I woke up in some sort of hospital bed. There were no windows in the room and only a single dim bulb in the center of the room. There were five other beds all full of girls. I recognized both Sable and Candy. All of them were sleeping soundly.

I was kind of surprised at the inclusion of a hospital in a world where you could easily come back from the dead and instantly heal all injuries. Maybe the younger girls didn’t take the resurrection process as well as Victoria had.

I was tempted to roll over and get a few more hours of much needed rest when I was interrupted by the muffled yelling of two voices in an adjacent room. I slid out of bed and realized I didn’t quite have my center of balance yet. I felt drunk. I giggled as I stumbled across the room. Giggled? That sounded weird.

By the time I got to the door I felt a bit more sober and stable. I felt the strange thrum of the green energy in my chest. It wasn’t as violent as before and it felt as if something had contained it. A brief reach inward and the new barrier’s signature was obvious. Victoria realty did like building walls.

I opened the door and was greeted by my new friend. My sword rested on chairs positioned as a sort of waiting area. I retrieved it and examined my surroundings. I recognized the area instantly. This room was down the hall from the resurrection circle in the main office. A few doors down I could hear Miss Wintry and Victoria going at it.

I walked down the hall and stood outside Victoria’s office. The receptionist saw me and was about to make a comment when I held my finger to my lips and pantomimed ‘shhhh.’ She opened her mouth for a few seconds but then closed it like a gold fish. She had a very concerned look on her face. I attempted to listen in on the conversation the two were having.

‘You think that barrier will hold…inside of her?!’

‘It will have to. I’ll keep remaking it if I have to.’

‘And how well did fixing the Psychic Veil go? Don’t think I didn’t see you try.’

‘That was regretful. I would have very much liked to reset her first day here.’

‘You’re unbelievable. She has a softball size ball of Aura in her and you can’t stop trying to find ways to force her to take her bond!’

‘It has to happen! Now more than ever! The Aura will kill her if she doesn’t!’

‘Then send her back!’

‘Who is to say the Aura won’t follow her soul and kill her on the other side? This event is unprecedented!’

‘Well that seems to be a common theme with Samantha.’

‘Samantha. Is that what she decided to go by? Good good. A name will ground her here. Has she made any friends yet?’

‘Can you focus for one minute?! No Unbonded have ever taken in Aura and lived. They are not even capable of it naturally. What if she can utilize it? How did she even absorb it? What are you not telling us about her?’

‘No. It’s too risky. We keep it bound until she makes her bond. Then she can use it.’

‘And if she still refuses?’

‘That’s why I need you on board with this! Her life is now at stake! You have to trust me on this! So much stands in the balance and you would rather play politics!’

‘Trust you? You refuse tell us anything! Your powers are almost nonexistent now and you’ve lost the backing of the Fairy Queen. And now the barrier around the school is failing. Step down, Victoria!’

‘That was a fluke!’

‘I don’t care. I’ve already sent a letter to the King. We will let an independent auditor decide.’

‘You what! North! How could you?!’

The conversation had moved on to things which did not interest me. I had learned a few fun things. I apparently had a ball of foreign energy in my body that would likely tear me apart. I admit it was nerve racking when it entered, but it didn’t feel that hostile right now. Maybe it was the barrier around it. Another mystery to solve. Blue got hit with it too, so she could give me some good intel on what it was good for.

I walked out of the office and wished the receptionist a good day. As I exited the school I was surprised to find that it was dark outside already. I had apparently slept the better half of the day. I returned to my room and sat on my bed. As I wasn’t tired, I got out the pad and pencils. I had some work to do.

-

I had spent the night diving in and out of my two new memories. The one of my mother was a treat, but I hadn’t spent much time in there. I did have a photo-realistic sketch of her face now stuck to the mirror of my wardrobe.

I now had a full third of the notebook filled with detailed pictures of the combat memory. The exosuits, the mutants, the weapons, the vehicles. Heck, I even drew the plush manticore. I had scoured every image I could remember over and over looking for clues into my home world. I thumbed through the pages until I stopped on the monster.

The biggest part that stumped me was the cross existence of the Troll. In my world, I remembered it as mutant beast. An oddity created by chaos and science, but this world called it a Revenant. If it was a natural occurrence in both worlds it might make sense that it existed in both, but the Revenant were also considered aberrations of nature. Where was the link?

I heard the chime of the morning bell and realized then that the sun was up. I picked up five apple cores from the ground and stored them in my locket. I was going to need to get a waste basket for my room.

 I went through my morning routine but decided to head to the cafeteria instead of going straight to class. I wasn’t really so interested in eating food as I was in finding Blue. I tried to slink in the side and look around but my entrance made a stir anyway when a girl I didn’t recognize saw me and dropped her tray full of food in surprise.

The whole room fell dead silent and everyone froze and looked in my direction. Apparently more people had seen my fight with the Troll then I had thought. I felt my face flush red with embarrassment and I wanted to slowly walk backwards back through the double doors. I was interrupted in planning my escape when a familiar head popped up from the crowd.

‘Sammy!’

She practically fell out of her chair and stumbled through the horde to get to me. She ran over to me and gave me a very aggressive hug.

‘Oooof!’

Was Blue always this strong? I felt like I was being squeezed by a constrictor. It was then that I noticed a new addition of light blue highlights in her otherwise monotone blue hair. I attempted to push her off me but she was unrelenting.

‘Alright Blue! Lay off. Down girl!’

‘Don’t worry Sammy. Mommy is here for you!’

She made kissing noises as she puckered her lips. I pushed against her face until her head was far enough back that I could flick her forehead. I may have overdone the force because it instantly turned red and she let go. She pouted as she rubbed it.

‘Awww. Kid Sammy was more fun.’

‘What? What kid?’

‘She means when you were acting like a kid.’

Green maneuvered her way through the crowd as she spoke. The cafeteria had mostly returned to how it was before, although a few were still staring. I noticed that Green had subtle changes as well. He eyes seemed a bit larger and her ears a bit pointed and longer. She looked skinnier and taller.

‘For about an hour after you were brought to the infirmary, you acted like you were a lost little kid. Marina calmed you down and even got you to play a few games until the Headmistress came in and kicked us out.’

I felt my ears burning from the rising embarrassment and anxiety that enveloped me. It took a lot of will power to not just run away. I had to change the topic quick and get it out of my mind.

‘So that green energy really did a number on me, I guess. What was it called, Aura? What is that stuff anyway?’

‘Ah, you mean Upgrade Juice? We sip it down and build up these guns!’

Blue raised her arms above her head and then pulled them down into a flex. I was actually surprised at the size of her biceps. They weren’t massive but looked like something you would expect on a swimmer’s body. I took notice that her shoulders were a bit broader and her form a bit more boxy too. Green just rolled her eyes at the show.

‘What she means is that we can use Aura to sort of power up our fairies and increase our power.’

‘So you just feed it to your fairy and you get stronger?’

‘Sort of. We can kind of direct the energy in how we want to grow. As long as it is in line with our fairies’ traits. That way we can maximize out combat efficiency. The Alter we use to do it is by the Magic Studies auditorium. I will take you there after class.’

‘Thanks, Green. I owe you.’

‘Are you kidding? The amount of Aura I got off of your kill more than pays for it. I’ll see you after class.’

We both turned to Blue who was still flexing. Her face was turning red and she was making a funny noise.

‘Chuuuuuuuuuuuuu.’

I turned and waved as I walked out the door. As I rounded the corner I swear I heard Blue screaming about a cramp. Upon returning for Miss Wintry’s class, we were informed that classes were canceled until lunch due to an emergency teacher meeting. I took it as an opportunity and traveled to the Forge. Unfortunately the door was locked with a note on the door.

‘The Forge is closed until I return from a stupid meeting. Don’t touch anything!’

Fortunately, the hole I had made earlier was still present. Fickle things like rules shouldn’t stand in the way of progress! I slinked through the hole and searched around the shop for the materials I was looking for. I pulled out my magic dream journal and got to work.