Title: Dead Bass Wonderland 5: Broken Author: LiseliCanis Pastebin link: http://pastebin.com/7zyveEeV First Edit: Saturday 17th of January 2015 11:08:22 PM CDT Last Edit: Last edit on: Tuesday 28th of July 2015 03:51:55 AM CDT Where did she go wrong? She had him within her reach and failed. Faust, she was such a loser. Raising her head, she found that he was no longer in her presence. Panicking, she tried to locate him, he couldn’t have gone too far, right? > ?Amy Heart.? She ignored the voice for now, she had to find Teojushin and- > ?AMY HEART? ‘It’s not possible. How are you…?’ Disbelief filled her, and her breath hitched. Was she hallucinating? Standing next to her was the spirit from Soren’s Hartland. Or so it seemed. He was translucent and just kind of floating there, arms behind his head as if this was something he casually did every day. ‘I’m going crazy.’ > Giving her an amused smirk, he nodded his head over to where Teojushin had cornered Sunset Shimmer. ?No, but if you don’t hurry…?He grimaced and his image flickered like a lightbulb about to go out. ?Soren Skyler will be taken over and all his memories will disappear. But we need to be careful. Teojushin is getting used to his body and-? His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t hear him. Speech failed Amy and she reached out for the spirit. As expected, her hand simply passed through him, a reminder that he wasn’t really there. Vision blurring, she tried to keep herself steady. Soren’s memories were going to disappear? No, she wouldn’t let that happen, couldn’t let that happen. Ordering her limbs to move, she glared at the impersonator. She would never forgive him. EVER. With a scream, she ran at Teojushin, the seal in her hand glowing. > ?Amy wai-!?  Everything happened too fast for her to even register. One moment ‘Soren’ was kissing her hand and the next she had been flung backwards to the floor. Wincing, Sunset tried to get back up. She looked to where Soren was and was surprised at what she saw. Amy had rushed at him, her right hand curled into a fist as if to punch him. She could see tears seeping out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Soren’s own right hand was splayed open in front of him, a small ball of energy forming at the palm. “Too slow.” That was her only warning. The air crackled with energy and Amy was blasted away with such force that she broke through the cafeteria doors and landed somewhere down the hallway.   -   Horrified, Sunset watched as the impersonator calling himself Soren slowly retracted his hand and stared at it. No, what had Amy called him? Teo…something… But that was definitely magic Amy had tried to use against him. Where did she get that? It was so frustrating. Nearly three years and somehow…SOMEHOW, some loser with no connection to Equestria had access to it.  “Hmm, perhaps that was a little too much force?” he was speaking, but to himself. He inspected his hands, then stuck his left hand into a pocket, tilting his head to look at her. Heterochromatic eyes inspected her and she had to steel herself so as not to flinch. “Seems you’ll have to wait for me a little longer, love.” He began to make his way to the hallway, snickering all the way. ‘And this is what I’ve been coveting all along?’ she cast a sideways glance at the abandoned bass case and the state of the demolished cafeteria. With careful movements, she picked herself up and made as if to follow him. A cough stopped her in her tracks and she turned her attention to the source. Lying against the wall where he had been thrown against was Brad, one eye open following her every movement; the other closed from a hit he had taken. It was already starting to blacken. “Sunset…” Turning her back to him, she called over her shoulder, “I’ve no time for losers.” “That’s…not it.” She heard him struggling to stand. A heavy hand clamped onto her shoulder, but she didn’t bother to look at her ex. She could feel his breath tickling her ear and she tried not to think about times when she had felt that same feeling. Closer. More intimate. “Make it quick, I don’t have time for you,” she repeated, making sure to drip ice into her voice to show she meant it. “We have to get out…before he notices us.” He raised his arm to point at the doorway where Soren was examining his handiwork. She knew he was right. Irritated, she looped his arm across her shoulders and helped him on his feet. The doors leading to the soccer fields were not far. If she could drag Brad with her through them, they’d be able to escape through the parking lot that lay just beyond them. It was no easy task, Brad was pretty heavy and again she cursed her lack of magic. How easy it would have been to levitate him and not have to touch him at all. She spared one last look over her shoulder to see what Soren was doing and almost tripped over his legs.  Unfortunately, her view was obstructed by one of the supporting pillars and she grunted in annoyance. No matter now, first they had to get out of here and then…  ‘I’ll use him for everything he’s got.’ - Nolan North's head snapped up, his sudden movement causing his arm to jerk and the pen in his hand to ruin the paperwork he had been signing. Furrowing his brow, he cast a glance over his shoulder. Timothy had entered the room, his curly hair almost brushing the top of the doorway. "That was fast." Tim shrugged and rolled his shoulders. "Not like the nurse's office is in China, bo-...Oh. You can't turn that in." He pointed at the ruined paper.  Nolan looked down and with a sigh, tore up the sheet of paper, "I felt something before you came in."  Tim handed him a new sheet of paper and he began refilling all the lines. "You don't suppose I've hit the jackpot in what I've been searching for?"  Timothy raised an eyebrow, his hands crossed over his chest. "Maybe. You know I don't believe in that shit, right boss?" Nolan only smirked and propped a hand on the desk, resting his cheek on it.  "Oh, I know." He signed his name and set the pen down. “There, all finished.” His companion strode over to the desk and picked up the sheet of paper, double-checking the document. “Seriously though, are you sure you want to attend this place? There’s a school in the next town that is much more suited for…” he trailed off when he saw the look on Nolan’s face. “Uh…sorry.” “No worries, it’s not like I’m going to press this against you for you to believe, Timothy.” He saw his ‘bodyguard’ freeze at his full name. He grinned when Tim turned to look at him, honey eyes wide. “However, I do need to hurry. We’ve wasted enough time here already.” He leaned back against the chair, stretching up his arms. “Principal Celestia said she’d come by in five minutes when I was making my way over here. Seems she was having some dispute with her sister and the hall monitor.” “Oh? Is Canterlot High run by nepotism or something? Sisters…” Nolan stared out the window, wondering for the briefest second what it would be like to have a sibling. He knew Timothy had a younger sister and that she attended the school, but he had never met her. As far as he knew, little Naomi was always kept at an arm’s length away from their business. Vinyl’s older brother was currently employed under his father as his right hand man, much like how Tim was his. “Did anything interesting happen while I was taking that kid to the nurse?” Tim’s inquiry reminded him that he was not at home and that he could not afford to lounge around. Knitting his eyebrows, he thought back and recalled the young lady he had met. “Do you know those two?” “Amy Heart and Soren Skyler? Not personally. I do know they are very talented with music though.” “Oh?” “They happen to be in my music class.” Tim said sheepishly, craning his neck to look at the ceiling. That was hardly surprising. Despite how big and tough he looked (even though he was every bit of that) Tim was quite the pianist. It was amazing how the same fingers that could easily strangle someone could also caress the piano’s keys so delicately. “Is that so? She’s a lovely little thing. I do hope you treated her friend well.” Tim shrugged. “Nurse wasn’t in, so I just put him in one of the cots there. Nurse Redheart usually doesn’t get patients so early in the morning.” The red-haired teen chuckled at this. “I see. Still, this place is fascinating. I was stopped by a few girls on the way here.” He saw his friend tense up, but he just waved a hand. “No worries, they didn’t ask about my…personal...life. Although I do fear they might be smitten with me.” “Well, well. Quite the Casanova already, then? Your first day here has only just begun,” Tim teased him, his smile a bit wolfish. Nolan faintly blushed but allowed himself to laugh. “Pffft. I’m not here for ‘adventure’,” he paused mid-chuckle, flicking a speck of dust of his white scarf. His eyes darkened slightly and his tone grew serious, “I just want to show Father how great I can be.” The lunch bell had rung not too long ago, reminding him just how long he had spent doing tedious paperwork. It wasn’t something unusual for him to do but never for this long. He was starting to feel his stomach panging for food. “Say, Tim…” he got no further, as his gut decided to growl and gurgle right then. He felt his ears heat up and judging from Tim’s face, he knew that their tips were as red as his hair. “Heh. Hungry, Nolan?” Tim teased and brought a hand to Nolan’s hair, ruffling it around a bit. Nolan glared at him and smacked Tim’s hand away to fix his hair. The sound of someone knocking on the door made the boys turn their heads as the principal and her sister stepped through the doorway, both looking very haggard. “Please do excuse us for taking so long, North,” said the paler of the two. Nolan tilted his head to the side, not entirely sure of what to make of her apology. “We had a…dispute with one of our other students, and it took longer than necessary. I’m the principal of this school.” She smiled at him, her sister mirroring the gesture. “Think nothing of it, Principal Celestia.” Nolan folded his arms in front of him, making him appear more regal than he actually was. Though as heir to the North house, one could still argue that he was a prince. Of course, Timothy didn’t speak this out-loud, nor would he ever, but the thought was still comical enough to bring out a choked chuckle from him. The sisters and the afore-mentioned prince gave him an odd look. He decided it was best if he left, so with a quiet ‘excuse me’ he removed himself from the room. Leaning against the door, he pondered at what to do next. He supposed he could wait for Nolan, but there was just something that felt off about the school. It had started back when he had taken Soren Skyler to the nurse’s office. Since the nurse wasn’t in, Tim had just placed Soren onto one of the cots there. While doing so, the kid had opened his eyes and said something that bothered him. ‘You can tell your little master to piss off, peasant.’ At first Tim had been taken aback, but when he looked again, Soren Skyler was still unconscious and he concluded that he had just imagined the whole ordeal. “Fuck if I know,” he said to nobody. His phone began vibrating in his pocket and he took it out. “Naomi? What’s up, lil si-?” His sister’s voice on the other end sounded panicked and he immediately tensed up. “Naomi! Tell me what’s wrong.” - “I…I’m not sure,” Naomi was staring at a partially demolished hallway. Earlier she had been making her way to the cafeteria, after being held back by the history teacher to discuss her lack of attention in class. Please, it was sooooo boring. She’d rather be trading notes with Rose Luck. And that’s what she had been doing. Lucky for Rose, she had not been caught, but Naomi had. So she was the only one that was being lectured. And when he let her go, she was simply minding her own business, humoring the idea of texting her brother to find out where he was (since he had left the house so early in the morning to go to the North household, and he never said why he’d have business there. It seemed fishy) when suddenly a horde of students ran past her from the cafeteria’s direction. It was followed by a tremendous bang and at first she thought it might have been someone’s idea of a prank (just last week that horrid Rodrigo Primehoof had dropped a cherry bomb in the girl’s restroom and flooded the entire East Wing) and she went to investigate. Imagine the horror she felt when she saw the devastation. “Naomi!” her brother’s voice rang in her ear, reminding her that she was still on the phone with him. “The hallway…it’s gone! It looks like something exploded!” “Come to the principal’s office. Now.” He sounded frantic and she could hear him running. Nodding to herself, she took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m…hold on. I think I see someone, they might need my help.” “No! Nao-!” she clicked the ‘end call’ button silencing her brother mid-plea. Moving quietly, a first for her since she was always naturally talking and gossiping with her friends, she ducked behind a locker to wait for the dust to settle. She could make out one dark shape on the floor and she wondered what to do. Her phone vibrated angrily in her hand, Timmy was calling her again. She pressed her thumb firmly on the END button to turn her phone off. ‘Sorry brother dear. I can’t speak with you until I find out what’s going on.’  - There was dust everywhere, in her mouth, in her eyes, in her lungs. Her ribs ached with each raspy breath she took. Thankfully (or rather miraculously) nothing was broken as far as she could tell. Definitely bruises that she would feel for a week. There was a rather nasty cut on her forearm and she grimaced. That one would require a tetanus shot and she shuddered. How she hated needles. > Above her head, Hart (as she decided to refer to him now, it made things less confusing for her) was giving her a look that landed somewhere between disapproving and worried.?I told you to wait.? With a barely audible ‘hmph’ she stood up and brushed off some of the dust on her skirt. Debris crunched underfoot and she took note of the damage around her. Much of her skirt and leggings were in tatters and her shirt had lost one of its sleeves. Lockers had been dented, with bits of door and wall embedded into their metal bodies. She thanked Faust that she had only gotten away with minor injuries. And through the doorway, Teojushin stood there, arms folded across his chest. His posture made him look like a king surveying his lands. And he had found something to be considered a threat and that had to be eliminated. Biting her tongue, Amy knew that at this time, there was only one thing she could do. Run. And so she did, not daring to look back to see if he was following her. She couldn’t concern herself with that know. What she needed was as much distance from him as possible. She was almost at the end of the hallway when she felt her scarf being yanked back. She immediately got on the defensive and raised her fists to punch her aggressor. “Ow!” Instead of Teojushin recoiling from her punch, there was a girl there, holding a green hand up to her injured cheek. “You’ve got some nerve!”  Amy quickly reached out a hand and tried to apologize. “I…I’m sorry I thought you-“ the other girl swatted her hand away. “Ugh, forget it. Can’t you just like, tell me what’s going on?” she nodded her head over to the destroyed hallway behind them. Amy bit her lip and grabbed the girl’s hand. “What are you doing?” Lifting her finger to her mouth, she shushed her. “No time. I’ll explain in a safer place.”   - Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so rough after all. That pretty little kitten was running away from him, her scarf trailing behind her like a kite’s tail. Rubble from the shattered walls crunched under his foot as he stepped through the destroyed doorway, iron bars with jagged ends exposed. His fingers traced one such bar gingerly, not wanting to injure himself. He scoffed and raised his hand. The rubble on the floor trembled and with a protesting crunch, it rose from the floor to repair the damage he had caused. It was like nothing had happened. Almost. There was nothing he could do with the lockers. With a bored sigh, Teojushin inspecting himself again and clucked his tongue. His host’s scuffle with the other boy had dirtied his clothes. Shrugging off his blazer, he tossed it into the nearest trash bin and loosened his tie. “Now then…” he expected to see her there, still frozen from when he had left her, but there was no one in the cafeteria. It was deserted.  He rushed over to that spot and looked again. Even the boy was gone. Teojushin grit his teeth, his right hand forming a fist. “That blasted thief!” He kicked one of the chairs, sending it clattering over the floor. “He dares to take what’s rightfully mine?!” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, hissing in disgust. So far, his takeover had been nothing but a mess. Maybe he should have waited for Soren to break more… “Where’s the fun in that?” Wait. Something moved amongst the tables, catching his attention. A girl was standing there, biting her lips and staring at him, her hands cusped together over her breasts. She seemed familiar. Burgundy hair swept up in a side ponytail with an almost lighter shade of red streaking through it, lips red as sin. Hesitating, she looked between him and the doorway he’d just repaired and stared at the floor. “Do you have something to say, woman?” he sized her up and mentally assured himself that she was not threat to him. She jumped at his voice and took a step back. “N-…nothing.” Hmph, so useless. Teojushin turned away from her, dismissing her presence. “Then be gone, you’re of no use to me.” He spotted his case lying forgotten on the ground and he walked towards it, kneeling down to inspect it. It was unzipped and his bass was on display for all to see. It didn’t take long for him to put two and two together. So, his host had actually gotten in contact with the Other, huh? And that girl must have triggered something to come in contact with it too. How else would she have gotten the nerve to attack him? He zipped the case back up and hoisted it over his shoulder. The sound of footsteps behind him made him pause and slouch his shoulders in irritation. “Oh, you’re still here, little lady?” Indeed she was, and moving closer. “Soren, you’re not acting like yourself. Do you…” she ran her tongue over her lips. “…want me to make you feel better?” His lips curled back in disgust. His host had been involved with this creature? “Not feeling like myself?” He moved faster than she had anticipated and pinned her against the wall. “Look, dollface, I’ve never felt more like myself than I do now. So I suggest,” he ran his right hand up her neck to cup her chin. “-that you,” he patted her left cheek. “-fuck off.” He moved away then, leaving her frozen in shock. “I will not repeat myself. Stay away from me, wretch. I won’t be so gentle next time you cross my path. Understand?” Rose stared at him with glassy eyes and nodded her head once. Her knees gave out under her and she slid down the wall, too scared to move. He sauntered towards the nearby door, sniffing the air once. It was faint, but he was certain the scent he had caught was Sunset Shimmer’s. There was another mixed in, no doubt it was Brad’s. He wrinkled his nose. ‘For how long do you think you can evade me?’ - A head peeked out of the girl’s restroom in the school’s third floor. Amy looked up and down the hallway and gave a small sigh of relief. “Okay, we should be safe here.” The girl that had followed her (dragged, actually), raised an eyebrow.   “So, like, will you tell me now?” Oh. She recognized her now. A Fashionista.   >?I believe her name is Naomi. ?Hart muttered, studying her closely. ?We had a fling with her friend.? Amy chose to ignore the last part of his information. “Let’s just say that someone went berserk and busted a pipeline.” “I doubt a pipeline can cause that much collateral damage. You’d need a least a C1 for- oops.” Naomi covered her mouth and gazed around the bathroom. She walked over the stalls and began checking each one. Her shoulders sagged in relief. “We’re good.” “C…1?” Amy was confused. Standing up, she winced as her injured arm brushed against the wall. “Augh!” “…!” Naomi rushed to Amy’s side and lifted up her arm, inspecting it. She gasped at the wound that was still bleeding out and glared at Amy. “You were hurt? Like, I know I might not seem like a capable person, but I AM part of the health committee.” She wet a few paper towels and pressed them firmly against the wound. “I uh-OW- I was busy trying to get away. I didn’t really noti-IIIIICEEEE.” She winced again when Naomi wiped away at her skin. Not a few moments later, the floor between them was piling high with bloodied soggy paper towels. “Getting away from what? And look, you can’t like, say it was a pipe bomb. No way, Jose.” “You…wouldn’t believe me.”  Hart nodded next to her, even though it was highly unlikely that Naomi would be able to see him. “Try me.” - Something in his gut told him that he should get back to Nolan instead of searching for his little sister. With a heavy heart, Timothy turned around and began heading back the way he came. He spotted Nolan leaving the office with a grim look on his face.  “Boss?” Quickly falling into pace next to him, he waved his hand in front of Nolan’s face. “Boss!” The red-haired teen’s head snapped up and with an annoyed stare, folded his arms across his chest, but kept walking. "I thought I told you not to call me that, Tim.” The larger teen quickly bowed his head in apology, taking note of what was clasped firmly in Nolan’s left hand. “Uh…Nolan?” he pointed at the phone. Nolan blinked and looked down. “Oh. I got a troubling text from Vinyl. There was a situation in the cafeteria and most of the students have left the building.” He sighed wearily. “I never expected my first day to be this exciting.” “Students left? I didn’t see anybody.” Tim scratched his head, looking puzzled. First the strange call from his sister and now a text from Vinyl? Things must have gone batshit insane. Placing his hands on his hips, he glowered. “Naomi was saying something like that too…” Nolan’s eyebrow twitched at the mention of her. “Your little sister? I thought she was going to that girl’s academy in the next town.” He quickened his steps towards the cafeteria. “No. She’s always attended this school.” They turned the corner and found themselves staring at a pristine hallway. “Eh?” No debris, no smoke, but it was clear to them that something must have happened here. Nolan whistled at the state of one of the lockers, its metal door just barely hanging off the hinges. “So the King has made his move then?” “Sir?” “Nothing, nothing. I’m just mumbling to myself.” He rubbed his jaw, taking in the state of destruction when something caught his eye. Kneeling down in the center of the hallway, he picked up a rag. It seemed familiar to him, but he couldn’t think of where he had seen such a thing before. “Call Vinyl. I need her to check something for me.” - Two figures sat panting under the bleachers on opposite sides of one of the supporting pillars. Sunset Shimmer wiped away the sweat from her brow and shrugged off her jacket. Fanning herself with her hand, she sneaked a glance at Brad, who was still nursing his injuries. “I have half a mind to leave you here, you know.” Brad chuckled, which turned into a small coughing fit. “Good to know. I have a feeling that I’m not what he’s after.” He rested his head against the cool concrete and closed his eyes. He still couldn’t really believe what was happening. Recently, he had become aware of Soren’s deteriorating sanity, if only due to sudden changes in his demeanor and strange behavior. It always looked like the poor teen was waging a war with himself. Brad hung his head in shame. How could he call himself his friend if he couldn’t even help him? Maybe Soren was right. He shouldn’t have intervened with Soren’s crush. Glancing at Sunset, he noted that she had been true to her word and left. Good, one less thing to worry about. Sure, he had liked her at the beginning, when it had been a good idea to steal her away from his best friend. No, he didn’t steal her. He was just looking out for his best bud. He had a feeling that the girl would be no good for him.   ‘Who am I fooling? I’m not a friend. I’m just trying to make myself feel better.’ He was trash and he knew it. The sound of approaching footsteps made him tense up and clutch at the ground, his finger leaving dust tracks on the dirt. - “Found you.” Soren was startled when he opened his eyes to see his mirror-self standing in front of him again. He cast his eyes down, not wishing to see it but to no avail. Teojushin gripped his shoulders and made him face him. “How did you ever get out, my dear host? Was it the Other? Tell me.” Soren didn’t say anything. A mistake. Teojushin slapped him hard across the face. “I despise you. A weakling like you shouldn’t be around. I’m the real one.” He tapped his temple. “And yet you still continue to fight me?” Soren wiped the corner of his mouth. “It’s MY life, not yours. Whatever you are, you shouldn’t exist.” “But I do exist, don’t I? You may stop your ears and cover your eyes but I’m here to stay. You however…” he tapped his left eye. “Ought to just disappear.” Those words triggered something within Soren. He froze and his eyes glazed over. ‘Disappear. You aren’t needed. She’ll never love you. You won’t be missed.’ Teojushin looked up in triumph as the walls overhead began cracking. Bits of rubble crumbled down and shattered. “Good boy. Let me take over and you won’t have to suffer anymore.” Soren’s vision dimmed and the last thing he saw was Teojushin’s triumphant face.