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17piesinseptember · 5 years

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“Is This A Dare?” | Part V + VI

A Zimbits College AU | part I | part II | part III | part IV

Part V

It's not a long bus ride but without his phone or music it feels that way. Bitty taps his fingers against his lips, remembering leaving his phone number for Jack—a number that goes to a phone he doesn't have anymore and might not get back soon, if ever.

He should have left his email address instead. His personal one, not the uni provided one Jack probably has access to anyway.

Bitty groans aloud and crosses his arms. An email isn’t better. He shouldn’t have left anything. He rests his head against the window, not caring about the countless others who must have done the same before him, adding his own oily marks on the pane.

Stupid, he thinks to himself. What point is leaving contact information anyway. He and Jack aren’t friends and there’s no reason after last night for Jack to stay in contact with Bitty. He did his good deed. Bitty shouldn’t want to ask more from Jack after all that, especially after Jack’s speech about classroom hierarchy and relationships.

Bitty sighs and readjusts his forehead on the glass. It’s incredibly uncomfortable but he holds it for a moment so he can't confess to himself the real reason he gave Jack his number. (There’d been one moment picturing a hopeful vision of him and Jack in some fantastical future and it was so strong he’d turned and written his number of a bit of paper.)

Bitty groans and buries his face in his hands trying to force away his embarrassment. He spends so long with his head in his hands he misses his dorm by two stops and has to retrace his steps. He takes his time because he knows when he makes it to the dorm he'll have to face the reality of his situation. He'll need to replace his key, cancel his cards, hope and pray all his photos have been uploading to the cloud.

Thankfully, they keep the main dorm doors open during the day, so Bitty is able to get into the building and up to his room. His roommate lets him in when he knocks and Bitty feels a sliver of relief that he was in to do so. Bitty grabs fresh clothes from his dresser and his shower kit. He loses track of time as he washes, the hot water soothing some of the tension he's been carrying since last night.

Back in his room, feeling refreshed if not better, Bitty takes inventory. It turns into an incredibly long afternoon, equally as tiring as the other night. Bitty does every bit of tedious organising he can bear, thankful he'd left his laptop behind the other night and can do it all from the privacy of his room, where no one is around to see him swear and cry and punch his pillow in equal parts.

His new student card takes a day to make so he has 24 hours without access to the mess hall. (He says a quick thank you to Jack for his pancakes when he learns that.) He has a few tubs of yoghurt in his mini fridge and half a dozen eggs which he views as literal lifesavers because he hasn't figured out yet how he's going to pay for things without getting a new card or phone.

As Bitty sits on his bed eating a yoghurt, debating whether or not to message his parents, he finds himself looking forward to Monday. He hopes his classes can distract him, starting with his women and food class first thing in the morning. With Jack.

Part VI

Bitty wakes hungry to the tapping of his roommate on his door.

"Thanks," he grumbles, grateful his roommate agreed to be his alarm today until he figures out a better way to do it.

He can't get into the mess hall without his new card, so he grabs yet another yoghurt from the fridge and eats it in his bedroom while he packs a new bag for today, apologising to his mother’s voice in his head reminding him that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

For the first time ever, Bitty is the first one in the lecture theatre. Not even the teacher is there. He opens his laptop and refreshes his email, hoping to see one from student services saying his ID card is ready for collection. There's nothing there.

Bitty opens his notes for the class and surprises himself by becoming bored enough to read over them. Twitter felt wrong on his laptop.

Eventually, students start coming in. Bitty tries to tune out their conversations but it's more interesting than revision. He spends a few minutes scrolling sporadically to keep up appearances while eavesdropping on a conversation about a weekend trip one of the sport teams took. He's so engrossed he misses someone clearing their throat beside him, and it's not until that person leans over and puts their arm along the back of Bitty's chair that he shifts his attention.

Bitty lifts his head to see Jack looking at him. From very close up. This is probably the closest Bitty's ever seen him, closer than sitting beside each other in Jack’s car, and he can't help but notice Jack's eyes are incredibly blue.

"Can I see you after class?" Jack asks, keeping his voice low.

"Uh," Bitty flushes, having to try very consciously not to drop his eyes to Jack's lips. Or his jaw line. Or his shoulders. "Yes. Okay."

Jack's probably not intending his question and posturing to cause Bitty's abdomen to contract but it does anyway.

"Meet me down front after," Jack instructs, then continues down the stairs to his seat in the front row of the lecture theatre.

Jack doesn't look at him again during the lecture at all. Bitty tries not to look at Jack so frequently but can't help it because he keeps thinking about what Jack wants to see him about. He couldn't read enough in Jack's tone to know and doesn't know enough of him to guess. The closest he can manage is that Jack wants to talk to Bitty about him leaving his number. He’s not sure he’s up for sitting through Jack's "I don't date students" speech again.

By the end of the lecture, Bitty's notes are appalling and only fill half a page. Bitty tries to take his time packing up but without his normal bag with its extraneous content, he's done very quickly. He gets up and makes his way against the current of people down to the front where Jack's stacking sheets of paper together into a folder.

"Hi," Bitty announces his presence, sitting in the seat two along from Jack.

"Hey, Eric," Jack greets, closing the folder. "You got home alright yesterday then?"

Bitty nods. "Thanks for the bus money."

Jack smiles, gathering his bag and papers. "There's a class coming in here. Do you mind coming with me to the TA offices?"

"Oh. Ah, sure," Bitty says, standing up again and following Jack out of the lecture hall.

They pass a coffee cart on the way and Jack breaks the silence between them to offer to buy Bitty something.

"Do you want a coffee? Muffin?"

Bitty scoffs reflexivity at the offer of a baked good.

"I take that as a no?" Jack asks.

Bitty clears his throat. "Sorry. I didn't mean to—It's just the muffins aren't—But yes. That's a no. Thanks, though."

Bitty has never been to the TA offices. He assumed Jack would share a room with Professor Atley, but if turns out he’s in a larger communal office area with several desks spread around the walls.

"There's eight of us in here," Jack tells Bitty as he leads him around a large table in the middle of the room toward a desk in the back left corner. Jack sits down at his desk and puts his bag under the table beside a filing cabinet.

"That seat's free." Jack gestures behind Bitty to the neighbouring desk. Bitty wheels the chair over and sits, keeping his bag on his lap so he has something to do with his hands.

There's a meticulously organised bookshelf behind Jack's desk that gives them a small bit of privacy from the other two TAs currently in the room. Jack keeps his voice soft as well when he speaks, though Bitty is beginning to understand that's just how he is.

"Sorry for dragging you here," Jack starts. "I thought it would be better not to do it in front of the class."

Bitty does not like that as an opening sentence. He didn't really think Jack was going to reprimand him again for the contents of his note, but maybe Bitty's life is just that way now. One bad, uncomfortable thing after the other.

Bitty swallows and twists the strap of his bag around his hands. He tries to keep his breathing as even as possible but when he concentrates on doing so, he only seems to achieve the exact opposite.

Jack reaches to the bookshelf and pulls out a tin container covered with Van Gogh prints. Bitty's forehead furrows as he watches Jack pull a small ring of keys out and turn to the filing cabinet beneath his desk. He unlocks the largest draw. Bitty bites his lip.

"I hope you don't mind that I've kept them in here," Jack tells Bitty. "I don't think it's the conventional way this is done but I, er, didn't think about it when they called me."

Jack's back is to him, blocking Bitty's view of what's in the filing cabinet. When he finally spins around, Bitty's eyes drop to his lap and his lips part. "That's…"

"Yours," Jack finishes for him, hands around a brown leather satchel bag. "I checked when I went to collect it."

Bitty presses his lips together and goes back to focusing on his breathing.

"Sorry," Jack apologises. "I should have contacted you first. I actually… Well. I did, but then I realised." Jack pushes a hand through his hair. "You'll have a text from me. I didn't realise until after I sent it how stupid that was."

Bitty shakes his head. "Not stupid."

"I knew I was going to see you this morning, so at that stage I didn't bother emailing."

Bitty's eyes are still on Jack's lap. He reaches out—his hand unsteady—and Jack passes the bag across to him. His bag. The one he lost two nights ago.

"Is it-" Bitty clears his throat. He looks up at Jack, not sure which emotion his face is choosing to display; his weariness, relief, worry, gratitude.

Bitty takes a deep breath. "Is it just the bag?"

"Wallet and phone in there too."

Bitty exhales roughly. All that time wasted on the weekend sorting everything out and he doesn't even care. He's holding his bag.

He flips it open and looks through. Notebooks, pencil case, earphones, lip balm, even the plastic wrapped cookies he'd packed as a snack. He pulls his wallet out and opens it. By some miracle, all his cards are in there, from his credit card to his old library card. There's no cash but he didn't think he'd had any in there anyway.

"I'll go, er, make some tea," Jack says quietly, standing up and edging past Bitty.

"You don't have to," Bitty tells him but he takes too long to voice it, still pulling cards in and out of his wallet, and Jack's long gone.

Bitty's phone is dead but it's definitely his. Beyonce lyrics on the case and the crack on the screen across the bottom right corner. There's a phone charger plugged into the wall at Jack's desk. The connection is wrong for Bitty's phone but he keeps one in his bag which is also still in its usual pocket. He gets it out and switches the cords, hoping Jack won't mind.

Jack's still in the kitchenette so Bitty looks around his desk, waiting for his phone to have enough charge to turn on. The desk itself is mostly empty, with a whiteboard against the side wall filled with notes and print outs of timetables, and a tray filled with essays on the other side. The bookshelf shows more personality, with a few succulents on display among the alphabetically ordered books.

There's two framed photographs on the second top shelf which Bitty stands to get a better look at. He recognises where the first is taken because he was in Jack's house just the other night. Jack isn't in the picture himself, but the TV set up and couches are an exact match. Three men and a woman sit crammed on the couch that faces the TV, all craning their necks to look at the camera. There’s a video game paused on the TV but Bitty can’t tell which. The second photo is Jack and another man—one from the first photo, with the moustache—in graduation robes on the Samwell green, holding diplomas.

"That was my graduation for my undergraduate degree."

Bitty turns. Jack's holding two mugs of tea. Bitty maneuvers around him in the small space between Jack's desk and the bookshelf, sitting back on the spare seat.

"Milk?" Jack guesses, putting one down closer to Bitty and keeping the black tea for himself.

"Thanks, Jack." Bitty pulls the mug closer to him. "You really didn't have to."

"It wasn't a problem." Jack smiles at Bitty. "So was everything there?" Jack asks, nodding to the bag.

"Yes, yes it was." Bitty throws an arm over the bag in his lap and pulls it tighter against his body.

"I'm glad." The way Jack smiles at Bitty makes his heart flip over.

"Me too. I feel like I owe you a million thank yous for getting it,” Bitty tells Jack earnestly. “I mean, it's crazy. Like a miracle. I really didn't think I was going to see it again."

"I didn't do anything," Jack flushes, looking down at his mug and taking a sip.

"You have to have done something. Otherwise this wouldn't be here."

Jack’s fingers shift around his mug. "All I did was leave my number with the police station when I picked you up,” he rushes like it’s no big deal, spinning his chair slightly so he’s not facing Bitty front on. “I knew you didn't have your things. I said if they turned up they should call me."

Bitty watches Jack put his tea on the desk and run his thumb up and down it’s side.

“Well, it was something to me,” Bitty says softly.

Jack lifts his head briefly to look at Bitty. Bitty’s heart does its little flip up and over again.

"Okay then,” Bitty says cheerily, trying to move on from the overly sentimental moment. He doesn’t want to make Jack uncomfortable by pushing any hint of feelings toward him.

“Not a million thank yous,” Bitty continues, sitting up in his chair. “What about one pie?"

Jack blinks. "Oh."

"That's means you're thinking about it, right?” Bitty smiles. He’s missed Jack’s ‘oh’. “Thinking about saying yes?"

Jack shakes his head, spinning his chair back to face Bitty. “I was thinking that I remember the pie you brought in when you bribed your way into the course.”

Bitty flushes at the accusation and the way Jack’s mouth lifts up in one corner like he’s teasing him.

Bitty raises his mug in front of his face, trying to hide his heated cheeks. “I wouldn’t call it bribing,” he says sheepishly.

Jack laughs. “Oh, it didn’t bother me.”

Bitty raises his eyebrows at Jack.

“No, I mean—Obviously bribery isn’t something I’m condoning.” Bitty bites his lip as Jack flusters trying to explain. “I just meant it was a really good pie.”

Bitty nods, trying not to laugh at Jack’s expression.

“That came out wrong,” Jack says, shaking his head.

“So, that’s a yes to a thank you pie?” Bitty asks instead of teasing Jack more about it.

Bitty doesn’t wait for Jack’s ‘yes’, already set on making him one from back when Jack first collected him from the station. “What’s your favourite pie?”

“Oh.”

Bitty can’t help but smile at the sound.

“I’ve never thought about it,” Jack frowns. “I’m sure anything you make will be good.”

Bitty didn’t think his cheeks could get any warmer, but at Jack’s quiet compliment his body proves him wrong. “Okay. A surprise pie then. I promise it’ll be good.”

“I never said yes to the thank you pie,” Jack points out.

Bitty shrugs. “I never said yes to the tea.”

“But tea is much easier to make than a pie.”

Bitty laughs. “Not to me.” His heart flips over again. It seems to have decided he and Jack are teasing each other. Like friends.

[on to Part VII]

#omgcp #zimbits #omgcheckplease #zimbits fic #check please #is this a dare #mine #jack #bittty #i'm almost doubling the word count with this update #enjoy!

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fanfic-inator795 · 7 years

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Hero Magi Penn Zero Magica: Chapter 10

Plot: Penn never really thought that he could be as strong or heroic as his parents. However, when a mysterious cat-like creature named Phyllis offers to grant him one wish in exchange for becoming a magical hero, he finds that he may just be able to make his dream come true, and maybe even get his family back at the same time. Unfortunately, the life of a magical hero is filled with tragedy and despair. Can Penn really live that life? Can he help his friends? And what is with that mysterious new art teacher of his? Read to find out!

...Um, yeah. Sorry (again) about the long wait. Between work, cons and moving I didn’t really have much time for this... gah :/ I’m really sorry... But I am still going to finish this eventually. In the meantime, enjoy some Rippen backstory! Idea for this story was originally @rinnysega‘s.

The streets were cold, the night was still young, and Phyllis' words were still echoing throughout Rippen's head as he travelled down the street and towards his apartment.

"If you still wish to defeat Walpurgisnacht, then Penn Zero will have to fight."

He clenched his fists. "No..." This was his mission. This was his wish, and he would not let it go in vain. He wouldn't fail. ...He couldn't fail. "Not after all this time."

It had literally been several lifetimes ago, and yet he could still remember it like it was yesterday..

()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()

*THWEEEEEEEET!* The kids all immediately covered their ears as the gym teacher blew on his whistle, knowing just how to make the class silent.

"Okay class," Mr. Egsgard started to say, his tone dull and pretty uncaring, "As you may or may not know or care, your old art teacher suddenly retired last week. We wish her the very best. Now, since we've finally managed to find a replacement, I'd like to introduce you all to your new teacher, Mr. Rippen." The coach then gestured to the door as it opened, and a man stepped in.

The students' eyes widened as they looked at their new teacher. His skin was a pale green, and behind a pair of blue-rimmed glasses were a pair of yellow and red eyes. He was clean-shaven with shoulder length black and white hair that had been combed down in an attempt to tame it. He seemed nice enough, and fairly young too. Still an adult of course, but with how nervous and almost meek he seemed, there was no doubt this was his first teaching gig. The fact that the front of his shirt was damp enough for the whole class to see - another unlucky victim of that dangerous spot at the front of the parking lot that most of the faculty had dubbed "Water Sprinkler Row" - didn't exactly help his confidence either.

"Um, hel- er, g-good morning, children," Mr. Rippen greeted, giving the class a small nod, "I am Mr. Rippen. But, ah, I-I suppose you already knew that. Um-"

"Alright, you seem to have things handled pretty well," Mr. Egsgard told him, already making his way to the door, "Their all yours."

"Ah, right." Rippen cleared his throat before looking at his curious (and in some cases, unimpressed) students once more. "So, um, I-I suppose we should get started on today's lessons, eh?"

To be fair, the rest of the period wasn't TOO much of a disaster. ...Though, in Rippen's eyes at least, it had been pretty close to one...

He’d gotten through most of his lessons, but twice he dropped his notes. In one instance, he had been so frazzled that he ended up misspelling a word right on the chalk board! That definitely earned him a few snickers from this class...

Shortly after that, he decided to just give the class some free time to draw and practice the techniques he had just taught them about (or at least, tried to teach them about). That seemed to satisfy his students, and with a heavy sigh, Rippen sat down at his desk.

“It could have been worse,” he mumbled to himself as he searched through his bag, “Could have been a lot better too, though... Ugh, what am I even-?” He stopped, pulling out a paper. A single paper that was supposed to be a homework assignment, though it was hard to give the whole class homework when you only had one copy. He resisted the urge to facepalm.

With his luck, the copy machine would probably have a line - that is, if he could even find it at all! Swallowing his pride, he stood up again. “Um, class?” Rippen asked, crumpling the paper slightly in his hand as his hands stiffened, “I, I need to copy something for, er, for tomorrow’s lesson. Um, c-could one of you please show me where the faculty copy machine is?”

Unfortunately, no one volunteered. In fact, it looked like no one was even listening to him! Whether they just didn’t hear him over their own conversations or were just ignoring him on purpose, Rippen wasn’t sure. “Um, excuse me? I, er...” He gave another sigh. He’d have to just go find it on his own-

“I’ll take you there, Mr. Rippen.”

Rippen blinked. From the middle of the sea of students and desks, a freshman student with bright, curly red hair stood up. “Oh! Uh, t-thank you, Mr.- er-” Shoot! He knew the principal had given him a list of students before his first day. What was this boy’s name again?

“Penn Zero,” the boy told him, smiling, “And I’m pretty sure the copy machine’s just on the other end of this floor.”

“Oh! Well, that’s good. Um, w-well, come along then.” Penn gave a nod, walking out the door and beginning to lead the way. Honestly it was a bit embarrassing, a teacher needing to be escorted by a student. Though for Rippen, it was just another scoop on his worst-first-day-ever sundae.

“So, how do you like teaching so far?” Penn asked him, glancing back slightly.

“Oh, um... i-it’s alright, I suppose,” Rippen replied, not even really thinking about it. Definitely not a ‘professional’ answer. Then again, could he really be called a professional if he was just starting his career as a teacher?

“Yeah. I’m kinda glad we’ve got an actual art teacher again,” Penn continued. Pausing for a moment, he made sure to take a right when they arrived at a fork in the hall. “Art’s pretty interesting, you know? And I’m sure you have a lot to teach us.”

“Heh, well, I’ll certainly try...” Glancing down at his feet, Rippen rubbed the back of his neck. “Though, if I have too many more days like this one, I may not be here much longer.”

Penn raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” he asked as they turned down another, emptier hallway.

“Ugh, what do you mean ‘what do I mean’? I could barely get through a lecture without stuttering or nearly dropping my notes every few minutes... Honestly, I can barely LOOK the part of a teacher, much less act like one.”

“Hey, come on, Rippen,” Penn told him, “It wasn’t that bad!” Rippen blinked. He had always been taught that being called your first name without any sort of honorific was at best ‘too casual’ and at worst ‘completely disrespectful’. ...However, one look at the smiling student in front of him let him know that he certainly wasn’t being the latter. “Besides, it’s your first day! Everyone messes up their first day.”

“Hmph. Yes, well... That doesn’t make messing up any more pleasant...”

Penn hummed. “Well... Then I guess you’ll have to try to be the type that doesn’t let failures and screw-ups weigh them down. ‘Learn from them, and then let them roll off your back’. Well, that’s what my parents tell me anyway. But, I mean... I feel like you could do it.”

“...Really?” Rippen asked, his voice quiet. At that moment, even a concept as simple as that seemed beyond him. After all, he was someone who had failed quite a lot in life. And if he was just going to keep failing then... What was the point?

But Penn just gave him a determined smile. “Yeah, of course! I mean, you’ve made it this far, right? So now all you’ve got to do is make sure you keep getting back up. And yeah, I think you could do it... Like I said, you seem like a pretty good teacher.”

“...” Rippen said nothing, his face hot. He was the adult here, and yet here he was venting to a student, pretty much throwing any sense of being professional out the window. ...Although, he couldn’t deny that the boy’s words of encouragement meant a lot to him. “I... T-Thank you, Mr. Zero.”

Penn gave him a nod, stopping just as they reached the small office where the copy machine resided. “Yeah. No problem, Rippen.”

Just as Rippen had predicted, the copier had a line. Not only that, but it also ended up getting jammed. Twice. By the time he finished, the bell had rang and his class was long gone.

The rest of his day wasn’t much better. He had tripped over something in the hall, spilling his coffee all over the place. At lunch he sat alone, barely eating his microwaved fish sticks. Other teachers and faculty members glanced over at them. His ears just barely picked up on their whispers and comments, but he heard them just enough.

He had two more classes in the afternoon, but even while trying to do his best, they ended up being just as stressful and embarrassing as the first. And, to top it all off, the sprinklers decided the grass by the parking lot needed just a bit more water, and turned on as soon as Rippen stepped outside.

Soaking wet and feeling lower than dirt, he got into his car and drove away, squeezing the steering wheel as he did so.

“Ugh... What am I even doing here?” he asked himself. What made him think that he could actually teach a class just because he was decent at painting himself?

“All you’ve got to do is make sure you keep getting back up... I think you could do it!”

“Hmph... and just how am I supposed to just brush off failure when all I am IS a failure?” As he continued to drive, the words of his family echoed through his head, making it all the harder to focus on the darkening road ahead of him...

“Oh, you’re going into art? Well, just don’t expect much.” “Come on now, maybe he’ll get lucky. Even the worst art has some fans, and anyone can teach a class of high schoolers!” “Ha, I bet he barely lasts a week before he gets fired.” “I don’t know why you’re even bothering with it.”

“Why are you even still trying? Don’t you think you’d be better off if you just stopped trying? If you just died?”

Rippen closed his eyes. “Yeah...”

“That’s right... You should just die...”

“I... I should just-” He stopped, his blood running cold. Who... Who’s voice was that?! Opening his eyes, Rippen gasped and slammed on the break. This wasn’t the road that he was supposed to be on! This wasn’t even a road at all!

The sky was now a bloody mix of red and yellow. The pavements was crumbling all around him, and just in front of his car was a huge arch that looked like it was made of paper! Though, that didn’t make the face at the top any less gruesome...

“W-What... What is this place?!” Rippen shouted. Grabbing the gearshift, he put it in reverse and started moving back as fast as he could. There had to be a way out! There just had to-!

*CRASH!* Rippen let out a yelp. Something had stopped his car dead in its tracks! Stepping out, he could only stare in horror as he watched several distorted figures beat on the back of his car. ...Of course, once they noticed who was watching them, they quickly changed targets.

“S-Stay away!” he shouted as he started to run, “Please, just stay- OOF!” Ugh, curse his feet! Of course, the creatures had no such problem, and it wasn’t long before the started closing in on the shaking teacher. “P-Please...” He clenched his eyes shut. “Don’t-!”

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!* *WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!*

Opening his eyes at the noise, Rippen got a perfect view of the creatures exploding in a burst of yellow and blue light. “...What... W-What the-?”

“Heh, that was a close one, huh?” “Yeah. We’ve reaaaally gotta work on our timing.”

Rippen’s eyes widened. He... He recognized both of those voices! Turning his head, he could see two brightly colored figures standing just behind him.

The first figure was a short, dark skinned man. He was wearing a tan shirt with a golden sweater-vest and a brown bowtie. Matching his tie, he was also wearing brown, bellbottom pants, and also had yellow fingerless gloves on his hands (hands that were currently holding muskets. Seriously, muskets?!). Finally, resting on the corner his glasses was a bright yellow gemstone.

The second figure was a bit taller, and with bright red hair that was impossible not to recognize. His outfit was a bit more knight-like with chain-mail over his chest and small pieces of armor over his arms and knees. Just above the chain mail was a small, blue gem. The boy was also wearing a bright blue shirt and silver-colored pants. As for his own weapon, it was bow made of dark wood with several blue gems adorning it.

Glancing over his shoulder, Penn smiled. “Glad you’re safe, Rippen.”

“P-Penn Zero? And... And Principal Larry?! But, what-? H-How-?!”

“Magical heroes.” Rippen flinched at the new voice, and glanced down at the ground where a small white cat now sat, looking pretty calm and actually kind of bored. “They are heroes who protect world against their villains, the witches.”

“Yep!” Larry said proudly.

“Heh, just don’t tell anyone else at school, okay?” Penn added. With that, he summoned another arrow - made out of bright light - and both he and Larry aimed their attacks straight at the arch-creature. Two more shots, and it was all over! Another victory for the Magical Heroes of Middleburg!

And as for Rippen, he just couldn’t stop staring. Not just in shock, but in amazement.

()()()()()()()()

“Here you go!” “Thank you, Princi-” “Aw, just call me Larry!” “Er, well, a-alright, Larry...” With that settled, Larry put the jar of coffee back over by the machine before sitting down. Along with coffee (and a couple cans of pop for Penn), there was also a wide array of both sweet and salty snacks spread out on the small table in front of them.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I just can’t have a drink without something to eat with it,” Larry told them after taking a quick sip of his coffee, “Unless it’s just water, or if it’s late at night and I just want a glass of warm milk. But every other time I get drinking something, I just get the munchies too! Say, have you guys ever tried dipping a sandwich in juice? It’s actually better than it sounds! Apple juice works pretty well with ham, but grape and orange-”

“How do you two fight those things?”

Larry blinked, and the two magical heroes turned to look at Rippen, who flushed slightly in embarrassment. “I-I mean... Those creatures - W-What was that you called them? Witches? - They were just... monstrous. And powerful. How are you not terrified by just the sight of them?”

Thankfully, they weren’t too bothered by his question. “I guess we just get used to it,” Penn shrugged, “Heh, I’ve actually only been doing this for a couple weeks. Larry has way more experience, so I guess it helps to have a pro as you’re partner.” The boy then paused, taking a small sip of his own drink as he smiled softly to himself.

“But really... I guess that, even when I do start to freak out a bit or wonder if the next witch is going to be too much to handle, I just start thinking about all the people we’re saving and the good we’re doing. When you look at it that way, it makes all the trouble of being a hero worth it, you know?”

“...I think I do,” Rippen nodded, smiling back at him.

“Heh, it also helps that Penn here’s a fast learner,” Larry added, “I don’t really have much left to teach him! And by the time Walpurgisnacht comes around, I just know he’ll be full-fledged magical hero!”

Walpurgisnacht... Well that certainly sounded a bit intimidating. Still, Rippen tried to shrug it off. He was sure they would be able to handle it...

()()()()()()()()

Middleburg’s downtown was a complete mess. Dark clouds filled the sky, debris was everywhere... And his boss laid dead in front of him, his magical hero outfit long gone, his glasses shattered, and his body completely still.

However, over the sound of his own sniffles, Rippen heard a reluctant yet determined voice: “Well... Guess I should get back out there.”

“W-What?! Are you insane?!” Rippen shouted, clenching his fists, “That... That thing killed Larry. Do you really think you stand a better chance?”

“I don’t know,” Penn admitted, “But if I don’t try something, that witch is just going to kill more people. I have to at least try...”

“B-But...” He grimaced wiping away a tear. “...You’re still just a child, in case you’ve forgotten. N-No one would blame you if you ran away. I certainly wouldn’t.”

“...” For a moment, there was only silence. However, when Rippen finally glanced back up at the horrible scene in front of him, he saw his student smiling at him. ”You know... I still don’t think being a magical hero was that bad. Maybe not the ending I would have wanted but... at least I saved some people. At least I saved you. So that’s something I can be proud of, right?” He started to step towards the edge of the roof they were standing on.

“N-No,” Rippen shook his head, “Don’t- Y-You-!”

“Bye Rippen. Thanks for everything.” And with that, Penn summoned his bow and leapt back into battle, refusing to look back no matter how much his teacher shouted at him.

...Rippen had to give the boy some credit. He had fought hard, and refused to let up. No matter what, he was going to finish this fight. And indeed he did... But unfortunately, while he had enough strength and magic to defeat Walpurgisnacht, it just wasn’t enough to save himself.

So there he was, lying in a shallow puddle of water, completely lifeless... Rippen could barely stand the sight of it. “Foolish boy...” He scolded, choking back a sob as he cradled Penn’s body, “You knew you were going to die! Y-You knew... W-What, what does it matter that you saved the city or that you saved me?! You shouldn’t have had to die! You shouldn’t have...” He clenched his eyes shut.

“You shouldn’t have had to save me... If I had just been stronger, better... Then maybe...”

“...Is this your greatest desire then?”

Rippen flinched. Slowly, he turned to see a white cat staring at him. Phyllis... “Is this your wish, Rippen? Are you willing to trade soul for it?”

“My wish...” He looked back down at Penn. “...Are you really able to grant any wish?”

“Of course,” Phyllis nodded, “You have plenty of potential. So, will you make wish?”

“...Yes. I will.” Gently, he put Penn’s body down and stood up. Despite his dirty clothes, windblown hair and tear-stained cheeks, Rippen looked as determined as ever. No more being afraid. No more being weak or useless or a failure. This time, he would be the hero.

“I wish to redo my meeting with Penn, but instead of him protecting me, I want to be strong enough to protect him!”

For a couple seconds, Phyllis simply stared at him, and Rippen started to think that maybe his wish was too much for the creature. But then his chest started to burn, and as he held himself and tried to withstand the pain, a small orb of bright purple light came out of him. “The contract is complete,” he heard Phyllis say, “Now, embrace destiny. Let your new power fly free, and good luck!”

Bracing himself, Rippen reached up, and touched the light.

Suddenly, it felt like he had been caught in a tornado. Brief, yet energizing! However, the feeling ended almost as quickly as it had started, and before he could even try to figure out what was happening- He was back in his bed.

“...What?” As he sat up, he looked around. Yep, this was definitely his room. Same dark colored walls, same small face, same plush dog from his childhood sitting on his dresser. “...Oh no... No no no. Don’t tell me it was all just a-”

As he moved his hand, he felt something in it - something smooth rolling along his palm. With a gasp, he lifted it above the blankets. Sure enough, in his hand was a small, purple rock. A soul gem... Just like what Penn and Larry had!

“It wasn’t a dream...”

()()()()()()()()()

Now, since we've finally managed to find a replacement, I'd like to introduce you all to your new teacher, Mr. Rippen." The coach then gestured to the door as it opened, and a man stepped in.

The students' eyes widened as they looked at their new teacher. His skin was a pale green, and behind a pair of blue-rimmed glasses were a pair of yellow and red eyes. He was clean-shaven with shoulder length black and white hair that poofed out quite a bit, but the man didn’t seem too bothered by it. In fact, he was smiling brightly!

“Good morning,” he greeted, “As Mr. Egsgard has already said, my name is Mr. Rippen and I look forward to teaching you all.”

“Great, you’ll be fine,” Mr. Egsgard nodded, satisfied, “I’ll be in my car if you need me.” As the gym teacher left, Rippen looked out at his students - specifically, at a certain red-headed boy who was most definitely alive. Unable to help himself, Rippen grinned at him.

Of course, Penn saw this, and while he looked a bit confused at it, he did still give his new teacher a small, sorta sheepish smile in return.

The rest of the class continued normally, with Rippen actually managing to get through his lecture without stuttering or dropping his notes. However, he still gave them free drawing time, and - at about the same time as last time - he asked the class if someone could help him find the faculty copy machine. And, of course, Penn volunteered.

After that, it was as simple as a quick explanation, a side-trip to the principal’s office, and coming up with a time and place to meet after school...

“...Alright. Well, here goes nothing!” Clenching his fists, Rippen allowed magic to wash over his body, causing his teaching attire to transform into his new magical hero uniform. He was now wearing a white dress shirt with a black shirt underneath it, along with a dark purple tie and black pants. On his right hand was a diamond-shaped purple gem, and on his arm was a small metal shield.

And, as soon as he gave the shield a turn, time froze around him. However, Rippen didn’t have time to be amazed by it. He could hear the mechanisms within his shield ticking away like the seconds on a clock. So, he grabbed the old, abandoned golf club that they had found in the alleyway and began his attack on the training dummy (a trash can).

It took a bit to get the hang of it, but by the time he had reached his time limit, he had managed to make quite a few dents in the ‘dummy’. Suddenly, time started moving, and to Penn and Larry it looked like the can had went from fine to pretty wrecked in the blink of an eye.

“Huh... So you can freeze time! That’s definitely going to be handy!” Larry commented.

“Heh, d-definitely...” Rippen agreed, nodding slightly as he tried to catch his breath.

The two magical heroes frowned a bit at that, clearly concerned. “Though, it doesn’t give you much of an advantage if you’re exhausted afterwards...” Penn added.

Larry nodded. “Right... But there has to be a way to use it to your advantage and not get tired. Something that’s maybe a little less physical?”

Rippen thought for a moment. “...I think I may have one possible solution...”

He only ended up getting a couple days of training and preparing before being thrust into his first battle. The witch had a bit of a highwire theme going on, hanging itself high above the streets of Middleburg and using its wires to pull in anything from cars to trees.

Swinging around with his ribbons, Larry began laying his own high advantage point while Penn continued the offensive, keeping the witch’s attention with each magical arrow shot at it. ...Meanwhile, Rippen was just trying to keep from falling to his death, clinging tightly to the wire that he was crawling on.

“Okay, just about-” Larry pulled one last ribbon, and they all tightened, forming a bridge to the witch, “READY!”

“Alright, Larry!” Penn grinned before turning to the newest member of their team, “Go for it, Rippen!”

“Ah! R-Right!” He turned his shield, and the world froze just as he dropped down onto Larry’s bridge. With no wind to blow him off and no projectiles to dodge, Rippen easily ran across. Once he got to the witch, he reached into his shield’s pocket of infinite storage, and pulled out a small homemade bomb. “Good thing I remembered those science classes,” he mumbled to himself as he threw the bomb up into the witch’s chest. He then jumped off the bridge, and the world began to move again.

*BOOM!* Thanks to the bomb, the witch almost instantly became nothing but a ball of fire and smoke. And with their enemy defeated, Larry was able to use his ribbons to catch Rippen before he could even get close to the ground, slowly bringing him down to safety.

“Great job, team!” Penn told them, holding his fist out towards Larry, who of course happily gave him a quick bump. The boy then turned and offered Rippen the same gesture, and while it took a moment to understand, he did eventually give him a bump as well. “Heh, so, having fun yet, Rippen?”

“Fun?” Holding back a smirk, Rippen gave him a look. “Oh yes. Risking my life, fighting giant nightmarish creatures, and falling from great heights - I’m having an absolute ball!”

“That’s the spirit!” Larry cheered while Penn chuckled, “Alright, if there are no more witches in the area, then I’d say it’s snacktime! Oh, and Rippen, I managed to find those caramels you like!”

Rippen smiled at that. “Thank you, Larry.” In a flash, the three of them transformed back into their street clothes and started walking towards Larry’s car. As they went along, the conversation shifted to whatever story Larry felt like telling, casual news about their ‘off the clock’ lives, and even quick questions about the topics Rippen had explained in class (as it turned out, Penn really was sort of interested about art).

Basically, it was as if they hadn’t just spent the latter part of their afternoon being attacked and fighting a monstrous villain. It was... nice. It was nice to have friends, to be part of a team.

...Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last...

Larry still ended up perishing after a battle with Walpurgisnacht, despite fighting with everything he had. However, with Rippen by his side, Penn was able to survive. It wasn’t the happiest ending, but it would be enough. ...Or at least, that’s what he thought.

That was before Penn collapsed.

“Gh... GhhhhAAAAAH!” Rippen winced at the boy’s screams of pain, but he tried his best to stay calm.

“It, i-it’ll be okay,” he told him, “W-We’ll figure out what’s wrong, just-!”

“R-Rip-!” Penn choked out. He started to lift his hand. “M-My-AHH! Owwww!”

“What? W-What is it?” Rippen asked, taking Penn’s hand. Within it was Penn’s soul gem - once a bright blue, now completely black. Of course... Phyllis had said that they would need to purify their soul gems in order for them to keep using their magic. But... But Penn’s soul gem barely looked like a soul gem anymore! Instead it looked more like a-

The man’s eyes widened. “...A grief seed...”

“AHHHHHHHHH!” As Penn let out one final scream, the soul gem began to flash, cracking and changing as it transformed completely into a grief seed before evaporating into a thick cloud of smoke - smoke that began to grow, taking the form of something vaguely humanoid as it covered the skies. ...And below, Penn’s body laid still and silent.

“...How...?” That was all Rippen could say, his eyes stuck on Penn’s witch while the rest of him was pulled back. How could this have happened?

()()()()()()()()()()()()

“Please, all of you, listen to me! I am telling you the truth! We’re all being tricked by Phyllis!”

“But, Rippen-” “Oh come on!” Boone rolled his eyes, “Phyllis is cool. What would she have to gain from tricking us?”

Rippen’s frown deepened... As it turned out, he wasn’t the only new magical hero in this timeline. One of his other students and Penn’s best friend, a boy by the name of Boone Wiseman, had made a contract with Phyllis as well. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to trust Rippen at all...

“And hey, if she was trying to hurt us, I’m sure we could take her out,” Boone continued, crossing his arms, “Not that we would want to but - Ugh, why are you even telling us this? Are you just trying to freak us out or something? Hmph, or maybe you’re just working as a secret undercover agent for the Sashi girl, and you’re trying to make us lose our cool so we can’t fight-”

“No! I’m not trying to do any of that, I’m just trying to warn you!” Rippen insisted, even glaring a bit at the brown-haired now, “Why can’t you just-?!”

“Okay guys, calm down,” Penn said, stepping in-between them, “And hey, Boone, buddy, you’re the only one here who’s losing their cool.”

“...” Boone sighed. “Sorry. It’s just... Well, can you blame me? This guy literally just shows up and starts telling us all what to do. What, just because he’s older and a teacher? Besides, you guys don’t have to worry about almost being blown up by his bombs.”

“He does have a point, Rippen,” Larry spoke up, “Bombs and explosions are sorta dangerous when we’re all fighting together. Don’t you have any other weapons you could use?”

“Well... If everyone thinks I should, I’m sure I can find something.” After all, he had no criminal record, and he had a bit of money in his savings. It would be very easy for him to purchase a gun or two.

However, that ended up being the least of their worries...

Of course, Boone never confided in him, but from what Rippen had heard, he had been dealing with some sort of girl problem. Fighting over one or trying to get the attention of one or something like that. To any other teenager, it would have simply been met with some frustration and angst before being forgotten about. But, with magic thrown into the mix, something as simple as grief and depression suddenly became very dangerous curses...

“Shoot!” Sashi grunted, gritting her teeth and quickly shattering another one of Boone’s glass minions with her spear. “Come on!” she shouted at the witch residing behind the giant mirror, “Why are you doing this?!”

“Boone, please!” Penn yelled, all while trying to dodge the arrows from his own clones, “You have to remember! You’d never want to hurt us! BOONE!”

But the witch just continued to shriek and snort. Its mirror vibrated, and several more Glass Penns came out - and all of them heading right towards the original with the intent to destroy.

“NO!” Running towards them, Rippen turned his shield. Once that was done, he got out his revolver and began to fire. The bullets froze just inches in front of the minions’ faces. They wouldn’t stand a chance. Putting the gun away, he then replaced it with a bomb and turned his attention towards Boone.

“...” His eyes filled with pity. The boy may have given him trouble, but not even the brattiest people deserved this. “I’m sorry...”

Time began to move, and the air was filled with the sound of shattering glass just before a huge explosion went off. Within seconds, the labyrinth disappeared, it’s creator no more.

“...DAMN IT!” Sashi threw her spear down. “Boone... This, this isn’t fair...”

“I know,” Rippen told her, glancing down at the floor. He could hear Penn sniffling slightly behind him. “I, I know it’s not fair... But-” Suddenly, he felt something soft and tight wrap around him, squeezing him and keeping him in place. And, before the man could even let out a gasp, a gunshot was heard.

In an instant, a bullet hit Sashi’s soul gem, breaking it into shards. The girl’s eyes darkened, and her hero uniform evaporated away before she even hit the ground.

“NO!” Rippen shouted, “Sash-!” From beside him, he could hear a musket being cocked while a sob was choked back. “...Larry...”

“I, I-I’m sorry!” Larry cried, still aiming his gun as tears streamed down, “B-But... I-I don’t wanna hurt people! We aren’t supposed to hurt people!”

“Larry, please-!” “But, but we’re just g-gonna turn into witches! So-” “Larry! Stop!” “So we have to die before we become witches!” He prepared to fire. “All of us!” “LARRY!”

*SWOOSH!* Before the principal could fire, the soul gem was hit with an arrow of blue light. And, as soon as it broke, he too fell to the ground dead, causing the ribbons he had summoned to then evaporate.

“...” Slowly, he turned to face the only other remaining magical hero - to face the crying boy who could barely keep from falling to his knees. “...Penn...”

“I, I just don’t get it...” Dropping his bow, Penn held his head and gripped his hair as the tears continued to fall, “Why did this happen?! I just-! I-I don’t want this... I don’t want this!”

Not even bothering to wipe away his own tears, Rippen walked over and pulled the boy into a hug. “Shhh, it’s okay... Y-You’ll be alright... We’ll be alright...”

Penn sniffled. “Y-Yeah... Yeah, we’ll just... W-We won’t forget them... And, a-and we’ll defeat Walpurgisnacht, and we’ll make sure no one else becomes magical heroes! Right?”

Rippen smiled. “Right. That’s exactly right... We can do this...”

And, in a way, they did do it. As soon as Walpurgisnacht arrived, they began fighting and didn’t stop until the witch was no more. Unfortunately, with only two magical heroes fighting, they had to use all their magic just to win. So... It wasn’t much of a victory.

At least, it wasn’t much of one to Rippen. “...Any grief seeds?” Penn shook his head. “Yeah... Same here. So.. I suppose this is it, then.” He looked up at the slowly clearing sky, blinking away any tears he felt. “Maybe... Maybe it won’t be so bad, being monsters...” Of course he was still scared, still wishing he had been stronger. But maybe... Maybe...

“Or maybe... We can just try again?”

“...H-Huh?” Rippen blinked. He turned his head towards Penn - towards where his once-purple soul gem laid in his hand - and gasped.

“Heh, sorry for lying,” Penn told him, wincing only slightly as he continued to cleanse Rippen’s soul gem with one last grief seed.

“Y-You... You fool! You foolish boy, why would you-?!” Rippen glared at him, choking back a sob, “W-Why on earth would you use it to save me?! You should have-!”

But Penn just weakly smiled it him. “It’s fine... When you, when you think about it, it makes sense... You, you can go back in time, can’t you, Rippen?”

And that was when it all became clear. “Penn...” With his own strength and magic back, Rippen sat up. Once again, he found himself cradling a dying boy in his arms... No, not just any boy. A boy that had ended up being his closest friend. A boy that practically felt like family now. ...A boy that he kept failing despite how much he wished to save him - and who had just given him another chance to possibly make that wish come true.

“Please, Rippen... Just, just make sure the me in the past doesn’t make another stupid mistake... Okay?”

“Of course,” Rippen sniffled, “O-Of course, I will... I’ll make sure Phyllis doesn’t trick you. I’ll make sure that, t-that you don’t end up like this! You don’t deserve it and, and I promise I won’t ever let it happen again!”

Despite the pain and the fear, Penn managed to smile back at his teacher. “Thanks... I- Erg!” He winced, and felt his blackened soul gem start to break. “I, ugh... Could, could I ask for, o-one last thing? I, I-I know it won’t really matter but...”

Slowly, Penn held up his soul gem, and closed his eyes. “I... I really don’t want to become a witch,” he said, his voice cracking.

“...” Rippen’s hands were shaking, but he reached into his shield anyway. He couldn’t deny him his one last request. ...He couldn’t watch Penn turn into a witch again. So, he took out his revolver, aimed it at the boy’s soul gem, and let out a cry just before firing.

()()()()()()()()()

“...” It felt like he had been laying in bed for hours, replaying the endings of each timeline in his head over and over. It was awful... But just laying around wouldn’t stop any of them from happening again.

So, Rippen got to work.

“No one will ever believe me,” he mumbled to himself, “And anyone I work with will most likely just end up dying anyway... I can’t rely on any of them. Not anymore. Not if I want to succeed.” So, he would just have to do it on his own.

And, that was how he continued on. In each new timeline, he would hit the ground running, gathering up as many weapons as he could and putting together various plans for Walpurgisnacht as soon as possible. He even used his magic to fix his eyes, just so his glasses wouldn’t in the way! (He also stopped shaving as much, though that was just simply out of trying to save time).

He would hunt witches and gather grief seeds, but he also began to hunt Phyllis, trying his damnedest to keep the creature from meeting Penn for as long as possible. Though, despite his best efforts, the two would still end up meeting one way or another. It was frustrating... Anger-enduing, even, but it didn’t matter.

No matter how many times he failed. Rippen swore he wouldn’t give up...

“All you’ve got to do is make sure you keep getting back up... I think you could do it!”

“Penn... He deserves a good life. One without witches,” he told himself, “And I’m going to make sure he gets that. I won’t break my promise, and I won’t fail. I’ll defeat every witch by myself if I have to! Even Walpurgisnacht!” He couldn’t fail, and so he would continue trying.

Even if it took an eternity.

((Gah, I don’t feel like this was that great... Episode 10 is pretty image/montage heavy anyway, but I tried to capture it the best I could in written form so, I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway))

#penn zero #penn zero part time hero #rippen #madoka magica au #pzmmm

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