Lake Point High School, Principal's Office Lobby
After finishing this latest round of texting, Kyla looked up from her phone. It seemed like Ryan didn't really have much new to report.
"Any news from your cousin?" Nicole asked.
"Not really. He says they're still working things out over there." Kyla replied.
It was at that moment that Yuki Meshida, the Japanese student who moved to the U.S. two years ago, arrived at the Principal's Office Lobby. She was carrying another Transformation Gun.
Accompanying her was a woman wearing a Victorian style outfit with corset and skirt, but accessorized with jewelry that resembled mechanical gears and bolts. She wore tall leather boots, leather gloves, and a steampunk style top hat with goggles. For a moment, the group did not recognize her as school nurse Dawn Carrington, as the nurse normally never wore anything remotely like this.
"We're here to turn in one of those ... Transformation Guns, I think you're calling them." Yuki said.
"I did hear the announcement earlier, but I so wanted to finish up my project in the workshop." Nurse Carrington said, in a genteel tone.
"I had to talk her into it." Yuki said. "She was zapped with the Steampunk Gun. She's spent over an hour in the school workshop trying to put together some sort of steam-powered television set, or something like that."
"I abandoned that idea." Nurse Carrington said. "But I'm sure I can come up with something just as useful."
"We could have used your help." Amber Levine said. "We had someone fainting in here a little while ago."
"And there's been a food fight in the cafeteria." Nicole said. "Allison just texted me with the details. Athena and her friends helped settle the whole thing, but there are some people with bumps and bruises. And Moose fainted."
"Oh, I'm so terribly sorry." Nurse Carrington replied. "I've just been so caught up with my projects I haven't been paying attention."
"The Principal's in the office talking to Nadine." Nicole said. "But maybe you should get to the cafeteria. You are still a nurse, right?"
"Yes." Dawn replied. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten how to treat a few scratches."
Kyla, meanwhile, was texting Jay Duncan to ask for updates from the cafeteria.
At the cafeteria, things had quieted down, and people were applying ice from the cafeteria's freezer to various bumps and bruises. Most of the people in the cafeteria, despite the food fight and the fact that many of them had been transformed by one Transformation Gun or another, seemed inclined to relax and just talk with each other.
Athena was surveying the scene, and taking note of those who'd been zapped with the Goth Gun. She noted plenty of examples of the traditional Goth, as well as some that seemed to combine elements of Romantic Goth, Victorian Goth, and Cabaret Goth.
Some, such as Carl James the band geek, were more or less 'Geek Goth'. Carl's hair had been dyed a dark blue, and he wore dark makeup with a choker. But otherwise, he wore a Nightwish band T-shirt and regular pants. Compared to other Goth styles, it was restrained.
By contrast, Sarah Taylor of the Taylor twins was dressed in a Cabaret Goth style, with a black and red corset, fishnets, a feather boa, a black choker, and black heels. Her skirt was longer than the normal style, and her makeup was impressive. Bold red lipstick, pale makeup, and dark eyeliner helped complete the look, and her hair was dyed black.
Her twin sister Jennifer Taylor, meanwhile, had been zapped with the Punk Gun. She now had spiked pink hair, wore a t-shirt that looked like it had been spraypainted, a leather jacket that looked like it was held together with safety pins, and leather pants.
Despite the fact that the twins were now dressed so differently, they still seemed to get along well. Athena spoke with them for a bit. "So you like that song too?" Jennifer was saying. "I just thought it'd be a good song to play. I didn't know you'd use it as your soundtrack to kick Starla's ass."
"You've had problems with Starla?" Athena asked.
"She's with us on the drama club, but she's also a critic." Sarah Taylor said. "And there are times when she goes too far in critiquing our performances. Constructive criticism is one thing, but she gets harsh sometimes."
"We tell her 'leave the drama on the stage', but she doesn't always listen." Jennifer added. "I'm hoping maybe she'll learn a lesson from this."
Starla Stanfield, at that moment, was sitting at the table with the other troublemakers Zach Jones, Clyde Meehan, and Danny Foster, watched carefully by Tyler Jackson and a few others. She did not appear pleased at being turned into a Goth by the Goth Gun. She noted Athena and the Taylor twins casting a brief glance at her, and turned away in embarrassment.
"Anyway, we're okay." Jennifer said.
"Is there any way of reversing these transformations?" Sarah Taylor asked. "I'm just wondering. I see some people are having more trouble adjusting."
"Jay's mother mentioned something about 'Restoration Guns', but she had to get off the phone before she could tell us more." Athena said. "It sounded like they were all locked up somewhere. Anyway, I have the Goth Gun now. I need to talk to Zelda."
Athena excused herself, and walked over to her friend Zelda Whitefield. Zelda, normally a cybergoth, was now dressed in a punk style, and had spiky hair. "Zelda, are you all right?" Athena asked.
"I'm just fine!" Zelda said. "You know, Punk really isn't that far removed from Goth, so I feel only a bit different than before."
Athena nodded. She knew that Punk as a subculture existed before the Goth subculture, and the first traditional Goths spun off of Punk culture. What set the early traditional Goths apart was their increased love for the darker and somewhat more morbid themes, for gothic imagery such as graveyards and bats, and dark colors. So it wasn't surprising that Zelda seemed to be taking her being zapped with the Punk Gun pretty well, and it wasn't surprising that many of the people transformed with the Goth Gun and the Punk Gun seemed to be getting along with each other. They had more in common than they had differences.
"Anyway, if you're up for it, I'd like to do a little experiment." Athena said.
"Go on." Zelda said.
"I don't have anything that explicitly reverses any of these transformations. But I do have the Goth Gun. I'm thinking that the Goth Gun just might change you back to your previous self. Maybe you won't even need a Restoration Gun." Athena said. "But you're my friend, so I'm only going to test my theory if you want me to."
Zelda paused for a moment. After a while, she came to a decision.
