had one shot. If she threw her sword perfectly while New Mother was distracted, a blow to the head would be good enough to save Madison. If she missed, it risked impaling the girl somewhere. What was worse, if the beast turned around and grabbed the blade to use for itself. All of these hypothetical situations weren't helping. There weren't any facts that could aid her. Nothing. Nothing. What was the point of being a so-called genius if you couldn't do something as simple as rescuing a friend from impending doom? This was fucking shit.

She'd been too impulsive and now, when her rash nature would probably help her the most, she was hesitating. Was it really worth it to go with that plan? Was there any other plan?

Yes.

"Hey Madison."
The little girl turned around from her preoccupation, the daytime glint of the metal swing as it reflected the hot sun. She found a flower, in the hand of her mother, a kind woman with no face. The lavender glowed velvet as the sunset sky, and Madison smiled widely at her mother. "It's yours," her mother said, and scooping up the giggling girl, wrapped her arms around her and stuck the small flower into Madison's brownblack hair. The stem weaved into her locks, and it stayed, and Madison felt like the most beautiful girl in the world. Her mother was great, her faceless, nameless mother, her old mother, where was her new mother, was she not there?

In the hesitation by Nicola, Madison snapped out of her trance. She looked up at New Mother, her horrible face, blinking innocently, and promptly slapped her hand away. The monster gave a snort, a disbelieving glare, and before Madison could run, she felt the grip of its slender fingers around her neck. Gripping, choking, glass exploded behind her, digging into her back, her shirt giving way to blood blossoms. She was held up, and promptly rushed backwards, feeling the boomerang of air against her gut as she was flung across the room. And in a time before she could process her pain, process the air around her, she was by the window, still unsure how she got there, but there. The window, the sweet portal of release. New Mother crossed over the room, batting hallucinations out of the way, clouds of purple dust exploding through the dormitory air. New Mother shoved Nicola to the side without acknowledgement. And the air was congested, a stale air; Madison glared over her shoulder, her bleeding body, and she opened the window. The night's navy serenity welcomed her, the calm envelop, and the closer New Mother came, the more Madison inched further into, out of the tall window. Her mother longed to kill her. Was her old mother dead? She longed to feel flowers in her hair.

The girl stepped up onto the window sill, facing the clamor, the catastrophe in the room, her friends feeble against the backdrop of darkness, the foreground's moonlight reach. Madison spread her wings, arms high at her side, toes gripping the base of the window as she watched New Mother draw closer. When the monster's slender fingers reached forward, stretched out to scratch her pale nose, Madison's foot drew back, and she let herself drift down, closing her eyes to a dawning winter's chill as she began to fall. Their queen, their queen, the hallucinations cried out with alarm, turning to their maker and promptly running in adoration. This was their protection, this all was their protection. They dove past New Mother, falling towards Madison in hopes of cushioning her, in hopes of aiding their princess. She reached the ground on a bed of flowers, of lavenders, in an explosion of purple dust, the demise of her creations. Her eyes never opened, shut when she came to a rest on the garden.

All but New Mother were gone of Madison's conjurings, and she watched from windowside, staring out, wondering what to do. Her job had to be done. The will to finish the job brushed past the monster, and it turned to move downstairs, but seeing humans, she changed her approach. Giving a roar to Nicola, a despicable holler, she darted into Madison's dark room, and vanished.