Pink Gold - Ch.53 - Confirmation (Patreon)

"University Bridge, College Drive, Campus Drive?" Ruby commented from behind me in the back seat. "It feels like they didn't put a whole lot of thought into naming the roads around here."

Fiona smiled as we turned off the busy city street and onto Campus Drive, "At least it means visitors know they're in the right area."

"I guess," my boyfriend replied. Then she asked, "So we're just going to drive around? Or what's the plan?"

Our redheaded driver shrugged, "I guess that'll depend on what Onyx picks up. I figure we'll do a loop around the whole campus first, then maybe try and get in closer to some of these buildings and halls."

"I'll let you know what I find," my girlfriend commented from the seat behind Fiona.

She already had her eyes closed as she held her staff sideways across her and Ruby's laps, while our healer was holding her sceptre up between her shoulder and the side of the car.

I gestured to the left, "That road we just passed, Gymnasium Place, I'm pretty sure that'll get us to the physics hall."

"Or Science Place on the other side of the campus leads in there too," I added.

Fiona nodded, "Got it. We're just going to do a loop around for now, until Onyx gives us more guidance."

It was almost six o'clock and the city streets were busy due to rush hour. The roads on campus weren't quite as busy, but there was still enough traffic that I worried about folks noticing the two magical girls in the back seat. Maybe not other drivers, but there were plenty of students moving around on foot, and whenever we had to stop at lights or stop signs it seemed like folks walking by the SUV might have a clear view inside.

Fortunately the back windows were tinted dark enough that nobody seemed to notice. And the vehicle itself didn't stand out at all, there were more than enough pickups and SUVs around that ours blended in just fine.

"It's coming from towards the middle of the campus," Onyx commented quietly as we finished our first loop.

Fiona pulled into a parking lot to turn around, then as she pulled back out onto the road to head back the other way she asked, "Want me to get us closer then?"

The black magical girl nodded, "Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to pinpoint it if you can get me near enough."

A minute or so later we turned onto Science Place, which ended in a little loop right next to the Physics and Engineering buildings.

"That's it," Onyx stated. "It's coming from that building. It feels like it's underground, maybe a basement level?"

She hesitated a moment then added, "I don't think it's that recent though? It feels a little weak or faded, like I'm sensing something that happened a while ago."

I asked, "When was the last reported disappearance?"

"Tina and Sasha were last seen on Thursday," my girlfriend replied. "So a week ago today. I don't know when your aunt went missing."

Fiona got the SUV moving again as she said, "We'll drive around and check from the other side just in case. Then how about we head out to Judith's place so you can check around there for dark magic?"

Onyx just nodded, while Ruby and I stayed quiet. It only took a minute or two to get around the other side of the campus, then we pulled into Gymnasium Place which got us close to the other side of the physics building.

"It's the same thing," my girlfriend stated. "Definitely the basement, and I'm positive it's old."

I commented, "So you can sense old dark magic here, but you didn't sense anything at the hotel. So odds are nothing happened in the hotel, at least in the last week or so?"

"Yeah I guess. Why?" Onyx replied.

"I'm just thinking about my aunt," I explained. "If something happened to her, it probably didn't happen at the hotel."

"All the more reason to check Judith's place for dark magic," Fiona stated as she got us moving again.

Due to the evening traffic the drive south to the posh estates where my grandmother lived took longer this time. Onyx did her magic scanning trick on and off during the drive, but she didn't come up with anything as we passed through different parts of the city.

"How are you doing Ruby?" I asked my boyfriend at one point.

The red magical girl sounded a bit bored as she replied, "Fine. It's not like there's anything for me to do, though? I've been holding my sceptre and trying to stay open-minded, but nothing's going on."

Fiona commented, "Don't get discouraged. You're still really new to this, and this stuff takes time."

"Yeah I get it," Ruby shrugged. "I guess for now I'm just chilling back here, keeping Onyx company and giving her some moral support."

I glanced over my shoulder at my girlfriend and asked, "How about you, how are you doing?"

Onyx nodded, "I'm ok. Having to focus while I'm doing the scanning stuff is a bit mentally tiring, but nothing I can't handle."

"Don't push yourself too hard," Fiona cautioned. "If you need a break just say so. Or if you've had enough for today that's fine too."

The black magical girl shook her head, "I said I'm ok. So let's just get it done."

That was the end of that conversation, and all four of us were mostly quiet for the rest of the drive. Once we got out of the city the traffic was a lot lighter, but it was nearly seven by the time we pulled off the rural road and into the rich neighbourhood.

Onyx closed her eyes again so she could focus on her staff while Fiona slowly drove past one big home after another.

"There's dark magic nearby," my girlfriend reported quietly after a few minutes. She still had her eyes closed so she wouldn't have known we were nearing my grandmother's house at that point.

Then when we were directly in front of Judith's home Onyx stated, "Here. There's dark magic right here."

"It's underground again," she added as she opened her eyes. "Like in the basement. And it's not faded or old, this feels fresh."

Ruby spoke up a moment later, "There's five people in that house. Two in the cellar, three on the main floor."

Fiona didn't stop the SUV, we continued slowly past Judith's property so as not to draw any more attention to ourselves. Meanwhile I twisted around to look over my shoulder at my friends.

"You can sense people?" I asked my boyfriend.

She grimaced but nodded, "Yeah. I can't really explain it, other than saying it's like Fiona said? Intuition or something. Just looking at that house while holding my sceptre, I got a really distinct feeling of two people in the basement and three on the main floor."

"The dark magic was in the cellar," my girlfriend pointed out. "So does that mean there's a couple accomplices up to no good down there?"

Ruby pointed out, "They could also be prisoners. Maybe someone's keeping some of those missing people locked in the cellar. Or using dark magic to keep them down there."

I glanced at Fiona and asked, "So what do we do?"

The tall redhead was still slowly driving us around the neighbourhood, and we ended up in the parking lot of the private golf and country club. Then she asked, "Onyx, Ruby, did either of you get the feeling people in that house are in immediate danger?"

"I don't know if I'd have any way to tell that," my boyfriend sighed. "I just know there were people, I couldn't say if they were scared or injured or anything like that."

Then my girlfriend added, "Same. I could tell there's recent dark magic going on, but I have no idea what it's doing."

After a couple seconds to think it over Fiona decided, "We'll drive past again in the other direction. If you two sense anything different say so, ok?"

"What are you thinking?" I asked. "Are we going to deal with this right now?"

The Welsh girl shook her head, "Only if we can tell there's something immediately dangerous going on. Otherwise I think we need to let the rest of the team know what we've found. We'll head back to the hotel, fill them in on group chat, then get some rest. Ok?"

My friends and I all quietly agreed, so Fiona pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the residential road. I stayed quiet as we slowly retraced our path back the way we came, but I couldn't help staring at my grandmother's house as we went past again. All the lights were out, from the road the place looked completely dark and still and empty.

Ruby spoke up a moment later, "Same thing as before. Three people on the main floor, two in the cellar. I can't tell anything else about them though. Sorry."

"Yeah same," Onyx sighed. She sounded tired as she said, "The magic feels sort of constant. Maybe Ruby's right about it keeping people trapped in the basement?"

Fiona nodded, "Thanks you two. Let's get out of here. Once we're out of this area you can deactivate your rings if you like. Nobody's going to see you shift back to normal out there on the country road."

A few minutes later Harper and Ellie were back and we were on our way to the hotel.

"Do you mind if we stop at a convenience store or something?" my boyfriend asked as we drove through the city. "We've got that mini fridge in our suite, may as well grab some drinks and stuff. And some snacks, in case we get hungry."

Our driver smiled, "Sure. I know you kids probably aren't that tired, I'm sure you'll be up half the night watching TV or something. Us old folks need our sleep though. It's like half past two in the morning for me."

"We'll try and party quietly so we don't keep you up," Ellie teased.

I smiled too, "You're welcome to hang out with us Fiona. But if you need to sleep we'll keep the noise down."

It was about quarter to eight when we pulled in and parked in front of a convenience store a couple blocks from the hotel. Fiona waited in the SUV while Harper and Ellie and I all went inside. We grabbed a dozen cans of cola and a case of bottled water, plus a couple big bags of chips and some dip and stuff. Basically we stocked up like we were going to spend a long weekend at Harper's place, but got a bit extra incase our Welsh friend wanted to join us.

From there it was only a couple minutes to get back to the hotel's underground parking. When we got to our room Fiona grabbed her pack and headed into the bathroom to get changed, while my friends and I loaded most of the drinks into the mini-fridge.

We each grabbed a can of cola though, along with a bag of chips and the dip. Then the three of us all got comfy on the sofa. Harper found the remote and started looking through the on-screen guide for something to watch, while I got my phone out. Then with Ellie's help I started composing a message to the magical girl group chat.

"We've confirmed there's someone using dark magic here," I wrote. "Onyx verified magic was used on the university campus some time in the past week. There's also dark magic happening at Judith's home. We believe there's five people in there, which might include some of the missing students. Looking for advice? And maybe more help. I think we're going to move on Judith's house tomorrow."

When it was done I sent it to the group, and by that point Harper had picked something on the TV. Fiona emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, dressed in nothing but a large black nightshirt. She had her phone with her as she dumped her pack on one end of the dresser, then came over to stand next to the sofa where my friends and I were all cuddling.

"I saw what you sent to the chat," she commented. "It looked good. Hopefully we'll hear back from Lily by morning."

"I just hope the others agree to come and help," I replied.

Then Harper told her, "There's soda and spring water in the fridge if you're thirsty. And help yourself to some snacks if you want."

I added, "You're welcome to join us if you like? We're just sort of hanging out and watching TV."

"No thanks," Fiona shook her head. "I'm going to lie down, but I wanted to check with you three about the sleeping arrangements first. Are we doing two-and-two? Or...?"

Ellie and Harper and I all shared a quick glance then the cute tomboy shook her head, "You paid for the room so you get a bed to yourself. Whichever one you want. The three of us will share the other one."

The redhead smirked, "Something tells you'd have been sharing a bed no matter who paid for the room."

"Don't stay up too late," she added as she headed for the furthest bed. "We'll figure out our plans for tomorrow over breakfast."

We all bid her a good night, but the Welsh girl didn't actually go to sleep right away. She got into bed, then spent some time reading or texting or something. Eventually though she put her phone on the side table then closed her eyes.

Meanwhile my friends and I had the TV volume down low, and we'd already turned off all the lights. And before Fiona went to sleep we each took turns in the washroom to get ready for bed, but we ended up chilling in front of the TV for another hour or two. Like usual though we ended up talking quietly instead of really focusing on the show.

"Hey Ellie? Are you still having those nightmares?" Harper asked at one point.

The cute tomboy grimaced, "I had one Monday night, after what happened in Newfoundland? And I didn't sleep that great Tuesday night either. But nothing since then."

"I'm sure it's because I got this ring," she added as she looked down at her hand. She continued softly, "Now I'm a magical girl. I'm tougher and stronger. I can figure out where the dark magic is, so we can fight it. And if things get really bad I can always teleport away. Plus Harper can heal me now, if I get hurt again."

After a little pause she confessed, "It makes me feel kind of petty or something though? Like other people have to deal with therapy, or find other ways to cope with stuff? Meanwhile I got the easy way out. I got a magic ring that basically took care of almost everything I was scared of."

I leaned closer and pulled her into a side-hug as I told her, "That doesn't make you petty. It's lucky, but there's nothing wrong with that. I was lucky too, so's Harper. Mostly though I'm just glad you're not dealing with nightmares anymore."

Ellie smiled as she leaned against me, "Thanks Blake."