This isn't the sense I wanted things to make

[Victoria Valentine]

Victoria had come back to campus in a rush, and in almost a fury. She settled herself in a rather remote section of the quad, visible but rather out of the way, where the sun could hit her and what she was doing. "I can't fucking believe this," she muttered. "Gods, let me be wrong..."

[Lei Heng]

Lei was out collecting various things when she walked past Victoria. Glancing at the girl, she took a drag off her cigarette.

"You look like shit."

[Victoria Valentine]

"You're one to talk," Victoria shot back. "Now can we skip this, please? I have the balance of creation to save. I think," she added, throwing the crystal ball almost carelessly from her hand, where it floated in midair instead of falling, slowly growing as Victoria rummaged through her bag for something.

[Lei Heng]

"You break something?" Lei asks.

[Victoria Valentine]

"No," she said, pulling out a rolled piece of parchment. "If I'm right? Victor Bloody Von Doom did." She dropped another notebook on top of the parchment as she unrolled it.

[Lei Heng]

Lei shakes her head, "Well, have fun being a good little soldier for your mistress."

Lei turns to walk away.

[Victoria Valentine]

"Oh will you shut up!" Victoria snapped. "Just let the world fall to pieces!" she added in a mockingly cheerful tone, "Who cares, it makes you an individual to not help anyone!"

[Lei Heng]

"The world?" Lei snaps, "Like you give two shits about the world! This is just another fucking game. Your side versus his. So excuse me if I don't care to get involved in your little war!"

[Victoria Valentine]

"Oh what do you know about it," Victoria scoffed. "Little 'rebel' that can't lift her fingers to help anyone but herself." She looked down at the notes, shaking her head. "Bloody hell, no no... not good..."

[Lei Heng]

Lei pauses for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh.

"What is it?"

[Victoria Valentine]

"The ley lines," Victoria said, staring blankly at the parchment as if she didn't believe what she was seeing. "I don't know how, and I'm hoping I'm wrong about who... but I don't know how I can be. The bastard's moving the ley lines."

[Lei Heng]

"What?" Lei exclaims, sounding disturbed, "Is he a fucking idiot?"

[Victoria Valentine]

"No, more like he doesn't care about the outcomes." She spread the parchment out, which was a map of the world with the ley lines drawn out on it. "I don't know if I'm right," she admitted. "I've only found one that wasn't where it should be. But I sent a spell through it when I did find it, so rather shortly, I'll know if I am. But look. His known travel itenerary for the past months. There: ley line convergence. There: ley line convergence. I'm going down the list, and each one has one nearby."

[Lei Heng]

Lei looked troubled, "Well, fuck me. That explains the tree."

"I'll help you," Lei says, opening her bag, "This time."

[Victoria Valentine]

"It explains the weather. it explains the memory losses. It explains plenty of bloody things. Ah!" The crystal ball suddenly came alight, filling with color until it was a glowing representation of the globe. Then, lines washed over it, crisscrossing, and in several places, bending. "Hell. Hell hell hell, that's wrong. Look at that! The convergences are all wrong! How long has he been doing this?"

[Lei Heng]

"Is he building a central convergence?" Lei asks, scanning the crystal ball, "I read something about a sorcerer that tried that a couple of thousand years back. Some sort of ridiculous ascension plot."

Lei digs a knife out of her hand and cuts her finger, "Book."

There's a shimmer of red and a very old looking book is in her hands. She begins paging through it.

[Victoria Valentine]

"I don't know," she said, looking at it, "I've seen this exactly as long as you have, and it's not like I can plug this into a computer to compare 'this is how it was and this is how it is now'. Let's see... new convergences... There's one, in America. One in Germany, but it's too small. And... well hell, we don't know what he'll do next, so who knows where the convergences will end up."

[Lei Heng]

"Well, glad that's settled then," Lei grumbles, "Let's go get some tea and watch the world burn. It'll be fun!"

"We could try moving them back."

[Victoria Valentine]

"Let me remind you of the bloody magical chaos that's been happening because an experience sorceror did it. Do you think that we will be able to do it any more gracefully than he did?" Victoria pointed out. She looked at the globe, frowning. "No... there's got to be a better way to fix it. Or to make him do it. Or hell, to get someone else to do it but we need to figure out what he's going to do with it."

[Lei Heng]

"Could try asking him," Lei says with a grin, "Heard he's a bit of a talker."

[Victoria Valentine]

"An idea, true. You going to do it?" she asked dryly.

[Lei Heng]

""And here I thought we were a team, Vickie," Lei says, "Where's your team spirit?"

[Victoria Valentine]

"Wherever Victor Von Doom's attention isn't, until we figure out what he's doing. The last thing we need is him actively trying to stop us in particular from finding out what he's doing. And my name is Victoria."

[Lei Heng]

"Well if you've got any suggestions rather then just complaints, I'd love to hear them. Vickie."

[Victoria Valentine]

"I'm thinking," Victoria answered. "All right. He's been hopping around the world to do this, finding reasons to come to each spot. We have to assume that the World Cup visit isn't breaking the pattern."

[Lei Heng]

"If the fate of the world rests on a football match, I'm out," Lei says, "Seriously. If that happens. I'm walking."

[Victoria Valentine]

"Merciful goddess, that would be too much irony for my taste," Victoria agreed (even though she would always maintain that she agreed with the girl on absolutely nothing).

[Lei Heng]

"We should investigate the pitch," Lei says, lighting another cigarette, "See what's going on."

[Victoria Valentine]

Victoria hesitated. "Do you really think the answer's at a football pitch? I don't know if that makes me want to save humanity either."

[Lei Heng]

"I give even odds we get to destroy a sports stadium," Lei says, "Which is definitely worth the trip to me."

[Victoria Valentine]

Victoria considered it. "That does sound like it'd keep it from being a wasted trip," she admitted.

[Lei Heng]

"Cool," Lei says, flicking her cigarette away, "I hope you have a car."

[Victoria Valentine]

Victoria scoffed. "Do I have a car," she said, amused, like this was a ridiculous question.

[Lei Heng]

"Fucking rich kids," Lei muttered.