[M] West Hills Haunted High

[Heir of Void]

Dave wracked his mind for an answer, checking through his messily filed crystallized memory for facts about the herb.

"I don't know a whole lot about it, but I do remember that it's pretty rare on the U.S. East coast, and completely extinct on the west....If we find one we'll be lucky, but seeing that we've survived this long is already a testament to that. Here's the useful info: the fluxweed* has small, light purple flowers and grows from a then stem with similarly thin, leafy offshoots. It grows best in gravel and rocky soil, away from other plants, and is a relatively miniscule plant at full maturation, so it'll be close to the ground." Dave turned from Gina and looked back at the cute cold Dave, "You're helping. Then we can go back to the room for a quick rest and thinking session, before going to find the other Daves, okay?"

Dave turned back to Becca as they continued walking. "Our best bet would be to go back around the garden area....just avoiding the hedges this time. Don't look near treas or anything, stick to wide fields and grass. Getting everyone together would make more sense and make the search faster, I mean this whole separated group thing just screeches scooby-doo, but without the happy ending...... Also, if there ever is a nomination for leader you have my vote already. Well, anyone besides me has my vote to be honest. I cant be trusted with my own life, let alone anyone else's....."
He stopped for a moment, silverware jangling, considering how strange he was sounding.

Dont mind me, just talking to myself. Sorry.

He glanced around at the doors of the corridor anxiously before following Remy into Will's room, which wasn't in very neat order. Aside from the sheets and other personal objects being out of place, the whole menagerie of surviving students; including one tree, one vampire thing, a wounded russian, a badass, clones of the same unproductive guy, and the unproductive guy himself; were all out of place and uncomfortable it seemed.

The whole group was on edge and anxious, ready to leap at assumptions and the chance of gaining an advantage. Trying not to interrupt or make a big entrance, the wheat blonde set down his silverware on a dresser and quickly walked back to grab his colder self's hand and then report to Gina.

"We've got generic silver, but it isn't inherited. If we pass it along in a circle does it count? Seems like everyone needs that kind of lame tam-building exercise stuff. Or at least to calm down a little......What is our first task gonna be now that most of us are together?"

Even though he knew he couldn't lead, he was willing to serve a capable leader in every way possible. Plus, if they survived, maybe they would all stay in touch and come back to the school armed to the teeth with pyrotechnics and explosives. Not to mention Gina was still attractive.

Damned male primal urges.
Stop.

[Azazeal849]

"Here's the useful info: the fluxweed was small, light purple flowers and grows from a thin stem with similarly thin, leafy offshoots. It grows best in gravel and rocky soil, away from other plants, and it's a relatively miniscule plant at full maturation, so it'll be close to the ground."

Becca blinked at him in something like awe. "Woah. Did you do an essay on that or something? I couldn't tell you a thing from my GCSE biology, and that was only last term!"

She looked from Dave to his clone, who shrugged. Dave turned from Becca and looked back at the cute cold Dave. "You're helping. Then we can go back to the room for a quick rest and thinking session, before going to find the other Daves, okay?"

He glanced around at the doors of the corridor anxiously before following Remy into Will's room, which wasn't in very neat order. Aside from the sheets and other personal objects being out of place, the whole menagerie of surviving students - which included one tree (now balanced precariously in a basin of water), one vampire thing, a wounded Russian, a badass, clones of the same unproductive guy, and the unproductive guy himself - were all out of place and uncomfortable it seemed. Some people seemed particularly surprised that Gina had just walked in with Rozaria.

"Rozaria." Daniel acknowledged, regarding the pale girl warily.

"Well, we've got one bit of good news." Becca said, clapping her hands together. "We know we've got the original Dave - one of the other clones flat out called him it before we hit him with a frying pan and left him in...the..."

She trailed off, losing her cheerful demeanor in the face of the obvious tension in the room. The whole group was on edge and anxious, ready to leap at assumptions and the chance of gaining an advantage. Trying not to interrupt or make a big entrance, Dave set down his silverware on a dresser, quickly walked back to grab his colder self's hand, and then reported to Gina.

"We've got generic silver, but it isn't inherited."

"Inherited?" Will repeated blankly.

"Sometimes only inherited silver works." Remy said, taking Dave's side. "Didn't you ever read the Dresden Files? Good books."

"Okay, hang on." Gina headed him off. She didn't seem keen on getting into a debate on fictional vampire and werewolf canon. She took a breath, playing with a strand of her hair. "I don't know all the rules They play by, but bog-standard silver worked fine on Max."

"Couldn't hurt though, right?" Daniel offered.

"If we pass it along in a circle does it count?" Dave asked. "Seems like everyone needs that kind of lame team-building exercise stuff. Or at least to calm down a little...What is our first task gonna be now that most of us are together?"

"Food." Daniel said reasonably. "Some people here haven't eaten since they arrived."

He pointed to the random mix of bread, tins, snacks and raw vegetables that Dave and the others had been able to sneak out of the kitchen. With the cook dead, they had been able to risk stealing more without being noticed.

"We should divide it up between everyone's rooms." Gina suggested. "It'll make it easier to hide, and less of a loss if one of us gets busted."

The short breakfast that followed was almost civilised.

"Right," Becca said, sliding a little closer to Dave as the group shared round a large pack of dried fruit. "Like Dave said, what is our first task gonna be?"

Her brown eyes switched over to Gina, who paused to bite her lip and gather her thoughts before leaning forward. "Okay. One of the ghosts is after Sam. Silver won't keep him off her forever, so I'm going to try and put him down for good. Burning Their skeletons seemed to work last time, and I think I know where we can find his." She hesitated, as if about to elaborate on where she had got the information, but instead she changed the subject. "Lunch gives us an hour. I'm taking Roze and any volunteers to go after the ghost. The rest of us can try and find out about Lyanna's fluxweed and hopefully hunt some down."

"Dave knows where we can find it." Becca put in.

Dave turned back to Becca. "Our best bet would be to go back around the garden area...just avoiding the hedges this time. Don't look near trees or anything, stick to wide fields and grass. Getting evryone together would make more sense and make the search faster though. I mean, this whole separated group thing just screeches Scooby Doo, but without the happy ending..."

Gina listened, and bit her lip. Perhaps she was thinking of the casualties from the previous day, and how she didn't want to be the one responsible for any more.

"Okay." she nodded. "One group." She pulled her hair over one shoulder, thinking.

"Also, if there ever is a nomination for leader you have my vote already. Well, anyone besides me has my vote to be honest. I can't be trusted with my own life, let alone anyone else's..."

He stopped for a moment, silverware jangling, considering how strange he was sounding.

Don't mind me, just talking to myself. Sorry.

Even though he knew he couldn't lead, he was willing to serve a capable leader in every way possible. Plus, if they survived, maybe they would all stay in touch and come back to the school armed to the teeth with pyrotechnics and explosives. Not to mention Gina was still attractive.

Damned male primal urges. Stop.

He didn't get to see Gina's reaction, because at that moment Gelda's voice blared over the invisible tannoy system, making the students jump.

"Attention students." The headmistress had her sugary-sweet voice on. "This is a special announcement. Due to a plumbing leak on the second floor, we will need all students to move out into the gardens for the next hour or so. Think of it as a free recess! Morning class will be shifted to 3pm this afternoon. Don't worry, I know you'll all be dying to get back to your studies so we'll have the leak fixed as quickly as we can! Have fun outside now. This is your headmistress Gelda."

There was more than one skeptical face among the group after that.

"Okay." Gina said, standing up and brushing down the back of her skirt. "Change of plan. We're going now." She glanced at Rozaria, then at Daniel. "Daniel, go get Sam and the others, tell them to meet us down in the garden. We're gonna head to the maze and look for Lyanna's fluxweed there. Roze, Vik, like I said, we're going to need your vodka."

"We'll be back, sis." Will said quietly, squeezing the branch that had been Lyanna's arm. Lyanna's still-human eyes blinked back at him.

Gina raised her eyebrows at Becca as Viktor and Rozaria turned to leave. Nodding gravely, Becca followed them to keep an eye on Rozaria while she was alone with her previous victim.

"We're going to the maze?" Dave heard Daniel murmur to Gina once Roze and her two escorts had left. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Not at all." Gina whispered back. "And I'm not planning on going. But we'll know if Roze is playing mole if V and the others are waiting for us there."

Daniel's eyes lit up in comprehension. "Ah! Nice."

They split up on their way down the stairs, blending in with the wave of other students and making their way to the front doors in ones and twos to avoid suspicion.

"I tell ya bro," Remy confided in the two Daves as they filed down the stairs. "I hope we finally find Jack when we get out there. Here's hoping the girl's okay..."

* * * * * *

As the upper floors gradually emptied, leaving only the faint echoes of Gelda and the other teachers snapping and swearing at each other down on the second floor, silence fell on the Falcon boys' dorm. It was broken by the lift at the end of the corridor juddering open, to reveal a wispy-haired girl with pale blue eyes. She was barefoot and clad only in a tank top and pyjama trousers, as if she had only just got out of bed. For a long moment, Jack just stood there. Then she stepped out of the elevator and began to weave her way down the corridor, her steps meandering left and right rather than forming a straight line. She sang quietly to herself as she walked, the fingertips of one hand scratching softly along the wall. When her hand met the door of Viktor's room she stopped, grinned, and turned the handle, slipping inside.

Leaning against the door to close it, she surveyed the room. Roze and Viktor had taken the remaining vodka, but it was still strewn with empty bottles from the previous night. Jack's gaze lingered on the mirror above the dresser, and as she turned away, her reflection shimmered. For a brief moment, another girl's face lagged a half second behind the turn of the reflection's head.

Padding Jack's feet over the soft carpet towards the dresser, Missy delicately went through the drawers before pulling out the vial of red potion.

"Well." she giggled quietly to herself. "What do we have here?"

* * * * * *

The group began to reform outside the main doors of the school, pausing at the bottom of the marble steps as the rest of the student body flowed obliviously around them and dispersed into the school grounds. It was a warm morning, but muggy - the sun hidden behind thick clouds that promised rain later on.

"Hey up." Gina said suddenly, pointing towards an oak tree that stood at the edge of the grass, one of several which lined the gravel driveway. "There's another one."

Sitting under the tree, with his back to the trunk and his head bowed into a book that was propped against his knees, was another Dave clone - unmistakeable with his wheat blonde hair and the sunglasses clipped to the v of his collar. He must have noticed the group's scrutiny, because he looked up and waved at his original and the cold copy sticking close behind him.

"Oh there you are!" he called out. He dropped the book he had been reading into his rucksack and got up to join them. "When I get my hands on the miscreant who's been defacing all these priceless books...so, where's the other two of us?"

Olivia, who had rejoined the group along with Sam and Ryou-Kyou, looked from the new Dave to the other pair. "Don't you mean the other eight? Dave drank the whole potion."

"Well, yes, obviously I know that." said the new Dave, giving Olivia a slightly condescending look. "But Mattie isn't quite the scientist he seems to think he is. He also thought all the copies were a danger to the host, when it's usually just the Cruel ones that are."

"And how would you know that?" Gina asked the clone suspiciously.

"I had a chat with the guy after dinner yesterday. He told me about how different copies exhibit different facets of the original personality - it's really quite interesting." The new Dave blinked. "So what are you all doing out here? Well, obviously we're all out here because Gelda threw us all out, but I mean your group specifically."