Fantasy PHANTASMA: SCHOOL OF THE STRANGE

[MechaGhoul]

"Uh s-sure." Susie handed over the jar to Maggie. "H-huh? Wha?" She glanced at the spoon which she picked, while handing over the jar earlier. She quickly placed it down. I have to do something more to help... She glanced side to side, as she cast some magical flavor into the spice, as Maggie was pouring it in.


Blushing a bit, "Er n-no, it's fine..." She watched as Maggie did her craft in the kitchen. "S-so... h-how is it? Er, oh h-how is your Mom's cooking?"

Spoiler

[dice]1324[/dice]

 

[MechaGhoul]

Achim closed the door to the classroom, while Junkyard went to the desk. She sat down, as Achim went back, and placed the copy of Alice in Wonderland back down. "Well, Junkyard. Do you want to hear a story then?" Junkyard barked, and moved closer to Achim, as he began petting her. He reached into his desk drawer, and moved a few sheets out of the way as he pulled out a copy of 'I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.' He placed it on the desk, and shut the drawer, as he moved to pet his companion yet again. "Let's see... where did I leave off." Achim opened the book to a page with the upper corner folded down. He folded it back up, as he swerved in his chair to face his dog. A frown appeared upon his face, "Hm, well sadly we are near the very end of this book. However, it is magical every time. Now then..."


"AM has altered me for his own peace of mind, I suppose. He doesn't want me to run at full speed


into a computer bank and smash my skull. Or hold my breath till I faint. Or cut my throat on a


rusted sheet of metal. There are reflective surfaces down here. I will describe myself as I see


myself:"


Achim paused dramatically, while Junkyard idly looked at him in confusion as she tilted her head. "Ah, sorry girl. Anyway, back to the fate of our protagonist."


"I am a great soft jelly thing. Smoothly rounded, with no mouth, with pulsing white holes filled


by fog where my eyes used to be. Rubbery appendages that were once my arms; bulks rounding


down into legless humps of soft slippery matter. I leave a moist trail when I move. Blotches of


diseased, evil gray come and go on my surface, as though light is being beamed from within.


Outwardly: dumbly, I shamble about, a thing that could never have been known as human, a


thing whose shape is so alien a travesty that humanity becomes more obscene for the vague


resemblance.


Inwardly: alone. Here. Living under the land, under the sea, in the belly of AM, whom we


created because our time was badly spent and we must have known unconsciously that he could


do it better. At least the four of them are safe at last.


AM will be all the madder for that. It makes me a little happier. And yet … AM has won, simply


… he has taken his revenge …


I have no mouth. And I must scream."


With that he shut the book, and placed it back into the drawer. "Hm, though I will need to find another book to read you. Perhaps next I shall read, The Last Question." He slowly scratched his chin as he mused upon the idea. "Yes, that will be the next story I shall read." He scratched at Junkyard's right ear, as he swiveled back to sitting on his chair and facing the doorway.

 

[CSA]

Lily started the oven and began boiling the potatoes, while she added the spices and chopped garlic and onions to the meat. The meat mixture went into a pan, and she began cooking that as well. While this was going, Lily caught a whiff of something that actually smelled quite appetizing. Somehow, it was coming from Maggie's station.


"She's... competent? At anything?" Lily thought, legitimately surprised.


But the Alraune had to keep an eye on her own dish. It was a French recipe, so it would probably turn out well. The French really knew their stuff when it came to cooking, after all.


Lily ran the potatoes through a ricer when they were soft, added them to the cooked meat in a separate bowl, and finished up her crust. She put the completed pie into the oven, and began the waiting game. She couldn't help but glance over at Maggie and Susie every once in a while, however, and be astonished. It must have been Susie's doing, right? She was French. A soup that smelled that good couldn't have been created by a girl who's greatest accomplishment, from Lily's perspective, was likely being dropped on her head as a baby a record number of times.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Anya gently slid the choco-fish into the ranch-filled pie crust, then covered it with a fine layer of sliced garlic and uncooked rice, "For texture", she explained. The catgirl added a top layer crust made from torn up rye bread, because as she very well knew, rye was healthy, and it was important to be in good health.


She carefully placed her creation in the oven next to Lily's.


"I think this is going to be really tasty, Helada. We make a good team!" she smiled.

 

[MechaGhoul]

A most unpleasant aroma spread through the air, and infiltrated Susie's nostrils. W-what in the devil's name is that!? She glanced over in the direction that she caught the scent, and noticed some, horrific culinary creation, something that had to be a crime. However, luckily for Susie, it was placed in the oven by Anya. Or, as she soon realized... that was a very unlucky thing indeed. Wait... is she!? No, it can't be. T-this can't possibly be real. I-it just can't be! She immediately and swiftly reached towards the back of her left hand and pinched it. Confirming that she actually felt that, her pupils widened in horror.


Sacrebleu! That Culinary Nightmare, i-it is real. She immediately focused back on the soup, as she waved her hand to waft the smell of it for a much needed cleansing experience. Cleanse the atrocious odor that I had the misfortune of smelling. She breathed in, and out, feeling a sense of tranquility from the aroma of the soup. "Une belle rachat pour la péché que j'ai senti." She mumbled to herself. Susie focused back her attention to Maggie. "T-The soup smells good. Y-you did a good job on it." She said while giving a quick nod at Maggie.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

After some amount of time, Richter knocked on the wall and alerted the class to the clock, signalling that their period would soon end, and they should finish their dish.


Anya peeked into the oven, where the pies were taking on a golden hue. Or, in the fish-tomato pie's case, a crispy blackish one.


"I think they'll be done soon, Lily! Do you wanna taste test each other's?" she asked, her tail swishing back and forth in anticipation.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Oh mon Dieu, s'il vous plaît ne laissez pas ce plat exister. Susie thought to herself. She could only hope that by some miracle, that whatever Anya made, could be destroyed by some divine event. I c-can't let anyone suffer to that horrible mockery of 'food', if it could even be called that. 
Susie tapped her temple with her left index finger, in a rather simple pattern. She tapped three times in a slow and methodical fashion, before pausing for a few seconds, then returning back to tapping. A Spectral Hand should do it. With it I can smash it, until it is unusable, thus sparing everyone from it. I cannot let anyone suffer from that ... thing. It would be wrong if I allowed that, unpalatable meal, to harm anyone.

 

[CSA]

Lily glanced in the oven along with Anya, and saw nightmares. There was no more hope for this abomination; Lily could no longer delude herself into thinking that Anya's cooking might not be so bad. The thing's blackened crust, if it could be called a crust, was more akin to a venom-regurgitating volcano of pure evil than anything that could be called edible.


There would be no winners in any contest involving this thing but those who steered clear of it's dread countenance, and the losers? Pitiable heroes whose corpses would fuel the horrid machine that was Anya's cooking.


Lily would be a hero today.


"Y-yeah, Anya. It looks... really unique. I c-can't wait to taste it."


Lily was not generally a nice person, but looking into the Neko's eyes and seeing her tail wave about with such fervor made it impossible for Lily to say anything bad to the girl. Lily had a weakness for cute, and if Anya was anything, it was cute.


There was a beep, and Lily took her pie out of the oven.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Anya wasn't quite sure how to check if pies were done, so she decided to take it out alongside Lily's.


Taking a knife, she pushed her way past the crunchy, outer crust, and produced a slice on the plate, revealing the surprisingly sloppy insides. The ranch and chocolate had coalesced into some sort of swirled, hybrid sauce, held together by rice, with free-floating pieces of fish and now well baked garlic.


The catgirl removed a mouthful with a fork, and pointed it towards the alraune.


"You can taste mine first, if you want. Say ahh~!" she smiled.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie's nose wrinkled together, in a vain attempt to close the passage of the horrific smell, that now permeated the air, as that thing was pushed out. She glanced over towards Anya, where she noticed... that... IS SHE TRYING TO FEED THAT TO SOMEONE!? No! No! No! NO ONE is going to suffer from that! I can't allow it! Susie knew, that she had to act, and act quickly if she wanted to save the taste-buds of the people. And as such, she acted quickly as she cast a spell, one that would be most helpful in ridding the world of that foul dish.


Suddenly, an eerie white glowing hand, the size of a regular hand, came into being. Susie gave a quick flick of her fingers, as the spectral hand rushed over towards the monstrosity 'pie', and fork, and destroy it. Such a sinful thing... cannot exist. Not when I can do something about it.


[dice]1386[/dice]

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Anya's eyes widened in shock as her pie, even the fork in her hand, were knocked to the ground in a splatter. She couldn't serve food that had been on the ground. Her hands trembled involuntarily as she looked at the splattered remains of the fruits of her labor.


"I-it's okay, I can just m-make ano-" she stammered, looking at the board. The other students were already bringing dishes to the front for Richter. She was out of time.


"No. No no no no no no no..." the catgirl repeated, collapsing to her knees. "Lily, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break it, I just..." she bawled, as tears began streaming down her cheeks, dripping into the fetid remains of her pie. A carp head stared from the heap, as if to mock her failure.


She couldn't look Lily in the eye anymore, and cried silently, staring at what once remained of what was surely a delicious pie.

 

[MechaGhoul]

The Spectral Hand disappeared, after finishing its job. After all, that was all it needed to do, keeping it longer would be unnecessary. ... It is done. Whew. I have saved others from having to... Susie shivered at the thought of anyone having to be subjugated to eat it. A day saved for culina-... Her ears twitched, at the sound of Anya bawling. Well, I er, hm. As Inspector Javert once said, 'God knows, it's easy to be kind; the hard thing is to be just.' Well, I hn. Susie pondered to herself. She glanced over towards Anya, and took a few steps towards that direction. "Er uhm... D-don't cry, uhm." She said, nervously scratching the back of her head.

 

[CSA]

Lily opened up and prepared to receive her punishment before a spectral hand sent the fork and pie flying. Lily was somewhat relieved, but at the same time she felt really bad for Anya. The poor child had worked so hard and was so eager to please Lily... seeing her crying on the ground, even if it was next to that monstrosity, made Lily feel stuff in her chest.


Bad stuff.


Lily knelt down next to the girl and pulled her into a hug.


"It's alright, sweetheart. The teacher can have my pie, and you can cook for me later. Accidents happen, OK?"


Lily gently wiped a tear from the Neko's cheek and looked into her eyes.


"Hey... you wanna taste mine? I would like it. I've never had a friend taste my food before."


"That was a mage hand, wasn't it? Did Susie do this? But she wouldn't make a child cry, right? Then again, she reacted pretty fast and didn't seem too surprised. I may have to speak with her. Again."





Lily briefly turned her eyes from Anya to look at the Elf.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

Anya's breathing deepened as Lily hugged her.


"O-okay" she stammered, still kneeling in front of her ruined food.


"Lily, why does my heart hurt?"

 

[MechaGhoul]

Well it looks like she has taken care of it. She thought to herself, as she stepped back towards the station with Maggie, focusing her eyes on the pot containing that delicious soup. Once again, she wafted in the aroma of the soup. Ah, such a beautiful scent. Ah, yes, a most luxurious scent. She stopped wafting in the aroma, and rolled her shoulders back.

 

[Parsnip]

Maggie set the soup-pot down on a nearby counter and meandered over to Anya, giving the little girl a pat on the head.


"Don't worry, Anya! My mom always told me, 'Margaret, there are some things in life that you just can't do and no matter how hard you work at it, trying to do it will only make things worse for everyone.', so then I stopped doing calculus and focused on things I'm good at like being charming and stuff or something. I don't actually remember where I was going with this but I'm pretty sure it was important somehow anyways want some soup?"

 

[CSA]

Lily didn't know what to do with a child whose heart was hurting. Lily herself didn't even have a heart. It was probably the figurative sort of heart hurt, though, and perhaps it was similar to the bad feeling she got in her chest when she saw how sad Anya was.


But Lily still didn't know what to do. Confirming their friendship and hugging her should have been enough, right?


Thankfully, Maggie stopped by and said something somewhat depressing disguised as what she likely imagined was an inspiring anecdote, thus saving Lily from a situation that she didn't really know how to handle.


"Hey, yeah, that soup smells good Maggie. Why don't you go eat some soup while I cut up my pie, Anya?"


Lily let the girl go and stumbled back over to her pie awkwardly. She grabbed a knife and began cutting, hoping the girl would go away for a few seconds so she could think.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

"Okay." Anya said, taking Maggie's hand.


"Soup sounds good. What kind is it?" she asked.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Well, it is a good thing I didn't bring Ferdie with me, over here. I suppose, and I suppose things have worked themselves out. Susie thought to herself. She glanced over at Maggie and Anya, before just as quickly glancing away.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie glanced over towards Richter for a moment. She then focused her attention to the various culinary creations that were brought up by the other students. Well they all look edible, that's a good sign. I guess I won't need to use the hand again. She thought to herself.

 

[Parsnip]

"It's vegetable and barley. Not as good as my mom makes it, though.", Maggie replied.

 

[MechaGhoul]

"Her mother must be rather talented in the kitchen." Susie mumbled towards herself, while she glanced towards Maggie. I wonder... She shook her head and tapped her left temple. Well there goes that train of thought. Oh well.

 

[CSA]

Lily began cutting her pie as the others went over to try some of Maggie's admittedly alluring soup. Lily wasn't entirely sure about what she should do with Anya. She didn't even know why she cared about this girl at all, but she guessed she did a little. Obviously the kid was helpless, maybe that was the reason Lily felt like she had to take care of her.


Lily placed a couple of pieces on some plates for her room mates before bringing the rest of the pie to the teacher, and then went back to her station.


"Don't want to get too close, but that girl really can't take care of herself. She's so naive and strange and clingy... and sweet. And innocent. And..."





Lily really didn't know how to deal with this. She continued thinking, alone at her station.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Hmm, I wonder what the method of grading will be for this project. Or will it be graded at all? Susie pondered to herself.

 

[ComradeSenpai]

"Vegetables?" Anya frowned. "Well... Papa said it's good to eat all your vegetables, so I stop being so small!"


She pounded her fist as she said this, and braced herself for the dish.


--------------------


Richter, meanwhile, had finished examining the food brought forward, and had begun to creep about, getting last minute students. He stopped to examine Maggie's soup, examining the color, and texture, and inhaled deeply.


"...Seems tasty." he said, jotting a note down on a clipboard.


The vampire moved onto the next, and stopped suddenly, crouching down and dipping his fingers in the remains of Anya's pie. He brought it up to his nose, sniffed, and immediately gagged, dropping onto his hands.


"Darlingtonia." he said, looking upwards. "What... what is this?"