Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Walking into the main building as a bit more than overwhelming to Pix at first. There were tables for each class to get their books, agendas, and IDs at, and there had to be about a hundred students in each line. Well, it seemed it, anyway.

Off to the right, there were three boys walking together, two taller and darker-haired walking on either side of a much smaller, paler, and lighter-haired boy with brightly coloured wings, and the boy in the middle was giggling about something the brunette had said. As they past by, Pix could see another three guys who looked much older, one with some kind of mechanical parts, one with wolf-like ears, and the other with an over-sized, mossy, green sweater on. They were walking in the same direction as the other three. They must be in the same class, then.

Down the middle was a group of rather immature-looking folks messing around instead of actually getting the things to start their school year. There were two boys in particular who seemed to be having a swell time, one very tall blonde boy in a red and white shirt and one much shorter brunette boy with bleached ends in a green button-up. Another fella joined them not much longer after Pix noticed them, though it was hard to tell what gender they were. They had a rather masculine build from what Pix could tell, but they had long, black and white hair that looked very well-kept and intricately braided. Pix shrugged. It's not my business anyway.

Looking all the way to the left, Pix could see a very familiar pink tutu. Katherine Elizabeth. She was one of Pix's only friends when they went to school back in their hometown, GlimmerGrove, and she only agreed to apply to go to Arcane Academy because Pix said he was set on going. Katherine's ability was a very simple, standard one  but it has a bit of an interesting quirk to it. She was gifted with the power of super strength, but it's only activated when she feels some kind of sense of security, confidence, or strong motivation. Otherwise, she's just like everybody else. Pix had always found it quite funny that she out of all people would be granted super strength, but seeing her use her power made Pix realize just how fitting it really is.

Pix began his way over to her. "Hey, Katherine," he called, waving.

She looked up from the campus map she was holding in one hand and smiled at the sight of her friend. "Pix,  hello!" She fumbled with the mountain of books and folders and papers in her arms before she was able to wave back to him. "You dressed nice for the first day, huh?" she teased, looking him up and down.

A slight blush of embarrassment rose on Pix's cheek at the comment. He'd worn a deep blue dress shirt and khakis that weren't ripped and stained for once, along with a new, shiny pair of black riding boots. "I, uh... I figured it'd be a tough first impression for me to dress how I normally do," he admitted. When it came to attire, Pix did the bare minimum. Katherine always said he was strangely able to pull off the "raggedy look," as she called it, though showing up in well-loved, tattered clothes wasn't the best idea in Pix's opinion.

Katherine giggled. "That's fair," she said. She glanced over at the table she'd just been at. "You should probably sign in and get a map. This place is huge, and our class building is on the other side of the enitre campus."

Pix grimaced. "That's a lot of walking," he commented, leaning over to sign his name on a clipboard. It had the rest of his classmates's names on it, his and Katherine's being last. The rest of them must be upperclassmen, then. The lady sitting at the table then handed him his books and ID. She offered him a map, but he declined saying he didn't need one.

"You and that compass of yours, always knowing where everything is," Katherine huffed.

Pix rolled his eyes, smiling, as he dumped his books into his leather satchel bag. "First of all, her name is Borealis, Katherine," he corrected, nudging her with his elbow, "and if you had an ability that told you where everything was, you would use it, too." She was the one the roll her eyes this time, scoffing. "What? I mean, it's not like I can turn her off or anything."

Pix's ability was also a simple one. A magic tattoo on his hand in the shape of a Roman clock acted as, not only a free watch and calendar, but a compass to guide Pix wherever he needed to go. He called the compass Borealis, as it had a mind of its own and often spoke to Pix. Another quirk of his power was that he could travel to and from any point in time, whether it be the past or the future. However, time traveling took lots of energy, and Pix needed lots energy to keep Borealis alive, so he usually stuck to not using that ability whenever possible. Without Borealis, he was, quite literally, lost.

"Gods, are we there yet?" Katherine whined, readjusting the books in her arms. "I'm going to pass out." They'd been walking for about six minutes and twenty seconds now, Pix counted.

Pix snickered. "Would you like me to carry those in my bag for you?" he offered, holding up said bag.

Katherine rolled his eyes. "No," she grumbled. "I can carry them myself, thank you. I just wish this dumb power would activate so it would be easier." She stopped for a moment to make sure the book on top labeled Intro to Potion Brewing didn't fall over. "Besides. You can't always rely on magical items like an infinity satchel to get everything done." Why not? It's just easier.

"You're so stubborn," Pix sighed, turning to walk backward as he moved up a staircase.

"Excuse me for trying to be inde-" She gasped, squealing as she stubbed her toe on one of the steps and fell forward.

Pix couldn't hold back the laugh that forced itself out of his throat at the sight.

"Pix, you jerk!"

Scott was a second-year, along with Jimmy, and he had the palest skin Pix had ever seen. He had brightly colored cyan hair, with one eye matching the shade exactly. The other eye was a golden-yellow and seemed to glow. Oddly enough, though, his ability didn't have much to do with his eye. He had the ability to grow and manipulate greenery, though the type of plant and the way the plant moves is a reflection of his emotions. And records show that he's lost control of his power because of anger, Pix noted, recalling the article he'd read on Scott.

Jimmy had much tanner skin than Scott did and had blonde hair and dark brown eyes. His power reminded Pix a lot of the DC superhero Wonder Woman. Jimmy was practically a human lie detector, and with the assistance of his lasso, could force anyone to answer any question truthfully. He's physically unable to lie, as well, which Pix had always thought to be something interesting. An odd quirk of his lasso, Pix had read, was that it seemed to have a mind of its own, and would often do things against Jimmy's will.

Fwhip, a third-year, was... incredibly small. And very green. He didn't have a specific "power" in particular, but had abilities granted to him by being a certain species. Fwhip was a goblin with hands hard enough to dig through any kind of rock, including obsidian, and he was able to shrink to any size he wanted. With his ability to shrink, he was incredibly agile as he could move around very easily the smaller he got. If he shrank to be the size of a beetle, he could use his ears as a way to glide from place to place. The article said he's also strongest in dark, damp places, Pix recalled.

Lizzie was another third-year with bright pink hair and splotches of orange, black, and white cat fur along her neck and arms. Oh, she's got a tail, too! Lizzie could change her appearance to become any animal she wants, or just have a few of their features that are useful to her. But she gains the weaknesses of each animal as well as the strengths, so she frequents felines because they don't have major drawbacks, like say a snake would as it doesn't have any limbs. She's stated that she also enjoys the agility it gives her, the sixth sense, great sense of smell, night vision, and of course, the elegance.

Joel's power, or powers really, was Pix's favourite to learn about. In Joel's case, he had more than just one or two abilities as he was blessed by the God of the Sky and was practically a god himself. On top of wings that gave him the ability to fly and manipulate air pressure to his will, Joel was able to control the path of lightning, summon thunderstorms, and had a special power he liked to call omniscience, which allowed him to see anything he wanted to see at any given time. It must take an awful amount of energy to use any of those powers, Pix thought as he watched Joel nearly fall over laughing. I can't imagine the intensive training he's had to go through.

"So, uh..." Katherine nudged Pix's arm, bringing him out of his thoughts. "What do we do now, Mr. I-Did-Some-Research?"

Pix looked down at her, blanking. "Oh," he muttered, and he glanced away to try and think of something. "Um..."

"Don't tell me you don't know!" Katherine whined. "Are you kidding me? Now, we have to talk to pe-"

"Oh, look, it's the first-years," someone called from the sofa. The two looked over to see Fwhip waving them over. After they gave each other slightly confused looks, Pix shrugged and started for their new classmates.

Katherine gasped behind him. "Pix, don't leave me," she whispered whilst scampering to keep up with him.

"Look how tiny they are," Joel snickered, earning an eyebrow raise from Pix.

"...Yeah," the latter said slowly. "You look like you're at least three inches shorter than me." As soon as he said this, the room went dead silent.

Joel nodded silently, then began to grow greatly in size.

This wasn't mentioned in the article!

"You were saying?" Joel said with a cheeky grin, his shoulders now past the chandelier.

Pix stared up in awe. "You- I- But-"

Joel let out a loud, booming laugh that seemed to shake the building, then shrunk back down to the size he was before. "Truly magnificent, I know," he boasted. "You don't need to say anything, I already know I'm the tallest and coolest guy here."

Lizzie sighed and shook her head, a furry hand coming up to cover her face. Scott had pretty much the same reaction, while Jimmy and Fwhip just laughed.

"That..." Pix took another moment to process what just happened before beaming at Joel. "That was incredible!" he exclaimed. He rushed down the small flight of stairs, pulling a notebook and pen out of his infinity satchel. "You have to tell me more about that. Is that one of your abilities from being blessed by the gods?"

Katherine groaned. "Pix, you absolute geek," she murmured under her breath, but Pix was too busy scribbling in his notebook to care.

"It's not really an ability," Joel answered casually, leaning back against the back of the sofa. Pix nodded and jotted down a few more words as Joel continued to speak. "It's kind of just me switching between demigod form and human form."

"Demigod... form," Pix muttered as he wrote. He glanced up from his notebook. "You're an actual god?"

Fwhip snickered from next to Joel. "He wishes," he teased. "He likes to think he's special."

Joel huffed. "Well, it's not every day someone gets blessed by the gods," he pointed out, "so I'm pretty sure I am special." He stuck his tongue out at Fwhip. "Besides, I practically am a god if I can control the weather."

"I think that's just called being moody," Scott deadpanned.

"I am not moody!" Joel shouted, his voice echoing through the large room like thunder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Pix noticed a pink, lavender-scented mist rolling gracefully down the steps to the lounge area. Breathing in the wonderful smell, he felt a sudden sense of calm and contentment wash over him.

"That's it," a soothing, male voice said from the top of the small staircase. "Be calm and sweet to each other, my friends." The source of the voice was a brown-haired boy who looked much older than Pix, though about the same height. Pix recognized him from the previous year's class pictures as Mythical Sausage, though he's more commonly referred to by his surname.

Sausage was a third-year. His ability was to emit a mist from his body that, depending on his intent and own feelings, could either put whoever breathed it in to sleep or simply calm them. In this setting, it was most likely to calm Joel.

Sausage seemed to glide as he walked down the steps and toward Joel, ghosting his hand over the other brunette's cheek. "No need to get so feisty."

Joel glared at Sausage for a moment as the latter sat on the other side of Fwhip.

Katherine let out a yelp as she attempted to walk down the stairs with her books. "Can I get some help here?" she squeaked.

I almost forgot about her, Pix thought, walking in her direction. Oops. Before he reached her, he noticed a purple glow outlining her books. "Wha-" The books began to levitate, hovering in the air around Katherine.

"Woah," the blackette breathed. "Magic books!"

A giggle came from behind Katherine, where another black-haired girl in a witch hat sat on a floating broom. "Sorry to break it to you, but it's not the books that are magic," she said. Her name was Shelby Evermore and she didn't necessarily have a power, but she could use spell magic with her wand and grimoire.

Pix didn't fail to see a faint blush appear on Katherine's cheeks at the sight of Shelby. "O-oh, thank- thank you," Katherine stuttered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No problem," Shelby replied with a smile.

"Huge turn-out for the first-years, huh?" yet another new voice asked, walking into the room from the hall leading to the boys' dorms. He had messy blonde hair half-covered by a bandana. Pix recognized him as Joey Graceffa, one of the only fourth-years in Class E. His power was a map on his forearm that let him know where he was at all times, and could lead him anywhere he wanted with ease. He was practically a human GPS.

"We just need Gem and False and we're a complete set," Fwhip said.

Scott hummed. "Where are they?"

"Over here!"

The group all turned to see two girls - one with long, bright ginger hair in a braided half updo and pink-tinted skin, and the other with shorter, yellow-blonde hair and metallic-looking skin. Gemini Tay and F.A.L.S.E. H.Symmetry.

Gem, the ginger-haired girl, was a second-year who had the power to create visual illusions by bending light. The brighter a place is, the more convincing the illusion is, and the sun gives her the most to work with. However, she can create an illusion that's visible only up to three people at a time.

F.A.L.S.E H.Symmetry, or just False, was a hyper-realistic humanoid created by the academy's own engineers, and her name stood for Feeling, Acting, Looking, Speaking, Engaging Human Symmetry. She was built and programmed to mimick how an average teenager behaves and thinks. Although she physically cannot have any kind of magical ability, she's able to wirelessly connect to or manipulate any electronic device, current, or AI without effort. When connected to the internet, she has access to every single bit of information that's kept electronically, and is rarely ever permitted to do so in fear of her system becoming corrupt. She was considered a fourth-year student since she was completed four years ago.

"Glad to see the first-years made it alright," False said with a smile. "I hope you haven't introduced yourselves yet. I'd hate to make you repeat yourselves."

"No, we haven't," Pix answered.

False put her hands together in a single clapping motion. "Wonderful! We can all learn each other's names and powers together, then!"

After about an hour, ten minutes, and five seconds (though, who's counting?) of the upperclassmen introducing themselves to Katherine, she and Pix were finally able to introduce themselves.

"My name is Katherine," she began, "and my power is super strength."

"Then how come you couldn't carry your books?" Jimmy asked.

Katherine looked away shyly. "Erm... it's, uh... sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't," she murmured.

"Her power is bipolar," Pix joked.

Huffing, Katherine stomped on Pix's foot, causing him to yelp. "Yours is, too, you bully," she pouted. "Half the time, she tries to ste- Mm!!"

Pix clamped a hand over her mouth. "Let's not talk about that, hm?" he said through gritted teeth, then backed off. They don't need to know about Borealis, he thought to himself. He glanced in Joel's direction. He might recognize her name since he's affiliated with the immortal and try to get me kicked out of the academy.

"She?" Fwhip repeated. Dammit-

"It's nothing," Pix blurted, earning himself skeptical glances. He cleared his throat. "Uh, my name is Pixl, but you can just call me Pix." He paused. "In fact, just call me Pix. Using my full name is weird." He grimaced before continuing. "With my power, I can tell the time, date, and where North is at all times."

Joel snorted. "So, you're a human clock and compass?" he teased.

Pix crossed his arms. "I can also time travel," he huffed.

"Prove it."

Amused, Pix quirked a brow in the other brunette's direction with a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Alright, then." He closed his eyes for a split second before opening them again. "Remember to look on top of the bookshelf in your dorm, next to the miniature cactus later."

Joel furrowed his brows in confusion, and it took nearly everything in Pix not to laugh at his expression. "What does that even mean?"

"You'll see."

Katherine snorted and nudged Pix in the side with her elbow. "You dork," she laughed.

Later that night as Pix was finishing unpacking, Joel nearly broke down his door bursting into the room.

"You," Joel said, pointing at Pix, who was startled out of his mind.

"Me?"

"You told me to look on top of the bookshelf," Joel continued. "Next to the cactus."

Pix couldn't help the small grin creeping onto his lips. "Yeah."

"How did you know that I left my bracelet up there?"

Snickering, Pix answered, "I told you. I can time travel." Based on Joel's still bewildered expression, Pix realized he still didn't quite understand. "If I hadn't told you to look up there, you wouldn't have found that bracelet until two days from now. And if you want proof of that, I can go back and make sure I don't tell-"

"I think I'm okay," Joel sighed, and Pix laughed louder this time. "Go to bed."

"Will do."