Back To School: A Sequel

Pierre's First Level: Chorus:

While Derek had gone off and found Basil, Pierre had gone off and searched for their own item. Soon enough, they grew tired and bored of walking around in circles, sighing loudly as they forced themself to continue looking.

"Pierre."

They jumped at the sudden voice and turned, looking for the source of it. Harmoni, the chorus teacher, stood by an open door.

"I believe that you're looking for something." She stared at them.

"Yeah..." Gears clicked in their mind, trying to figure out what it was that they needed. "What are you doing here?"

"We are the only real things here," she replied, then gestured to the door. 'Come in and have a seat."

Pierre just nodded and entered the room she gestured to, going and sitting with her at a large table in the center of the room. They remembered the class- constant vocal practices, strange rituals, learning lyrics for theatrical productions.

"We both know why we are here." Harmoni began, sitting strangely at a chair far away from Pierre. "I do hope I can offer some comfort in these strange times."

Pierre didn't feel comforted at all, only deeply unsettled. They kept their eyes on Harmoni, who remained where she was.

"Why is this all happening?" Their mouth seemed to move on their own as they asked the question.

"I truly do not know, Pierre," she seemed to fidget with her necklace for a second. "I only know that you need something to get out of here, as do I..."

Something came to their mind in that moment- with the glint of the necklace's charm in the low light of the room, Pierre realized that was what they needed. It was silver, shint, and resting on Harmoni's collarbones. They needed that charm.

"Harmoni." Pierre stood up.

"What is it?"

"I need your charm, the one on your necklace."

"I-I can't. You can never have it." She held it, gripping it tightly as her eyes grew wider. "Even if it is your item, you can not have it."

She stood up and began to back away, moving behind her desk.

"Look, I just need it." Pierre begged. "Please?"

"No. Absolutely not. Never." Her face began to twist into something angry and sinister, filled with malicious intent. "You cannot leave. If it won't let me out, then I will not allow you out either."

"W-wait what?" Pierre was confused, they only knew that they had to get the charm. "Give me the charm."

They began walking towards her, her face was stricken with fear and frustration.

"Be afraid!" She yelled, but it did nothing to stop Pierre, who was confused but determined. "I will never let you leave!"

Her teeth seemed longer and sharper than before, and it even seemed as though she'd grown taller. Her face began to look as though she had been dragged to hell and then pulled out of the ground and back to the living world- ragged and terrifying. But there was still a touch of fear in her, where she knew that she wouldn't win. She knew that she wasn't allowed to win this part.

Pierre continued slowly towards her, then they felt something touch their ankle. At first they figured that they had just bumped into a desk, but then they attempted to move.

And they couldn't move.

They looked down, and saw an octopus tentacle around their leg. Full of confusion, Pierre looked up at Harmoni, who they then realized that the tentacle was connected to, along with ten or more tentacles.

They stood in shock and disgust, then realized that they had to think quickly to get away. They stomped on the tentacle with their free foot, and watched as it coiled back and Harmoni shrieked out in pain, which gave Pierre enough time to get far away from her.

They looked at her in the dark light- tentacles instead of legs, sharp teeth that were almost shark-like, eyes like a demon, and her hair that was now a bright white. Pierre needed to get that charm.

As they thought to themself about what to do, a tentacle flew at them in an attempt to grab them. Pierre stepped out of the way and the appendage hit the wall behind them and stuck to it. Not having an actual plan, Pierre just ran towards Harmoni as she stretched out tentacles to try and grab them. They ducked and moved around each of them, watching as the tentacles missed and stuck to the wall that was now farther behind them.

Using all of her tentacles in this manner proved to be a fatal mistake, as Harmoni now barely had anything left to stand on, and this gave Pierre the opening that they needed and they used all of their energy to jump at Harmoni like a rat leaping from an attic door. They knocked her down and ripped the necklace from her. She let out a howl of pain and choked out sobs and Pierre ran away with the charm.

Once out in the hallways, they held the charm in their hands and looked at it. There was a symbol that they didn't recognize on it and it was cold and heavy. They tucked it into their jacket pocket and kept on going, just as everyone else was.