I blinked awake not in the rebirth cavern, but in what appeared to be the nurse's office, my head throbbing. The humming fluorescent lights seemed unnecessarily bright as my vision slowly focused. A familiar winged silhouette paced nearby, ranting animatedly.

"That red-scaled beerch!" Cinder was growling, her wings bristling with rage. "She threw that ball way too hard on purpose!"

I tried to sit up, immediately regretting the decision as the room spun. "Ow."

Cinder whirled around, eyes locking onto me. "You idiot! Stay down!"

"Eyyy, it's my fav Quetzi! Were you worried about me?" I managed to grin despite the pounding in my head.

"No!" Cinder snapped, her wings flaring defensively. "I just... didn't want Emerald getting in trouble for murdering the new kid on his second day."

"Emerald, huh?" I touched the tender spot on my head gingerly. "Your ruby friend has quite an arm. I'm at like one HP left... I think. Yeesh."

"She's a Slayer," Cinder shrugged.

"A Slayer who will regret leaving a dangerous deviant like me un-slayed. Just you wait till I unleash my master plan of revenge," I declared dramatically from the medical bed. "It will be epic and... uhh... completely unexpected!"

"Sounds like a dumb plan to get yourself killed," Cinder pointed out. "Emerald isn't someone you want to mess with."

"Too late! The wheels of vengeance are already turning," I tapped my temple, then winced at the pain. "Ow. Note to self: avoid head gestures while concussed."

"You're an idiot," Cinder stated flatly, but I caught a hint of reluctant amusement in her voice. "A complete and total idiot with a death wish."

"You should try harder if you want to win my love," I said. "That was a 1/10 compliment."

"W-what?! I'm not trying to win your anything! I'm just... making sure you don't die before I can properly get revenge for those videos!"

"Sure, sure," I grinned, wincing slightly as the movement sent a sharp pain through my head. "Your revenge plot sounds totally believable."

Cinder growled something under her breath.

"Why are you even mad about the videos?" I asked, propping myself up on the medical bed. "Isn't your whole goal to get famous and rich? Why else would you be in a troupe?"

"WHAT? No!" Cinder froze mid-pace.

"Oh?" I pressed. "What exactly is your goal? Why are you in a monster-slayin' troupe?"

Cinder's wings twitched, her feathers rapidly fading to grays and blacks. "It's complicated," she muttered.

"Complicated how?" I challenged. "You're in a troupe doing music to summon monsters. You've got talent. Those videos I recorded? They're basically free publicity. Also, in the age of social media and generative AIs consent is a fluid concept."

"Consent is NOT fluid! That's exactly the kind of manipulative bullshit-"

"Says the person who can literally turn invisible and sneak around to terrorize innocent half-humans," I interrupted. "Pot, meet kettle. Say, do you ever turn invisible to sneak into the boys' showers?"

"WHAT?!" Cinder's entire figure ignited with black-gold-pink-red.

"Ha," I grinned. "Made your entire body blush. You're too easy to rile up. Learn to be more stoic."

Cinder choked at my words, forcibly turning her entire body gray.

"Just saying, if I had invisibility powers, I'd totally use them for... scientific research." I said, tapping my chin. "Maybe spy on some angels."

Cinder's wings flared again, feathers shifting from gray to a vibrant, angry red.

"Say is changing color the only thing you can do?" I asked. "Can you project other stuff, be a TV? Quick tune to the news."

"Are you seriously asking me to turn into a TV?"

"Medical professionals recommend entertainment during recovery. And who better to provide said entertainment than my favorite rock star?" I winked.

Cinder sent me a dangerous glare and then her entire head ignited with a million colors as if her feathers were monitor pixels going through channels filled with colorful static. In a few seconds the colors settled and then my own face stared back at me.

"Satisfied?" She asked in my own voice.

"Whoa," I breathed out. "This is some high grade mimicry. I always wondered what I'd look like with a hot femme bod."

Cinder's feathers instantly shifted back to their normal silver, her original Quetzi face flushing with embarrassment and anger.

"Argh!" She sputtered. "I was trying to intimidate you, not... not..."

"Give me ideas about alternate universe versions of myself?" I teased cheerfully. "Too late! Now I'm imagining myself dating a female version of myself! This is primo fanfiction material! Wait... you're like the perfect infiltrator. Damn now I'm extra-jelly."

"I swear, if you don't shut up..." Her wings fluttered with agitation.

"You'll what? Hit me with another dodgeball? That's probably against medical advice right now."

The school nurse, an elderly mermaid with pale blue scales, bustled over on a wheelchair. Her lower body was a sleek, iridescent fish tail that gleamed under the fluorescent lights, and her upper body was wrapped in a crisp white medical uniform. Silver-blue hair was pulled back in a tight bun, large glasses perched on her sharp, angular nose. A dark Kitlix sat on her shoulder shimmering with green sparks.

"Ah. Mr. Glock," she said, "I see you're awake and makin' jokes. Good. I'm Nurse Keystoni."

Cinder stepped back, her wings instinctively folding closer to her body and turning silver. The nurse's gaze was sharp enough to cut through even a Quetzalcoatl's bravado.

"How are you feeling?" The nurse's voice was crisp and professional.

"Like I've been hit by a very angry... dodgeball," I deadpanned.

"You've endured a pretty bad concussion," the nurse tutted, scribbling something on her clipboard. "I healed some of the damage."

"Just some?" I asked.

"Healing takes energy. Can't restore everything instantly," she shrugged as the Kitlix flowed down to her lap. "The school was built directly above the Leviathan's place of awakening and has highest Aetheric density in the world and yet it is still far, far below Arx where these little guys are born," the nurse continued, stroking her Kitlix. "Alas, our magical potential is limited, so yes... I fixed as much as I could. You'll need to take it easy for the rest of the day. No more dodgeball or other strenuous activities."

"Does that include... vigorous activities with extra-angry Quetzalcoatls?" I asked innocently.

Cinder growled in my direction.

The nurse's sharp eyes flicked between Cinder and me. "Miss Nova, are you harassing our new mixed-heritage student?"

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"What? No! He's the one who keeps-" Cinder started to protest.

"I was merely suggesting that Miss Nova's presence has certain... cardiovascular effects," I interrupted with an innocent smile. "Completely unrelated to any dodgeball incidents."

Cinder choked beside me.

"Perhaps you should take the rest of the day off to recover," the nurse suggested dryly. "I'll write you a note excusing you from classes."

"But what about my education?" I protested. "My burning desire for knowledge? My need to maintain perfect attendance?"

"Your burning desire can wait until tomorrow," the nurse replied firmly. "Now, about getting you home safely..."

I put on my best pained expression. "About that... Walking might be... challenging." I winced dramatically, touching my head. "Everything's still spinning and my balance feels... off."

The nurse's sharp eyes studied me carefully. "Hmm. We can't have you stumbling around campus in this condition. You might fall and worsen your injury. Hrmmm. We do have temporary mobility assistance available," the nurse said. "Hold on."

She quickly dried herself with a quick swipe of a towel, her tail suddenly sparking with azure energy. Then her scales slowly shifted and reformed, transforming into human-like, blue-scaled legs. She stood up smoothly, put on slippers and walked out of the room.

"Dang. That's cool," I whispered to Cinder. "Can you do that?"

"Do what?" the Quetzi peered down at me.

"Can you manifest a tail and then split it into legs?"

"Do I look like I can just manifest new body parts?" Cinder growled. "I can change colors and mimic appearances for a bit, not transform my entire body! I already have a tail, if you didn't notice!"

"So can you split it into an extra pair of legs, turn into a spider?"

"WHAT?! That's not how any of this..."

"Shame," I sighed. "Maybe in your next evolution?"

"I'm not a Poketbeast!" she snapped.

"Could've fooled me with the face-swaps and all those color changes," I grinned. "What level do you need to be to learn Hyper Beam?"

Before Cinder could respond, the nurse returned pushing a sleek wheelchair and holding what appeared to be a temporary disability parking placard and elevator access card.

"Here we are," she announced. "This should help you get around safely until you've fully recovered. And this placard will let you park closer to the buildings."

"Oh wow, thank you!" I beamed, accepting the lanyard and placard.

"You," the nurse pointed at Cinder, "will help Mr. Glock get to his car or Suber safely. No arguments."

"WHAT?!" Cinder squawked. "Why me?"

"Because you're already here and clearly concerned about his wellbeing," the nurse replied smoothly. "Unless you'd prefer I write up a very stern report about that dodgeball incident? Who was it that threw the ball so hard at our newest student again?"

Cinder's wings drooped in defeat. "Fine," she muttered.

"Excellent!" I chirped, carefully sliding into the wheelchair wincing as my brain wobbled. "Now I can start a wheelchair racing team with Katherine! Think we can convince Coach Canard to add it as an official sport?"

“Katherine?" Cinder asked, automatically taking control of my wheelchair to roll me out from the domain of healing.

"An incredible artist who tried to murder me with her own wheelchair this morning. Almost succeeded too! You two would get along great - she's got the whole 'I hate everything, especially this annoying human' vibe down."

"Katherine Kells?" Cinder's voice took on a strange tone. "You met Katherine?"

"Yeah! She tried to eat my soul with her spooky eyes and everything. It was great! Well, terrifying actually, but great! She's like this amazing artist who-"

"I know who Katherine is," Cinder interrupted quietly. "She's... Iogann's half-sister. We used to be friends, back when..."

She trailed off, her wings drooping slightly.

"Back when what?" I asked, genuinely curious about the shift in Cinder's mood.

"I don't want to bring up old shit," she muttered, pushing my wheelchair perhaps a bit more forcefully than necessary. "She went through some stuff. Started drinking. Stopped hanging out with anyone except Io. To be honest, I haven't really talked to her in ages."

"Sounds like a tragic backstory trope that could use a kick in a different direction," I mused as Cinder wheeled me through the hall. "Maybe we should form a support group - 'People Who Have Tried to Murder Alex Club.' You can be the founding president!"

"Pfff," she exhaled. "Pretty sure that'll include half the school by the end of the month at the rate you're going."

"A month?" I arched an eyebrow. "You underestimate my powers. Give me a week. Nah, two weeks. I've a busy schedule filled with Stollwurm and Quetzi wrangling."

"Wrangling?" She smirked.

"Wrangling into friendship," I declared dramatically. "Absolute, pure, unadulterated friendship that will make you both question your life choices!"

Cinder stared at me for a long moment, then burst out into an uneven grin. "You're going to 'friendship' Katherine Kells? Good luck."

“Eh, I’ll get there. For now, she's my sworn nemesis," I grinned.

"Your... nemesis?" Cinder's voice dripped with skepticism as she wheeled me through the hallway. "With the amount of tormenting me with your annoying... everything, you'd think that I would be your nemesis.'

"Not at all!" I twisted in the wheelchair to look up at her. Her wings were partially folded over me, creating an iridescent, metallic canopy above us. "You're my guardian angel, obviously! Or romantic interest number one if you fall for me." I rubbed my chin. "Are you into highly questionable male protagonists constantly on the run from the law and corpo Scrutimancers?"

Cinder's wings bristled as she stopped pushing my wheelchair abruptly. "What did you just say?"

"Which part?" I grinned up at her. "The guardian angel bit or the romantic interest angle? Because I'm happy to elaborate on either-"

The wing canopy overhead ignited with violet, reds, pinks and golds as if a sun was setting above me.

"I swear to Slayer..." Cinder growled, her claws tightening on the wheelchair handles. Without warning, she spun my chair around to face her, leaning down until we were eye-to-eye.

"Listen here, you annoying little chuppy," she hissed. "Do you have a deathwish?"

"Actually?" I asked. "Yes. I'm heavily concussed and its mildly annoying. Please stab me through the heart with a sharp pointy claw-hand and reincarnate me."

"What?" Cinder's ocean-blue eyes went wide.

"Wait, I have a better plan that doesn't involve dying horribly," I rubbed my chin. "Take me to the Genesis Pool."

"Why?"

"I want to take a swim in it, see if it fixes my concussion without dying."

"You want to... WHAT?!"

"Take a swim in the Genesis Pool," I repeated, my tone casual. "Might help with this concussion."

"That's not how it works!" Cinder hissed, her wings flaring with agitation. "The Genesis Pool isn't some magical healing hot tub!"

"Worth a shot," I shrugged, wincing slightly at the movement. "Better than sitting in this wheelchair all day."

Cinder's eyes narrowed. "You're serious? You want to just... casually dive into one of the most sacred spaces in Omnithean culture?"

"Yep," I nodded. "Sounds fun. Wanna be my guide? We could skinny-dip in together!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" She growled.

"Aiiiiight then," I shrugged. "I'll just roll myself there. You can go to class, Miss Square."

"You're not going anywhere near the effin' Genesis Pool," Cinder growled. "And I'm definitely not letting you go alone in your current state. You're obviously concussed stupid!"

"Look," I said. "People drop bracelets into it to grow an entirely new body. But... has anyone tried to jump into it, WHILE badly concussed and wearing the bracelet?"

"How the fuck should I know?!" She hissed. "Go ask the Vice Principal! He'll probably explain to you why it's a monumentally stupid idea."

"Nah. Let's find out!" I said cheerfully. "For science! Come on, don't you want to know what happens? Maybe it'll give me super powers! Or maybe it'll just fix my headache. Either way, win-win!"

"Or maybe it'll just kill you!" Cinder snapped.

"If it does, THEN you can take the bracelet off my corpse and dump that in," I said. "Either way - no more concussion! Come on, you break rules all the time. Let's break them into an actually useful direction."

Cinder's wings flared with gray, black and auburn tones of absolute frustration.

"Alright then, I dare you to roll me down there and dump me the pool," I changed my strategy. "Don't you want revenge? Weren't you all like 'I'm gonna smash your face with a ball' this morning? The fierce rebel Cinder, afraid of a little sacred pool? What happened to all that anti-establishment energy? Maybe you're not that goth after all. Maybe you're just... faking it."

Cinder's wings bristled instantly, her feathers shifting to a deep, challenging red. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," I grinned, knowing exactly which buttons I was pushing. "All talk, no action. The great rebel Cinder Nova, scared of breaking a few rules? Pfft."

"I am NOT scared," she growled, leaning down until we were eye-to-eye. "Fine. You want to go to the Genesis Pool? Let's go."

. . .

The elevator ride down to the Genesis Pool was painfully awkward.

Cinder leaned against the wall in one corner, arms crossed. I sat in the wheelchair, spinning slowly and deliberately.

"Stop. Twirling in one spot." She ground out through clenched teeth.

"Can't help it," I grinned. "Wheelchair. Spinning is its primary function. Wheeeee-eee-e."

Cinder's eye twitched.

The elevator music - a bizarre Omnithean jazz remix that sounded like whale sounds mixed with electronic beats - did nothing to ease the tension. Cinder looked like she was already regretting her life choices.

The elevator doors opened with a soft chime.

The silver surface of the Genesis Pool stretched out before us, eerily still and reflective. The massive statue of the masked, naked female Omnid loomed overhead, her stone wings spread wide and her sword pointed down at the fluid's surface.

"This is a terrible idea," Cinder muttered as I rolled closer to the edge. "We shouldn't be here. We aren't actually resurrecting anyone and..."

"Sacred schmacred," I waved off her concerns, activating the hexmesh suit under my clothes. The tiny beast core hummed to life. "Sometimes you gotta take risks!"

Before Cinder could react, I launched myself from the wheelchair with a whoop of excitement. The hexmesh suit's beast core amplified my muscles as I sailed through the air, my body arcing towards the silvery surface of the Genesis Pool.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Cinder screamed, her wings flaring wide in shock.

Time seemed to slow down. The reflective surface of the pool rushed up to meet me, impossibly still and mirror-like. For a moment, I could see my own reflection - eyes wide with worry and exhilaration.

Then impact and then I was under.

The silvery liquid enveloped me, filling my mouth and eyes, choking and suffocating me. It filled me from within in less than a second and reached out to the burning bracelet on my wrist and suddenly up was down and down was up as if gravity had turned inside out.

[System Error]

Two words comprised of brilliant sparks filled my vision.

Something inside me broke with a twinkle.