Magic's Violence Record

Chapter 16: Vitalyzia

        Since they were all carrying a lot of luggage, they drove to a shifting center instead of letting Serenade do it. Serenade didn't know where they were going anyway. But when they got there, the line was insane.
"Shit.." Rose sighed.
"Shifting centers did reopen like.. yesterday." Bria sighed. "I guess we really do have to wait in this line.."
"Why did they reopen? Isn't there a threat?" Serenade blinked.
"I don't know.. they probably reopened them for money." Bria replied. "Shifting centers are vital to the economy.."
"Are they? Why?" Serenade turns to face Bria.
"It allows guardians to send out mass schools of fighters, get materials from across the multiverse, make insane amounts of money,  and so much more.." Bria shrugs. "And of course, political stuff and conspiracy theories."
The driver parked the car in the lot. Bria informed them that they couldn't bring it, so they had to leave it. Rose wasn't very happy about that.
"If it's as cold as you say it is, how do you expect us to walk?!" Rose exclaimed, frowning. Serenade put her hand on Rose's arm reassuringly.
"By.. walking?" Bria said, attitude in her voice. Consider it revenge. Unfortunately, Rose doesn't like revenge.
Rose glared at her like she was a bug, similar to the same way she glared at Serenade at the restaurant. Serenade, recognizing the look, ushered Rose into line laughing nervously. How were they supposed to stand in this long line with Rose's short temper?
"Hold on, where did Elixir go?" Serenade says, looking around frantically, like he was a lost puppy and not a grown man.
"He's over there.." Bria pointed over to stands full of concessions. Looks like some businesses took advantage of the line. His arms were full of snacks, and he'd just finished purchasing another.
"Elixir!" Serenade squealed, still following the whole lost puppy thing. He turned around, and looked at her like she was crazy.
"..Yes?" He said, as she started to whine about him running off. Whether it was to distract from the fact she was "sneakily" stealing food out of his arms or not, he didn't know. He didn't object anyways.
She turned around, a poor attempt at trying to hide her right arm full of ice cream and soda. With her left hand, she grabbed onto his arm, dragging him back to the line. He looked at Rose with an awkward face.
As Serenade started to devour her treats, Elixir tapped on Rose's shoulder, who refused to turn around.
"What?" She said, annoyance in her voice.
"Well okay.. if you wanna be like that, I was going to teach you the thing." Elixir shrugs.
"Seriously?! No, teach me!" She turned around, meeting his eyes. "You said you would!"
"You didn't seem too interested to talk a second ago," Elixir muttered, messing with her.
"..Please." Rose crossed her arms, her face turning pink. She knew she wouldn't get her way throwing a fit this time.
"Alright.." Elixir grinned.

Elixir spent most of their time in that line teaching her. Serenade kept getting hungry, so Elixir would lend her some cash to go grab food. It was the same thing over and over, until Rose finally got it.
"Hey Serenade." Rose grinned.
"AH-! Wait- where did you come from?" Serenade whines, turning around to see Rose who'd appeared behind her. "You're always sneaking up on me! How were you that quiet this time?"
"I finally figured it out! That one technique, the one that's kind of like shifting! Except ranged." Rose boasts.
"That's so cool! I imagine that fighting you will be even more of a challenge now!" Serenade grins, as she finishes paying for concessions.
"..As you can imagine, the toll on my energy is crazy. But in emergency situations.. what a lethal last resort this could be.." Rose grins wildly, and Serenade smiles awkwardly.
(..She's weird sometimes.) Serenade giggles to herself.

The four spent hours in that line, and in that time Elixir and Serenade grew closer, as well as Rose and Bria. By the time the line was normal length, it was beyond sunset.

"Welcome! Sign in here, please." Said the receptionist, who had empty mugs piled up beside her. Looks like her shift hasn't changed.
They took turns signing their first and last name, as well as class. They made their way over to rows of rooms and a stack of paperwork.
"Nooo way.." Serenade whined, as Rose handed her a few pages of paperwork and a pen. "Why do we have to do all of this?"
"We need to keep track of everybody who travels. You will be recorded and your name will be stored." Another woman says, talking faster than she was walking. Which was a surprise. She swooped in, grabbing the finished paperwork from Elixir and Bria, and stood in front of Rose and Serenade with an impatient expression on her face.
"But why..?" Serenade asked again, and the woman just rolled her eyes and shoved the paperwork into a file cabinet.
"So much for customer service.." Rose scoffed, crossing her arms, as she was pushed forward by the worker ushering them to one of the open rooms.
"Here's the control panel, this knob changes the timeline, yada yada. I'm sure you guys know already. Don't be irresponsible and reckless, and thank you for choosing us to shift you today." The worker said, shoving flashcards into her pocket, slamming the door behind her. Dead silence.
The room was very dim, besides the illumination of the control panel next to the door. The floor was made of a glass-like material underneath them.
"Whoa.. I wish actual shifting was this cool." Serenade giggled, staring down at her feet on the glass. There was a glow underneath her. She looked back up to see Bria quickly adjusting the control panel to her liking, as letters, names, and coordinates flashed on the screen.
"This is actual shifting.. Bria, how do you do that so fast?" Rose said, suspicion coating her voice.
"I used to travel." Bria says curtly, as she backs away from the control panel.