Ravensdagger_Headpats

Chapter Sixty-Two

Chapter Sixty-Two “And this is the arts and crafts class,” the Biron girl said with a big showman’s wave, as if it was something to be proud of. Crochet certainly seemed excited for all of ten seconds before she saw all the shit plastered to the walls. “Who did all that?” Cheshire asked as she pointed to a water painted picture of what might have been a unicorn, maybe, if she squinted.The Biron girl shifted. “One of your future classmates?” she asked. The girl had less confidence than even someone like Alice did in her pinkie. It was pathetic. “We practice all sorts of fun things here. Like, making clay... stuff, and painting.”“Well, tell whoever painted all of those that they’re shit at painting,” Cheshire said.“Hey!” Biron said. “Some of them tried really hard.”“They should try harder to do something else cause they’re really shit at art. Look at that one.” She pointed to one image of... a hill? “Looks like poop.”“Well, art is a mandatory class, so you’ll have to participate too,” the annoying twit said.Cheshire had had enough. She looked at her other sisters, saw that Alice was day-dreaming, Remedy was yawning, Tattletail was doing that thing where she smiled weirdly and Crochet... Crochet was the only one actually interested in the whole school thing, which was good for her, but Cheshire had walked in with no shits to give and had since fallen into the negative.She gave negative shits. “I’m off.”“What?” Biron squeaked.The little goody-two-shoes was probably worried that Cheshire doing her own thing would make her look bad. Good. If Cheshire couldn’t have nice things nor could anyone else.She moved to a wall that had a window overlooking the fields behind the school. There were a bunch of tracks with a fence around them and a soccer field off to the side. Since she gave negative shits she just phased right through the window, and when Biron screamed something on the other side and banged against it she showed the twit her two favourite fingers.She was free. Free to... whatever. She wasn’t sure. Go home? But then Big Sis would find her and she’d be mad. In fact, she’d be mad either way.Cheshire growled under her breath and stomped off towards a little building to the side of the school. Someone had left the door open and she could see all sorts of sports equipment stuffed into wooden racks and stuff.She took a stick with a sort of net on the end, then looked around the room. Then she went to town, screaming and yelling as she hit every rack she could reach, and kicked over large metal baskets filled with balls and she even smacked-by accident-the dangling light on the ceiling and made it swing all over the place.The net on her stick broke with a crack when she smacked some cones off a shelf, but that just gave her something sharp and pointy to stab into a stack of bright blue mats. She flung skip ropes across the room like confetti, and she screamed as she flung some weights into the walls until one of them broke through the drywall and stayed lodged in.The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.When she finally calmed down and wiped her cheeks, her stick was broken, her hands hurt and the room looked like how she felt.Something creaked behind her and Cheshire spun around, ready to take out her feelings on whomever had bothered her.Big Sis looked around the room, then locked eyes with her. Then she looked to the ground. “I’m sorry,” she said.Cheshire wasn’t sure what to do. “S’not your fault,” she muttered at last.Big Sis stepped into the room and reached up to stop the light from swinging so much. “Isn’t it?” she asked.Cheshire wrapped her arms around her chest. “Not your fault that I’m a shit sister. It’s okay if you like the others better.”Big Sis closed the door a little, then moved past Cheshire and sat on the mats after blowing some of the stuffing away. Sitting so low to the ground made Big Sis look small, especially as she hugged her knees close. “Do you want to talk about it? I promise I’ll listen. I’m not very good at being a big sister, but I can do that much.”Cheshire sniffed. She didn’t want to talk, she wanted to... to do... something. She slumped down and sat on the floor next to a deflated soccer ball and a pile of tipped over cones. “I’m not like the others. I’m not as... as cool and I don’t know as much and sometimes I think that there’s always one sister that’s better at stuff than I am. And... and I guess that’s okay. It’s okay that you love them more than you love me.”Cheshire wiped the dust out of her eyes again. “And, and you know that, yeah? Cause it’s always... hugs and shit for the others, and all I get is watched a lot because I might do somethin’ stupid because I’m stupid, aren’t I?”Big Sis hugged her. Cheshire hadn’t noticed her moving, too busy blinking at the floor. She sat stiffly in the hug until Big Sis shook, and then she shook again and made a noise and Cheshire realized that Big Sis was crying.“D-don’t cry,” Cheshire said. It sounded a little blubbery, weak. “Only babies cry.”The hug tightened and it hurt. “I’m so sorry.” “You’re bein’ a dumbass,” Cheshire said. Still, she sank into the hug a little.“Yeah, yeah, I have been,” Big Sis said. She snorted and it sounded disgusting, but she didn’t let go of the hug. “I’m... I’m going to fix this, okay? I... we’ll figure something out? Maybe we’ll just hang out together sometimes, and we can go running or, or whatever you want. I could do one thing with each sister every day, maybe. But, but this, this can’t happen, I can’t lose a sister like this. And I’m sorry.”Cheshire considered it. It didn’t address her problem, not really. She was still the worst sister. But... but maybe if Big Sis went that far it meant that it didn’t matter that much? She returned the hug. “What do we do ‘bout the room?”“Fuck it,” Big Sis said.Cheshire giggled, and if it sounded a little wet, Big Sis didn’t mind.

Chapter Sixty-Three

Chapter Sixty-Three They humiliated him. They humiliated his Undersiders. And worse, no matter how hard he tried to get retribution, Thomas Calvert failed.He ran his fingers over Mister Mitten’s back, the gentle caress of fur and the rumbling purr from the arm of his chair the only thing keeping him calm.Oh, how they had humiliated him.And oh how they would rue the day they crossed Coil!In his other timeline, the one he intended to keep, Thomas was walking through the corridors of the PRT headquarters downtown. Head held high, a slight hint of a smile on his lips and the sort of straight-backed posture that told those around him that he had a plan.He arrived in the lobby area before the Director’s office and nodded to the secretary. “Calvert, for Piggot. I have an appointment in...” he shifted his arm and looked at his watch. Finely crafted Swiss gears, made before the country’s fall, displayed the time. “One minute.”The secretary nodded and said the usual pleasantries before gesturing to one of the chairs off to the side. He and Piggot had always had a... rocky relationship, so he came in expecting to be sidelined and yanked along just for her to assert her dominance as she was wont to do.His plan was quite simple, really. Oh, it hinged on a few things, notably the behaviour of someone that could at best be considered... erratic. But he suspected that it would succeed, and even if it didn’t, it would still cause endless trouble for his new adversaries.Mister Mittens purred louder as he began to rub him behind the ears.“Mister Calvert, you may enter now.”Thomas slid into Piggot’s austere office and took one glance at the spartan surroundings before seating himself across from the corpulent woman. “Piggot,” he said.“Calvert,” she returned. “You said you had a solution to my little... problem?”“It’s not that big an issue, we both know. You took a hit to your image but that can and will be recuperated, in time,” he said.“Contrary to what you might believe, I'm not a fool. And I have advisers far brighter than you telling me the obvious,” she said. “Get to the point.”“Always so cynical.”“Always an ass,” she returned.Thomas smiled genially. In his secondary reality his hand spasmed over Mister Mittens and the cat jumped off the arm of his chair and onto his desk. It was a new desk, with a recessed keyboard that had a cover over it. The cat had already set off one self-destruct by walking across the board, he didn’t need a second such incident.“I contacted a... source of mine and through certain channels was able to secure a resource that will be visiting Brockton Bay very soon. You should be hearing about it in the coming days,” he said.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Piggot’s eyebrows rose. “Are you trying to sound like a conniving manipulator or is it just second nature to you now?”“Come now, Piggot, we’re facing the same adversary here.”“You have problems with a group of little girls? No, don’t answer that. I don’t want to hear your sordid tale of robbing them of their girl scout cookies.”He snorted. “They’re very good for business, especially their last little venture on the Boardwalk. Unfortunately they’re good for the wrong businesses. I have... investments that are suffering because of them.”“Thomas, if your plan in any way injures literal children I can assure you that on your way to the deepest, darkest pit I can find you will suffer some terrible accident.”“Don’t be that way. I just want to get them out of the way. They can go back to... whatever it is girls do. I don’t really give a damn,” he lied. He did give a damn. He wanted them in his employ. With an army of pets he would be unstoppable!“Right,” Piggot said. “So what’s this no-doubt stupid plan of yours?”“The Brat Brigade are rogues, and because of their advantageous public relations have placed themselves in a position where you can’t truly do anything about them. My proposal, and this is something that I have all the resources available to accomplish, is to bring in a new rogue to the city that would chip away at their credibility and make a scene.”“I don’t like where this is going,” Piggot said.“Be that as it may, it is out of your control,” he said. “I just want to show you the cards before I play them so that you’re fully aware of what’s going to be happening in our fair city.”“Thomas,” she said, a warning tone in her voice.He grinned. “I called in some favours.” too damned many. “Mouse Protector is coming to Brockton Bay for a little while. I expect her to clash quite heavily with the Brat Brigade.”Piggot rested her face in a fat palm. “And how do you expect their meeting to end?” she asked.“Oh, no worries. I’ll make sure that Miss Protector is... informed of all the pertinent information regarding our situation.”In the timeline that he was going to cut off, Thomas’ hand was slamming into the arm of his throne-like chair. “Hah! They will see! They will all see what it’s like to be humiliated! Muah! Muaha! Muahahahaha!”His guards ran into the room, then froze at the sight of him, head tilted way back, and peels of cruel laughter escaping him as he reveled in his own cruelty.

Bonus Chapter — More Fluff Than Usual

Bonus Chapter — More Fluff Than Usual Taylor was woken up by a shy hand grabbing her shoulder and shaking it gently.It could have been worse. At least the awakening didn’t come with incoherent screaming or a knee in the kidneys or-more horrifically and yet still common-the crunch of something important breaking two rooms away after falling to the floor.It was never fun to stumble into a room to find it entirely empty except for whatever had broken on the ground. She would always turn around to find Pop and Cheshire looking innocent and disheveled.This awakening was better, but no less worrying.She opened her eyes to find Alice peering down at her, still in her PJs and with flushed cheeks. “I might have missed a take,” Alice said.“What?” Taylor asked. She began the arduous task of untangling herself from her sisters. The motion, of course, woke a few of them up, spreading around the morning cheer. “What did you miss?”“A take,” Alice said. She looked down at her own hands where her fingers were tapping against their opposite. She didn’t seem ready to meet Taylor’s eyes, which lit up all sorts of alarms. Unfortunately, it was-Taylor glanced to her bedside-currently six fifty in the morning.Taylor sat on the edge of the bed, rubbed her face, then counted the number of sisters taking up too much room on her bed.There was Pop, with her back to the wall, cradling a sword. Tattletail was across the bed lengthwise, her tail in Cheshire’s lap. Cheshire was in her onesie, of course. “Where’s Crochet and Remedy?” Taylor asked.“They’re with our guests,” Alice said.Taylor stood up straighter, the words zapping her awake. “Our what?”She slipped out of the room, just slowing down enough to slip on a pair of rabbit-eared slippers and a bathrobe before following Alice downstairs. “So, I was talking with Crochet and Remedy while we made toast, and one thing led to another and I said it would be neat if you were there. Then we had an excellent idea.”Taylor suppressed a wince. One of her sisters saying she had an excellent idea was like having Oppenheimer saying he knew how to make fireworks. It was something of a huge understatement about the amount of trouble summoned up.“What was the idea?” Taylor asked.Alice had the good graces to blush. “Well, we tried to get someone like you with my power.”Taylor gave her a look.“It’s okay! Remedy was going to fix up their memories before we tossed them back.That is less reassuring than you might think,” Taylor said. “So, you summoned a clone of me from another universe or something?”“Your sister from another universis...ter?” Alice tried. Taylor quirked an eyebrow and Alice shrugged. “I haven’t had breakfast. I can’t come up with these kinds of things without at least some toast, okay. Anyway, no, she’s not you, but she’s close!”Taylor walked into the kitchen to find it very occupied.There were a lot of girls in the room. Three of them looking like identical triplets, and three more rather unique children. In the middle of the pack was a girl, maybe a few years Taylor’s senior, who looked very done with whatever was going on.She glanced over to Taylor, then jumped to her feet, opened her mouth, closed it, then clasped her hands together nervously over her stomach. “Um, hello. Sorry for... being teleported to your house. It was an accident, I think.”Taylor took a moment to process this. Then she looked at Alice and noticed how squirmy Alice was being. Squirmy and shifty.“Okay,” Taylor said. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sorry, just, give me a moment?”“Sure,” the young woman said. Then, in a hiss not aimed at Taylor, she added. “Maple, put their remote down. Athena, stop scaring them. And Trinity, I swear this is not the time to go through people’s trash. Teddy... actually, yes, that’s good.”Taylor... recognized that tone. She recognized it in herself. And wasn’t that both enlightening and terrifying. “Do... do you want a coffee?” she asked.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.The girl met her eyes, suddenly a little more shy now that she wasn’t taking care of the kids around her. “I’d like that. But, uh...”“But we need to take care of the skids first,” Taylor finished. Because leaving them unsupervised would just make things so much worse. “Can we leave them all alone?”The young woman’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “No, that wouldn’t... well, they can be left alone for a little bit, but really, it’s not a great idea.”“Right,” Taylor said. She never expected to meet someone she would sympathize with so much. “Okay, I’m going to get the rest of my brats. And then we’ll figure things out from there.”“Okay,” the young woman said.“I’m Taylor, by the way,” Taylor said.She blinked. “Oh. I’m Emily. Emily Wright.”Taylor nodded along, then asked Remedy-who had been talking to one of the girls about medicine, strangely enough-to go fetch her other sisters. Soon enough, a grumpy Cheshire, a less less grumpy Pop, and a wide-awake Tattletail were in the living room. Taylor managed to get them all to stand in a line... more or less.“Okay. Introductions. That’s Pop. She’s not allowed to kill the guests.”“Onee-sama, I wouldn’t,” Pop said.“That’s Cheshire, who will behave.” Taylor continued, pointing to Cheshire in her cat onesie. “That’s Remedy, who will not use her powers on our guests without my explicit permission. That’s Alice, who brought you here. Crochet is there, and that’s Tattletail.”“Hey, that one’s a mind reader,” Tattletail said, pointing to one of the girls on the other side of the room.Emily’s face gained a bit of redness to it. “Ah, Athena, please don’t read their minds. Um... I guess I’ll do introductions as well? This is Athena.” She patted the head of a fairly tall girl. Actually, now that Taylor looked, most of Emily’s girls were a bit older than her own sisters. Not by much. Maybe a year or so? They were closer to pre-teens than Taylor’s own sisters.The girls also had... more animal-like traits. Athena had two long lengths of hair sticking out of her head that Taylor might have dismissed if she hadn’t noticed that the others definitely had animal traits.“This is Teddy,” Emily continued, touching the head of one of the shorter girls, she had a stocky build, and wore a t-shirt with the word bear on it over cargo shorts.“So, what’s your opinion of capitalism?” the girl asked.“A-and these three are Trinity,” Emily continued, touching three girls one at a time. “She has three bodies. Um. But it’s all one girl. I know it’s kind of confusing, but you’ll get used to it.”Taylor nodded, slower this time. That was a little strange. But then... yeah, glass houses.“And this is our newest sister,” Emily said. She had to step to the side a little to reveal the girl half-hidden behind her. “Maple.”Maple stared back at Taylor and her sisters, a wide-eyed little bundle of stress, with two little ears poking out from her hair and a large, flat tail behind her. A beaver-girl? Taylor had never seen the like.“Wait, you said sister,” Taylor said. “So, they’re not your, uh, children, right?”Emily stared. “I’m twenty,” she said.Which, right, that was fair. Taylor pushed past the feeling of warmth in her cheeks. “Yeah, sorry, that makes sense, I guess. Um, these are my sisters,” Taylor said with a gesture at the gaggle of girls next to her.“They’re well behaved,” Emily said.It was a lie. Cherish was making rude gestures at Teddy, who was reciprocating. Tattletail had clearly found an enemy in Athena, and Pop had disappeared while Taylor wasn’t looking her way.“Do you want a coffee?” Taylor asked.“Please,” Emily said.“Do you think we can, uh, leave them all together?”Emily looked at the many sisters in the room. “It... probably won’t be that bad,” she said.Taylor didn’t believe that for a second. She also didn’t have the energy to manage them all at the moment. “Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

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