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Cortex Complex: 2nd Night
Chapter 4: Curfew

The sun had disappeared below the horizon where the ocean met the sky and the island of the Academy of Evil had turned dark. The only light came from the moon and what few lights there were scattered around the school grounds. It was just past curfew and all the students had gone to the dorms for the night.

Once Nina and Lockbolt were inside her room with the door shut, Lockbolt shape shifted back into his gargoyle form. He was much larger as a gargoyle and ended up tearing a big hole in the back of his shirt where his wings sprouted from the back of his shoulders.

“You really need to be more cautious about your clothes while changing forms.” Nina said. “You keep destroying your shirts and the lady in the laundry room will get suspicious.”

“I know you keep telling me to take my shirt off before changing into my gargoyle self, but I just keep forgetting.” Lockbolt replied. “I’m still not fully used to this shape shifting stuff yet.”

Nina was the only person at the Academy who knew Lockbolt’s true identity. To the teachers and other students Lockian Boltiel was just a strange new-kid. Only Nina knew him as “Lockbolt”, and that if the other people at the Academy found out he was really a gargoyle in disguise he’d never be allowed to remain there as a student.

There were other gargoyles at the Evil Academy but they were the stone types who were in charge of guarding the school. They were confined to the rooftops and forbidden to come down to ground level, enter the buildings or associate with the students. Gargoyles were considered vicious creatures so only the school Principal Madame Amberley was allowed to have contact with them since she was one who controlled them. As their master they followed orders from no one else.

Nina started sifting thru the rows of books at the bookcase in the back corner of the bedroom. Even though it was the weekend now the students weren’t completely free from schoolwork. Professor Igma in particular had assigned an unusually large amount of homework this weekend.

Lockbolt meanwhile was curled up at the end of Nina’s bed. He felt glad to back to his true form. To him clothing was itchy, uncomfortable and he didn’t like how they restricted his movement. He stretched out over the bed. Caco, a rather mean little bandicoot that Nina kept as a pet growled at Lockbolt for waking her up.

“Hey Locky, where’s the spell book?” Nina asked while tossing books aside. “I can’t find it anywhere.”

“I haven’t seen it.” Lockbolt answered. He almost squashed Caco when he rolled over. “Not like I can cast magic anyways.”

“It’s not here.” Nina said. The whole bookshelf had been cleared. There were now piles of books scattered around the room. She was staring at the empty shelf where the spell book once was. Then she noticed it. The little bony finger shaped marks. “So that’s it.”

“What’s it?” Lockbolt asked.

“This is Igma’s doing!” Nina shouted without taking her eyes off the bookshelf. “So that’s why his hand was missing in class earlier. He stole the spell book while we were in his class!” She slammed her metal fist into the ground. “It’s starting to make sense now.”

Lockbolt leapt down off the bed. “What do you want to do now?”

“What else? Igma is up to something. And we’ve got to go beat the crap out of him and get that book back.” Nina answered.

Lockbolt had shape shifted back to a boy again. Out in the hall it was dead quite. He and Nina were making their way towards the exit of the student’s dormitory building as quietly as they could.

“Should we really be out sneaking around like this after curfew? Madame Amberley will give us detention or worse if we’re caught.” Lockbolt whispered.

“She should reward us for this! We’re breaking the rules, and after all isn’t that what this school is all about?” Nina whispered back.

“You’ve got a point there.” Lockbolt said in agreement.

Once they reached the outside Lockbolt stretched. It was cool out that night. The stars were bright and there was not a cloud in the sky. When it was dark out he preferred to be outdoors.

“Where do you think Igma is right now?” Lockbolt asked.

“I doubt he’s still in the classroom. So we’ll try his bedroom first.” Nina answered.

There were a few guard dogs prowling around the school grounds as Nina and Lockbolt made their way over to the building on the far side of the Academy that was the teacher’s dorm. The large dobermans dared not approach the two students breaking curfew since whenever they would growl Lockbolt would growl back even louder.

They finally made their way across the school to the teacher’s dormitory. Most of the teachers were asleep so a majority of the lights were off. There were a few rooms up on the second and third floors with the lights still on.

“Which room is Igma’s?” Lockbolt asked, while looking up at what few windows were still lit.

“We’ll have to look into each window until we find Igma’s.” Nina said. “Guess we’ll have to start from one side and work our way over. Let’s start with the ones with the lights on.” She shot one of her steel trap hands up onto the rightmost windowsill up on the third floor and ratcheted herself up.

Lockbolt took his shirt off and sprouted two large grey leathery wings from his back and followed Nina up onto the rightmost windowsill of the third floor.

Looking into the window they saw lots of plants scattered around the room. They were everywhere. Hanging from the roof, cluttering the floor and covering the furniture, the plants covered almost every inch of the bedroom. There were a few reptile cages here and there but it was hard to see anything else in the room thru all the plants. Over by the bed there was a man standing there talking happily to a very large cactus. Nina recognized him as the biology teacher Professor Ben Thorn.

“What a weirdo.” Nina said. “Let’s move on to the next window.”

The next room over was dimly lit, the only source of light came from a few candles placed up on an old fashioned dresser in the back of the room, and books were scattered haphazardly around. There were so many bookshelves the room almost looked like a library. A cat that looked like it had been run over by a car was sleeping on the bed. It was too skinny and had patches of fur missing. Nina thought it was dead at first until it got up and shifted itself into a more comfortable position. Igma was pacing around the room. The skeletal arm was behind his back and he kept bringing his flesh hand up to his face and stroking his chin through the tall collar of the charcoal colored coat that always covered the lower half of his face. He seemed very anxious about something.

“Bingo.” Nina said.

“Should we jump him now?” Lockbolt whispered.

“Wait.” Nina said. “His hand is still gone.”

“But I’m getting hungry.” Lockbolt protested.

“Hang on. He’s doing something.” Nina was watching closely as Igma stopped pacing around the room and stopped in front of a dresser. “Let’s see what he’s up to first.”

Igma had pulled out a laptop computer from a dresser drawer and placed it on top of the desk in the middle of the room. It was one of the few pieces of technology there was in Igma’s room and looked very out of place amidst the rest of the objects and furniture which looked almost ancient. Igma’s skeletal hand was still missing so he was typing the best he could with only one hand.

With Igma’s back turned towards the window, Nina and Lockbolt were able to watch what he was doing. Igma tapped his foot impatiently while the laptops screen had remained black for a minute and there was a faint ringing sound before Dr. Cortex’s face came up on the screen. He looked tired and very annoyed for being awoken from his slumber.

“I had just fallen asleep! Have you no manners for-“ Cortex stopped ranting once he noticed it was Igma who called him. His expressing changed from annoyed to angry. “Oh, it’s you. What do YOU want?”

“I want to speak to Uka Uka.” Igma said. He seemed unaffected by Cortex’s annoyance.

“Hmph. Fine. And I hope Nina has been giving you a hard time in class!” Cortex replied.

Dr. Cortex disappeared from the screen and after a few minutes Uka Uka appeared.

“Igma? What could you possibly want at this hour?” Uka Uka asked.

“I want to ask you about something.” Igma said. His tone was starting to sound a little nervous.

“Well, out with it already.” Uka Uka was started to get frustrated. “It’s very late!”

“Guillomorthane.” Igma said.

“Huh?” Uka Uka looked confused and shocked at the same time. “I haven’t heard anyone speak that creatures name in centuries. Why on earth do you want to know about that monster for?”

Igma took a deep breath. “I want to know how to summon it.” He replied.

End of Chapter 4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's the weekend now and Nina and Lockbolt have nothing better to do than blow off their homework to go spy on their teacher. Who apparantly has a scheme up his sleeve. ^_^

I included Nina's and Igma's pets in this chapter. Nina's little bandicoot Caco is evil and loves biting everybody. She sleeps on Nina's bed all day. For Igma an undead cat is the perfect pet since they don't require any care or mantenance. ^_^

Cortex Complex: 2nd Night more chapters:
Chapter 1: [link]
Chapter 2: [link]
Chapter 3: [link]

Nina, Dr. Cortex, Uka Uka, Madam Amberley and the Academy of Evil (c) Sierra/Radical
Lockbolt, Igma, Guillomorthane, Caco and the Undead Cat (c) Me
Ben Thorn (c) TurquoisePhoenix

-JenL

Description
Cortex Complex: 2nd Night
Chapter 4: Curfew

The sun had disappeared below the horizon where the ocean met the sky and the island of the Academy of Evil had turned dark. The only light came from the moon and what few lights there were scattered around the school grounds. It was just past curfew and all the students had gone to the dorms for the night.

Once Nina and Lockbolt were inside her room with the door shut, Lockbolt shape shifted back into his gargoyle form. He was much larger as a gargoyle and ended up tearing a big hole in the back of his shirt where his wings sprouted from the back of his shoulders.

“You really need to be more cautious about your clothes while changing forms.” Nina said. “You keep destroying your shirts and the lady in the laundry room will get suspicious.”

“I know you keep telling me to take my shirt off before changing into my gargoyle self, but I just keep forgetting.” Lockbolt replied. “I’m still not fully used to this shape shifting stuff yet.”

Nina was the only person at the Academy who knew Lockbolt’s true identity. To the teachers and other students Lockian Boltiel was just a strange new-kid. Only Nina knew him as “Lockbolt”, and that if the other people at the Academy found out he was really a gargoyle in disguise he’d never be allowed to remain there as a student.

There were other gargoyles at the Evil Academy but they were the stone types who were in charge of guarding the school. They were confined to the rooftops and forbidden to come down to ground level, enter the buildings or associate with the students. Gargoyles were considered vicious creatures so only the school Principal Madame Amberley was allowed to have contact with them since she was one who controlled them. As their master they followed orders from no one else.

Nina started sifting thru the rows of books at the bookcase in the back corner of the bedroom. Even though it was the weekend now the students weren’t completely free from schoolwork. Professor Igma in particular had assigned an unusually large amount of homework this weekend.

Lockbolt meanwhile was curled up at the end of Nina’s bed. He felt glad to back to his true form. To him clothing was itchy, uncomfortable and he didn’t like how they restricted his movement. He stretched out over the bed. Caco, a rather mean little bandicoot that Nina kept as a pet growled at Lockbolt for waking her up.

“Hey Locky, where’s the spell book?” Nina asked while tossing books aside. “I can’t find it anywhere.”

“I haven’t seen it.” Lockbolt answered. He almost squashed Caco when he rolled over. “Not like I can cast magic anyways.”

“It’s not here.” Nina said. The whole bookshelf had been cleared. There were now piles of books scattered around the room. She was staring at the empty shelf where the spell book once was. Then she noticed it. The little bony finger shaped marks. “So that’s it.”

“What’s it?” Lockbolt asked.

“This is Igma’s doing!” Nina shouted without taking her eyes off the bookshelf. “So that’s why his hand was missing in class earlier. He stole the spell book while we were in his class!” She slammed her metal fist into the ground. “It’s starting to make sense now.”

Lockbolt leapt down off the bed. “What do you want to do now?”

“What else? Igma is up to something. And we’ve got to go beat the crap out of him and get that book back.” Nina answered.

Lockbolt had shape shifted back to a boy again. Out in the hall it was dead quite. He and Nina were making their way towards the exit of the student’s dormitory building as quietly as they could.

“Should we really be out sneaking around like this after curfew? Madame Amberley will give us detention or worse if we’re caught.” Lockbolt whispered.

“She should reward us for this! We’re breaking the rules, and after all isn’t that what this school is all about?” Nina whispered back.

“You’ve got a point there.” Lockbolt said in agreement.

Once they reached the outside Lockbolt stretched. It was cool out that night. The stars were bright and there was not a cloud in the sky. When it was dark out he preferred to be outdoors.

“Where do you think Igma is right now?” Lockbolt asked.

“I doubt he’s still in the classroom. So we’ll try his bedroom first.” Nina answered.

There were a few guard dogs prowling around the school grounds as Nina and Lockbolt made their way over to the building on the far side of the Academy that was the teacher’s dorm. The large dobermans dared not approach the two students breaking curfew since whenever they would growl Lockbolt would growl back even louder.

They finally made their way across the school to the teacher’s dormitory. Most of the teachers were asleep so a majority of the lights were off. There were a few rooms up on the second and third floors with the lights still on.

“Which room is Igma’s?” Lockbolt asked, while looking up at what few windows were still lit.

“We’ll have to look into each window until we find Igma’s.” Nina said. “Guess we’ll have to start from one side and work our way over. Let’s start with the ones with the lights on.” She shot one of her steel trap hands up onto the rightmost windowsill up on the third floor and ratcheted herself up.

Lockbolt took his shirt off and sprouted two large grey leathery wings from his back and followed Nina up onto the rightmost windowsill of the third floor.

Looking into the window they saw lots of plants scattered around the room. They were everywhere. Hanging from the roof, cluttering the floor and covering the furniture, the plants covered almost every inch of the bedroom. There were a few reptile cages here and there but it was hard to see anything else in the room thru all the plants. Over by the bed there was a man standing there talking happily to a very large cactus. Nina recognized him as the biology teacher Professor Ben Thorn.

“What a weirdo.” Nina said. “Let’s move on to the next window.”

The next room over was dimly lit, the only source of light came from a few candles placed up on an old fashioned dresser in the back of the room, and books were scattered haphazardly around. There were so many bookshelves the room almost looked like a library. A cat that looked like it had been run over by a car was sleeping on the bed. It was too skinny and had patches of fur missing. Nina thought it was dead at first until it got up and shifted itself into a more comfortable position. Igma was pacing around the room. The skeletal arm was behind his back and he kept bringing his flesh hand up to his face and stroking his chin through the tall collar of the charcoal colored coat that always covered the lower half of his face. He seemed very anxious about something.

“Bingo.” Nina said.

“Should we jump him now?” Lockbolt whispered.

“Wait.” Nina said. “His hand is still gone.”

“But I’m getting hungry.” Lockbolt protested.

“Hang on. He’s doing something.” Nina was watching closely as Igma stopped pacing around the room and stopped in front of a dresser. “Let’s see what he’s up to first.”

Igma had pulled out a laptop computer from a dresser drawer and placed it on top of the desk in the middle of the room. It was one of the few pieces of technology there was in Igma’s room and looked very out of place amidst the rest of the objects and furniture which looked almost ancient. Igma’s skeletal hand was still missing so he was typing the best he could with only one hand.

With Igma’s back turned towards the window, Nina and Lockbolt were able to watch what he was doing. Igma tapped his foot impatiently while the laptops screen had remained black for a minute and there was a faint ringing sound before Dr. Cortex’s face came up on the screen. He looked tired and very annoyed for being awoken from his slumber.

“I had just fallen asleep! Have you no manners for-“ Cortex stopped ranting once he noticed it was Igma who called him. His expressing changed from annoyed to angry. “Oh, it’s you. What do YOU want?”

“I want to speak to Uka Uka.” Igma said. He seemed unaffected by Cortex’s annoyance.

“Hmph. Fine. And I hope Nina has been giving you a hard time in class!” Cortex replied.

Dr. Cortex disappeared from the screen and after a few minutes Uka Uka appeared.

“Igma? What could you possibly want at this hour?” Uka Uka asked.

“I want to ask you about something.” Igma said. His tone was starting to sound a little nervous.

“Well, out with it already.” Uka Uka was started to get frustrated. “It’s very late!”

“Guillomorthane.” Igma said.

“Huh?” Uka Uka looked confused and shocked at the same time. “I haven’t heard anyone speak that creatures name in centuries. Why on earth do you want to know about that monster for?”

Igma took a deep breath. “I want to know how to summon it.” He replied.

End of Chapter 4
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's the weekend now and Nina and Lockbolt have nothing better to do than blow off their homework to go spy on their teacher. Who apparantly has a scheme up his sleeve. ^_^

I included Nina's and Igma's pets in this chapter. Nina's little bandicoot Caco is evil and loves biting everybody. She sleeps on Nina's bed all day. For Igma an undead cat is the perfect pet since they don't require any care or mantenance. ^_^

Cortex Complex: 2nd Night more chapters:
Chapter 1: [link]
Chapter 2: [link]
Chapter 3: [link]

Nina, Dr. Cortex, Uka Uka, Madam Amberley and the Academy of Evil (c) Sierra/Radical
Lockbolt, Igma, Guillomorthane, Caco and the Undead Cat (c) Me
Ben Thorn (c) TurquoisePhoenix

-JenL