#morgan fitzpatrick

Emma, John, and Milo stood from the place they’d claimed in the corner. Emma held tight to the frying pan and her brother’s hand, smiling confidently at him. They passed by the open bookshelf with Milo nodding at the ghostly woman.

Even for the summer, the entire academy was eerily silent on the inside. Boards and nails covered the windows (or most of them,) while the doors were blocked with desks, cabinets, and in some cases piles of homework the Halloween students never really bothered with, anyway. The students themselves were contained in the cafeteria, and while some knew what was going on, there was quite a few who remained clueless as to why bumps and noises could be heard from the outside. Unbeknownst to them, bodies of the living(un)dead from Halloweentown repeated rammed into the school, hoping to get their hands on ripe, plump, easy pickin’ brains from the students! The teachers were holding council right outside of the cafeteria, stumped and confused as to how to keep the students safe, unworried, and hopefully as out of the mess as possible. Haar, Sally, Morgan, Fred and Alice were as perplexed as ever, and all of them could feel eyes staring them down from somewhere…. Alec, leaning on a cafeteria windowsill, tiredly looked around to the faces of the other students. He was only half-done wallowing in self pity when a THUMP on the opposite side of the boarded window made his heart race, and he quickly took a few steps back. Even though he was safe, it still was pretty nerve wrecking! Surely the teachers could figure something out but, as for right now, they were REALLY taking their time in doing so! He sat in deep thought for a moment before deciding to look around for familiar faces. Eris rubbed her eyes, whatever that book did, it messed her up her magic was weighing, she was grogy, for some reason she was in the cafeteria? she looked around for someone to explain what was going on. Having found the cafeteria’s stock in the kitchen, Emma had taken to stress eating. Currently she was working on a bag of pretzels, while Milo cooked up “real food” for the others. Sure, Emma had seen Halloween Town before, and had even met undead students! That still couldn’t shake the extreme uneasiness she felt towards the zombies clawing at the  windows. The thought sent her shoving another handful of salty carbs into her mouth. Emmy rubs her arms up and down shakily as she glances around the room. She didn’t like the paranoia in the air, not one bit. On top of which, she was feeling sick, really sick. Her hair, usually floating about her sjoulders, was dripping straight to the floor creating a sort of trail from thw puddle to the top of her head. She couldn’t levitate, and her bones ached with a chill so deep she thought she was going to freeze. Huffing with a shiver, she sets her mouth in a hard line, trying to focus on the texture of the table. Getting sick in front of everyone was the last thing anyone would have wanted, especially her. Glanceing up slightly, she skims over the heads of the students, unable to s tem her own curiousity. What in the world was really going on..? Martha grumped inside her head as she sat at the lunch table. The moss child from earlier had decided that locking her into a seat was safer then having her walk around. The gale of some people!  She wasn’t even craving “Braaaains” The words spilled out of Martha’s mouth. She would have recoiled in horror but she had no control of her body. She wasn’t even sure she WOULD attack someone if she was let out. She wasn’t even a little huntgry. Well, the more she thought about it, she was actually in the mood for some icecream. But otherwise, no! Milo stirred a pot of tofu noodle soup. Comfort food for uncomfortable times! He leaned down and took a whiff, then sighed happily. All done! A few moments later, he’d set the pot on one of the cafeteria warmers and clapped his hands to grab attention. “Soup time!” Keeva didn’t look it but she internally was really scared at the situation, yes her cousin Romulus was originally from halloween town he never mentioned anything about the undead that she recalls. She tried her best to keep her composure but well it’s hard when your entire school is surrounded by the undead, so the best thing she could do is protect her friends and fellow classmates. Raphael worked at the counter, thinning dough out with a rolling pin, his mouth almost curving into a smile as he worked. Baking was just so soothing and routine, it lulled him into a state of non-thinking. Flour up to his elbows and all over his shirt, but all of the aprons had been hilariously large on him. He carefully kneaded the dough into the pan and returned to the bowl he’d been using earlier. He’d never made this recipe before, but he had a decent amount of experience in cooking when he was younger. Hopefully this would be done soon enough to prevent even greater tragedy. He smoothed the filling into the dough and slid it into the oven. Geoffrey had said this was a guarantee. Once it was set and baking, he walked over to Emma, wiping off his hands. “Are you doing okay?” he asked, crouching next to her. Eris spotted Alec and started  to make her way towards him, surely HE would know what’s going on “alec!” she called out to him, trying to get his attention Robin sat at one of the cafeteria tables, trying to keep her cool. She couldn’t help but to light up a bit from the inside, which made her skin radiate a soothing yellow. She was biting her lip SO hard it might bleed, but she didn’t care! She wanted SO BAD to tell everyone what was going on, but Haar and Miss Morgan (even though they technically weren’t her teachers, anymore…) told her that it would just worry them even more. And because Robin was a leader, she SHOULD be helping everyone calm down, but instead the guilt of knowing and not telling burned inside her! She scratched her scalp and grinded her teeth before looking up and realizing a new student was right across the table. “I know you,” Robin said outloud to Emmy before her eyes lit up too, “Are you melting??? Do you need a towel? Or…a bucket?” Alec looked up (only ¾ths done wallowing in self pity, mind you!) and approached Eris, careful not to bump into anyone else on the way. “Are you feeling better?” He had started to twist his rings again, but hadn’t really noticed. It was clear to read the guilt written all over his face! Plus, he was still a little glitter-y from the book itself! Shay paced the lunchroom. Sure, he knew his friends were safe, but he just didn’t..feel safe. Maybe it was the fact that there was that..Brain loving skeleton and the impending horde of zombies outside. It seemed the most likely. He just couldn’t nap! If he did, he might not wake up! And he was getting tired.. He decided to make his way to Alec and Eris. They were smart, they’d know what to do. Wren sat cross-legged at one of the lunch room tables. She tapped her nails over the counter and grumbled. Why were people so weird? Why was this school so weird? When did she ever set off an evil spell or get attacked by zombies in Valentine’s Town?  Well, she technically had set off an evil spell before, and she also technically hadn’t gotten attacked by zombies yet… Either way, this was dumb! She lazily watched Shay walk over to Alec and Eris and huffed. She wasn’t going over there. No way. She was definitely not- okay she was walking over there. Haar’s eyes were cloudy as he started at the other two academy teachers. He could have sworn he was doing something, but whatever it was had escaped him. He stood in silence for a moment before a coat hand delivered a very quick and precise slap to his face! Blinking hard and not registering what happened just yet, he realized he had been in mid-sentence!! While he brought a lethargic hand to his face to rub it, he started again, “As I was saying!! There has to be a connection to outside and the academy. Otherwise, Halloween Town would be a far easier target for our…cohorts.” Emmy raises her eyes to the voice and suppresses the urge to recoil against the smell. If she didn’t know any better she would have hated the boy for cooking at a time like this, but she was the one with the bellyache. But jusg as she returned her attention to the table, Robin, and older she’d met before had called her attention. She looks up slowly, her voice echoimg softly in her skull. After a moment, she rellies slowly, “A… bucket?” Did she really look thay sick? Then finally realizeing, she must has been refering to her skin. Smiling weakly, she tries to sit up a little straighter,“N-No, it’s alright. It happens when I’m not feeling well. But, if you could, point the direction to a water fountain…? I’m still trying to get the layout of this place down.” Cici walked over to the counter when soup was called, and gathered as many as she could, balancing them along her arms. She walked carefully back, her eyes trained downwards and taking slow, shaky, deliberate steps. She began setting the bowls of soup down on the table. One where Robin was… had been sitting, one for Franz and one for Hans. She didn’t see Raphael anywhere, and knit her eyebrows slightly. He was…. in the kitchen, correct? She thought so anyway. He would be alright. She set down her own soup bowl and lightly rubbed the red spots on her arms where the bowls had burned her slightly. Spoons. Ahhh, spoons. She jumped back up from the table, apologizing, and ran to fetch the utensils. Once gathered, she returned to the table. “S-sorry about, about that.” she said, setting the spoons down. A loud thump on the window made her jump, but she tried to move on. “Enj-joy!” Eris shook her head to try to clear away her grogginess, “I feel awful, But that doesn’t matter right now.“  she looked over at the window that was boarded up “What’s happening? why are we here.” Keeva walked around the cafeteria almost like a guard dog would looking over every possible entrance to make sure things were safe, her faoladh instincts were unconciously taking over eyeing every possible crevess. She almost felt like it was her duty to look over everyone but that’s just the faoladh thinking, almost like a big sister protecting the brothers and sisters. Keeva wished her cousin was here he’d at least know what to do in a situation like this. Alec thought for a moment before getting closer to whisper to her, “They kinda…followed us here. The teachers think this is the safest place, apparently. Stock the “food” in a cafeteria, real smart…” he mocked the last part before his eyes widened to Shay and Wren approaching. He inhaled and let his chest fall dramatically on the exhale! “I know sitting around here isn’t going to help anything. If you ask me, no one else knows how to fix this…” Shay’s shoulder dropped. “Wait..so you guys..don’t have a plan for this? ..I thought..” He yawned. “I thought you guys would come up with…something..” Eris looked at him confused “They…? they who? who followed us?” she looked up and over when she heard shay “Plan? Plan for what? What is going on?” she looked up at alec “how long was i out?” Robin nodded to Emmy. “There’s one right over there! I…uh…I can carry you if you want!” She looked light enough that Robin could at least help! Fred sat perched on a table, listening to the other “adults” babble. What they should do is let her out there to beat the crap out of all the zombies. Great idea. Or maybe it was just her messed up brain right now. She scratched the side of her face and asked, “Do you guys not have a weapons room or something?” Like wouldn’t that be a first priority here? Emma reached for another handful of pretzels, only to find the bag empty. She sighed, tossing it to the side and shrugging her shoulders. “As fine as someone can be while man eating skeletons are outside I guess,” she mumbled to Raphael. She sniffed and smelled something cooking. “What’s going on over there?” Emmy’s eyes widen as she shakes her head quickly, carry her, oh gosh, she really did look that bad. She couldn’t possibly let her do that, it’d only embarass her, and Emmy, is Emmy melted out of her arms. She wasn’t that bad, she could still stand, right?, “Oh gosh, No no, it’s fine… I couldn’t ask you to do that. I’m heavier than I look.” Smiling sheepishly, she stands, useing the table to keep herself from tipping over. She felt bad, acting so outstandish, but she didn’t want Robin to fret over her. She didn’t want to look like a weakling. Raphael: He glanced to the side, sidestepping the question slightly. “I think Milo made soup. Do you want any?” he asked. Looking around, he commented, “It looks like we’d be stocked here for a long time. Plus there’s pots and knives and things,” knowing full well her weapon of choice ever since the war last year, he commented, “Frying pans…” Alice rolled her eyes at Fred. She was sitting in a fold-out chair, legs crossed and elbow leaning on them, holding up her head. She was getting so sick of waiting, and wanted nothing more than to fix this mess and quick (and clean) as possible, but sitting around chatting was doing nothing for her. She craved action in all honesty, but hearing Fred suggest it just annoyed her at this point. “Perhaps we should use reason,” she started, finally, “And get to the bottom of this mess in its entirety.” Not realizing how condescending that sounded, she continued, “Or perhaps we could just continue our sewing circle, hm?” Robin looked down embarrassed- she supposed It was kind of weird to offer to carry her. Plus, that could be offensive, she supposed. “Okay,” she said, but the second Emmy got up, Robin eyes flashed over to watch her, just to make sure she made it there okay. She wondered how late it was- surely it was almost night now, right? Wren shrugged. She was the last person they should ask.  She could barely make a magic flame. Looking at Eris she guessed, “A few hours? We were in the infirmary first.” Sally: She sighed, sitting in her chair in a pose much similar to Alice’s. She ran her hand through Haar’s hair and asked, “You’ve lived in Halloweentown forever, have you ever seen anything like this before?” The fact that he was related to Jack might help, of course. She glanced at Fred and huffed a little. “As far as I know we don’t have a weapons room at this school. We’ve never needed one, surprisingly. But,” she added, tapping a finger to her lips, “If there /were/ any hiding about anywhere, they’d probably be in the clocktower. That’s where all the storage rooms are.” Alec nodded, “it was a while. You and Gil got to miss the interrogation,” he sighed. “I’m trying to come up with something, really! And by “them” I mean, like, you know, /them!/ The uh… “ he sighed, “the zombies. They came here.” He paused for a moment and puffed out his cheek, “What about the book itself?? Does Gil still have it?” he looked to Eris, hoping for an answer! Shay was a little surprised and very confused. “Book? …still have it? W-what are you..talking about?” Emmy bites her lip, knowing full well there was no way she was going to get over there without any help, and Robin had offered… Pride aside, she manages out after a moment, “But, if you didn’t mind, could you walk me there…?” Looking up at her with a shy smile, laughimg softly despite the situation, “I’m not going to lie, but I think you and I both know I won’t make it there on my own.” Eris put a hand to her forehead “I don’t know,” she sighed “zombies?” she tilted her head “Did…we wake the dead or something?” Robin eagerly hopped up from the table and had to stop herself from screaming “YESSS” at the top of her lungs! Anything other than wallow in guilt was A  -O-K! “Y-yeah, no problem!” She quickly and nimbly put a dripping arm around her shoulder, and used her opposite arm to support Emmy’s! “Wwwhoa!” She said, under her breath, realizing she would soon be covered in goo. That was okay though, at least she was helping someone out! Fred stuck her tongue out at Alice. Whatever, it was a good idea. She sat up straighter when she noticed Sally rubbed Harvey’s head and almost laughed. Harvey, with a girlfriend? Oh my fucking god she was going to tease him so bad! Except he didn’t… remember her… “Well what the hell are we waiting for?” She blurted. “Let’s go get some clock weapons or whatever!” Emmy whispers a soft apology, chewing her lip, feeling awful for well… dripping on Robin. But, it was nice that somone was so eager to do nice things for people… She admired that. “If I feel… slimy, I’m sorry, I’m useally not.” Chuckling softly, she smiles a little. What an odd thing to say to someone. Emma’s eyes grew wide and she jumped up. Any soup sounded great right now. She listened to Raphael as she served herself, holding a bowl towards him when she was done. “Ah good, at least we’re not totally defenseless! Eating is important too though, so soup up!” Raphael: “Yes ma'am,” he said with a crooked grin, taking the bowl from her. Scooting it from hand to hand for a moment, he set it on the counter before digging spoons out of a drawer for the two of them. As he ate he commented, “So… there isn’t anything remotely like this in Valentine Ville. We’ve got a few sort-of creepy people, but nothing close to this. And I’ve only been to Thanksgiving town… once? Twice? Not many times, but I’m pretty sure you don’t have anything like this either, right?” he asked, sipping his soup. Wren was about to answer Eris when another bump on the boarded windows made her jump. “We woke something alright.” To Shay’s question, she bit her lip. “Um… remember that nice tomb at the field trip? There was kind of a magic book in it that /some people/ just had to read from.” She pointedly avoided Alec and Eris’ gaze as she spoke. Still hadn’t asked for help. Robin let out a warm laugh, “that’s okay, a lot of my best friends are slimy!” Well, Chubbs was sometimes, so she’d count that. “Don’t worry though! I have four sweaters just like this one!” Alec glared back, “/Some people/ were against it.” He kept staring before looking down and then back at Eris and Shay. “Now that Eris is up, maybe we should see the teachers. We still don’t know how Gil came back, I don’t think his spell was what did it.” He sighed, “Sorry for getting you in this, Shay.” The table that Robin and Emmy sat at suddenly jolted, followed by a small voice. “Owww.” A little elf..or not so little elf, poked her head out from under it. “Hello, yes. May I offer you a toy in this trying time?” Mint shuffled herself out from under them and pulled off her hat. She proceeded to search it, by placing her arm inside. Milo happily watched someone finally eat his soup. Once the two were done, he grabbed a bowl for himself and tromped over to Franz and Hans. He nodded before setting to work on his meal. Eris muttered under her breath “Uncle Hades is gonna be pissed.” then looked up between alec and wren  “let’s not worry about the blame right now, i’ll admit we screwed up. screwed up big time, but it could have been worse.” she looked to alec “Talking to the teacher now sounds like a good idea. Maybge they have some information we don’t.” Four? This girl was honestly more prepared than she could have been in her entire life, she couple help but giggle a little,“You have, four, or the same sweater? I’d be lucky to not lose an article of clothing f-forever."  Not quite realizeing it, her hair lifts a little from the floor. Keeva laid back and felt so frustrated she almost looked like she was going pull out her hair from this situation. After having collected himself in the bathroom, John made his way back into the cafeteria. He spotted Robin with a dripping girl and Mint and Emma talking to another guy he kind of knew. He finally decided to join Milo, who was sitting with two more guys he’d seen once or twice at the shop. Once settled, he looked at the soup and cringed. /Tofu/. Robin beamed and was about to answer Emmy when she stopped dead- Was that- “MINNNTT!” Robin called out, and motioned for her to come on over! “MINT this is Emmy!! She’s new! Emmy, this is Mint! She’s an elf who makes toys! She’s really good at it!” Cici: She smiled up at Milo when he reached their table. “Did you make this?” she asked, indicating the soup. Raphael had been baking, last she checked, and all she’d seen of Emma was her eating pretzels as voraciously as possible, and Milo had been holding a ladle, so he seemed a likely culprit. “It’s r-really good!” Emma gratefully took the utensil and scooped up a spoonful. She blew on it and replied, “No, definitely not. The closest thing we have are the old women and their knitting circle.” She sipped the soup and grimaced. “Hot!!” Hans was sadly poking Franz, who was across the table, fast asleep. “How can ANYONE BE sleeping NOW?” Hans nearly cried/laughed when he saw Milo. He figured Franz was tired from all the heal-y stuff, but still! How he wasn’t scared was beyond belief. After sighing and giving up, Hans whimpered and looked up to Milo with a sad smile. “Thanks for the soup, freunde! It’s always nice to eat when you’re scared.” After a minute he added “Orrr anytime at all….! ….Are YOU scared?” Emmy smiles anlittle more, recognizeing the cute little elf she’d met her twice before, and loved her immediately,.“Hello M-Mint.” Normally she would have mentioned them meeting before, but she didn’t want to disappoint Robin. Shay made a gagging sound from the bottom of his throat. “….You mean.. you guys..you guys caused THIS?!” Eris shrugged “it’s not the worst thing i’ve caused in my life time.” Mint couldn’t help but smile at Robin’s compliment. “Hello again, Emmy!” She pulled out her hand from her hat to shake it, then made a ‘one moment’ hand gesture. She put her hand back into her hat, grabbing  a ball from it. She threw it in the air, and catched it with the back of her hand. She held THAT out to Emmy. “For you?” Wren pursed her lips. “Well… I’m not saying yes…” Alec thought for a moment before looking at Wren, “Yeah, I’ve done worse.” He added a shrug to fake the casualty. “Could’a, Would’a, Should’a, the point is that we did it and we have to help fix it, at the least. THAT or we could peg the whole thing on Gil… Hahahaha….I’m kidding. We totally have to do something.” Eris looked around, “what are we waiting for, let’s go find a teacher.” Cici: Watching Franz with concern, she bit her lip. She knew he didn’t like to be touched, so what could she do…? She wound up just sliding his bowl closer to him, encouraging him. “H-hey now, don’t, don’t let it get c-cold!” Robin readjusted Emmy a little bit to get a better grip! It was getting kinda hard, she was a tad bit slippery! Kind of like holding a wet bar of soap. That was okay though! “Walk with us, Mint!” Robin encouraged and started for the water fountain slowly. Milo smiled. “No problem,” he replied softly. His smile evaporated into a thoughtful frown at Hans’ question. He slurped his soup before saying, “I guess?” Taking the ball gingerly, she holds it close with a weary smile, “Thank you… I wish I could give you something in return…” She gestures gently to her drooping figgure, “But, I don’t even think a hug would suffice.” She was so weary and achey, but yet people she’d only met just a while prior were already treating her with such kindness, it made her heart hurt. She not be home anymore, but they made it feel just as good here. Mint grinned. “Of course!” She answered to Robin before looking at Emmy, a little sad. “No no, I don’t want anyding! I have too many toys that are just sitting around! Besides dat is the spirit of Christmas town! Giving!” “It’s true!” Robin said, now a little worried because Emmy’s melting was kinda hard to hold! Her face was lit up with a huge smile, but she was walking a lot faster now! To the fountain! To the fountain! When they finally got there, Robin carefully peeled Emmy off (literally!) and made sure she could stand to drink! Emmy:Her smile widening to almkst a grin, she nods, understanding her. Her father was just like her, always giving to people jusy tk see them smile. Reaching he waterfountain, she nearly drops witb releif. Never in her life had she ever wanted a drink so badly. Haar smiled weakly at Sally before shaking his head, “Nothing of the sort…” His head tiredly started to droop before a coat hand held it up, “Ahhhh,” he started, and let his arms fall to his sides as he started to slowly slide off of his chair, “Cain emptied the supplies for summmmmmerrrrr,” he groaned the last part. “For cleaaaaninnnggg” the last part was more moan-y than the first. His spiders liked to hang out by that stuff! Emmy:Finishing gulping down several mouthfuls, she straigjtens, feeling a little betyer hydrated, but still crummy. “T-Thank you. I thought I was going to pass out for a while…” Her hair hovring just above the ground, she smiles weakly, holding onto Robins arms, rather than laying on he poor girl, her body holding its shape, but hr hair still dripping. The water helped, but she still needed to sit down. Robin held Emm in her arms, and realized that she might be out cold! S-should she get someone?? This could be real bad… “Wait,” Robin said, squinting at Mint. “H-how did you even get in here???” Mint jerked back in suprise. “Oh! I just took the air vent from the library! And I gots there from Christmas town..Well first I was checkin Holidays University for my hella buddy, but he wasn’t dere so then I took the tunnel!” She beamed. “Why do you ask~?”

Evelyn Hannan sat on the roof of her mausoleum glumly watching the chaos unfold. If she was a tangible being she would find her husband and strangle him for leaving that stupid book here. She hoped he was alright. Suddenly a familiar face passed through the crowd. She sat up straight, alarmed. Was that? As a zombie! No wait, he didn’t seem as out for brains as the others- it was something else then! She sprung off her marble tomb and sailed through the air, stopping right in front of him. She smiled softly and apologetically, almost as if it was her fault for what he’d become. Poor little Harvey. He didn’t belong here. She kissed his forehead and sent him home. Hollow: Hollow shifted slightly on the the Saint Patrick’s desk he was currently occupying. (He hoped he hadn’t taken someone’s seat. He didn’t want to start a fight with anyone, not with what was going on and all) He didn’t really need to get comfortable or anything but it helped to take his mind off, for a few moments, that Mr Grimm was missing. Although he knew his teacher could probably be okay (he could float and do all kinds of things),  he couldn’t help but worry. Haar’s heart pounded; hands everywhere. Not just the coat hands, but hands of the past. All reaching out for him, always reaching for /him/- But the dream stopped abruptly before his eye flitted open. He sat up in bed in a sweat. His bedroom walls stared hard back at him, and the ring from the clocktower’s bell shook his room slightly. He sat on the edge of his bed, trying to remember the dream he had, until he found it particularly odd he had fallen asleep in his everyday clothing. Rubbing a weary hand on his neck, he fought the soreness of his body to stand up, and caught a quick glimpse of his reflection in his mirror. Seeing both eyes nearly blackened, cheeks sunk lower, and the solid black lines originating from the crack of his lips, he realized that his fears were quite true- his heartbeat quickened again. His face bluened from the blue blood running through him, and at nearly the same speed, Haar was out of his room, bounding for the others, trying to make sense of what had happened! Cici: She sat uncomfortably in the seat, looking around the room like a child stuck in the corner. Which was what she sort of felt like. Not that she was in trouble, but there was a heavily awkward air in the room, so thick she could feel it in her lungs. Feeling something beneath her, she shifted and dug a gold coin out from under her. She knew better by now than to think it was worth something though. Leprechaun gold. She looked over and saw Hollow in the seat directly next to her. “Hey,” she said in a low whisper, “Are you okay? I didn’t get the chance to ask earlier.” She couldn’t see any damage, but she didn’t know how he showed hurt anyway. Ed ran into the infirmary, seeing his two friends and bounding over to them. “Alec! Wren! I heard ya too were missin, and I came runnin! I brought tea!” Placing two travel mugs into their hands, he flit around them, examining them for injuries. “Are ya okay? Need blankets, bandages, a hug?” He asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes darting between the two. He spotted the troublemaking genie and that Halloween girl that poisoned the punch a while back, and stroked his fuzzy chin, debating if he would talk to them as well, but he turned back to the wizard and the pink-haired girl. “Ah was worried…” He concluded, smiling sheepishly. Shay placed his cloak on the skeleton in the room. She just stood there, staring at him. It seemed logical to just cover her up. Maybe she would fall asleep. He looked back over at his desk with the scare-crow sitting in it, before fixing the cloak one last time. He leaned against it, trying to decide what to make of this whole situation.   Meanwhile Martha silently screamed as she was used as backrest for this small..child..that had just covered her up. Gil was alive. That was good. At least he thinks so. Colors. There were colors. Swirling reds, golds, and greens, flashing in front of him, forming a haze. His magical signature wavered, the power no longer buzzing under his skin, itching to get out, tempting him to use it. He was well and truly sapped dry, his power on leave until he liberated his lamp, then he could recharge. But he was alive. Just asleep. Or maybe unconsious? He hurt all over, groaning as he tried to turn his head. His knack for trouble would get him killed one of these days. The colors faded to white, then to black. And the pain was sharp. Cracking one eye, he saw white walls. He was alive. Hollow: The scarecrow glanced up and gave Cici a weak smile. “Don’t worry! I’m fine!” He lifted up an arm as if to prove to her that  he was still in one piece. “Shay  got us to the cart before anything could happen.” Hollow took a quick  glance face before adding, “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?” Alec crossed his arms, and while he begrudgingly took Ed’s tea and muttered a “thanks,” he didn’t take his eyes off the wall. He didn’t want to do that stupid spell anyway! He was about ready to just go home and leave this stupid academy over this… Not that he REALLY would, but the idea of it made him feel a little empowered. He certainly didn’t like being interrogated though, and even though Gil kinda saved them (But also got them in trouble IN THE FIRST PLACE), he COULDN’T be questioned, so that made Alec even madder. So he just sat there and pouted, and sipped his tea. It was hotter than he thought though, and after a single sip he let out a small whimper that it burned his tongue. Now sour again, he sunk in the cot a little more, and his  brows deepened. Rahim  had his tail tucked between his legs as he walked, becoming slightly despite to find some sort of teacher to help him around. There weren’t anyone around for him to lead so he wondered for a while before coming to a room that seemed to be an infirmary so he slipped in, peaking to see people. Wren kicked her heel against the infirmary bed, grumbling to herself. “Stupid tomb, stupid glittery ass book, stupid genie and his stupid head wings…” She barely got through last detention, and that was just one day. Who knows what they were in for this time. Her eyes flitted around the room and landed on Alec. She caught his eye and silently prayed that the terrifying nurse wouldn’t catch her mouthing ‘How’s it going?’ He didn’t have time to answer though, as a loud voice sounded from the hallway. Wren narrowed her eyes and watched Ed race into the room. She wasn’t sure if she forgave him yet for being a total, ahem, donkey at the Valentine’s dance. She crossed her legs and sat straighter, simply replying with “We’re fine.” Hans sighed and raised his head from the desk. He tried to doze off while Franz was healing everyone ellllse, but he was too anxious. So many things happening at once, he couldn’t take it. When finally Franz made his way over, they both let out a sign in unison. Seeing how bad Hans was cut up (although, for HANS this really wasn’t bad at all,) Franz took a seat and started to get to work! After a moment of silence between the two, it was Franz who started to let out a light laugh! “It’s just like old times,” he muttered as he tried to stifle it. Even though the mood was so poor, Franz felt oddly at ease. He felt useful and needed, at least! He just wished that didn’t mean others had to suffer! Hans let out a giggle and a weak “I guess!” before turning to Cici, wondering if she and Raph were okay! Franz didn’t have time to get to them yet, right? Cici: “No, no, I’m fine! It was scary though, what was going on?” He was Halloween, maybe he would know…? She glanced at all the scrapes and cuts on her arms, and a nice bruise that was already starting to form, but really she had much worse in the past. She glanced backwards and caught sight of Hans and Franz. She smiled as warmly as she could at them. It looked like Franz was patching Hans up! That was good, he got hurt enough as was. Eris ran her hand through her hair leaning back on the bed, she felt weird after that spell, like some one was trying to block her ability’s. she grumbled, bu then looked up when ed entered the room. Ed frowned at the cold responses, but he supposed he DID deserve it from Wren, at least. But he thought they were friends. Visually deflating, he scuffed his shoes against the floor. “Surry.” He muttered, looking at the wizard more closely. “Nice hair, bud.” He complimented, looking again at the ground instead of looking at the upset pink-head. “Uhm, I guess if you don’t need anything, I could just go.” Ed muttered, shuffling to the door. “By the way, lass, I think yer bird’s mad at me. Lacey? Birds have been crappin on me all dahy. Ya think she said somethin to em?” He joked, chuckling under his breath. Raphael: He sat in the very back of the room, his head resting against the wall. He wasn’t sure what they were waiting for, other than to just figure out what the heck had happened. Emma was here, Hans and Franz were here, so that was good. Cici was here, and relatively in one piece. Hopfeully nothing else would go crazy. Emma tapped her fingers on her desk. She was three seconds away from breaking out of this classroom and high tailing it to the shop. No zombie was touching her precious shop! Or her precious brother currently in it! She didn’t realize she was slapping her hand on her table until she felt a sharp pain. She quickly stopped and shook out her hand. She didn’t think Franz would be pleased if he had to heal her again! Hollow: “Yes…It was scary…even for Halloween!” He let out a small chuckle at that. The scarecrow thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know. Nothing like this has ever happened before. And  it all happened so fast too.” Alec put the tea down, now kinda weary of it. In doing so he noticed Wren, and looked away for a moment before softly saying “Yeah, I guess. How about you?” He waited a moment before asking Eris if she was okay, too. He couldn’t really think of anything to say to Ed, but after looking at him his eyes fell to the new guy standing in the corner. He raised a brow at him before wondering if someone sent him because Cynthia was out! He looked around to other faces to see if they recognized him, too. Sally: She stood with Morgan in the infirmary. She kept running her hands through her hair distractedly, which changed colors every time she did. “Why can’t we just go back there??” She asked, again. She knew why. But she WANTED to. She could barrel through as many zombies as necessary to get to Haar. “Who can we call?” she asked, Cain was dealing with some emergency at his factory, at least last she’d heard. He’d also said something about “Ohhhh, Santa himself needs me to do” and then she’d stopped listening. Something needed to be done! Wren shrugged and pushed the tea away. She wasn’t in the mood. She looked to the side and read a poster about mental health  (‘Cashew’s are nuts and so are you!’) before following Alec’s gaze to a stranger standing in the corner. She almost jumped. “Holy shit Alec, did that spell cast dopplegangers of us? I don’t want another one of any of us running around!” she squeaked. Haar made his way through the academy quickly at first, but soon he had to pace himself. It was proving difficult for him to stay focused on anything. He kept looking down to check his hands- they were so long and bony! You could make out where all the joints were which, while quite aesthetically pleasing, was very worrisome and could be admired much later! After finally hearing voices (which he really hoped at this point weren’t in his head- he didn’t need THOSE voices right now, thankyouverymuch), Haar opened Morgan’s classroom. He leaned on the doorframe and squinted for a moment as he searched the very surprised faces for a moment. No teachers. Not that the students weren’t important but that didn’t help him from sticking his face up into the sky and doing a semi-playful “aAAARRRGH.” Why it was so difficult for him to come the short distance here, he had no idea. He closed the door to leave quickly before realizing something, and opened it wide again in a second, “Hello Hollow,” he said tiredly but chipperly and closed to door shut again. Then something eLSE occurred to him and, while some coathands were holding him up, one more opened the door and his head peaked in again. “Are any of you aware of the position of the rest of the staff?” It took him a moment to speak all of that, so he lightly rested his head on the door frame in awaiting an answer! Alec looked back at Wren, surprised to hear her speak so loud, before raising a confused brow. “Huh?? What are you –“ he looked back at Rahim before realizing she was playing fun at their hair. Turning to look deadpan at Wren, he scoffed and added, “Oh-a-ha-ha-ha Wren. So funny.” After words, with far less sarcasm, he added to the boy, “Are you new then? Or…maybe you work under the nurse?” he shrugged, “I think the other two are out pret-ty cold.” Morgan set her hands on the other teacher’s shoulders and looked at her reassuringly. She held Sally there until she seemed to calm down and then patted her on the cheek. After releasing the woman, she tapped her chin. A finger sprang up and she searched for some paper, finally finding some in Cynthia’s desk. She really hoped these weren’t important. A crude drawing later, she was presenting portraits of a few of the University teachers. http://gyazo.com/4ad58204df0c89a50b0f8c502e00527d Emma’s head perked up at the arrival of the Halloween teacher. She automatically raised her hand to answer his question, remembered herself, and flung it down. “The infirmary!” she called to the frail looking teacher. Maybe it was good he was going there! Hollow: He jumped at the sound of the sudden ‘Argh’ and turned to in the direction of the classroom door. His eye holes widened at the now very tired looking Halloween teacher. Before speak, the door shut , making him wonder if it was some sort of trick. It then opened again with Harr greeting him. Hollow soon found his voice as he replied,“M-Mr Gr imm!” He was so glad that he was here! Mr Grimm didn’t look okay but He was here! “I think both Miss Fitzpatrick and Miss Heartnet went to the infirmary, sir.” After Hans was done, he put a hand on Franz’s shoulder and lightly pushed him over to Cici! She should be healed before anyone really!! Franz nodded and went over to her. “Hey Cici, can I see your-“ he stopped, realizing there was a chance Cici didn’t have the same heritage Raph did. Franz realized he couldn’t remember if he had touched Cici before, so he was bound to ask, “Sorry to ask but would you happen to be part animal, chocolate, plant or…” he thought for a moment, “Well, not human?” Hans drummed the table for a moment before getting up and making his way to Raph. He sat next to him in a backwords chair. He opened his mouth to speak, but both boys looked up quickly when Haar busted in! Cici: “O-oh! I’m-” she was about to protest when he asked his question. She was confused for a moment before she remembered, Franz’s magic did weird things to plants and animals. “W-well, my m-mom has flower magic and m-my dad has, has chocolate magic, but I don’t th-think that affects our, our bloodline? I d-didn’t get any of it, an-nyway.” She thought a little more. “D-does cherub count?” She was pretty sure they were people. Raphael: He looked up and gave a tired nod to Hans. The other boy looked about ready to speak when the Halloween guy burst into the room. Raphael only had time to blink before Emma had her hand up and was answering the question. The teacher seemed satisfied with that and moved on. He shrugged and looked back to Hans again. Noticing his bumps and bruises were gone, he said, “So you got all patched up then? Don’t you get resistant to it or something after a whle?” Wren raised an eyebrow. “Oh you know, just zombies and skeletons attacking and all that. No biggie.” She suddenly realized what she was saying. She looked at Alec with wide eyes. “ZOMBIES AND SKELETONS ARE ATTACKING. VOODOO IS REAL.” Sally: She breathed deep with Morgan’s hands on her shoulders. She was fine, really. She could handle this. She glanced over at the rotory phone on Cynthia’s desk. “Hm, I don’t know any of their extensions at the school. Who would be most helpful? The Christmas teacher would get eaten right up, I’m afraid, and the Easter one would probably get the same… I thought Fred was with you,” she half-asked. Moving onwards, she mused, “But the Thanksgiving teacher does seem to be made of sterner stuff, or at least darker. Maybe she could help?” Alice. She was ninety nine percent sure her name was Alice. “Do you have her number?” she asked the gagged banshee. Rahim: This set him a bit uneasy, this is defiantly going to be an odd experience. “Zombies and s-skeletons? Uh-How?” With the teacher- and the distraction- gone, Emma was back to tapping her nails on her desk. She eavesdropped on the boys next to her, trying to think of a way to jump in. All she could think of though were those stupid zombies. She wanted pie. And she wanted it now. Shay started to pace the classroom. All his friends were in the infirmary..right? But he wasn’t sick. He didn’t want to be a bother and take up space. Could they even visit them when they were sick?! Was the group even allowed to leave the room. Shay did a quick look around before slowly shuffling along the wall towards the door. Morgan nodded, happy they were moving on. She found another piece of paper and scribbled down a number. She handed it to Sally, a little sad that she couldn’t call her friend herself. Alec was about to talk to the new guy before his eyes got big too. His head snapped back to Wren and he desperately called back, “YES I KNOW I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL EVERYONE THIS /WHOLE TIME!!/” With an “UGH” he let his head flop down on the cot (thankfully there was a pillow!) before taking a deep breath and sitting up again. “…About that,” he said, eyes darting between the two of them, and then between the two passed out, “SOME would say we might have had…a little to do with it…. I’m sure though like,” his heart sped up, “…Like the teachers are smart enough to reverse a spell that us KIDS do! Right?” He took another deep breath, “Honestly though I can’t believe just a few kids are enough to pull this whole thing off…It was freaky! Not even Halloween freaky, like…” he whispered now, “Freaky-freaky…!” Franz shrugged. “So…like…baby-people?” He swore Raph said something about baby people. Maybe. Still, he was sure he never hurt Raph, so he carefully placed his hand over a bruise, and with ease it healed back up fairly quickly. His face flashed with confidence and he looked back up at Cici, pleased. As he found more cuts though, his face twisted a bit. “Were you uh…in the line of fire? I’m sorry…” Maybe if he hadn’t freaked out so much he could have helped the others more. They all seemed to get the worst of it, honestly… Rahim:“So y'all summoned monsters that could attack us? Have you tried” He shrugged a bit “trapping? tricking?” Hollow: “Thank Halloween, he’s back.” The scarecrow thought. he then thought it was a good thing that  Mr Grimm was heading to the infirmary. Hollow got up from the desk, giving more room for the the easter student, Hands? Bans? to help Cici.  He was grateful that he was going to  fix her. Glancing towards the door, Hollow saw Shay shuffling towards the  door. Taking a quick glance back and excusing himself,  the scarecrow followed the Saint Patrick’s student. He didn’t know  Shay very well and wasn’t sure if he even wanted to talk to him right now. But…Hollow wanted to thank him at least. Sally: She read the number off the paper as best she could, then dialed quickly. She couldn’t help tapping her toe as it rang on and on. The second a voice answered, she said, “Hello yes, This is Alice, isn’t it? This is Sally from the Academy, we need your help!” Hans nodded. “Yeah, Franzie fixed me up!” still, his voice rang with a sad tune. He noticed a few small pricks Franz must of missed, but he didn’t want to bother him again now. Instead, he mustered what he could to make his laugh sound light hearted; “Hehe, you’d think so. But nope.” He shrugged and looked too the floor, “Only human, I’m afraid.” His eye caught Martha from the corner of the room though, and he quickly whispered to Raph, “Sometimes I’m really glad, though…” Fred had quite a night. After escaping the zombie scene, she had found her father (playing bloody poker with his buddies of course). She explained the odd occurrence, to which he seemed rather… put off. Either way, she was able to retrieve a few thermoses of her favorite liquid before high tailing it back to the graveyard.  There she found oodles of zombies and no students, which was hopefully a good sign. There was only one way to find out of course, and that was to go to the magical land of Mr. Candypants and his four stooges. And Harvey. That’s how she arrived at the academy, with a satchel full of AB- and a scowl on her face. Cici: She couldn’t help but smile with relief as the bruise faded quickly. What wonderful magic!! “Th-thank you!” she said gratefully. She bit her lip at his question, half-shrugging. “I-I guess. I was just, just trying to pr-protect the cart wh-while all the students got to, to it.” she said. She hadn’t really been thinking much, just swinging her sack as much as she could to make sure everyone got aboard. “You d-didn’t get hurt too bad, did you?” she asked. She saw no cuts on him, but he had healing powers. It didn’t mean he hadn’t gotten hurt at all. Raphael: He gave a sympathetic smile and head tilt, then glanced sideways at Emma. She was twitchier than a 13 year old asking their crush to the movies. “So… are you okay?” he asked, trying to sound casual but coming off as a little more concerned for her mental health. Shay looked at the approaching scare-crow. He considered if it was possible that this scare-crow planned to ruin his plan of seeing his friends. On the other hand, he seemed really cool when they had talked earlier, so it seemed unlikely. “Uh..Hi?” Wren frowned and blew a piece of hair out of her face. “I know, I know, sorry.” She looked down at her toes sadly, wiggling them to make sure this wasn’t some weird dream. Before Alec could pull her into this though, she announced, “I had nothing to do with that spell! I didn’t even want you to do it, for the record!” And once that was all clear, she raised an eyebrow at the other kid. “What do you mean? Like we- they- haven’t tricked enough?” Deep in the darkest fields of Thanksgiving town, a black murder of crows picked at the seed beneath them curiously. Something was a tad bit off from the soil, something they couldn’t quite figure out just yet- -A buzzing caused a few to quickly fly away, and a chirpy tone after words brought them right back. The birds started to slowly clump together, sure that they were out of sight (but apparently not out of mind!). A figure started to form, and, with a flick of thick black hair, Alice stretched her arms. She was just about to finish up here, but it was so rare to get a call! Perhaps it was her sweet candied- “Oh!” she said aloud. Her dearest Morgan! Oh, how they needed to bad to get together and talk over their summer happenings! Even so, Alice always waited for the last ring on her phone to answer (mostly because the suspense kept her alive!), and held it up to her ear. “Hello, Darling~” She started, rolling her “r’s. Her blue eyes flicked wide when she didn’t recognize the voice on the other line. “From the academy? What’s going on??” she questioned, both elegant and worried in tone. “-Just a second, I’m right outside,” she lied as her figure became as dark as night, and soon it jumped into the night itself, nearly becoming a part of it. Alec shook his head, “There were too many to trap-! …Wren?” he said, and pulled himself halfway over his own cot facing her, in a sitting position. “What are you talking about? You had-!…What was I- Ugh.” He let his shoulders fall and gave her a hurt look. “I didn’t want to either but…the point is I did have some part in it.” He looked down to floor before back at Rahim, as something wonderful occurred to him! “Are you a magic user yourself??” His voice was hopeful, “Maybe you could help us out with this?” Rahim:“I know very little magic, sadly” He shrugged his shoulders “It isn’t my strong suit other than shifting” Franz looked away for a moment while he was patching a scar up. “Not really. I uh… -That was really cool of you.” She had a lot of little marks, so Franz chewed his lip for a moment before thinking of something nicer to talk about. “Your mom had plant magic? Does she still?” Hollow: “Hello, I..Uh…” Hollow wasn’t really sure what you said to someone who had saved you from being literally torn apart. He was pretty sure thinking about what could of happened would not help matters. “ I don’t know if there is a better way of saying this but I-I wanted to say thank you…for before.  ” As he played with his gloves, he felt like he was saying it all wrong and that he was going to offend Shay when all he wanted was to thank him. Emma jumped at the sound of Raphael’s voice and whipped her head around to face him. “Wh-what? Why wouldn’t I be hahaha? I’m quite, uh, chill! I just think I left the oven on! At the shop? And I’m thinking I should go check on that, but can we leave? Is that allowed? I mean, I’m not a stickler for rules but-“ The room’s door clicked open and Emma let out a terrible sigh of relief. John stood there awkwardly with Robin, Milo behind them. “So I’m going to guess we’re not missing a Halloween party.” Robin put her hands on her hips, as happy-go-lucky as ever! “I can’t believe /I/ leave here and you guys get all these cool zombie students?? We thought there just HAD to be an orientation today because like, some were coming in behind us?” She let out a laugh. “Not RIGHT behind us though. Maybe a few miles down the road!” Emmas face look horrified though, so a slightly confused Robin added “M-maybe Haar’s just having a party then?…” She suddenly felt very awkward. “W…Why’s everyone here?” Shay grinned. “Yeah..uh..no problem. I would hate myself if I left you to..become..uh what is that thing..pumpkin pie?” Was that a rude joke to  say? Scare-crows were so hard to figure out, dangit. Cici: “Oh, y-yes!” she said, nodding happily. “Sh-she runs the flower, flower part of my parents’ shop.She h-has her own, own little greenh-house off of the main sh-shop. We live on the, the second story, and th-that’s where my dad’s k-kitchen is. He makes the chocolate every d-day, and sells it b-below. I used to, to keep the shop when he was b-busy.” She sat for a moment, smiling in memories, when she caught Robin’s words. She looked over at her, afraid. “W-what?” Raphael: His eyes widened as well, and he sat up straight in his seat. Why were all the teachers gone???? Haar made it a little ways down the hallways before he had to take a quick break again. He was getting increasingly lethargic, which was absolutely no fun at all. He was so young, too! There were people four times his age running around lighting fires in HalloweenTown, so what was his excuse?? He made it to the infirmary (even without lighting a fire!! Not that he could though!) and got the door open with his own hands and stepped in. It was quite undramatic too, which also was no fun, but he supposed this was good reason enough to be “serious” for once. He quickly eyed over his students and felt his heart drop- what had happened to them?? They didn’t seemed scratched up in the least, which left him confounded for just a moment. Weakly he turned to see “Sally! Miss Morgan!” He called out to both of them with excited but exasperated breaths, and went to hug/lean on Sally for support. She seemed alright, thankfully, but he did note Morgan’s ghostly (Ghastly! Muahaha!) Appearance! Haar guessed his own might be quite startling, too! Hans and Franz both looked over at Robin, and then exchanged looks. Finally, Hans couldn’t help to blurt out, “OOOOkay…. UUUUmmm, what the fuck are you talking about?” lightheartedly. Come on, EVERYONE was wondering!! Wren crossed her arms and looked away guiltily. She had never asked for him to do anything for her. She sighed heavily, and glared at the mug of tea to her side. /Boys/. Speaking of, what the heck was this one?! “You /shift/?” She blurted Alec’s shoulders dropped, discouraged by both of their reactions. He started at Wren for a good time before Haar busted in, which startled him in the least!! He didn’t sense voodoo at this time, which was really freaky, but for now he’d put that in the back of his mind. Turning back at Rahim he added, “Shifting’s really cool. That’s hard work,” as he leaned back on his forearm to get more comfortable. “I could never do that!” Fred was about to burst through the school doors like goddamn Batman, but she was stopped by something more bird than mammal. Her frowned turned to a glare and she popped a hip while the woman formed into, well, a woman. “What are you doing here?” she snarked. Rahim:“Yeah” He rubbed the back of his neck “it happens every few months on waning moons, but on the of times i can keep control. But it hurts a bit” Hollow: Hollow gave Shay a confused look before realising it was one of those things; a joke wasn’t it? It took him another minute to  figure it out, letting a small laugh out before smiling back. “I’m not sure if my head would be any good for that.” He looked over to the door where Shay had been heading towards. “I’m sorry if I stopped you from leaving;. Are you going to the infemary?” Shay didn’t look hurt as far as Hollow could see (it was kind of strange to see him without his coat though) but he hadn’t seen the easter student  try to fix Shay or anything so maybe he was going there to get fixed? Sally: She set the phone down, breathing a brief sigh of relief when the door opened. She turned and called out, “Haar!” She ran as quickly as she could and threw her arms around him, gently, gently. She looked him over, her brow furrowing. “Are you alright?” She asked, “Do you need anything? Do you need rest?” She looked around. There must be something here to help him. Emma’s mouth dropped, and she suddenly wished John was at the shop! She scrambled out of her seat and over to her loved ones, grabbing them all in a hug while yanking them into the room at the same time. She slammed the door shut with her foot and got them all to take a seat. For a few moments all she could do was throw her hands around while trying to come up with something to say. Luckily Hans chimed in though, so she just gestured to him. Wren nervously watched Haar enter the room, quickly returning her attention to the conversation. “Oh, I’m sure you could come up with something,” she quipped at Alec. She felt really bad for saying that, but it had just slipped out. “I have to go to the bathroom!” She declared. She scurried out of the room before anyone could stop her, trying to remember the farthest bathroom from there! Alice morphed right in front of Fred, popping a hip of her own while doing it! She shook loose some feathers that fell, and flipped her hair. She hung up the phone with a “click!”. No one had replied anyway? “Heard there’s some trouble!” as she went to walk past Fred she joked, “Thought they knew you much better by now, dahrlin’~!” Her smile fell and her heel clicks stopped dead just as she had a hand on the door’s handle. Her face grew pale and her eyes wide. “What is out there,” she whispered to Fred wearily, and started into the surrounding forests. She shut her eyes hard for a moment before returning her gaze to Fred. “What are my birds looking out? What are /those/??” Whatever they were, they were getting close. Black crows, about a mile away, peered down at a horde of uninvited guests making their way closer. Shay nodded. “Yeah I planned to check up on my friends..all of them are there right now. You can come too, if you like..” Hollow: Once again, Hollow thanked Halloween to himself. Then felt guilty that Shay’s friends were probably hurt if they were there. “If it’s okay,  with you, then I’ll come with you.” Fred adjusted her bag and glared harder. “Oh please, what are you going to do, peck them to death?” She thought she’d let Alice figure out who /they/ were, and it seem she did so fairly quickly. “Oh you didn’t hear? New staff! The best part is, they only run on brains and the souls of the living!” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and kicked open the academy’s door with a “bang!” “You heard there was trouble? Well here it comes.” “Let’s hope they work harder than you do,” Alice said quickly and followed Fred in. Her brows furrowed as the academy seemed so empty. Suddenly her mind jumped to Cain. He told her before he would be on business- all weekend. In Christmastown, thankfully. He would be safe there, she hoped. But her first priority had to be the children. Three crows formed from the edges of her skirt and fluttered over them, ready to survey the area. As the duo walked, Alice’s eyes fell red as she could “see” through her other crows. “Our company is getting closer, I’m afraid. Can the school be baracaded?” Fred sniffed here and there, trying to detect how many people were in here. She shrugged at Alice and replied, “Hell if I know. Why don’t you ask your sugar plum fairy?” Alec nodded to Rahim, “That’s good! I don’t think we could take anymore-“ he cut off when Wren was gone. He waited in silence a moment before sitting up. He could sense something strong a little ways off, and his heart sunk. He knew exactly what it was. He got up quickly and turned to Eris and Gil. Should he wake them? One, they could really need rest…but two, magic was what got them into this, and he wanted to avoid using it to get them out of it. “What was your name again?” he asked to the boy and crossed over him. The teachers were busy, and he could escape if he was careful! Shay shrugged. “Yeah. I think they’ll like you.” He looked down the hallway. “…uh..so where is it..” “my name is Rahim” He raised his head a bit, tail flicked back and forth happily. He had became a bit more relax despite what is going on" re-heem as it is pronounced" Alice raised a brow, but her eyes stayed red. “Sugar Plum’s on vacation, I’m afraid! Looks like it’s just us gal pals for now. Make a left here!” She blinked a few times, and nearly ran into a chair in the hallway because she was focusing on so much else. As Fred laughed, Alice rolled her eyes, only just then getting a view of the infirmary through one of her birds. They were both in the St. Patrick’s hallway, seeing as Morgan had called her. (Or rather, her phone had.) “I see them! We are quite far. It appears the other Halloween teacher is there too, now. Let’s hope he behaves himself…Oh!” She put a hand on her heart, “My Morgan looks so ill!” Alec smiled at him, “Re-heem? My name’s Alec. Nice to meet you!” After their quick introductions, Alec quickly opened the door and urged his friend out, too. “Wanna help me with something? Real quick, promise!” Rahim:“Sure, lead the way for me” He was a bit confused but complied, feeling a bit happy making a new friend. Hollow: “Oh, I remember passing it a couple of times but I’ve never had to go in myself. I think it’s nearer the Valentine’s hallway so it’s not too far.   I’ll take you there!” Hollow took the Saint Patrick’s student by the hand and led him out into the corridor. Robin looked to the scared faces before realizing that this … demeanor seemed to mirror what everyone was like after the events of …last summer. Her face started to light up a little bit, and she looked to Emma, now determined to tell them all she knew! “There’s a group of uh, well, you know! We assumed zombies but…? We only noticed when we were at the front doors because the views so nice!” her eyes were crystal clear, “Emma, are they dangerous?” Shay tensed up a bit at someone grabbing his hand. Normally he would be pretty chill with it, but it was unexpected and he was still a little shaken up. After a few moments, he relaxed and let Hollow drag him. Haar hugged Sally for a moment before regaining his own balance. He looked from Morgan to her before shaking his head. “I don’t know how I’m back, but I am sure it wasn’t by my own hand.” He wet his lip as he thought, reminding himself of the black lines that covered it, “I can’t cast much of anything, as it stands. I don’t believe I’m the only one effected. Have we learned what it is yet?” He worriedly looked to Morgan. Cain and Rufus were tending to their own towns, and he didn’t want to bother them. Especially because he felt very much at fault!! “It had to be our presence at the graveyard…" Haar started. “I did partake it burying a skeleton but I’ve never heard of that causing much of anything.” He shook his head and thought deeply. So long as the horror was stuck in graveyard, he supposed they weren’t in eminent danger. He did fear for the town’s residents, but he had to put these students as his priority! Alec and Rahim snuck out undetected, thankfully! They only made it a little ways down the hall when they ran into Hollow and Shay. Or…Hollow dragging Shay. Alec’s hairs nearly stood on their ends when he thought the worst for a moment, before he saw Shay move. Which almost scared him, too! “Are you both alright?” he asked, worried and nearly knocked out of breath. Rahim:“What happened to y'all” He peered from behind Alec, looking down at the person who was being dragged Fred followed after the professor, looking around for any nice zombie whacking weapons. All she saw though was a possibly promising janitor’s closet. “This school is useless”, she mumbled. After briefly laughing at Alice, she only half listened to what she said. She kept reminding herself to act normal around Harvvv- Haar. And speaking of normal, or lack therof, she snatched out a canister from a bag and unscrewed the cap. She briefly mocked Alice’s worries before taking a swig, then threw the drink back in her bag. “So, where do you think they keep the knives around here?” Hollow: Taking the lead, Hollow led Shay up a flight of stairs and up into the Valentine’s corridor. They were getting close to the infermary when  Alex and someone he didn’t recognised came out and almost walked into them. “Ah! I’m sorry!  Yes, I’m alright” He glanced down at Shay  to see if he was fine. Shay shrugged. “Physically..I am the same as always. Mentally, I am a wreck…but we were looking for my friends..so misson accomplished?” He gave a weak wink. He really should have brought his cloak along. Alice responded as if that was a normal question normal people ask at first, “Well, if I had to guess I’d suppose the kitchen- Winnifred!!! We are NOT knifing anyone.” She blinked her eyes back to blue. I believe we’re close to students. Their safety is our top priority. The disfiguration of others is….a close second.” She nodded before turning on her heel and making a sharp right. Emma listened to Robin’s story while nervously tracing her scar. She really was wishing for that frying pan of hers. She blinked at the girl’s question for a moment, unsure of how to answer. “Ummm… Pretty much, yeah…” Cici: She unconsciously took her arm from Franz as Robin talked. Emma had already done her ninja-slide-kick to the door. She twisted in her chair, facing the elf girl. “How l-long do you think it will, will take them to, to g-get here? H-how fast were, were th-they m-moving?” She could feel her heart speed up and her breath started coming quicker. Emma listened to Robin’s story while nervously tracing her scar. She really was wishing for that frying pan of hers. She blinked at the girl’s question for a moment, unsure of how to answer. “Ummm… Pretty much, yeah…” Cici: She unconsciously took her arm from Franz as Robin talked. Emma had already done her ninja-slide-kick to the door. She twisted in her chair, facing the elf girl. “How l-long do you think it will, will take them to, to g-get here? H-how fast were, were th-they m-moving?” She could feel her heart speed up and her breath started coming quicker. John slapped a hand over his face and moaned. Of course they walked into a dangerous situation. Just. Perfect. Milo twitched nervously in his seat, trying hard to stay in human form. Alec nodded. That was actually closer to good news than he thought it’d be! He smiled and winked back “I’m glad to hear it! Can you guys help us with something?” he got the group closer and smoke in a whisper, “I think…whatever attacked us is actually coming back.” His eyes nervously flicked to the infirmary, “And if I tell anyone else they’re going to try to use magic to fix it but…I don’t think we can. Or should. And I really, really want to fix this if I can. Can you help me board up the school? I don’t know how yet but there’s got to be a way without…you know…/spells/…!” Sally: Once Haar seemed to have himself under control, she released him, although she kept one hand on him to be safe. “I think we should figure out what’s going on immediately around the school, and then send the students home, if it’s safe. Except… maybe the halloween students.” As she thought about it, that was probably for the best. Robin thought hard for a moment. “They were about a mile and half behind us when we walked in, and it takes the average person 15 minutes to walk a mile… But I’m sure zombies are slower so maybe it’d take them 25 minutes? But we’ve been here for about ten already and uh…” she looked at the ground before her head snapped up, “How fast can we block the windows??” Seeing Hans get up, she quickly added “WITH THINGS THAT AREN’T OUR BODIES!” Fred placed her hands on her hips. “Oh boo. And those things aren’t people. They’re literally dead. No conscious or subconscious, so I’d make getting that into your head the first priority!” Hollow: Hearing Shay talk about himself like that worried him. He hadn’t realised it before that not everyone would be used to to the normal Halloween scariness , let alone  the not so normal scariness. He gave  Shay’s hand a small squeeze of what he hoped was reassurance and looked up at Alex. “Okay, I’ll help. I’m not sure what I can do but I  do something , anything that will help fix this.” Wren found herself in the Valentine’s corridor, which was far enough she supposed. She really did have to go to the bathroom! She found the ladies door and pushed it open. After doing her business, she looked out the bathroom window and to the forest beyond. It was creepily peaceful. Wait a second. She squinted, smushing her face into the glass. After a loud squawk, she flung herself out of the bathroom and towards the infirmary. “The zombies are coming, the zombies are coming!” Shay rolled his eyes. “You know..I don’t do..stuff. But..this time I will make an exception..because I really REALLY don’t like..this.” Alec nodded to them, “Thanks for your help, guys!” and started to get to work!! Using desks, tables, or anything they could get their hands on, the four of them managed to seal most of the main entrances in their area! Rahim had to drag the desk to help block up the door, flaring his tail a bit side to hide. John nodded and started pushing a table towards the windows. “We can use these as platforms to put other stuff on, since we don’t really have anything high enough!” He returned to where the desk had been and grabbed the chair, placing it on the desk. Milo peeked over his shoulder and hummed. “Not heavy enough…” “Do we have poles” Rahim looked up “to help with support against the door ” ~These kids were smarter than they had thought! At least, that was probably a good sign. A pout turned into a grin behind the head of red curly hair that stood in front of the academy doors. They only had seconds left before the hoard took them in, but thankfully no one had thought to lock up the main entrance (if only they had noticed before the ten minutes they just spent trying to get in…). The candied man cracked his neck, then clicked his shoes, taking his good time before dramatically swinging the doors open! He held the four for his three guests before closing them all in just in the nick of time! While unsightly undead hit the doors behind them, he rubbed his hands together to rid of the undead dirt and grim from outside. He smiled at the academy and raised a brow. “They’ve redecorated since we’ve last been here! Fantastic.” Hollow: Hollow’s face suddenly light up. “I don’t know if we have any poles but I think the Halloween common room has a few headstones we can use and they’re pretty heavy! We can use those!” Although he felt bad about leaving Shay as he let go of the smaller student’s hand, he figured he wouldn’t be too long (he hoped anyway.) Cici: As the students started barricading the room, she stood, thinking. “We sh-should see if anything else in, in the school is still safe! We n-need as much gr-ground as we can have.” She headed to the door. “D-does… anyone else, w-want to, to come?”