The Interview

John was torn between relief and panic as Frank’s hold on him withered under Moira’s gaze. Despite his pale face, Frank smirked at the imposing redhead.

“We’re just joking around, Moira,” the jock said, trying to sound smooth, releasing John completely from his pin. “Me and Newman go way back.”

“Really?” Moira asked, her arms folded over her chest. “Because it looks to me like you were about to punch him.”

“Just an old joke,” Frank deflected, before giving John the side eye. “Right, Newman?”

‘He didn’t even try to make that not sound like a threat,’ John thought before he spoke up with a weak voice. “Yeah, we’re just goofing around.”

Moira’s eyes narrowed, clearly not buying the excuse. Before she could press into their story, a voice yelled out from the far side of the corridor.

“Frank, Coach wants us ASAP! Something about a new play he wants us to run,” one of Frank’s fellow football players shouted. A look of relief crossed Frank’s face which shifted into a cocky grin.

“Can’t leave the coach waiting,” he said smugly, like he was a cat that just got away with eating the canary. He stepped to follow after his teammate, but Moira moved to block his path.

“How about you keep your ‘jokes’ to a minimum in school, hm?” Moira asked, her eyes boring into Frank’s. The jock blinked, his steps faltering in the face of Moira’s serious expression.

“Yeah, sure,” he muttered, averting his eyes before quickly sidestepping the redhead and scurrying away. Moira shook her head and let out a sigh before turning her attention to John, her expression softening.

“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice far softer than before.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” John muttered, avoiding Moira’s eyes. His heart was racing and he worried that prolonged interaction would give Moira clues to his nature and pull him in for questioning. Thankfully, ringing blurted out from his pocket and he quickly jammed his hand in to collect it.

“Got to run,” he blurted, already moving away. “Um, thanks, by the way.”

John sped away, Moira followed for a few steps before she stopped, a concerned look on her face. Once John was sure she wasn’t following, he answered the phone.

“Hey,” he breathed.

“John, are you ok?” Vivian’s voice came through the speaker.

“Yeah, yeah,” John replied. “I’ll tell you about it when we meet up. You here?”

“Yes, we’re in the parking lot,” Vivian informed him.

“Okay. I just have to find Beth and we’ll meet you there,” John said. “Give me about five minutes. I told her to wait near the front entrance for our answer.”

“Right. See you soon,” Vivian signed off, and John slipped his phone away, pausing his steps to calm himself. Once his heart slowed, he reached out with Arcane Sense, seeing if Moira followed him. Not picking up a sign of her aura, he fully relaxed.

‘Okay, that was an event,’ he thought. ‘Really shouldn’t have antagonized Frank like that. Just because I basically have superpowers compared to others here doesn’t mean things will just change. Didn’t happen for Spiderman.’

Shaking his head, John made his way towards the academy’s front entrance where he found Beth standing a little bit away from the doors, her lip bit between her teeth and her arms crossed over her petite chest. She twisted about with barely contained nervous energy until she noticed John’s approach and tried to school her features.

“We good to go?” she asked, failing to keep her nerves out of her voice.

John smiled, hoping that would help to calm her. “Yeah. Vivian’s out in the parking lot with her car. Don’t know if we’re going to talk here or go somewhere. So if you need to be anywhere…”

Beth shook her head. “Nah, pretty free up. Sis is still out wherever she is, so I can do pretty much whatever.”

Her tone carried a dull resignation and John found himself hoping they could reach a working agreement.

“Well, let's get going then,” John said, motioning towards the door.

As they exited the building, Beth asked, “Are you okay from earlier?”

John smiled at her. “Perfectly fine. Nothing I haven’t experienced before.”

To emphasize his wellness, John rolled his right shoulder, showing no issue with the arm that took the hit. “Honestly, gym class was more painful. Dodgeball again.”

Beth let out a little chuckle. “Yeah. Way too overplayed. At least it’s pretty easy to avoid getting hit, right?”

“I guess it would be with your talents,” John mused. “I did have a little fun today with my own today.”

“Oh?” Beth said with a sly smile. “And what exactly did you do? I’ve only seen your firework trick.”

“I’ve got a little move that lets me boost my speed,” John explained. “Pretty useful for dodging.”

“Could be useful for other stuff,” Beth pointed out. “You ever think of trying parkour?”

“Can’t say I have,” John replied, eyes scanning the parking lot. “But from what I’ve heard about it, you probably have a bit of an unfair advantage over other people.”

“Just means I can do more intense and impressive stuff,” Beth boasted. “But with enough speed going into a jump, you could do some cool things.”

John considered her words as he caught sight of Vivian’s car.

“Sounds like it could be useful,” John said, pointing to the car. “Car’s over here.”

Beth’s steps slowed for a split second, just long enough for John to notice.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Beth replied, looking unsure. “Just don’t want to screw this up. Already ruined the first impression with you guys. Hell, should consider getting this chance as good enough.”

John gave her a reassuring smile. “If it’s any consolation, you’ve got my vote. And, well, I guess I wouldn’t say we’re looking for more people, but we’re not just going to turn down help.”

Beth’s shoulder straightened and she took a calming breath. “Alright, let's get this interview started.”

As they neared the car, Vivian stepped out, smiling softly.

“Hi, again,” she cordially said to Beth. “We’re going to pop over to a meeting area. Aeolia’s waiting there. She didn't want to take the ride. Anyway, we haven’t been properly introduced. Vivian Renoux.”

She held out her hand for Beth and the shorter girl took it and the pair shook.

“Beth. Beth Gryff,” she said. “Um, sorry about the other day.”

“It’s fine,” Vivian accepted the apology. “Now, how about we get moving? Got a lot of things to discuss.”

“Right,” Beth said and she moved to get in the back seat. Before John could follow her lead, Vivian pulled up to him and quickly delivered a brief kiss to his lips, then a longer one.

“The first was from Aeolia,” she said. “Though she said she still might kiss you when we get there.”

“No complaints from me,” John responded with a dopey grin. “Hope your day went well.”

Vivian smiled a satisfied grin. “Got some work done on an idea. But we can talk about that later.”

“Right,” John remarked and slid into the car, catching Beth’s confused expression.

“I thought you had something going on with the flying one,” she said. “You two were flirting after you blew up those rat things.”

“Tavaren,” John corrected as Vivian got in. He eyed her, and she nodded, aware of Beth’s inquiry. “And well, we’re kind of a threesome. Wait, that’s kind of the wrong word.”

“I get the idea,” Beth cut in, her eyes sweeping over John. “I’ll be honest, I wouldn't think you would be from how you look. But, hell, whatever works for you guys. Don’t have the right to say anything about it.”

John shrugged off the small hit to his ego. “Well, at least that won’t cause any friction. So, where are we going?”

“Aeolia set up a Barrier in a nearby park,” Vivian answered as she started the car and pulled out of the lot. “So it’s only a short trip.”

John saw Beth fidget in the rearview mirror, unable to contain her nervousness.

‘Do I give her some advice?’ he thought as they drove to the meeting. ‘What would I even say?’

John didn’t reach a resolution to his quandary before Vivian pulled into the small parking lot of a modest park. It wasn’t anything spectacular, with well kept grass lined with simple dirt paths and a small spattering of trees breaking the flat landscape. The most dominating feature was a small pond, a sole duck aimlessly swimming on its surface.

“Barrier’s on the other side of the pond,” Vivian informed them as they exited the car. “We can enter behind that twisted tree. Blocks sight from this side and there’s no real vantage point on the other. Shall we?”

Beth took a breath and nodded, following the redhead. John trailed after the two women, wondering if Aeolia would accept Beth into the fold. He knew how much she didn’t like the brash parkourer, but Vivian had made a good point after she left the Tavaren Barrier; they were standing up to a group with unknown power, one Aeolia sadly had the most experience with.

‘I suppose the fact that Aeolia didn’t just say no way is a good sign she realizes we need all the help we can get,’ he thought as they neared the Barrier. ‘Just hope she judges Beth fairly.’

Vivian stopped when they reached the Barrier and she vanished into it. Beth raised her hand but remained still.

“You ok?” John asked.

Beth shook her head. “Just getting my head on right. Here I go.”

She disappeared into the barrier, John following a second later. Inside, the setting replicated the local environment, though the grass and leaves were more brown and listless. Aeolia stood, in her full size, against the tree, her glaive leaning beside her.

“Alright,” Aeolia said, immediately jumping into action, “now that we’re all here, let’s hear it.”

“Weren’t you little before?” Beth asked, seeming unable to keep the question from escaping her lips.

Aeolia’s eye twitched and Beth, realizing her misstep, quickly added, “Not that you need to explain it! I, uh, I’ve already fucked this up, haven’t I?”

Aeolia sighed at the sad sight of Beth and pointedly looked at John, drawing a rectangle in the air. Catching the hint, John cast Observe on Beth.

Vivian leaned over to read the sheet, lips pursed as she reviewed the info. Then she nodded at Aeolia.

“Ok, here's the deal,” Aeolia said, perking Beth up. “Beggars can’t be choosers and you at least seem like you’re willing to work for it. So, you get a trial run.”

“What’s that mean?” Beth asked, her tone less depressed.

“I’m going to be real with you,” Aeolia laid it out. “We’re going to be going up against some pretty bad people.”

“John already gave me the rundown,” Beth cut in, her voice steady. “Complete with the blood stealing thing.”

“And are you ready to fight them?” Aeolia asked, her tone deadly serious. “You couldn’t do more than stalemate against the monsters. Joining up with us doesn’t just mean you’ll need to fight. You have to commit to getting stronger. When things come to a head, things may come down to one on one fights. None of us can just rely on the others to fight for them. We have to be able to hold our own and win or survive to retreat.”

“I wasn’t expecting anything less,” Beth confidently said. “I’m not joining just because I’m bored. And it isn’t just because I want to fight. I’ll be honest, before John gave the details, that was why I approached him, but after hearing what you’re up against, I really want to help.”

“Why?” Vivian interjected. “This is a dangerous thing. John and Aeolia have targets on their heads for one reason or another, and I might have ended up on their radar by virtue of the work I was setting up, but as far as we know, they only target groups.”

Beth looked introspective for a moment. “My folks were the sort of people who liked to help people. Always wanted to join them when I was a kid. And when they weren’t there anymore, my sister went half-crazy doing everything to keep me from any Abyss related danger. And your situation is the sort they would have jumped at and it made me feel like an ass for just thinking about my own bullshit problems. Don’t want to shit on their memory, ya know?”

Aeolia sighed and John knew the dead family angle had resonated with her.

“Ok, sounds like you’re motivated,” she said, drawing a smirk from Beth. “But we need to get a better idea of what you can do. John, think you can rework this Barrier into one with some weak monsters in it? I’m shit with that sort of thing.”

John blinked, confused by the sudden task. “Um, I’m not sure if I can. Never took one over. But I guess I can give it a go.”

Aeolia nodded and closed her eyes, her body tensing for a second.

Barrier control transferred to you.

John flinched as the popup manifested, a spike of pain lancing through his head.

“Sorry,” Aeolia apologized.

“It’s ok,” John said. “Just, give me a minute to reconfigure it.”

He turned his focus to the work ahead and cast Instant Barrier, pulling up a new menu.

Barrier Settings
Current Mode: Peaceful
Current Inhabitants: Four

Available Modifications

Modes: Aggressive
Inhabitants: Plant, Beast, Golem, Machine, Aberration
Levels: Set, Scaling

‘Okay, that’s a new sort of monster,’ John thought, seeing the ‘Aberration’ setting. ‘Not hard to figure out I got it from fighting that twisted tree thing. And I think I’m going to ignore it for a while. As for what to tweak the settings to, ‘Aggressive’ obviously. Let’s do ‘Plant’ so if things get dicey for some reason, Aeolia's wind and my fireballs will have an easy time cleaning up and set level to ‘5’. Half of Beth’s level should be fine.’

John dialed in the options and hit the ‘Accept’ button that appeared as he changed settings.

Apply Changes?
Cost: 10MP
Yes/No

“Barrier’s about to change,” he said before he pressed ‘Yes’. The area around them distorted, shimmering like a heat mirage and John had to shut his eyes to counter the sudden wave of dizziness. When it settled, the replicated park was only slightly changed, more trees had popped up, breaking up the flat terrain.

“Well, that was a trip,” Beth groaned, one eye closed as she cradled her head.

“That we can agree on,” Aeolia added, rubbing her temple.

Vivian just groaned from where she had fallen to her knees and John moved to help her up.

“You ok?” he asked as he pulled Vivian to her feet.

“I’ll be fine,” she answered, then lost her footing and collapsed into John’s arms. “Okay, maybe I’m still a little dizzy.”

“You can take it easy, Vi,” Aeolia said, her eyes drifting from her lovers to Beth. “In fact, how about we make that the mission? Think you can guard a ‘wounded’ ally?”

“I think I can manage that,” Beth boasted with confidence. “But, um, from what, exactly?”

As if waiting for their cue, and John had to wonder if Gaia had a hand in that, something dropped from a distant tree. A tree nut close in size to a coconut rolled towards them, its outer shell cracking in places as it did. Dull green vines burst through these weak points, some twisting around the nut and others weaving together into limbs until the creature resembled a headless, humanoid form around a meter tall. It stopped a little ways away from them, flexible arms raised above its bulbous body in a threatening manner.

“So, that’s what I’ve got to fight?” Beth asked, looking at the posturing mass of vines as she slipped her backpack off her shoulders, setting it down at her feet.

“There’s probably more that will show up once you start fighting,” John said.

“You don’t know how many you whipped up?” Beth inquired, turning to look at John with an incredulous look.

“My method’s a little on the random side,” John explained. “They should be weak enough that they won’t be a problem if they gang up on you.”

“How considerate,” Beth said with a smirk, then shrugged off her uniform jacket. “Guess I should get my game face on.”

Her hands flew to the buttons of her blouse and rapidly undid them, removing her shirt before anyone could remark about it, revealing a tight, dark green tank top. She dropped her discarded clothing onto her bag and unfastened her skirt, sliding it down her toned legs, unveiling a pair of tight spandex bike shorts that hugged her peach-like ass.

She bent down, slipping her clothing into her bag, pulling out her bladed yo-yo and a pair of sneakers, giving John and Vivian a good view of her toned butt. Once she swapped her shoes, she slipped her weapon’s string onto a finger.

“Okay,” she said as she began to advance on the Vine Man. “One mowed lawn, coming up.”

She broke into a sprint, prompting the plant monster to charge as well, its arms growing as it did. Beth flicked her wrist and let her weapon fly, the circular blades aimed at the creature’s body. It lashed out with one of its extended arms like a flail, intercepting Beth’s attack as the distance between them shortened.

The yo-yo bit into the squishy vascular flesh, a splash of milky liquid spilling from the wound. Beth pulled her weapon back to her hand and jumped over the moving mass of vines, twisting in midair. She landed and crouched low, facing her opponent and sent her weapon out in a wide, low arc.

It flew around its legs twice and Beth yanked the string hard, snaring the limbs and tripping the rotund monster. It hit the ground but flung one of its arms back at Beth. She leaned away from the attack, pivoting on one foot, and with her free hand, slammed the vines to the ground. When the Vine Man tried to retract its limb, it pulled in vain.

“Little stuck, huh?” Beth taunted with a smirk as she pulled her weapon back to her hand, lightly wounding the plant monster’s legs in the process. The creature flailed its free limbs, launching its unbound arm back at her. Beth danced out of the way of the **** attack and, with an impressive display of flexibility, lifted her foot high and slammed it down on it, fixing it to the ground like its twin.

Fully immobilized, Beth took aim at the Vine Man’s body and began to strike at it, spinning blades sending splashes of cloudy liquid. After a few hits, her attack dug past the writhing vines and scored a hit on the shelled core. A second later, the Vine Man stopped struggling as the yo-yo broke through the core with a loud crunch.

“Wasn’t so tough,” Beth remarked, attention turning to the others as the Vine Man faded away, leaving behind a small vial of cloudy liquid.

“Look behind you,” Aeolia said dryly.

Beth twisted her head to see five Vine Men approaching, two decently taller than the one she had defeated.

“Right,” Beth sighed, rolling her right shoulder. “Not going to be easy.”

And she moved to intercept the small platoon.

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.