Clef 1.1

Summary: Taylor had always enjoyed music. It brought peace to her life and allowed her to vent emotions without doing anything brash. When her mother's flute shattered, she thought her life was going down the drain. Then the locker happened, and her mind nearly shattered when bugs crawled into her ears. Then she started hearing things...

I own nothing. If a song name is bolded, then a song is playing, and the name of the song can be found at the bottom of the chapter. Warning: For those unaware, there is bullying and offensive language in this fanfiction. It's Worm, people, don't flip over a few curse words.

Songs in this chapter:
The song Annette hums is Lost in Thoughts All Alone from Fire Emblem Fates, but with no words.
Demons by Imagine Dragons is the song at the end of the chapter.

April 22, 2005

Crystal clear notes filled the air as deft fingers manipulated the flute. Taylor giggled happily as her mother played the instrument. "My turn, my turn!" she laughed excitedly.

Her mother smiled down at her. "Of course sweetie." she said happily, passing the flute over to Taylor.

"What should I play?" she asked. Annette Hebert tilted her head in thought. "You pick."

The young girl nodded excitedly and pressed the flute to her lips, gently blowing. The notes that came out were the same as what her mother had played, but at a faster pace. Her mother began humming along as the song played. They sat like that for a while, in tune with the music, until she reached the end of the song. "That was wonderful." her mother said genially. "You've improved a lot!"

"Yep! I've been practicing that song for you! Remember, it's your favorite!" Taylor smiled adorably.

Annette chuckled. "Well, then I'd like to give this to you." She held out the flute.

Taylor gaped at her mother. "Really?" she said hopefully.

"Of course, I hope you can use it as much as I have." Annette laughed.

"Thank you thank you!" Taylor jumped around in excitement.

July 6, 2009

Taylor hugged the flute to her chest, stress clouding her features. She gazed at the beginnings of a journal, a desperate attempt to keep track of every infraction the bullies made against her. "I miss you mom..." she muttered to herself, humming a few notes of music. After her mother's death, Taylor had been nearly traumatized, the only thing that saved her from a mental break was the flute her mother had given her. She brought it to school for the last few weeks, and the feeling of the cool metal pressed into her back through her backpack was what helped cool her temper day after day.

It seemed the terrible trio, Sophia Hess, Madison Clements, and Emma Barnes, were upping their game lately, and Taylor didn't know how much more she could take. 'It wasn't like the teachers at this place were going to do anything.' she thought irritably. After three failed attempts at reporting the bullying and several missing homework assignments in response, it was clear no one cared.

She arrived at school, rapidly tracing the paths through the halls to avoid Emma and her friends. Arriving in class, she sighed in relief, and pulled out her homework. The day continued, with Madison and Emma harassing her at every turn, stealing her work and using it as their own, spilling shavings from the pencil sharpener on her, and knocking over food and drinks near her in the cafeteria. Every time they made a move, she simply focused on the form of the flute within the backpack, and her emotions simmered down.

It is now 1:30 pm, just after Taylor's World Issues class with Mr. Gladly. She left the class in frustration, growling about how Gladly didn't even blink when she was being bullied right in front of him, yet clearly saw it. "Oof!" she gasped as a hard shoulder checked her. 'That would be Sophia.' she thought, turning to face the arrogant track star.

"Aww, Hebert I didn't know you wanted to be a dog!" Sophia laughed. "No wonder you're always crawling in the mud. Oh well, nothing short of parahuman intervention could make you more of an animal than you already are." Taylor glared. "Oh, sorry, you're not an animal, you're worse. Like a sad puppy. Or an orphan. Your mom's not around, so-"

Taylor saw red, and staggered to her feet. She nearly slapped the girl, but stopped when she realized how devastated her father would be when the school inevitably called home. Putting all of her willpower into ignoring the taunts, she straightened her shoulders and strode off down the hall, the small crowd backing away. 'Cowards. Sheep milling around to watch the spectacle. None of you stood up for me. You disgust me.' She didn't look at a single one of them, leaving the building

She made it off of campus before she realized something was wrong. She almost missed it, but a small voice in her mind reminded her. The shape she had felt in her bag earlier was missing. Paling, she twisted around and felt her bag. Then she dropped it to the floor and frantically began searching it and looking around. The flute was gone.

Unable to contact any of the bullies to see where the flute could be, Taylor had to wait until the next day to ask. At home, her father had noticed her anxiety, but Taylor put it off as stress from an upcoming test. Once she was in school, she went immediately to Emma's locker. As she turned the corner, she could see the trio laughing about some kind of joke that had been made. Taylor stormed through the group of hanger-ons that were in the way, striding right up to Sophia. "WHERE IS IT?" she screamed furiously.

Sophia flinched back, surprised by Taylor's outburst. A small smirk grew on the track star's face, and that was all the confirmation Taylor needed. "Where is what? Your dignity?"

"I don't have time for your shit, Hess. Where is my flute?!" she growled at Sophia.

"Wow, looks like you're growing a pair." Emma said as she walked up. The meaning of the sentence was not lost on Taylor as she self-consciously thought about her underdeveloped chest. "You deserve a reward." The way she spoke the word was as if it was the most disgusting thing in existence. "Your item by the dumpster out back, where you belong. Maybe next time you will..."

Taylor was gone before the entire insult left Emma's mouth. She rushed past a group of teens in green and red smoking at the back doors, and flew out the back door. She saw a doggie bag on the ground atop the dumpster, and rushed over and tore it open. She stopped. Then a keening wail tore past her lips as she stared at what used to be her flute. It was covered in a mixture of substances so vile that she nearly puked on the spot. The worst part was that even if she had cleaned it off, it had also been smashed repeatedly with a blunt object, and was melted in some places. There was no possible way to repair it.

She stumbled away with the bag in her hands, and feverishly began rinsing it off in the water fountain. Her mind was in utter shock, unable to function fluently. Once it was mostly clean, she finally realized what was happening. Her breathing increased, and tears started forming in her eyes. As her vision blurred, she fell to the ground and passed out.

_-M&M-_

Power. Not a solid object, but an ideal. Something all beings strive for. Condensed. A shard. Searching. Potential found. Located. Need? Information was read, then incorporated. Connecting.

Taylor stirred with a groan, sitting up on the white linoleum floor. She staggered from the room, limply holding the slightly cleaner flute in her hand, not caring about the filth. She made it to the nurse's office before she passed out again.

Connected. Integrate. Music. Emotion. And a Corona Potentia was formed. Growth. The Gemma was large. Not too large, but enough to be significant. Completion.

Taylor left the nurse's office shakily, but healthy. She was informed that she didn't have any physical wounds, but was in minor shock. The nurse simply gave her a form to let her father know what had happened and sent her on her way. Had she been more aware she would have been outraged at the lack of care even the school nurse had shown in the situation. She had barely enough time to wash out the rest of the flute completely before her dad picked her up. The ride home was silent, Danny assuming she hadn't done well on a test. She didn't bother correcting him. At home, she sat on her bed while her father went to a board meeting with the Dockworkers Union. She sat on her bed, listening to music, cradling the flute in her hands.

"Why?" Taylor said aloud. "Why me? Why did I have to have this happen to me?" she cried. She lay down, listening to the sounds of Imagine Dragons 'Believer' playing quietly. She softly sang the lyrics with the notes, tears slipping down her cheeks. She began settling down, focusing on the words.

The song ended, and she moved to turn off the Walkman before going to bed. She paused in confusion. The music had been playing, and the walkman was't even on.

I'm ignoring that most songs she will use in this fic don't exist on Earth Bet. It's her shard hijacking interdimensional radio signals, I guess.

Taylor's Power: She has a randomized power, similar to Eidolon but only one power slot at a time. She can control it somewhat, like trying to get a specific type of power (Brute, Thinker, etc). If she chooses a power type, the category she chooses will be the main ability of the power, but not always the only one. It is also affected by her emotions and mood, the music tone being affected as well as her power's... lethality and negative effects. She can use several songs a day, but the length of time and the power's strength will affect that. As the story continues, her limits will hopefully be clearer.

Check out my other stories and leave a review. Also I'm open to suggestions for songs as the story progresses. All music will become very important later.