Editing Chrysalis 20.3

{{infobox chapter
| book = [[Chrysalis]]
| number     = 20.3
| dateposted = 26 March 2013
| link       = https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/chrysalis-20-3/ 
| previous   = [[Chrysalis 20.2]]
| next       = [[Chrysalis 20.4]]
}}'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is the third chapter of [[Chrysalis]]. Taylor shrugs Emma off as her former friend gives it her best shot, the Principal gives a warning.
==Plot==
Accosted by [[Emma]], who is followed closely by her own drones, [[Taylor]] finds herself trading insults with her former best friend, with other bystanders observing. Emma, noticing the change in Taylor's attitude, casually states that had Taylor grown a spine back then, she would've had Sophia take her into their own group and they'd be friends again. Emma plays off the pranks she carried out on Taylor at Winslow as harmless antics Taylor should have laughed at and grew a spine from. Taylor fires back, telling Emma that she's demented if she thinks she'll ever want to be her friend after the bullying. She declares that she's been better off without whatever Emma's friendship could supposedly offer, even before her change in attitude, and also tells Emma that she is pathetic for following Sophia, pointing out the latter's violent and hostile behavior. 

Emma's friends attempt to gang up on Taylor for the slight, but is stopped by Emma herself, who then decides to hit Taylor with her best shot: ''Taylor's parents''. Relishing as she spoke, Emma tells Taylor that it was her fault that [[Annette]] died. She recalls the day that Annette was dialing on the phone to speak to Taylor while driving, leading to the car accident that killed her, and because Taylor was at Emma's house, Taylor never would have been able to return her calls. Taylor gives pause to that, but briefly, and shrugs off the insult as a weak one. But Emma pushes further, reminding Taylor of what became of [[Danny]] after Annette died, and claiming that Danny had in fact blamed Taylor for Annette's death. She lists off her talking points, such as Danny's behavior, how he became withdrawn, disconnected, and appeared to stop caring. Emma then claims to have heard a conversation between [[Alan|her own father]] and Danny, supposedly overhearing Danny blame Taylor for not being there to pick up the phone, which would have likely saved Annette's life. Emma questions Taylor about the state of her relationship with Danny, snidely wondering if he actually loves her but is certain that he might hate her, and also adds that he may not even like her.

Taylor finds Emma's words cutting deep, and that they unfortunately brought up some good points. Taylor had been uncertain of how Danny felt about her, and even considers the idea of Danny having any real positive feelings towards her debatable. She then reflects on her time with [[Tattletale]], and acutely recognizes Emma's tactics. Even though Emma had no powers, she still had knowledge concerning Taylor, Danny, and one of the worst eras of Taylor's life, and it was more than clear to Taylor that Emma wasn't afraid to use any of it with great cruelty. Taylor uses almost every ounce of self control to fight the urge to unleash her powers on Emma, but manages to calm herself. Taylor then asks Emma if she was done and if she can leave. Emma accuses of Taylor being heartless at that response, but Taylor responds that she just doesn't believe her, and that she had dealt with (and even collaborated with) people scarier, meaner and more manipulative than Emma could ever hope to be.

Cut off mid-sentence, Taylor then receives a phone call from her father, who asked where she was and how she was doing. Taylor then senses Emma through the fly she planted on her, moving to physically assault her and angered at being causally ignored. She allows Emma knock the phone out of her hand and pin her against the Arcadia's perimeter walls, and is amused to see Emma struggling to string together anything clever or witty to say. A guard then intervenes, pulling Emma off of Taylor. Emma is taken to see the Principal Howell along with three students to serve as witnesses in tow, but Taylor gets the option to leave as she really isn't a student. Taylor decides to stick around and see what happens and notifies her father about it.

Brought to Principal Howell, the guard apprises the principal of the situation. One of the witnesses defends Taylor by offering a faithful account of the incident, which immediately strikes Taylor as so surreal that it could have been mistaken for a trap designed for her by the [[Ambassadors]], [[Haven]], or even the [[Fallen]]. The feeling isn't helped when Howell proceeds to chastise Emma for what she did, and points out that she seriously could have gotten hurt as many of kids had weapons with them due to the city being in shambles. In the process of registering their names, Howell discovers email correspondences proving Emma's involvement with Sophia Hess in a bullying campaign against Taylor. Taylor is offered by Howell to press charges against Emma for what she did to her. Taylor declines (much to Emma's surprise) saying that Emma isn't worth it, but welcomes the idea of the the school taking action against her. Howell informs Emma that due to the bullying, she will be refused any leniency and privileges that are being granted to those who missed out on school due to the city's devastation. She bars Emma from attending Arcadia's summer classes, and remarks that she may have the possibility of repeating the tenth grade, and that if she does have to it may not take place at Arcadia.

After Emma is escorted out, Howell reveals herself to Taylor as a contact of Tattletale. In addition to being tasked with aiding Taylor at school should she join, Howell admits to Taylor that she sees her as a way to truly protect her students at Arcadia. Taylor finds herself upset at this, as her suspicions towards how the Emma situation was concluded had in fact been valid. In any case, Taylor had felt some semblance of a victory, but had very mixed feelings towards it. She declines on wanting to be a student at Arcadia, and is told by Howell to sign the a visitor form before leaving.

The secretary hands Taylor the form to fill out. But when Taylor looks at the address, she is immediately alarmed when she recognizes an urgent coded message filled in. Which immediately warns her that enemies were inbound and that she needed to escape. She then looks to see Howell in her office, with a phone pressed against her ear and looking out her window. Howell tells Taylor to run. She complies, freshly realizing that her identity has been compromised.
==Characters==
{| class="CharTable"
! [[Villain|{{color|white|Villains}}]]
! Others
|-
|
;[[The Undersiders]]
*[[Skitter]]
*[[Tattletale]] {{M}}
----
;[[Accord's Ambassadors]]
*[[Accord]] {{M}}
----
;[[Slaughterhouse Nine]]
*[[Mannequin]] {{M}}
|
;Civilians
*[[Emma Barnes]]
*[[Danny Hebert]]
*[[Sophia Hess]] {{M}}
*[[Annette Hebert]] {{M}}
*[[Alan Barnes]] {{M}}
*[[Charlotte]] {{M}}
*[[Greg Veder]] {{M}}
----
;[[Arcadia High]] Faculty
*Principal Howell {{D}}
*School Guard Collins {{D}}
|-
|}
{{Reflist}}
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