Yuriko hadn't been this angry on years. After watching Darren, Hannah, and Steph she saw the beginnings of a trio that would be unstoppable, unshakable, a group that would shape the world in a perfect union of magic and technology. Then Lynne showed.
Yuriko was well aware of how despondent her sister in law was. Lynne had lost her parents, her sisters, her husband, and her son. Yuriko, too had lost her family as well, (Evan having killed her own husband for no reason other than a warning to stay out of his way.)
Now though thanks to her, the trio appeared momentarily fractured. Darren felt his friends weren't listening to him. Hannah transforming into a maid droid and their luke warm at best treatment of her having pushed Darren into isolation. While she hoped the group could repair their friendship, she was still apprehensive of what an isolated Catalyst could do.
"Lynne," she called. "Lynne Harris I know you can hear me. Get your mopey ass in my living room NOW!"
Lynne now appeared in front of Yuriko in a flash if light, the same grim expression on her face. "What is it Yuki," she groaned. "I'm busy."
"Busy doing what watching Jeopardy," Yuriko replied acidly. "Who the hell do you think you are? Do you have ANY idea what you did?"
"Warned the kid," Lynne replied. "And who do you think you are? I dont care that you have Akira, Rexie, and Ayami watching your back. Remember who the hell I am and why we ALL agreed to keep the rings hidden."
Yuriko simply shook her head. "After all these years and you still havent learned a thing," she sighed. "Magic is strengthened through the bonds of friendship. You may be powerful Lynne but you've let your pain cloud your judgment."
"My judgement," Lynne exclaimed. "In case you forgot I was the one that had to put Evan down. None of my friends or family were willing to do anything. No, you all just looked to me to fix everything."
"You know I wanted to help Lynne," Yuriko replied. "But on case you forgot, your son was sucking out my soul. Kinda hard to fight when you're technically dead!"
"So why am I here," Lynne yelled. "I said my peace. The kid and his friends need to know I'll be watching. It was a message."
"Delivered as artfully as surgery with a chainsaw," Yuriko replied sarcastically. "Congrats Lynne, the kid as you called him just got in a massive fight with his friends."
Lynne sighed, rubbing her eyed as if easing a tension headache. "Perfect," she grumbled. "A lonely and angry Catalyst." Yuriko nodded, narrowing her eyes at Lynne.
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Sachiko wasnt sure why Granny Yuriko was yelling at Lynne. She had only met the woman a handful of times. Everytime she saw the woman, Sachiko could sense that she was just very sad.
Shaking the thoughts from her head Sachiko now made her way towards the woods. Tonight was going to be so much fun, her new friends were going to try and summon the fox girl.
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Gail shivered as she now stared at the dark woods in front of her. The quartet of teenage prodigies now stood at the outskirts of the woods supposedly haunted by the fox girl. According to legend the ghost could only be summoned at this location. "This is dumb," Gail whined.
"Oh come on Gail," Ewart groaned. "Wheres your sense of adventure?"
"Well why do we have to do this at night," Gail asked.
"Well," Pam stated. "According to the research I did, the ghost can only be summoned at night. It was actually really interesting reading, I've been considering writing a paper on local folklore."
As much fun as research and a published paper did sound to Lynne, it didnt help her growing apprehension.
"Got to agree with Gail," Stella said nervously. "This is just too creepy. Did you know that feeling of dread are actually hardwired primitive reactions in our brains? It was an evolutionary behavior in the psychology of early man."
Ewart simply sighed in disgust, sometimes he hated beings teenage genius. It figured that a simple ghost hunt would turn into an academic lesson on psychology and folklore, what was worse was a part of him found the conversation fascinating. "No," he thought. "No we're here to have fun. Not have a topical discussion on local folklore."
Taking a deep breath, Ewart now lit a single candle, placing it in the clearing in front of the woods. "Okay," he whispered. "According to legend we light the candle, then we all leave something of importance next to it. That's supposed to summon the fox girl."
Ewart now reached into his pocket, placing his favorite baseball card by the candle. Pam followed suit, leaving a paint brush, while Stella left a copy of her favorite book. "Okay Gail your up."
Gail took a deep breath, slowly approaching the candle. Gail now placed a small stuffed animal among the items. "Is that Meow meow," Pam exclaimed.
Gail nodded, looking at the stuffed cat toy she had had since she was a child. "I figured my favorite stuffed animal from when I was a kid would be best."
The others said nothing, shocked that Gail would actually bring her favorite childhood toy out of the house. "So now what," Gail asked.
The group didn't have to wait long for an answer. The sounds of twigs snapping immediately made the young teens freeze, the hair on the back of their necks standing on end. As they watched they could see the faintest image of a white shadowy creature moving through the darkness.
Sachiko giggled, which she could see the teens heard as they seemed to jump in place. It seemed her friends had arrived, now it was time to introduce herself.