The STRANGE: Origins

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Alice listened to Hunter speak attentively, he was improving from his initial appearance today and rising back up her opinions slowly. She was glad that he'd managed to dodge Frida's spit and not cause a fuss about it, them fighting again was the last thing they needed. Although, the speed at which he'd managed to dodge it was almost unreal, he hadn't made a big thing about it but she liked to notice things. He was N-Class, so he didn't have a power but instead had a natural talent, maybe that was it then. Maybe his natural talent was his speed. She couldn't know for certain and she wasn't going to ask but she was happy with her theory and filed it away in her memory. Knowledge was a powerful thing is used in the right way, so she liked to learn all she could. She listened and observed and sometimes she'd get a gem that would be helpful.​

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He also answered her question with an answer that she was extremely relieved to hear. They shouldn't have a script. That suited her perfectly well, she was never that good at putting her ideas into words, she was far better at improvisation and doing things in her own organised chaos kind of way. "Oh okay, no script it is. I don't think we really need one anyway, I'm all for improvisation." She grinned shaking her head a little, "We'll be just fine without one."​

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"As for what it is we're doing, I figured we'd do a performance of a prison break out. Plain and simple. We'll show the prisoners feeling all trapped and isolated and wanting to be free at first, then we'll show them rebelling and breaking out. I don't think there will be words, it'll be shown through the music and dance and other things on stage. It will be up to the audience to interpret it. I don't know what you'll be doing. You could be moving the scenery I've made for it or directing us to make sure it all fits together nicely or even join me on stage. One thing I do know is that you aren't staying idle. Well, you've heard Frida." Alice smiled as she attempted to explain her ideas and get it all to work out. "It needs to be performed today, we haven't got long so we'd better get started as soon as we can. We'll have to work without music for a bit until Nix gets sorted out and returns with the music. Let's get going then."​

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Alice grasped her ears and winced as Madame Lumia let out her note, she'd had fairly sensitive hearing up until her rather painful note but now she was pretty sure her eardrums had just exploded. Cautiously she removed her hands from her ears as the note ended but the ringing in her ears did not stop. She did however still manage to hear their teacher call them out to seal their fate. She slowly looked back at the group they now had formed, were they ready? Well they didn't really have a choice either way.​

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The auditions had gone okay, they'd somehow managed to get by without killing eachother, even if there had been a few tense moments. Nix had returned after a while with a breath-taking piece of music, that was just about perfect for their cause and since then they'd managed to get a few full rehearsals in. She was still a little doubtful they were ready though, they couldn't afford to mess this one up. ​

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She looked at each one in turn, they all knew what this meant and the trouble it could result in them getting in. She could feel doubts rising up, she didn't want to cause pain for the rest of this mismatched group but she did her best to ignore them. They all knew what they'd signed up for and she couldn't let them down, it was a bit late too anyway. "Is everybody ready? Do you all know what we're doing?" She asked, her voice was still as quiet as ever but a deep determination hidden behind every word, "We can do this, okay?" As this little girl prepared to take centre stage, for a ghost she felt extremely vulnerable. ​

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◘ Ｉ ＷＯＮ'Ｔ ＬＩＧＨＴ ＴＨＥ ＦＩＲＥ， ＢＵＴ Ｉ ＷＩＬＬ ＮＵＲＴＵＲＥ ＴＨＥ ＦＬＡＭＥＳ ＯＦ ＲＥＢＥＬＬＩＯＮ ◘​

In an effort to save time, Nix quickly called in the rest of the group, told them to hold comments until after the performance, and played the piece for them. It was perfect, they told him, and he was glad, but there were several smaller improvements that could be made. He quickly ushered them out of the room then and scribbled in changes, quickly playing small parts.

You couldn't rush perfection, but this was a rather dire circumstance.

Perfect, he thought, it was perfect. How long he had spent on tuning it completely to his high tastes, he didn't know, but Nix had finally, finally somehow managed to get what he wanted, to get what he was aiming for. This is what they needed, just the final touch on the stage, his music would collaborate with the acting of Alice, and the special effects little shri - or, Frida, rather, was making.

Standing up from the chair, he organized the sheets of music, wondering if it were long enough to match the length of the play. It was really no matter, with these few sheets, he had grabbed a good base to be able to improvise later, if that needed to be.

While he put his cello in its case, he began to think of how it went with Aiden - or, Hunter, he guessed. A lot of the students preferred being called by their code names because they were what all of them were given upon coming to the academy. Whether their actual names were their real names or not, they didn't know. It eased the consciences of most of the students, and a lot of them thought they were cool. Most people actually called Nix by his code name, and only his closest of friends, which no one was, referred to him as Nix. It wasn't an absolute though, since Nix didn't have friends. Most all people, to him, were acquaintances, some being closer than others.

Putting his case neatly in the corner, Nix headed towards the door, and right as he was coming out, the Madam let out a very high C that was perfect in pitch and tone, but so loud, the blond fell back into the room, and when it was silent again, he heard ringing. Waiting for a few minutes, he tried the door again, thankful to find that she was no longer holding the note. She was announcing their performance. There was now no more time. Nix wasn't nervous, but surely Alice hadn't been expecting so soon.

He reached the group, surprised to see Hunter was with them, but said nothing.

"Is everybody ready?" Alice asked them, "Do you all know what we're doing?" She was quite, but Nix knew she was prepared for what was going to happen. Not saying a word and showing the rest of the group his sheet music, he nodded. The group began heading toward the stage and Nix could feel the tense atmosphere all around the four of them.

This would be a performance to remember.

 

Sam smiled. His plan had worked. He had managed to sneak into the class and hide himself away in a corner. It wasn't that he had an ulterior motive, but he was already in costume. And he didn't want to reveal anything from his performance before it was his time to shine.
"Are you ready to perform, Sam?" Jaggerjack's voice rang in his mind.
"I do hope everything goes according to plan." The god commented, anxiety in his thought voice.
Sam simply nodded, giving a mental "Hell yea!" This class had never been one of his favorites, nor one that he put much effort into attending. In fact, it was Jaggerjack that had always pushed Sam to attend Fine Arts. The god loved the arts. It reminded him of a "better time," though he was silent on what exactly that time was. When it came time for this project, Sam thought about something simple such as letting Jaggerjack perform some fireball tricks or simply not doing it and schmoozing the professor into letting him pass, as he most often did. But Jaggerjack refused. The flame god (Sam did not know his real title; in fact, the teen often secondguessed his inner deity's godly status, mostly due to Jaggerjack's silence on the topic) nagged at him mentally, saying it would be an affront to their relationship if Sam did not do something.

So here they were: with Sam standing silently in the corner, purposely hiding the right half of his body with shadows. His project was a performance, something akin to a monologue, but with special effects, provided by Jaggerjack himself. The whole thing was planned with Jaggerjack with Sam coming up with the dialogue, though Jaggerjack fine-tuned it. Even though Sam had originally wanted to skip this project, he was now extremely excited. He knew that he would lose some points for not making an entrance into class, but hoped that his project would make up for it. If anyone had seen him, especially his costume, it would take away from the full effect...well, according to Jaggerjack. Sam was fine with this. He had a big performance planned with a big ending. The entrance...was not that important. "Ya got two important things in life: How you come in and how you go out," he always said, "The rest works itself out."

 

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Little Frida Logan huffed at the Madame's speech as an intro, slash, pep-talk for the performers.

'Was it really necessary?' Frida thought in a negative note. She licked her rose tainted lips observed her surroundings. Her group mates were just about ready and she could also see many other performers around. She was not excited to see everyone else perform and simply wanted to get over with her own. Half of her was excited to perform (given such an amazing topic they were to present) but the other part of her remembered she went in on this just for the grade - and anything was better than nothing.

"We can do this, okay?"

Chirped Alice Moon. Frida looked at her and nodded. She actually had confidence in her group and that they could do it. In fact, she really knew they could. This was going to be the best performance of the day and this was going to blow people's minds. She wasn't worried about it being horrible which was probably why she grew a bit lazy toward their project. This did not mean though, that she liked the people she was with. Nothing had changed. Yes, she still enjoyed Alice's company and she still wouldn't bother being around Nix or Hunter any time other than this.

As if, on cue, the non-power user had turned to her, "After you." He says. She eyed at him for a second then stuck her tongue out at him but walked to her place anyway. She crossed her arms over her chest as she stood by the entrance of the stage behind the curtain. She could already see the crowd of people who were there to watch. Part of her began to wish she was just there, sitting - probably enjoying a good nap. But no, right now she was about to be on stage and blow their brains out. She smirked.

"Well, Frida, when you put it that way. You're better off on stage than on the lousy seats."

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◘ Ｉ ＷＯＮ'Ｔ ＬＩＧＨＴ ＴＨＥ ＦＩＲＥ， ＢＵＴ Ｉ ＷＩＬＬ ＮＵＲＴＵＲＥ ＴＨＥ ＦＬＡＭＥＳ ＯＦ ＲＥＢＥＬＬＩＯＮ ◘​

Nix looked back on his thoughts from Monday. He was a musician, not a fighter, so what exactly was he doing right now? In a sort of guilt, he played it up to wanting to see the real sky, to be able to fly, surrounded by it. He was not unused to exposing himself to crowds, but he was normally one to stay out of the spotlight, he couldn't help but wondering what brought him into it. Was it Alice's sweet but determined temper? Volts' fire? Or was it his own desire to start a revolution to satisfy his want to be in the know of what was unknown?

He was the first to walk onto the stage, immediately going to downstage right where he usually performed for theatrical performances. At this part of the stage, he would be much out of the way, and close enough to the crowd that the whole room would be able to hear his music.

The audience bore their eyes into Nix, currently the only person on stage, who was setting up to play. His fluid movements gave off a rather ominous feeling and as he finished tuning, he began a low F then rising up in a minor scale slowly, giving shivers to his listeners. He told them " You are in for a startling and unnerving surprise. "

" Let it begin. "

 

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The petite girl took her place ready to start, she was nervous, who knew what might result of this performance. Butterflies materialised in her stomach as she prepared to take centre stage. She'd never done anything as grand as this before, her dancing just tended to be for her own enjoyment, this was something else entirely. She trusted the team she'd made, even if she hadn't known them long, each one of them knew what was at stake here.​

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The first note was played and that was it, their make or break performance had begun. She allowed the music to coarse through her body and just let her body flow with that. Nobody would really be able to say how, where or even when she appeared on stage but she was just there moving, dancing. She was no longer scared or even aware of the audience watching her every move. The music had entwined her, encompassing her being and dictating everything she did.​

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It did not matter that she was the only dancer on stage, there might as well have been an entire prison with inmates around her. Her body twisted and turned, and with it the feeling of being trapped grew. There was no way out, they controlled every move, suffocating her and with this the burning desire to be free, the longing to escape grew. With every flick of her wrist, turn of her head, look in her eye, the feeling amlified. She did not see how she affected the audience, she could not tell they were there but somehow still she drew them into her plight. As the atmosphere built and built, ensnaring everything within it's grip, rising until something had to give. The inevitable climax had to come. ​

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From the shadows, Sam watched. He was almost mesmerized by the girl's dancing as his body froze. It was strange, the music sent chills through his body as it vibrated the auditorium and the girl gave him a weird sense of...struggle.
'This girl belongs in a different age. Her act is similar to a tribute on stage,' Jaggerjack thought, watching through Sam's eyes.
'What's that mean?' Sam asked, snapping out of his trance, though his eyes were fixated on the performance.
Jaggerjack chuckled. 'In the days of my prime, we were paid tribute by man. Not just animal sacrifices, but followers would perform to avoid being damned. To avert the wrath of us gods, they would dance and act and sing. They would be in extravagant costumes with masks and jeweled rings. Their performances were dedicated to us and served to show our power. We gods very well enjoyed them from our tower.'
'And if they didn't pay tribute, ya would...destroy their civilizations?'
'Nothing like that, Master Samuel, though a few of us were quite proud. Those demanded that their performances be loud.'
One of these days, Sam knew, he would demand that Jaggerjack stop speaking in rhyme. He knew the "god" couldn't help it, but his speech was limited because of it and sometimes Sam had trouble understanding.
'And ya think this girl, blondie up on stage, would fit in just fine back then? To pay tribute to ya self-centered gods?' The last part was a joke. Sam didn't believe Jaggerjack was truly a god, his power was nowhere near what Sam would call godly. But Jaggerjack insisted that he be respected as such.
'Look at the way she moves. Her heart is poured into her, as you would say, grooves. She would be one of the best and I doubt any God would detest.'
Sam simply smiled and shook his head at this point. 'They ain't seen nothing yet.'

 

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Frida awed at how lovely Alice danced across the stage. It was absolutely magnificent. She was captivated by her - like everyone else. The audience surely was glued to their seats. The music played by Nix was so great and empowering. The start of their performance was a show on its own already. Part of her just wanted to sit and watch - this was truly beautiful and entertaining but she was called back to reality by the non-power user.

"Make this a good one."

He said. Frida looked up at the white haired boy. She looked at him with a you-silly-boy expression and chuckled slightly, she then put a hand to her hip, smirked and with a cocky tone she told him, "With me around, you don't even have to worry about it being the best." She took one last glance at Alice before she noted that the music gradually began to change. This was her cue - or at least, her cue before her actual cue. She cracked her knuckles and shook her hands quickly in preparation for her act. She gave each of her feet a little twist before turning her back on the stage, "Alright, it's time to set the stage on fire." she said menacingly, before giggling at her 'joke' for a moment and quickly turned back at Hunter. "You better not mess anything up, N-class."

The cotton-candy-coloured girl took off quickly towards the backstage before Hunter had a chance to talk back at her or do whatever. The petite Frida began to climb the ladder that lead up towards this ledge that was infront of the stage but behind a short curtain that hailed from above. The ledge was used for specific things such as what she was about to do now - provide special effects for their project without being seen much. She, however, could see everything from the stage below her and the audience in front from the ledge though. Frida carefully stepped up the final step of the metal ladder and carefully maneuvered her way to the edge of the ledge where wires that they installed housed in, expanding to either sides of the stage. She watched Alice dance from above - still magnificent. She listened to Nix's music carefully - still beautiful. She shook her head slightly, she had to pay attention now. The music began to build up - becoming more and more dramatic. She hovered her tiny hands over the ledge, shut her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. The music continued to build up, becoming more and more intense. The different melodies began to pile up. The theatre seemed to shake with the power of the notes Nix played. Frida could feel power within herself surging along with the music. The music was like a monster emerging from the darkness with blood and death in its eyes. It seemed like it was getting closer and closer and closer with every note. Then, a silence. A dead silence.... for at least a second.

"Show time."

Electricity bolted out of the palms of the petite girl as the music roared back all of a sudden. The lightning that erupted from the litte girl was intense, gigantic as it traveled from the top of the stage to all the way down, and crackling. The theatre was illuminated by the blinding light of Frida's lightning. It came from above, then traveled down the wires they set up on the sides of the stage and it surged from there. She shot more and more electricity around the stage, making sure not to hit Alice or anyone in the theatre. Everything was building up to a climax. It was truly exciting. The lightning would bolt in and out of the stage - as if performers themselves. Sometimes, they would travel around the surface of the stage, almost like they were dancing alongside Alice as well.

However, nothing beat the feeling of thrill and adrenalin that surged along with the electricity in Frida's body. All this power - all this freedom, almost. It was liberating and she felt more alive than ever. In fact, Frida was smiling. Not one of those rude smirks, an actual, genuine smile. If only anyone could see her now. There on the ledge, 60 feet above the ground was Frida Logan smiling, looking like a 12-year-old little ray of sunshine.

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The battle was intense, Frida's electricity filled the stage as Alice fought hard for her freedom. She may have been the only person on stage but that was long forgotten as she danced through the battle, struggling against her captors, with the desire to be free. Nix's climatic music filled every nook and cranny, causing the fierce fight seemed to surround the audience, immersing them in it. The need to escape and be free, burning strong and fueling the fight, growing stronger with every passing second. ​

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Alice was barely aware of anything, she was lost in the performance, twisting and turning and jumping and fighting. She moved faster and faster as the music rose, the electricity got intenser and intenser. The tension grew thicker and thicker, something had to give. Then with one final heart-stopping note and a stunning flash of light, Alice leapt out from the stage straight into the audience in once last-ditch chance to escape.​

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Then silence. The bright light faded to reveal Alice had literally vanished, leaving the stage dark and empty. What had just happened, if she had escaped or not, was all in the audience's minds. Only one thing was for sure, she had gone.​

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◘ Ｉ ＷＯＮ'Ｔ ＬＩＧＨＴ ＴＨＥ ＦＩＲＥ， ＢＵＴ Ｉ ＷＩＬＬ ＮＵＲＴＵＲＥ ＴＨＥ ＦＬＡＭＥＳ ＯＦ ＲＥＢＥＬＬＩＯＮ ◘​

After the stage had gone dark, Nix knew it was time to clean up. He was proud of himself, and proud of the others, Alice especially, and while no one could see him, he would fill out his smiling needs, and remain passive for the rest of the performance and keep up his usual appearance. The atmosphere of the resonating room made Nix satisfied enough; every student was aware of what they did; they put their heads on the chopping blocks. Fortunately, for them, they weren't going to die like poultry. They were going to be the phoenix, no one could kill them.

Not for good anyway.

It wasn't hard to tell that the Madam was uncomfortable, but she had clapped anyway, and congratulated them on a performance well done. At least he knew he wasn't going to fail the project. After casing up his cello and moving through the hall behind the stage, Nix was at the edge of the classroom's crowd. A few people purposely avoided looking at him, but one of his other music friends came and started up music-nerd-talk about his piece and gave critiques and praises. Here and there, Nix chuckled, and moved through the other kids to get to the back where he could be in peace.

He didn't know where the other guys were, but when he situated himself on a bass stool in the back, he breathed calmly. To his left, a few girls who were whispering among themselves, sneaking the occasional glance at him, and then to his right, a few feet away, Anya, with her arms crossed and her 'no shit' air around her. She caught his look and he nodded at her just as they always did when crossing paths.

While waiting for the next performance, which would be done by Sam, he closed his eyes, thinking. Every few minutes, one brave soul would come and chat with him, and he'd set them at ease, and then they'd be on their way, leaving him to think again. Rinse, repeat.

They wouldn't come out of this fire unscathed, but they were the ones who started it, after all. For a little while, they would be mark free.

 

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Anya usually never showed an interest in anything that others did, but yet again she found her eyes locked on the stage as the group performance started. The theme of the piece was blatantly obvious to those who knew what to look for, but again... all the same... it could be just as easily missed by those who plain weren't looking. The performance was more than just a simple show. More than just a class project... It was a masterpiece, and more importantly... It was A STATEMENT.
Anya's predictions when she had been listening in to the group's conversation earlier had definitely come true, but at the same time they had been completely proven false. This performance was a lot more than even she had expected. She knew this class was going to be interesting and it certainly was proving to be more and more.
As the performers left the stage, minus Alice who couldn't be seen, but Anya presumed she had left somehow... whatever her power may be, because it was obviously some sort of power that was used... was it teleportation? Invisibilty? Perhaps an Illusion. Either way, the girl was gone. Vanished into thin air. Madam Lumia was clearly uncomfortable, but she congratulated the performers who she could see none-the less. As others around her clapped, albeit weakly, Anya as expected refrained from clapping herself. She did however catch Nix's eye as he sat down and she gave him yet again a nod of understanding. Again... the performance had reached people and he deserved to know it.
Now it was some guy called Sam who was meant to be going next. Anya's eyes flickered over to the stage again as a quick smirk flashed across her face for a brief instance before vanishing. "...Not bad. Not bad at all." her voice came out quietly and to nobody in particular, since Anya wasn't talking to anyone at all. The words just came out like that for the first time.
It wouldn't be long now. The next performance would start, and then... after that... Well.
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The palm of her hands tensed suddenly, as she let the electricity that she released vanish along with all the other elements of their performance. It was an incredibly sudden stop - a fine idea, Frida thought. Something to keep the everyone in the theatre on edge. The signature Frida-Logan-smirk replaced the child-like smile she had as she performed, it was obvious that she was very satisfied by what they had just done. The silence only boosted her arrogance, ' We've actually awed them to speechlessness, wow, this went better than I thought. ' She began to climb back down and join the others, embraced by the aura of pride and satisfaction. She trotted over to their sides and whispered "What did I say? No need to worry at all, best ever perf-"

The silence was put to an end by clapping. Awkward clapping, actually, as in cringe-worthy awkward. The petite girl's eyes laid on the one who started the clapping - the Madam herself! It was expected for her to break the silence, but Frida was absolutely stunned. Her smirk dropped, her eyes widened and her mind went blank for a moment. Her mind could not wrap around just what was happening at the moment. She had to take it all in one bye one:

The group she spontaneously joined performed earlier, they were to creatively express a touchy topic - masked under a great performance. Now, the performance was over. There was a great silence. Madame Lumia broke that as she clapped - but not actually clapped, more like, she did it because she had to. The teacher began to walk towards them. The technicolour haired lass continued to observe. Some of the audience joined in with more awkward clapping. Another observation: Madame Lumia began to walk up the stage, as they began to walk down. Frida noticed that the other students just stayed silent with the most peculiar expressions written on their faces. She felt like they were looking right at her. The final observation: Madame Lumia looked directly into Frida's eyes. The teacher smiled down slightly at the tiny performer and muttered, "Well done."

Frida didn't nod. She didn't acknowledge the forced compliment from the teacher. She just continued to make her way off the stage. Her mind was busy making up a conclusion in her head: Awkward clapping and a simple "well done" from the ever so enthusiastic and appreciative Madame Lumia was something new. Something strange! Something wrong, and boy, it scared her.

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What reaction was she expecting? No. But then again she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting. She knew it'd be different to the applause she received for her normal performances but still. She wasn't sure if she liked this reaction. She liked to see the effect things had on people and this was just...nothing. The silence seemed to scream at her. Then the slow patronising clap, she hated it. She'd enjoyed the performance and it had gone quite well, they'd certainly shocked the audience. She wondered how many actually understood the true meaning though, Madame Lumia certainly had.

Luckily she wasn't on stage to be 'congratulated', no, she had vanished and was nowhere to be seen. She was invisible and hidden by the crowd and had no plans on reappearing until the initial shock had dissipated. She didn't want to reappear just yet, she was fine hidden. She would rejoin the others soon enough but she wasn't ready to be seen just yet. What they did would have consequences, no doubt about it, she just wondered what they would be. She hoped the others wouldn't suffer too much because of her plan.

She slowly made her way through the crowd, listening to the various whispers as people talked about it, she didn't really pay them much attention though. She was preoccupied by her own thoughts. "...Not bad. Not bad at all." Alice turned around to see the owner of the voice, she didn't know why that comment had caught her attention, it wasn't particularly loud or anything that exciting, yet it still caused Alice to look round. It was a dark skinned girl, with stunning orange hair, but there was just something about her. She'd seen the girl before, though that was the first thing she'd ever heard her say and she didn't know much about her. There wasn't anybody else around that it could of been said to, she didn't know she was there, did she? How could she? Alice stopped and looked at the mysterious girl for a few moments, wondering if she should reply but ultimately decided against it. She eventually began to move on but that girl had intrigued her and there was something about her, that brought Alice to the firm belief that she was one of the few that had understood the true meaning of the performance.

 

"Let's do this," Sam grinned as the lights and speakers in the auditorium simultaneously turned off. It was a matter of figuring out who was in charge for the lights and sounds and telling them his performance's effects. Sam had to sacrifice full secrecy of his performance as he had to talk to the student himself and explain it. The rest? Well, wait for Sam's cue -which came to be Madame Lumia's call for Sam's act- and shut off all sound and lights immediately. The faint static of the speakers instantly faded as the room went pitch black. Taking the collective gasps, yells, whispers, and the comical calls of "rape!" as the next cue, Sam quickly moved towards the stage. He used the darkness as his cover, moving along the wall. He gave the A.V. operator half of a minute before he would shine the first light. So he hurried. He knew that any longer than that and Madame Lumia would either demand that the lights come back on or find a way to turn them back on herself. He needed full surprise and Lumia's actions would ruin that. Not just that, but he didn't want the audience's surprise from the black-out to fade out. Best way to maximize surprise? 'Throw it on top of another surprise and piggyback the first's effect, multiplying the surprise!'
'I do not think your math adds up, Master Samuel.'