//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Enter the Spider... or Whatever I Am's Web // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 12 ___________________________________________________________ “Again, thanks for your cooperation in this matter, Susan,” Officer Lair says as he and Will’s mother stand at the front door to the apartment. “Of course, Tom,” she says, before correcting herself. “Oh. Sorry, Officer Lair. I mean, I did sign up for the volunteer program. Would be rude of me to just refuse. Besides,” she glances back as Will has a hand on my shoulder, “with what that poor girl’s been through, it’s the least I can do.” “I’ll… get Melinda sorted while you guys talk it all out,” Will says hurriedly, moving us towards her bedroom. Once the door is closed we both sigh with relief. I’m wearing a garishly light-blue dress and black buckle shoes. Will’s wearing the same clothes the episode where Nerissa created Will’s Altermere. I clench my fist, walking over to the open window and leaning my arms on the edges. “I don’t like how we have to do this. I hate lying like this.” Will sighs. “Agreed. I especially don’t like us having to use Cassidy and Irma’s powers to make it work.” ONE WEEK AGO “I’m sorry, you want to what?!” Will and I shout in unison. The Oracle looks between the two of us, unfazed by our raised voices. “In order to make none question Miranda’s presence on Earth, we will need to create a false identity for her by utilizing both the current and past Water Guardians’ abilities.” “You want me to mind rape Will’s mom and my own dad? Are you freaking serious?” Irma agrees with us, just as furious. Nuba gives a sideways glance to The Oracle. “I agree, Guardians, it is not a very moral concept, but, while I share your disapproval of the method, it is the best way to avoid suspicion.” “But… no, that’s just wrong!” I shake my head. “Bad enough you’re suggesting making false files for my identity, but messing with people’s memories? Isn’t that what villains do? Yeah, I’m in the body of a villain, but didn’t we just finish establishing how I’m not that villain?” “It wouldn’t be the first time Miss Lair has used her powers in such a way,” Nuba gives a glance to Irma, who shrinks slightly. “Besides, it is no more different than the time you all worked together to stop the issues caused by Elyon’s absence from your world, is it not?” Irma, Will and I open our mouths to argue, but pause, wince, glance at each other and look away. “The memory implantation to your father would be no more than that, Water Guardian,” The Oracle says calmly. “Implantation, not alteration. Like a subconscious suggestion.” “And my mother’s?” Will asks incredulously. “We’re not, and never have been, involved in any kind of witness protection program.” “I don’t want that, in any way!” I thrust my arms outward. “That’s just wrong! There has to be some other way. I… I could be a transfer student? Or… or exchange student?” “And your identity from the school you’d be transferring from?” Nuba asks, an eyebrow raised. “I…” I try to come up with something, but my mind goes blank and I shut me mouth, folding my arms and look away. “It isn’t the most ideal situation,” Yan Lin steps forward, herself giving the Oracle the stink eye, “but, then, none of this is. I agree, I don’t like the idea of implanting false memories or suggestions in anyone’s minds, and know Cassidy will feel the same way.” She sighs. “However, loathed as we are about this, we need to think of the big picture.” “No one questioned Caleb or Phobos when you brought them to Sheffield Institute because their time there was so brief,” Meera says, her face stern. “This time, we cannot know how long it might be before Miranda does not need to stay in order for your powers to work. A more permanent solution would require her identity to be one no one would question. The students and faculty of the school are one thing, but…” “But our parents are another,” Will finishes with a slight growl to her voice, which I’m close to doing myself. “Miranda could get away with that to a degree if she were living with Yan Lin, especially since she looks Asian herself, but…” “But, for the safety of everyone and to ensure as little difficulty keeping close for your powers, she must live with Will,” Halinor nods. “I do not approve of this method either, but, for the safety of the Infinite Dimensions, we have to use the hand we are played.” I look to Will, who has her eyes shut and a very strained expression. We wait several minutes, before she heaves a huge sigh and opens her eyes, looking to the Oracle, her voice firm, but tense. “Fine. What do we need to do?” NOW I bite my lip as I watch the traffic go by, trying to ignore the hushed voices from outside Will’’s bedroom down the hall. After it had been decided, the Oracle had Cassidy summoned to Kandrakar, where, after voicing her protests, along with Irma and a little work from the council, my new identity was formed. Melinda Vandom, a girl whose real name is hidden under police files due to being in the Police Witness Protection Program. The “official” records state that I was involved in an arson attack in an undisclosed country and I’ve been moved to Heatherfield under the name Melinda Vandom to protect me from the arsonists, who had learned I was still alive and therefore a witness to their attack. Beyond that, no one in the immediate know, namely Will’s parents, Irma’s dad and several other officials, know that story. The cover under the program has me publicly known as Melinda Vandom, Will’s cousin from Australia who is transferring to Heatherfield to spend time with family. The idea of making me officially part of Will’s family was something both Will and I heavily protested against, it feeling wrong to just shove me into her family life, but the Oracle had insisted it would be easier to explain away my reasons for being close to Will than if I were just a random transfer or exchange student. So, a week later, here we are. I’m now living with Will and her mother under the guise of being Will’s cousin, with her mother under the guise I’m part of some witness protection program she’d volunteered for to keep me safe. Will’s mother doesn’t even know that Will’s aware of the “cover” I’m under. She thinks, as far as Will’s concerned, I’m just some random cousin she’s never heard of, Will even acting slightly annoyed when we first met, before being kind to me upon seeing me nervous. “At least the Oracle kept to his word on the minimum amount of memory implantation,” Will moves to her bed and sits down, sighing. “Not that that really makes me feel any better.” “Doesn’t help we don’t know where Gregor is, either,” I growl. After we’d all gotten our information straight, when Will heard me mention Gregor as the name of the person who’d made the Miranda Astral Drop and evil Altermere, she’d mentioned something unsettlingly coincidental. She had encountered a man going by that name several times during the mix up between me and the real Miranda. However, her memory was strangely foggy and, when the Oracle looked into it, Will’s memories of this Gregor had been erased. While she could remember his name, that was all. The only clue she had was a name that made my blood go cold upon hearing it, The Flash Stone. The Oracle had waved it off, but, being someone who had looked into the previous MLP generations, the name Flash Stone rang a bell and Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight’s reactions to the name did not help matters. Apparently, the Flash Stone was the name of a long lost Equestrian artefact, the uses of which had been lost to time. All that was known was that an ancient sorcerer had used it for evil. However, with Will’s memories foggy, we had no leads to go on and, as Meera pointed out, if Gregor was aware of me enough that he could figure out how to make an Altemere of me, he’d know I’d know about the Flash Stone and easily put the pieces together and would’ve hightailed it out of there the moment Miranda came back from our battle in defeat, with the knowledge of my new power and the Guardians awareness of him. I want to go out on find him, to get the Flash Stone away from him before he uses it for whatever evil he must have planned, but… I can’t. We have no idea where Gregor could’ve gone or where he and Miranda would be hiding out. Since they have the resources to make an Altermere, they could very well have Folded to another realm, under the idea we’d be only looking on earth, so find nothing and, even upon learning they aren’t here, we’d have no clue where to start looking in the Infinite Dimensions since they’re, well, freaking infinite. Of course, it be another ruse. Miranda was always good at twisting the facts, so I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she and the Gregor she’s working with used the name of some other guy named Gregor who happens to live here in Heatherfield to throw us off their scent. For all we know, the Gregor Will met could’ve just been some random old guy and, when she least expected it, Miranda hit her with something with effects like the Memory Stone, with the sole purpose of making us go after one guy named Gregor under the assumption Will’s missing memories were of him being the one we’re after, while the real Gregor and Miranda work in the background, with us completely unaware. It’s unbelievably frustrating. So, for the time being, until the council can find any other leads for us to work with, the Guardians and I are to remain on Earth and go about our days like nothing’s up… a monumentally more difficult task than the Oracle clearly understands. “I’m surprised your pony friends came up with these,” Will says, pulling me from my thoughts. I turn around to see she’s holding up one of the journals in from my bag. I nod. “Best way to keep in contact.” Before I left Equestria, Twilight gave me several journals similar to the one Sunset Shimmer has. Each one is for communication between specific ponies. A purple one for Twilight, a white one for Blueblood, an orange one for Applejack, cyan for Rainbow Dash, pink for Pinkie and a golden one for Celestia. Since a bunch of journals is far less conspicuous than a magical crystal, it made more sense to keep in contact through journals. Will and I decide it best to get things set up. Granted “set up” is just unfurling moving a mattress into the room and setting it down on the far wall, with some sheets and blankets atop it. As for why exactly we went with me staying in Will’s room, it’s part of my new identity. Since I’m supposed to be a girl scared for her life after witnessing an arson attack, when her mother first brought up that I’d be living with them under the guise I’m a cousin Will hasn’t met before and would be really scared after moving, Will “accidentally” brought up how, if I was really that anxious, sleeping in a room on my own wouldn’t help. This made her mother decide we’d sleep in the same room, at least for a while, so Will could act out the role of the older (if only by a month or two) cousin, Will, at first playing up how annoying it is that I’m just getting dumped on her. It was quite the convincing act. We wait a few minutes, before heading out to find Will’s mother closing the front door. She notices us and smiles. “So… who’s for pizza?” We glance at each other, before shrugging. ___________________________________________________________ “So… how are you looking forward to starting school at Sheffield tomorrow, Melinda?” Mrs Vandom asks as we’re sitting at an outdoor of a pizzeria. “I… suppose,” I say, holding a slice of meatlovers. Will is sitting next to me, her mum sitting across from us. Mrs. Vandom looking concerned for a moment, before giving me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. Will will keep close to you so you don’t feel too nervous, won’t she?” she puts a stern tone on the last bit, looking pointedly at her daughter. Will give an exasperated sigh. “Fine, mom. But, we’re not in all the same classes, so it’s not like I can be with her all the time.” That’s pretty good acting there, Will. Will and I barely keep ourselves from reacting to Taranee’s voice and I subtly look for her by making it look like I’m simply checking out the area. Across the street, I think to Will, who glances that way to see Taranee and the others coming out of an ice cream shop, Taranee happening to spot us and informing the others. “Will!” Hay Lin calls out, drawing Mrs. Vandom’s attention. Remembering my role, I quickly hide as best I can behind Will, giving the impression I’m nervous because of new people. “Hey, who’s your new friend?” Irma asks casually, squinting at me. Will gives a slightly annoyed sounding sigh, indicating behind her. “Hey, guys. This is my cousin, Melinda. She’s staying with us because she’s transferring to Heatherfield.” “She’s a bit shy around others, though,” Mrs. Vandom says. Wow. She really is falling for all our acting way easier than I expected, Irma thinks to us all. After the Heart inside me connected to the Guardians, it linked me into the psychic connection they all have through Taranee. It has made communication way easier, not to mention makes it easier to set up scenarios where we can make it believable to Will’s mum that I’m able to quickly get to know the girls despite my supposed anxiety around others. The girls kind of invite themselves to our “family” lunch, Hay Lin chatting with me the most, since her personality is the best to convince Will's mother that I can come out my shell. Once the pizzas have been finished, Hay Lin suggests the girls give me a small tour of the town. “I don’t know,” Mrs. Vandom says, understandably uncertain. “Come on, Mrs. V, you know you can trust us with her,” Taranee assures her. Mrs. Vandom seems to think about it, before sighing and nods. “Alright. But, Will, I want you both back before dinner. Understood?” Will groans. “Yes, Mom. I know. Come on, Mel,” she adds, grabbing my arm and yanking me up, myself genuinely taken aback by that. We walk down the street, Will telling the others how “unfair” it is she has to share her room with me until we’re certain we’re out of sight and earshot. “Phew!” Will says loudly, her hands on her knees. “That was harder than I thought it’d be.” “Tell me about it,” I rub my neck. “Pretending to be a skittish person is so much harder than I first thought. I had to keep catching myself so your mum didn’t get suspicious.” “So, is there anything about school that is actually worrying you, Mel?” Irma asks, coming up next to me. I frown, folding my arms and looking up for a moment. “Considering we’re all in eighth grade, I don’t think any classes really worry me. Plus, I may not remember those years but, back in my old world, I know I graduated high school already, so, eighth grade shouldn’t be too difficult. I think it’s more the other students themselves that will prove the challenge… and keeping up the idea of being nervous for a while.” “Great,” Irma says in a joking tone, “another Taranee.” She gets a playful shove from the back for her jab, the girls all laughing, myself snickering. We spend the day with the girls giving me the tour of the town, helping me familiarize myself with the area. It’s harder than it should be, since I have to be wary of those around us so I know when to go back to pretending to being anxious and when I can just be myself. It’s actually so energy consuming that, by the time Will and I had back to the apartment, after dinner and a shower, I head straight for bed, falling asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.