</b>Logan brought the first of the new ear students into the rec room. "The recreation room." He said shortly "It's open after three during school days and 10a.m. on the weekends. You break it you buy it understand?" He asked lookeing at Crys.
Crys sneered at Logan. "Like I'd even want to touch anything in here...." Thenh er eyes fell on the arcade game in the corner. "PACMAN!!!!"
Joselyn looked around the room, fairly uninterested. Arcade games were okay, as were the other games, but she only resorted to those sort of amusements when there couldn't be anything else found to occupy her mind, or her game console was on the fritz. While Logan presented the room to everyone, Joselyn leaned against the wall by the door and waited for the tour to continue, looking forward mostly to being able to set up in her new room.
"Moving on." Logan said taking them out of the recreation room and into the
first floor class rooms
Crys entered from
the main entrance hall, leading Arthur and Locks. She immediately ran to the Pacman arcade game. "He's my favorite classic game!"
Arthur's eyes lit up at the sight of the arcade games. Dashing forwards and almost beating Crys to the games. "Never really played Pacman" he said, staring slightly wide eyed at the game.
Morgan, accompanied by Joss, entered the recreation room. "Woa.." she said as she glanced around, "This isn't half bad."
Joss' eyes widened to see all that incompased the room. He stood partly nervouse at not understanding all of is as the other students did.
"Yes! They have air hockey."
Morgan shouted. She grabbed Joss's arm, "Come on, play against me once!"
"Um... ok."
Joss said and followed.
Morgan stopped herself when they reached the table, "Oh.." she stammered, "You've never played before have you?"
Crys stared at Arthur. "You...have...
never...played...Pac...man?????" Her jaw hung open dramatically and she looked like she had just seen a ghost. "You should see him for real! He is AMAZING!!!"
"For real?" Arthur said, looking puzzled and digging in his pockets for some money. "Oh yeah, you can make video games come to life" he finnaly found a quarter and put it in the machine, starting it up. Soon he was racing around a maze of yellow dots and dodging odd ghosts.
"Yeah! I took out that crazy psycho Danger chick thingy. Talk about an adventure! We're taking a tour and next thing you know we're fighting the computer and she's kickin our butts! Throwing everything at us and then Mr. Logan gets this great idea. Why not use Pacman? So I brought him out and holy crap!" Crys rambled, telling Arthur of their adventure. "He was huge! And hairy and machine like. And the teeth! Oh man it was awesome!!!! I wish you could've seen it..."
Arthur's hand sliped when he heard this, causing the familiar noise of Pacman dieing. "What computer? Why'd it flip?"
"The Danger Room. It's where the X-men train and where we would have been training to use our powers." Crys explained and then shrugged. "For some reason it flipped. It was written in it's programming that it's goal was to kill the X-men. But it could never succeed before and now it could. It just about killed Mr. Smith! Twice. I saved him!" She smiled and took a breath then continued. "Anyways....it turned into this weird metal chick she looked really really cool but then she threw every simulation she had at us! We went from fighting Magneto and the Brotherhood to fighting Apocolypse's Four Horsemen and boy were they tough!!! It must have been something to actually fight them. Mrs. Smith, she was the Horsemen of Death and boy was she crazy! I cannot imagine what it was like for Mr. Smith to fight his own wife...but yeah Mr. Logan got the bright idea of bringing out Pacman and so I did and he ATE the computer chick, she called herself Danger. He ate her and then I put him back in the game before she could reappear in the center box where the ghosts go after he eats them, you know?"
Joss looked at the air hockey table and confessed "No I've never played." He said "But I am willing to try."
Arthur blinked "Im half sorry I missed the fight, half happy I wasn't here. I'd probably have gotten killed Id I'd been there."
"Alright. You stand on this side of the table," Morgan directed. She flipped a switch on the bottom of the table. Air flowed through the tiny holes. "Grab one of these handle things, like this. Their is a little slit-like hole on each of our sides of the table. Basically you just hit this puck with the handle and try to get it into the opposing person's goal."
Crys laid her hand on Arthur's shoulder. "I would have revived you just like I did Mr. Smith." She smiled cheerfully at him
Arthur froze when Crys put her hand on his shoulder. Locks didn't though and placed one of his long dreadlocks over the hand. "I'd still be useless" Arthur mumbled.
"I think I understand." JOss told her
"Everyone has a purpose." Crys said with a nod. "I'm sure you would have come in handy, Arthur. And you too Locks."
Arthur shrugged "Locks is the useful one here. Im dead weight. Heh, DeadLocks."
Crys chuckled softly. "Locks wouldn't exist without you, Arthur."
Arthur chuckled gently "Great, now I exist to take this guy into the world." Arthur's head jerked forward as Locks hit him.
Crys pouted. "Come on. Lert's play something else."
Arthur was practically hauled to his feet by Locks. "Alright..."
"Come on. come on. come on." Crys said as she pulled him over to the Super Mario Bros game.
"Alright, let's do this then. Don't think I'll go easy on you because it's your first time." Morgan told Joss. Clearly using her powers, she hit the puck. It was difficult to see because of the speed. All you could hear was the thunk of it hitting the goal and going in.
Arthur's face got brighter slightly "Now this is more familiar territory."
"This'll be harder than you think. I know this game like the back of my hand." Crys replied, holding up her hand and looking at it. "Hey what's that?"
"Well you must have a durty mind, you're hand looks like it hasn't seen water in weeks." Arthur joked, putting a quarter in the machine.
Crys scoffed at him. "My hands are perfectly clean!" She stuck her tongue out at him and wriggled her nose.
Arthur was already wincing from a rather powerful hit to the back of the head off Locks. "Lets get started then."
Crys smiled and let him be Mario. She took Luigi. She always liked green better than red anyway. She smiled and patiently waited her tunr.
Arthur played for quite a long time, but inevitably he died. "Your turn" he said, trying to shake the life back into his legs.
"Took you long enough." Crys said with a grin. She cracked her knuckles and then her neck, brushed the hair back behind her ears and stared intently at the screen as she manuevered Luigi through the levels, finding access to Star Road. She smiled at him, "Ever been here?"
"Once" Arthur said, before Locks jogged his shoulder "Then I woke up" he admited.
"Awwww you fell asleep playing?" Crys asked with a cute voice. She looked over her shoulder at Morgan and Joss and scowled, inadvertantly making Luigi run off a cliff. She heard the sound of his death and turned back tot he screen. "Crap...your turn."
Arthur bounced up while saying "Fell asleep playing... then had a weird dream" he started up his go. "Never knew you could go to Rainbow road in your dream..." he quickly followed her path up to rainbow road.
"I love the place personally. ALl the different colored Yoshis. So cute." Crys said with a little giggled. "I brought one out one time and he scared my parents. But I loved him!"
Arthur laughed, thinking about that. Rainbow road was tricky though and this momentary lapse of concentration caused Mario to plummet. "Wish I could take characters out of video games, it would be cool to talk to them.."
"They don't talk much. At least, the ones in old style games like this one." Crys admitted with a shrug
"I'd like to meet Samus Aran and Link" Arthur said happily. "Though" he said, a small frown on his forehead "I guess Link doesn't talk..."
Crys giggled, remembering her prom night with Link. "Oh he talks alright." She blushed slightly and bit her lip, "A real charmer that Link."
Arthur raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Got a crush on our Hero of Time?"
"Our hero? Pssht. You barely even know him." Crys told him then stuck out her tongue
"played every Zelda game made... well most of them, some aren't good. At all..." Arthur's eyes glittered slightly "But you probably know him better than everyone"
"Yes I do. The Zelda games that aren't any good and the ones that don't feature Link and Princess Zelda. The ones for the Gamecube mainly. They feature their children." Crys explained rather quickly
Arthur stared at Crys, a cheeky smile spreading across his face. "You know quite alot about those two dont you?"
"Yes I do. Link happens to call me his Princess." Crys replied with a smile. "Maybe if there's a dance sometime soon you can meet him."
"I'd like that" Arthur said, but Locks flailed wildly "For some reason I think he'd have to fight Locks for something..."
Crys giggled and batted her eyelashes at Locks. "I dare say, is your hair crushing on me?"
Locks froze and Arthur laughed "I would say you're right.."
Crys giggled and ran her fingers through Locks. "Well I'm charmed."
Locks shivered as Crys ran her hands threw him. He closed gently around her hand and swung two tendrils happily.
"Tell you what, you two, I'll save you guys a dance." Crys said, pulling her hand make. "But only if Locks gets cleaned up."
Arthur turned red and smiled, Locks made a happy swaying movement after letting Crys go. "Thanks" Arthur mumbled while Locks tried to clean himself off.
Crys wiped her hand on her skirt. "He's a little greasy. I suggest some serious shampoo and conditioner." She whispered to Arthur with a grin, curious as to what Locks' reaction would be
Arthur laughed and Locks went still for a second before moving at blurring speed and trying to scrub all his dreadlocks.
Crys giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. She turned to Morgan and shot her a glare. "Come on, let's watch them play air hockey."
Joss only saw the red blur of the puck as it went into his goal. "Wouldn't it be boring for you to play against someone you can't lose to?"
"I just like to improvise." Morgan winked at him, "I'm not saying you can't either."
Joss looked down to the side of the table where he saw a slot. He put the red puck back on the table "Ok." he said and took a deep breath with his third lung. Below the blowing sound of the table Morgan couldn't hear the low sound he was emitting. He knocked the puck back towards her goal.
Morgan leaned foreward, over the table to hit the puck.
Arthur followed Crys to the table, watching the two play air hockey.
Morgan's strike went directly towards Joss goal but did nothing more than bounce back off as if there wasn't even a goal.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Morgan shouted, under a laugh. She hit the puck instantly back.
"You told me to improvise." Joss said with a smile
"I didn't mean that well." Morgan replied.
"I'll stop if you do." Joss told her and whacked the puck back at her but not before changing his tone to direct the puck into the center of her goal.
"Alright, alright." Morgan agreed. She reached to the side of the table, where the puck comes out. Setting it onto the table, she hit it on an angle. It bounced off of the sides of the table, almost like in a pin ball game, at his side.
Joss smiled and stopped humming. He knocked the puck back toward her
"You see?" Morgan told him, hitting the puck back, "Electronics are fun."
"But..." Joss hit the puck "We could be doing something more constructive with our time. Maybe I'll teach you to whittle."
Trying to keep an open mind, Morgan agreed, "Alright. Do you sell them at all when your done making them?"
"Some people do." Joss said knocking the puck back "But I keep them."
Morgan, a bit distracted from the talking, missed and the puck went into the goal. Grabbing it out of the slat and putting it on the table, she said, "Do you paint them what your done too?" Morgan hit the puck.
"Sometimes." Joss said missing the puck. He put it back on the table and hit it back to Morgan
"So your more of the artistic type then?" Morgan said, hitting the pack back.
"Anyone can whittle." Joss said hitting the puck. "I'm just good with my hands."
"Oh my,..." Morgan replied, hitting the puck back. "That's dirty." she joked.
"How so?" Joss completely missing the joke.
"Well,...I-uhhh...N-nevermind." Morgan replied, hitting the puck back. Since he didn't get the joke, she felt a bit embarrassed.
"ok." Joss said. He missed the puck again.
"You know what-" Morgan began, trying to change the subject, "I don't even know what the score is anymore."
Joss indicated a light above the table "Isn't that it?"
Morgan looked up, "Oh, I guess so." she hadn't noticed it before. Jeez, why don't you just stop talking all together she thought to herself, hitting the puck back.
Joss knocked the puck back towards her.
Morgan miscalculated the puck's course, swung and missed. "Oh, crap..." she said, grabbing the puck from the slot again. She threw it on the table and hit it.
Joss hit the puck back. The ringing sound of the goal chimed out.
"I guess that's it." Morgan concluded. She walked over to Joss, "Good game." she held up her knuckle for a knuckle punch.
Arthur clapped, quickly followed by Locks. It had been cool to watch, its weird how mutations can make practically everything more interesting. Locks' clapping was weird, each time the tendrils hit they made a boney sound.
Crys laughed when she saw the score. Joss had creamed Morgan. She pointed at Morgan and couldn't help but laugh. "Wow you must really suck, Morgan!"
Morgan twitched and put her hand down. In an instant, she dashed right in front of Crys, "What was THAT?"
Joss looked at Morgan's hand. This greeting he understood. He tapped her hand with his fist, accepting "bones". He turned hearing Cry's comment "I blocked my goal for half the game."
Morgan moved away from Crys a bit, seeing as though Joss backed her up.
"Hey, comeon" Arthur said, trying to get between Crys and Morgan. He was having a bit of trouble doing so because Locks was flailing wildly, wrapping around Crys protectively and lashing at Morgan.
"Hey!" Morgan yelled, backing back by Joss, "What the hell man? She started it."
Crys sneered at Morgan and giggled as Locks came to her defense. "My hero..."
Morgan crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Eh.."
Crys stuck her tongue out at Morgan. "Why don't you prove you don't suck at Air Hockey?"
Joss didn't understand why Crys was acting how she was but he stayed between them just incase.
Arthur kept mumbling "Im gonna die, Im gonna die" over and over while Locks made a strange rattling noise.
"Are you trying to start something, pip-squeak!?" Morgan defended.
"I'd rather be a pip-squeak than a floozy!" Crys shot back at her
"Now wait just a second." Joss said finally interrupting "Is this any way for two civilized people to interact with one another?"
Morgan was just downright pissed off now. "If you call that thing civilized." she sneered. Simply the fact that Joss was between them kept her from lunging a blow at Crys.
Crys batted Locks away and sneered at Morgan. "At least I look normal, you purpled hair freak!"
Crys' comment took Joss' breath away. If she thought Morgan looked like a freak with a few purple streaks in her hair what could she possibly think about him. He remained between them, determined to keep them apart now.
"What?!" Morgan shouted. "Your just all talk pipsqueak! What are you going to do? Throw a video game controller at me? Hah! Your pathetic." she defended.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Laura demanded barging into the room "Do you know how many hearing sensitive mutants are in this school? I could hear you all the way across campus!"
Without a word, Morgan's eyes went straight to Laura, then to Crys and then back to Laura again.
"Laura!" Crys said nervously when she saw the teacher. She looked at Morgan and sneered. "Now you're gonna get it."
"Me?" Morgan asked, her focus back to Crys, "Your the one who butted in on Joss and I!"
"No one is gonna get it until I know what the hell is going on." Laura pointed at Joss "You, why are they fighting?"
"Well Ma'am." Joss began "Morgan and I where playing a game and I won. MIss Crystal said something about Miss Morgan being no good at the game and Miss Morgan took offence. One thing led to another and Mr. Arthur and I got between them. Mr Arthur's hair said something about them being crazy but I didn't make it out."
Crys glared at Morgan from around Joss. She looked over at the Pacman game that was running through demo mode. She wanted so bad to just bring him out and let him eat
Morgan crossed her arms and stayed quite the during the whole explanation. Damn, he sure is cute when he talks proper like that, she thought to herself about Joss.
"Are you guys done?" Laura asked Crys and Morgan
Crys had the urge to play with Joss's ears again as she got distractedd yet again. She stuck her tongue out at Morgan again
"Yea..." Morgan replied, shrugging off her anger deep inside.
Crys seethed and relaxed a bit. "I guess so..." She glared at Morgan again
Laura looked at the two of them for an extended moment "I can smell liars you both know that right?"
"Now I do?" Morgan said in a somewhat nervous, yet joking tone. She really didn't expect her to laugh though.
Crys swallowed hard and looked at Laura, she had not known that. And her actions reflected that
"I have a feeling this isn't over and it's going to continue." Laura said "Would I be correct in saying so?"
Crys stood there, not willing to answer first
"I.." Morgan hesitated, "I hope not."
"Well I don;t want to trek a mile across school grounds to pull you two off one another." Laura said "Follow me." She held the door open for the two girls.
"Don't forget," Morgan whispered to Joss before she walked behind Laura, "We have a whittling date." She winked at him before immediately dashing behind Laura.
Crys growled and followed. Joss was such a sweet heart and such a gentleman! Why did he have to get stuck with Morgan???
"Yes Ma'am." Joss told Morgan. "I'll stop by your room after dinner. Considering your still alive."
Layra led them to The Headmaster's office
Arthur had been watching hopelessly. "I'll see you later then Crys. I'll come round your room later."
"What now?" Joss asked
Morgan ran into the room, "Gah! Can you believe this?!" She had forgotten that Joss said he would meet her after dinner. It was like she had to vent a bit. "She put us in the same dorm room!"
"I'm sorry." Joss told her
Morgan ran her fingers through her hair and pulled on it. "You have no idea how much I just want to punch something right now."
Joss took a careful step back. He figured that she wouldn't hit him but he didn't want to get hit with anything if she started throwing things.
Noticing Joss backing off, "Oh no.." Morgan assured, "I wouldn't hit you. I just need to burn off some steam is all."
Joss thought for a moment "I could show you how to whittle but I think you'd be interested in something more exciting." He looked at her feet "can you fly with these wings?"
Morgan's wings flapped and she lifted off the ground slightly. "They are more for hovering. I can't reach very high heights, but I'm still working on that. Unlike those suckers..." she said, pointing at the wings on his arms.
"I can't fly and carry someone." Joss told her "You want to go for a walk?"
Really?, she thought. Morgan grabbed onto his arm like a lady. She figured he was used to that sort of stuff, "Lead the way, kind sir."
Joss smiled and led Morgan out to the school grounds threw the patio doors.
Arthur looked round, seeing he was the only one left he dashed out to the main entrance hall.
Just then a telepathic surge swept the school. Emma announced Dinner will be served in The main Dining Hall in one hour. This is a manditory engagement. Students and faculty are obligated to attend. Thank you.
Morgan and Joss entered the room from their little walk. Her wings fluttered a bit, causing her to hover slightly off the ground.
Joss watched Morgan's feet. Interested by her power
"Alight, I'm gonna get going and change clothes." Morgan figured that she would get done with changing clothes, so she would be the one to save him a spot. "See ya in a bit!" she said before dashing off. One could just make out a blurry flash of black and purple whizzing away.
Daine stood in the doorway of the recreation room with David. "This is where we've provided several recreations to be enjoyed by all of the students. It's open after classes end at 3 PM, but it's easy to slip in here any time," she said and then led him to the main dining hall.
David muttered to himself, deciding she just didn't want to answer anymore of his questions and followed her silently.
Stumble!