Alan Lapchinski's Story

"Are you kidding me?! I'm late, the form said they met at 10:30!" Al exclaimed at his demon. Laius, however, simply stood there with as close to a scowl as the bird could muster. "Was it at 10?" The bird still stood there. It was at 9:30, wasn't it?" The blue bird flapped it's wings and took flight and hovered, indicating the young keeper was correct and he was ready to go. Alan was a smart kid, but he couldn't remember dates and times for his life, thankfully, his demon, Laius was. The two dashed through the various halls and floors until they came to the room they were supposed to be in, but they found it empty. "Are you kidding me?! Could this day get worse?!" H's was exasperated and desperate by this point to find where the "club" had gone. "It could, but it would take us years to get through them all." The bird chimed in. "Not helping." Al retorted.

"If they're not here, then go on the roof and survey the area to check if they are outside." Laius explained. He mulled it over for a minute and thought about it. It was better than looking through the highschool for them. "Good plan." The two made their way to the hatch that led to the roof before he could hear a voice "Don't be showy now, Zachary. You wouldn't want to distract your classmates." That was probably them. Al bust open the hatch to the site of two duels raging at once. "Excuse me, but, am I interrupting something here?" He yelled over the clamor.

Luke was relieved when Robert said he would keep an eye on Jack. He also nodded when the teacher told him to take it easy on the girl. He had planned that from the beginning, but didn't want to say it out loud. He figured saying something like that wouldn't sit well with her. He watched the few shadows that were on the rooftop dance for a few moments as the girl readied herself. The he heard Zack ask Robert for a quick duel. He didn't really like that the teacher ended up obliging the blond haired student, considering the teacher had just finished promising to keep an eye on his demon while Luke had a duel himself. Still, he trusted the teacher and figured he could manage both.

As the fight between the teacher and student commenced, Luke turned his attention back to the girl. Whom he still didn't know the name of. He wasn't focused on their fight enough to catch the flashy moves or Robert's comments.

"I suppose I'm ready also then." Luke said looking the girl in the eye. He gave her about a half a second before releasing a blinding flash in her direction. It would turn her vision completely black for about a second, regardless of whether or not her eyes were covered. He was using his specialty Blacklight magic, the high frequency light would travel through most soft tissue and overload her retinas.

In the second of that girl's blindness, Luke quickly decided against an immediate direct attack. That is what he would expect, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt and simply preformed an invisibility spell on himself. The light After which, he planned to wait to see how she would react. If she looked around searching for him, as he expected, he would simply stay put. Then attack to test the waters of her ability with a weak attack from the front, the direction he would least expect himself. At an opportune moment, he would use a basic spell to send a gust of wind in her direction. Just enough to knock her down form her feet if she she wasn't prepared for it.

That opportune time came when someone new arrived on the roof and yelled something out. More concerned with the task at hand, it was at that moment Luke sent the gust of wind toward the girl and his invisibility was dispelled.

Meanwhile, Jack had moved out of the way of everyone near the edge of the rooftop. And the demon continued to content itself with staring at the tasty looking OZ.

Lilly freaked out when the odd flash of light blinded her momentarily. But she had to keep her cool, something she learned from her little ... family. Stay calm and don't let them know you have been caught off gaurd. "You think your little trick is going to fool me? We I'm sorry to tell you that it didn't work." She rubbed her eyes, but when her vision did clear, Luke was no where to be seen. One distraction seemed to come after another, as a boy appeared on the roof, shouting random things that she couldn't understand. Along with Robert and Zac making a comotion, there was to much going on. She was almost screamed when a sudden but faint gust of wind made her loose balance and fall on her butt. The embarrasment and the anger were never a good mix with her. The shadows began to wave furiously back and forth, slowly rising and becoming 3-D. They gathered around her and connected with her shadow. "Just shut up," Lilly yelled, shadowy tenticles grew from her back and her eyes were covered with 'Shadow Fire'. She thrust her arms forward, the tenticles following her command and thrust through Luke's body, bound to send a shock through him. OZ wasn't sure why Lilly wasn't using some of the tactics she had learned.

His eyes darted to the odd looking demon eyeballing him. OZ tried to ignore it, but it seemed almost impossible. He hadn't read about any Demons like that in any of the magical history books he had. He just kept his apathetic eyes concentrated on the ground, and occasionally on his Masters battle.

As Zac landed on Robert, his knees gave way. But before he hit the ground, he created a thin layer of ice on the floor, adding a thin dome of ice around them as well before shattering it. Ice flew everywhere and the smallest bits landed on Robert’s skin, filling him with strength. Zac tried not to be distracted by the ice, but it didn't happen. The snow globe like scene around him was captivating. However, Zac knew he couldn't be daydreaming while fighting an F class. He wasn't that good. The blades at his back crashed into the frozen roof beneath them with the momentum from falling, sinking deep into the ice before taking their place at Zac's back. Zac maintained pressure from the top by swinging his flamberge down from high over his head towards the place where Robert's head would be.

“Don’t be to showy now, Zachary. You wouldn’t want to distract your classmates. Someone could die,” Rob said as he stared at the horizon from underneath Zac. “I,” he started as he slid quickly from under Zac, causing him to miss the overhead strike that would have decapitated Rob, “feel sort of bad for the young Miss Lilly, don’t you?” The force of Zac's blow kicked up a small cloud of dust. Zac used the small moment of concealment to switch to his falcata and khopesh and allow the flambegre to resume it's spot at his back with the daggers and the rapier. Zac quickly flicked the wrist holding his falcata, dispersing the dust with the wind formed by his blade. Robert pulled the ice in the air toward his hand. There wasn’t enough ice in the air to make a sword like Zac's, but it was enough to make a small throwing dagger. The ice quickly gathered and formed in his hand, and not too long after, he released it towards Zac. “He may have three years against her, but,” he said, rushing towards Zac during the gap made by throwing the dagger, “Aren’t you interested how this is going to turn out?”

"Well sure I am." Zac countered. He swatted the incoming dagger that hid Robert's charge away with the flat of his falcata, shattering the ice with a soft tinkling sound. Stepping into his stance to set himself against Robert's charge, Zac continued their conversation. "However, I trust Luke to hold back, and Lilly to not lose too quickly. Besides, you shouldn't be watching them, you should pay more attention to me. Even if you are an F class I'm not someone to take too lightly." Zac slashed out with both swords into Robert's advance, his blades forming a deadly pair of scissors, aiming to lop off Robert's head. He was sure they wouldn't connect, and was already preparing to jump, and possibly flip, over Robert, should he dodge underneath the assault.

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From the sidelines, Pitt whooped and hollered like a cheerleader, shouting encouragements to Zac. She was making a complete fool of herself and having a wonderful time. She could feel the joy Zac was experiencing radiate from him. He hadn't had so much fun in a long time. There was nothing like a lighthearted duel to the death with a superior combatant to really get Zac all fired up. Pitt was happy for him, however, she knew it couldn't last. He had limited metal and Earth up here and Robert could make ice as long as there was water in the air. Hell, if he wanted to he could freeze Zac's blood. Pitt screamed and cheered, but it was still just a front. She was deathly worried about Zac, however, she would never let it show. When Alan and Laius walked in through the door beneath her, she almost screamed. "Jeez!! Who the heck are you guys?! Can't you see detention is going on up here? If you guys don't wanna die you might wanna get out of here. Zac's fighting full out. He might even summon the Boneyard if he has to. However, if that alone didn't persuade you to leave, I suggest you guys sit back quietly and watch, and don't get too close either. This is how real mages duke it out. You might learn something."

"Jeez!! Who the heck are you guys?! Can't you see detention is going on up here? If you guys don't wanna die you might wanna get out of here. Zac's fighting full out. He might even summon the Boneyard if he has to. However, if that alone didn't persuade you to leave, I suggest you guys sit back quietly and watch, and don't get too close either. This is how real mages duke it out. You might learn something."
Came a small voice, the source was revealed when the door closed again and revealed to be what looked like a small child. Figuring that her grammer was far better than thay of a two year old, he guessed the girl was Zac's demon. "If that's true, then it would be in my best interest to stay and watch." He had to admit, it was quite majestic to watch four mages battle, well, technically three since one seemed to have turned invisible. "So tell me, what's this boneyard thing you mentioned? It sounds pretty dangerous." He asked. It sounded like it originated from the ground, so it's be earth based. He saw that each of the combatants had different expertises, one was ice and another was shadow. He couldn't figure out the other two, metal confounding him the most.

"My name's Alan by the way, but you can call me Al. I'm assuming from the rampant amount of magic being tossed around this is the keepers thingy, right?" He was atleast happy that he found the right place for them to meet. However, if this was detention he was glad he was out sick yesterday, or he could've been in for a pounding. Laius flew off of Al's shoulder and onto a nearby railing, granting the bird a steadier perch to make mental notes of the fight. If worst comes to worst, Laius could get his master out of a fight with one of them or turn the tide if need be. He stood with his cold, unforgiving gaze as Al took a seat next to Pitt to Awatch the fights.

"Well sure I am." Zac countered. He swatted the incoming dagger that hid Robert's charge away with the flat of his falcata, shattering the ice with a soft tinkling sound. Stepping into his stance to set himself against Robert's charge, Zac continued their conversation. "However, I trust Luke to hold back, and Lilly to not lose too quickly. Besides, you shouldn't be watching them, you should pay more attention to me. Even if you are an F class I'm not someone to take too lightly." Zac slashed out with both swords into Robert's advance, his blades forming a deadly pair of scissors, aiming to lop off Robert's head. He was sure they wouldn't connect, and was already preparing to jump, and possibly flip, over Robert, should he dodge underneath the assault.

Robert created another thin layer of ice on the ground, using it to slide right by Zac. He always had a bunch of random things that he would do during a duel, not really if it was a legitimate battle, life or death. But something’s just seemed to reassure him.

A thin ice wall grew behind Zac, which Robert used to stop sliding, shattering the ice in the process. The shattered ice then formed into little balls that would freeze to anything thrown at on contact. Robert tossed the balls lightly at Zac, not knowing if all would hit wasn’t that important to him though. “Come now, Zachary. I can watch both battles at once. That’s a skill you have to learn to become a better mage. If you are so focused on one battle,” Robert said as he, himself, shattered. “You might lose completely.” It was a trick he had kept up his sleeve from his students, mainly because it took a little bit of power. It wasn’t his special, but it was ease if one could concentrate enough. It was like a family move his father had taught him when he was young. It could be used with any magic area, it was simple really.

The Robert that had shattered was a dummy, while the real Robert had used an invisibility spell after sliding from under Zac. It was quicker than a second, which also took a TON of practice as well. At least 14 hours a day for 6 years. But once you got there, it was definitely worth it. Robert used the moisture in the air to freeze his weapons and the ice on the floor to freeze Zac’s feet to the ground. He continuously leapt backwards until he was 10 feet or more away from Zac. And with the crushing motion of his fist, the ice around Zac’s weapon’s thickened. “Besides, I know how capable you are.” Robert glanced over at the other battle waging and raised a brow. “Hmm. Someone’s getting a little touchy.” He looked back at Zac and smiled. “That’s bad news, don’t you think? She’s definitely going to lose now.”

Robert created another thin layer of ice on the ground, using it to slide right by Zac and dodge the scissoring blades. Zac jumped over Robert, flipping in the process. Zac landed and his head whipped around, trying to keep his eyes on Robert at all times. He let his blades go, allowing them to join the others at his back. He hazarded a quick glance over in Luke and Lilly's direction, but could only see Lilly, who seemed to be throwing a tantrum. Luke however was no where to be found. "Tch" Zac scoffed. "You can't lose your cool Lilly!" He shouted, trying to encourage her. There was something about this battle. He wanted her to win. Needed her to, he didn't know why. Maybe because it proved he could beat someone like Robert. Back to my own business, I can't let Robert get out of my sight for even a moment. Zac thought, snapping his eyes back to Robert.

A thin ice wall grew behind where Zac had been. Robert used it to stop sliding, shattering the ice in the process. The shattered ice then formed into little balls. Robert tossed the balls lightly at Zac. Zac made a wide sweeping motion with his right hand, the blades came to life, fanning out in front of him and slashing the incoming projectiles to nothingness, covering his blades with ice in the process. “Come now, Zachary. I can watch both battles at once. That’s a skill you have to learn to become a better mage. If you are so focused on one battle,” Robert said as he, himself, shattered. “You might lose completely.” "Whoa!! That was cool, I might need you to teach me that one." Zac said.

Robert used the moisture in the air to freeze his weapons and the ice on the floor to freeze Zac’s feet to the ground. He continuously leapt backwards until he was 10 feet or more away from Zac. And with the crushing motion of his fist, the ice around Zac’s weapons thickened. “Besides, I know how capable you are.” Robert glanced over at the other battle waging and raised a brow. “Hmm. Someone’s getting a little touchy.” He looked back at Zac and smiled. “That’s bad news, don’t you think? She’s definitely going to lose now.”

Things didn't look very good for Zac. His opponent was very adept at dodging his attacks, and he could create ice as long as there was water anywhere around him. Zac on the other hand, had limited metal, no earth, and was running out of options. His feet were even frozen to the floor. I guess it's time. He thought. "I take a little exception to that Rob." Zac started, he was stalling for time until his spell took effect. "You see, you're trying to tell me that people like me can never beat someone like you. If I win, if Lilly wins, it means that fighting is about guts, not raw strength. That's something I'd like to believe in. That it's not about talent, it's about heart. If it comes down to heart, between me and you. There's no way I can lose!" he finished, yelling triumphantly. Finally the spell kicked in. The heat released from it evaporated the ice in seconds. "I'm giving my all here Rob. You can't go looking at something else. I'll make you focus on me. I'll make you get serious." Zac challenged. The heat was building, the air around him shimmered with the moisture. Zac had placed a heat spell on his entire body, making him give off extreme amounts of heat. The downside was he had to work fast, or his body would burn up. Zac's image began to bend and whirl lashing out oddly and erratically with limbs and blades. At some times it seemed comical and non-threatening, at others, it seemed the blades were only inches away from Robert's body. Zac quickly cast a full body invisibility spell that extended to his weapons. It took a little bit, but the mirage created by the heat was far too erratic and strange for Rob to be able to attack it comfortably, finally the distorted image faded altogether. Next, he cast a vortex of dust, there wasn't a lot of dust on the rooftop, but there was just enough for Zac to work with. It swirled and came to life from all corners of the roof, forming a whirling barrier over the top of Zac's body. It blasted the threatening moisture away from Zac and dried out the air around him, keeping Rob's ice at bay. Finally, Zac cast a ventriloquism spell on his voice, making it sound as if he'd become the vortex itself. His voice was everywhere and no where simultaneously. "How's this Rob? It took me a while to get this good at chain casting. However, I've got to level the playing field here. If there's no Earth for me to use, you don't get to freeze me. Seems perfectly fair to me?" Zac taunted. Since the dust was localized around himself, it didn't use as much energy, but it was still tiring. He could hold it for a good long while, but he'd prefer to win quickly. At that, Zac rushed Robert. Luckily for him the roaring dust muffled his footsteps, making it seem like he really was a turbulent storm of whirling dust. When he finally reached Robert, he engulfed him in the miniature dust storm. If it worked, Zac could achieve checkmate with his blades, if not, he'd be frozen. It was better than losing right away as far as Zac was concerned.

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"If that's true, then it would be in my best interest to stay and watch." The boy had to admit, Pitt took small gratification from being right. It felt good. "Darn right I'm right." She said, smirking with pride. "So tell me, what's this boneyard thing you mentioned? It sounds pretty dangerous." The boy asked. "Well, I'm kind of not supposed to say anything, cause it's Zac's special. He only uses it when he really wants to win. It's amazing.' Pitt said. Luckily she had the presence of mind not to reveal all of Zac's secret moves. "I can tell this though. Don't ever engage him if he's summoned it. You'll lose. There's no way to win in that thing."

"My name's Alan by the way, but you can call me Al. I'm assuming from the rampant amount of magic being tossed around this is the keepers thingy, right?" "That'd be right Alan. These Keepers and the teacher are doing detention right now, so it's only a small portion of the class, the rest of them are doing the first day of physical training with the teacher's demon, Kira. Oops, where are my manners, I've completely forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Pitt! Zac, the blond one, is my Keeper. He's the best. He's the one fighting the teacher. He even asked for it for no reason other than to see if he can match up with him! Zac just wants to be the strongest. He will be some day too, just you watch!" Pitt exclaimed. She loved advocating for Zac, it was so easy, especially with him putting on a show like that.

"I take a little exception to that Rob." Zac started, he was stalling for time until his spell took effect. "You see, you're trying to tell me that people like me can never beat someone like you. If I win, if Lilly wins, it means that fighting is about guts, not raw strength. That's something I'd like to believe in. That it's not about talent, it's about heart. If it comes down to heart, between me and you. There's no way I can lose!" he finished, yelling triumphantly. Things seemed to happen faster than Robert had expected, making him smile. It had always given him great pleasure to see his students grow. This was going to be a close match, but Robert couldn’t let the poor boy win. No matter how much he wanted to. He could let it drag on for as long as he wanted, but if he lost to an O rank. His seat with the council wouldn’t look so good after that. Yes, he was a teacher, but the council enforced tough teaching standards. “Never get a student’s hopes high. It’s dangerous for themselves and the magical community,” he was told before he took up this job. So he had to end it without using his special. "How's this Rob? It took me a while to get this good at chain casting. However, I've got to level the playing field here. If there's no Earth for me to use, you don't get to freeze me. Seems perfectly fair to me?" Zac taunted.

“There is plenty of earth for you, Zachary. It’s just,” he paused as he leapt back till he was standing on the railing Zac didn’t use, “down there.” He pointed to the ground below them. “Just like I have plenty of water to freeze you with,” he said as he eyeballed a fountain that had water left in it. They weren’t running this early, but they still had left over water in them. The same thing he did that with the moisture in the air, he did with the water, but there was a lot more shattered ice to work with. Getting it on the roof was something else though; a transport spell would have to do. “Let me see,” he thought as he hurriedly went through his mind. Not too long after, he thought of something. “Please don’t fail me now,” he whispered, “Sorry Zac.” Robert had to cut himself, drawing blood, to do a quick summoning spell. He was able to summon enough water to create a dome over the area just about where Zac was, also covering the little ‘storm’. It was nowhere near the other’s battle but covered enough area to guarantee Zac was inside. “Concentrate … concentrate …,” he said out loud and he tried an air spell. “Please don’t kill him.” The spell was complete and all the oxygen inside of the dome where Zac was, vanished. Robert knew how long to hold this spell in order to just knock Zac out, he just hoped it didn’t take long. Air magic wasn’t one of his strong points. Of course his outer façade was calm and capable, but on the inside he was, yes Robert, was struggling.

Just as Zac reached Robert and attempted to swallow him up, Robert lept back, way up high onto what was left of the railing Zac had made his weapons from. "There is plenty of earth for you, Zachary. It’s just down there." Robert stated simply. "Well duh." Zac began, "If we were on ground level, I'd just crush you under a mountain. Since we're up here I have to try a little harder." Zac joked, chuckling slightly.

Just as Zac was about to charge him again, Robert summoned a large amount of water and covered his entire dust storm with it. While not a massive amount of water, it was still very impressive for him to have summoned it and then shaped it into a prison so quickly.

"Come on, this can't hold me for long," Zac shouted. He slashed at the walls of the prison, but nothing happened, they just reformed and closed up again. Zac dropped his invisibility, dust storm, and ventriloquy spells and stood there with his swords, trying to figure out how to get out of his current predicament. Just then, all the air inside the dome vanished. Zac gasped for breath but couldn't draw any air. Working quickly, Zac morphed his blades into a single sword and attempted to smash his way out of the prison, but to no avail. The water wouldn't give. He tried running through it but it just pushed him back. Running out of oxygen, Zac begun the arduous transmutation of metal to pure light energy. It wasn't something he was particularly good at, but he figured it'd be useful one day so he'd practiced it before, once. Just once. Now seemed like a pretty good time to use it. The walls of water weren't giving way, he was running out of breath. Just as his world was about to go black, the spell finished leaving Zac with a basketball sized orb of pure light. Zac let the light go and it exploded out and crashed into the water prison rampaging like a tempest. The walls of water couldn't hold the brutal onslaught of light energy and blasted away, letting Zac breath precious oxygen. He flopped to the floor like a fish and just lay there, chest heaving and seeing stars. "Woo... You could have killed me there Rob. I was really scared." He didn't say anything for a moment, still just breathing and resting. At that moment, Pitt flew over from where she was watching the fight and knelt down next to Zac, placing her small hand on his cheek. "Zac... you ok?" She asked, her voice wavering and tears forming in her eyelids. "Of course you dummy, I'm not dead." Zac said, lifting his hand up and placing it on Pitt's head, he patted her softly, "I'm not going anywhere Pitt, I promised you, didn't I?" He asked her softly. "You... you... you jerk!!" Pitt yelled, sobbing, she jumped onto Zac's head and hugged him. He picked her up off of his head and laid her down on his chest, holding her with one of his arms. Zac looked up at Rob, "Was I even close getting you to fight serious? How far do I still have to go?" Zac asked. He was bummed. He'd put up an ok fight, but he really wanted to win.

"Woo... You could have killed me there Rob. I was really scared." Robert smiled as he jumped down from the railing, hands in pockets, and walked over to where Zac was laying. He wanted to express how pleased he was with Zac’s performance, but he was wiped out and didn’t want to waste any more energy. He had to keep a strong front in the presence of his students, or what kind of teacher would he be? So his outer self looked completely strong and full of energy

“You know I wouldn’t have killed you, Zachary. Detention battles are till K.O., so I had to do something to knock you out sooner than later.” Robert knelt down next to Zac and Pitt, patting Pitt on the head. “Hope you aren’t too mad at me for roughing him up a bit, Pitt.”

Zac looked up at Rob, "Was I even close getting you to fight serious? How far do I still have to go?" Zac asked. He was bummed. He'd put up an ok fight, but he really wanted to win.

“You did well. I’m proud of your improvement, but you still have some way to go. You’re doing amazing and you might just become an F rank before I did,” he said with a smile. “But take my advice and practice every day, for as long as you can, no matter where you are, and I promise you that you will get better. I come from a long line of Mages and was taught from a very young age all that I know. I still have a lot to learn myself.” Robert looked down at his bleeding wrist and licked the blood off. “You almost had me break a sweat … that’s saying something,” he smiled down at Zac. “I’m thinking of opening special training for some of you who I think have great potential. I need to have a few of you picked out before the end of second semester to show to the Council. And I think I know who I want to show off this year.” Robert looked at Luke and Lilly, and then turned his gaze back to Zac. “But I’m letting you know now, that means a LOT more time with Kira. I can barely take it and she’s my demon,” Robert said jokingly.

Al watched on the sidelines with Pitt, the battle between the blond kid, "Zac," as he was called by his demon and the ice mage was raging but the other one was at quite a standstill, most boring, as Alan would put it (if he was trying to imitate a British person). As each spell was cast, the young mage couldn't help but be captivated by the spectacle. From ice clones to flying blades, it was all amazing. He hoped he could match up to one of the two one day in the near future, however, his skill set wasn't all that impressive. He could really only compress air into various and even then, they could barely harm something."I take a little exception to that Rob." Zac started "You see, you're trying to tell me that people like me can never beat someone like you. If I win, if Lilly wins, it means that fighting is about guts, not raw strength. That's something I'd like to believe in. That it's not about talent, it's about heart. If it comes down to heart, between me and you. There's no way I can lose!" he finished, yelling triumphantly. Those lines made him chuckle a little, something so self-righteous was a little funny and he could have sworn he heard a faint chuckle come from Laius in the back. The demon would never admit to something like that, though.

The fight continued nonetheless, Alan lauding Zac's skill in chain casting and was thoroughly impressed and a little afraid of what Zac did with the dust storm. All he could do was sit in awe. The big shock came, however, when the dome went up. He had done a little research into the different kinds of magic, but he had never seen a spell like the one Robert had just performed. From the drop of blood rose a dome of water from absolutely dry concrete and surrounded them both. Alan could only stand there with a dumb look on his face until something occurred, a sixth sense, almost, he could tell the air in the dome had just disappeared. "He's gonna suffocate, what to do...what to do..." he couldn't think, he himself could only form small vacuums and one so big would surely be out of his abilities. Thankfully, though the spell dropped and Zac and Robert reappeared. He rushed over with Pitt wot Zac, "You need some help getting up? Oxygen depletion tends to mess with muscles a little." he said helping up his classmate.

“You did well. I’m proud of your improvement, but you still have some way to go. You’re doing amazing and you might just become an F rank before I did,” he said with a smile. At that, Zac smiled, it was a start. Zac sat up, still holding the crying Pitt. "Thanks Rob." Zac said. “But take my advice and practice every day, for as long as you can, no matter where you are, and I promise you that you will get better. I come from a long line of Mages and was taught from a very young age all that I know. I still have a lot to learn myself.” Robert looked down at his bleeding wrist and licked the blood off. “You almost had me break a sweat … that’s saying something,” he smiled down at Zac. “I’m thinking of opening special training for some of you who I think have great potential. I need to have a few of you picked out before the end of second semester to show to the Council. And I think I know who I want to show off this year.” Robert looked at Luke and Lilly, and then turned his gaze back to Zac. “But I’m letting you know now, that means a LOT more time with Kira. I can barely take it and she’s my demon,” Robert said jokingly.

"Kira's ok, she's just needs to lighten up with us. She's so wound up. That's just my opinion, I don't mean to insult your partner. Regardless, I'd be down for some more training." Zac said. Turning his attention to the weeping Pitt in his arms, Zac nudged the top of her head with his nose. "You gonna be ok down there?" Pitt sniffled, then whispered "Yeah... just don't do that to me again, ok?" "Of course Pitt. I can't promise you I won't lose anymore, but I'll be with you for a long time. Ok?" "Ok..." she whispered. "Just lemme stay here for a bit, ok?" "As long as you need to, but you heard what he said right? We're doubling our personal training schedule. Let's get stronger and stronger!" Zac said. "Mhmm" she whispered.

At that, a new face came up to Zac and offered his hand. "You need some help getting up? Oxygen depletion tends to mess with muscles a little." he said helping up his classmate. "I don't think I know you. New student this year?" Zac asked. "His name's Alan, he came up while you were fighting Rob." Pitt murmured. "Alan huh?" Zac said, "Nice to meet you." Shaking the hand that Alan had used to help him up.

"I don't think I know you. New student this year?" Zac asked. "His name's Alan, he came up while you were fighting Rob." Pitt murmured. "Alan huh?" Zac said, "Nice to meet you." "Likewise," Alan said shaking his hand "Laius, come meet our new partners!" He said taking his other hand and extending it like a post. Laius snapped out of his "trance" and he perched on his arm, "Laius, pleasure to meet you." The bird greeted. He extended his wing in the closest a bird could imitate extending a handshake. "Yeah, I'm new here, I actually didn't know much about this whole thing until about last year. Turns out my parents were keepers but hid it from me in shame, a shame I must admit. What's your specialty area, mines air." He was beginning to ramble, a sharp, but small prick from Laius to alert him. "So, can you give me a quick list of who's who and who's our teacher." He said.

“Ah,” Robert said, standing up straight and looking at the new student, Alan. “Welcome to the Henry Jefferson Magical Arts Club, though we really are more of a class than anything, but the school restricted us to club time and whatever else we could arrange with the students. You just happened to walk into detention, which as you can see, is a little rough, so you might want to do your best to avoid it.” Robert let out a big sigh and looked over at the battle waging between Lilly and Luke. “Luke over there is helping me serve detention to shadow girl, Lilly. They should be done soon. If you’re a first year, you might not know me. I’m Robert Beckenfield, Mr. Beckenfield that is, the teacher.” Robert stopped talking, he knew that kids didn’t like hearing to much of a teacher’s voice. “Feeling better Zachary?” He wondered if he should tell Kira he commenced battle with a student … Would she get mad? Maybe, but it was harder to tell with her these days. Maybe it would just come up in a conversation during dinner. As he thought through that, he began making small ice figures subconsciously … soldiers and ballerinas and all sorts of mystical creatures.

"Likewise," Alan said shaking Zac's hand "Laius, come meet our new partners!" He said taking his other hand and extending it like a post. At that, a little bird flitted over from a nearby railing and perched on Alan's arm, "Laius, pleasure to meet you." The bird greeted. He extended his wing in the closest a bird could imitate extending a handshake. "Yeah, I'm new here, I actually didn't know much about this whole thing until about last year. Turns out my parents were keepers but hid it from me in shame, a shame I must admit. What's your specialty area, mines air." Alan spoke hurriedly, and so very animatedly. He seemed so excited. However, the little bird pecked him sharply with his beak and Alan calmed down "So, can you give me a quick list of who's who and who's our teacher." He said. Just as Zac was about to really introduce himself, Robert spoke up.

“Ah,” Robert said, standing up straight and looking at the new student, Alan. “Welcome to the Henry Jefferson Magical Arts Club, though we really are more of a class than anything, but the school restricted us to club time and whatever else we could arrange with the students. You just happened to walk into detention, which as you can see, is a little rough, so you might want to do your best to avoid it.” Robert let out a big sigh and looked over at the battle waging between Lilly and Luke. “Luke over there is helping me serve detention to shadow girl, Lilly. They should be done soon. If you’re a first year, you might not know me. I’m Robert Beckenfield, Mr. Beckenfield that is, the teacher.” Zac spoke up, "You know that I'm Zac, and you appear to have met Pitt. I'm an Earth focus, my specialty is the transmutation of Earth to metal as well as the molding of metal. As it is now, all I can do is make swords. It suits me though, I love sword fighting. Still, kind of hard to fight up here where I've got no ground. That was fun! We should try that again sometime." Zac said, despite the loss, he was feeling more energetic than before, he wanted to go run and jump and train. “Feeling better Zachary?” Zac heard Rob ask him. "Yeah, I feel great! You think Kira is still holding practice down there? I might join late. I still wanna go!" "Already with you? Musclehead..." Pitt complained. "Just because we've done one duel today doesn't mean we can stop, especially if I want to surpass Robert. That's my new goal." Zac countered, smiling cheesily. He even gave Pitt a little thumbs up. Pitt had to admire the idiot, he was nothing if not stupidly sturdy.

"Anywho, Lilly over there is a Shadow mage and Luke is a Light mage." Zac said, answering some of Alan's questions. "Good mages too, both of them. If that's all, I'm gonna go see if Kira will let me join, see you guys later!" Zac yelled over his shoulder. He was already running towards the ledge of the school building that faced the back lot of the school, where no body was. "Zac?... Don't you think we should slow down? Maybe take it easy?" Pitt asked nervously, still nestled in Zac's arms. "No way Pitt, now I'm all fired up! Let's get even stronger! What do you think? If I'm stronger I'll never lose, so you'll never have to see me like that again. Sound good to you?" "Yeah!" Pitt shouted. "Let's go kick some ass!" They shouted together, their resolve stronger than before. At that, they made it to the ledge and vaulted the railing, falling some three stories down to the ground. Zac tilted his body forward so he was diving headfirst, placing his hands before him, Pitt holding onto his shoulders. Zac cast a softening sand spell when he hit the ground, it was like diving into a giant cushion. The sand absorbed their impact and they barely felt anything at all. Standing up and dusting himself off, Zac cast a hardening spell and returned the Earth to its original state.

"Hey Pitt, which way is the closest way to the practice field where Kira is?" Zac asked.

"Heck if I know, let's go right!" Pitt replied stupidly.

"Good enough, if we run around the whole campus we're bound to get there eventually!" Zac suggested.

"Yeah! Directions are for the weak!" Pitt exclaimed. The idiot duo continued like this until they found Kira and the rest of the class.

"Oi!!! Ms. Kira! Sorry we're late, we just got out of detention. Can we still practice? What are you guys doing now?" Zac asked, trying not to startle Kira or make her angry. He remembered his conversation with Robert about how touchy she was. Then Pitt spoke. "Yeah! We just got done fighting Robert and now we want some more punishment! Woo!" Pitt screamed like a fratboy. Zac slapped his hand to his face.

"You know she's his partner right?" Zac asked, leading Pitt.

"So?" Pitt replied, clueless.

"So you think she might take exception to us fighting her master?" Zac asked, finally making his point.

"Oh... right... Sorry Ms. Kira!!" Pitt yelled.

Robert just nodded and chuckled slightly at Zac’s new resolution. It reminded him of Lilly’s, but she was more on a world domination scale. “You should probably go down there with Zac for regular training. Kira, the cranky giant cat who just happens to be my demon, should be able to help you out and place you in a proper training group. We have a mission in 6 days and if Kira thinks you aren’t ready, then you will not accompany us on this mission. I would recommend that you follow Zac … but take a safer way.” Robert waved to the young Alan and his demon before turning to Luke and Lilly. “The stakes just got a whole lot higher you two, now finish this up Luke. Miss Bedford needs to accompany her classmates in training, whether she is tired or not.” Robert was truly fascinated by the young girl and her abilities as a shadow mage. In truth, he himself hadn’t seen many and he had seen a lot of wizards. He had maybe seen 5 or 6 shadow mages in his life. They all seemed like … well … like they had a screw loose. They were generally used as the Council’s dogs … murderers, assassins, all the people who did the dirty work. The only way the Council would allow him to teach her further would be if he swore to turn her in as soon as she graduated. If she disappeared before then, then she would have a large bounty on her head. If he wanted to keep his students safe, no matter how annoying she was, he had to watch her and try his hardest to protect her.

{Just a little side note, but –hint ^^^^^hint- things are going to start getting to where Robert acts closer to Lilly, for her protection. Noooo love connection whatsoever. ~Roland and Nasia~}

Kira eye twitched furiously as the voices of more children seemed to appear.

"Oi!!! Ms. Kira! Sorry we're late, we just got out of detention. Can we still practice? What are you guys doing now?" Zac asked.

"Yeah! We just got done fighting Robert and now we want some more punishment! Woo!" Pitt screamed like a fratboy. Zac slapped his hand to his face.

"You know she's his partner right?" Zac asked, leading Pitt.

"So?" Pitt replied, clueless.

"So you think she might take exception to us fighting her master?" Zac asked, finally making his point.

"Oh... right... Sorry Ms. Kira!!" Pitt yelled.

Kira let out a long, very audible sigh. “Robert … you dumbass.” She turned to face them completely. “You realize if Robert would have harmed you in the process of battle, both him and I would have been severely punished for it. And I would rather not suffer for his mistake. Now, since you were late and I am handling the physical portion of this, you will run 10 laps around this court yard (which is about 2 miles all together) without breaks. If I see you even begin to slow down, I will add more and I won’t hesitate to keep you here all night. After that, you will do 30 push-ups, 35 sit-ups, and 200 jumping jacks. Your muscles will burn because that is what this course was designed for. Only the toughest of the tough can be accepted as true mages. It is nearly impossible to do this without dying the first few weeks, but you should get the hang of it if you just got done battling Robert and actually lived. Now, get started. I have more children to yell at for slowing me down.”

Kira let out a long, very audible sigh. “Robert … you dumbass.” She turned to face them completely. “You realize if Robert would have harmed you in the process of battle, both him and I would have been severely punished for it. And I would rather not suffer for his mistake. Now, since you were late and I am handling the physical portion of this, you will run 10 laps around this court yard (which is about 2 miles all together) without breaks. If I see you even begin to slow down, I will add more and I won’t hesitate to keep you here all night. After that, you will do 30 push-ups, 35 sit-ups, and 200 jumping jacks. Your muscles will burn because that is what this course was designed for. Only the toughest of the tough can be accepted as true mages. It is nearly impossible to do this without dying the first few weeks, but you should get the hang of it if you just got done battling Robert and actually lived. Now, get started. I have more children to yell at for slowing me down.”

Zac's mouth hung open slightly. He swallowed hard. That was a lot of work out right after a duel, but Zac wasn't the kind to be deterred by hard work.

"Yes ma'am, we're all over it!" Zac said with gusto. "Yosh!" Pitt exclaimed. At that, they started running. They finished their two miles after about 16 minutes and got to work on their push ups. That's when Zac hit his wall.

The duel from earlier and all that running made him tired. Plus, they still hadn't eaten, and Zac's stomach was growling loudly. His arms burnt and his body felt a hundred pounds heavier. "This is so I can beat Rob. I can't afford to take it easy here." Zac said to himself. He had to keep motivating himself or else he'd never get that strong. For a moment he almost stopped. He experienced the hardest push-up he'd ever done at number 19. That moment, image of Pitt's crying face surfaced in his mind. He did another, for Pitt. Every time he did a push up, he thought of Pitt's crying face. 20. He actually started to speed up. 21, 22. "Never again..." he whispered to himself. 23, 24, 25, 26. "Never again." He said, this time a little louder. 27, 28, 29, 30. "I need you to cheer for me Pitt." Zac said, finishing his push ups and moving on to the sit-ups, still gaining speed. "Why?" she asked. Though she never needed an excuse to do so before, something was different. There was that look in his eyes. The look he had when he promised they'd be family. "I need you to cheer for me so I never give up again. So I always keep going no matter what. I need you to push me harder. So I can be strong enough to never see you cry again!" Zac finished. Pitt instantly teared up. She only nodded. She didn't know what to say. Zac was pushing himself this hard... going without lunch... for her? "Ok," she agreed tearfully. She wiped the tears from her eyes and started cheering. "Come on Zac! Harder! Faster! Go! Go! Go! Let's keep getting stronger together!" She started doing the sit-ups with him, joining him just as he hit 15, cheering all the while. "Come on Zac! Faster!" Pitt smiled wide, tears streaming down her face. After 5 minutes, Zac finally finished his sit ups and jumping jacks and laid in the grass. His chest was heaving, and his muscles were burning, but it felt good. He rolled over and looked at Pitt, she was even sweating from the hard work. "Good job Pitt," Zac said. "I can feel us getting stronger. Can you?" Yeah," she answered. "We're gonna be the strongest!" She said, raising her fist into the air. Zac labored to get up, finally besting gravity. He picked up Pitt and nestled her in the crook of his arm, as if carrying a baby, she'd fallen asleep. "We're all done Ms. Kira. Anything else you need us to do?"

"Just sit for now. Its not often, but I feel bad for makng you work so hard after dueling Robert. I know that takes a lot out of a person, especially with someone like him someone like you." Kira paused and looked at the edge of the roof, barely catching a glimps of Robert as he walked by. He was obviously watching the battle go down. "Tsk. From what I heard, that young girl should be getting more than a battle with Luke. Disrespectful kids like that need something more ... punishing if you ask me." Kira growled to herself as she crawled undrr the shade to watch the other children try and accomplish what Zac seemed to have done in no time.

Welcome to the Henry Jefferson Magical Arts Club, though we really are more of a class than anything, but the school restricted us to club time and whatever else we could arrange with the students. You just happened to walk into detention, which as you can see, is a little rough, so you might want to do your best to avoid it.” "Nice to meet you Mr. Beckenfield," Al greeted, "I would've been here yesterday but I was out sick with the bug going around school." He apologized. It was terrible as well being bed-ridden for the day, he just hoped the teacher would accept the excuse.

"Anywho, Lilly over there is a Shadow mage and Luke is a Light mage." Zac said, answering some of Alan's questions. "Good mages too, both of them. If that's all, I'm gonna go see if Kira will let me join, see you guys later!" Zac yelled over his shoulder. He was already running towards the ledge of the school building that faced the back lot of the school, where no body was. "Zac?... Don't you think we should slow down? Maybe take it easy?" Pitt asked nervously, still nestled in Zac's arms. "No way Pitt, now I'm all fired up! Let's get even stronger! What do you think? If I'm stronger I'll never lose, so you'll never have to see me like that again. Sound good to you?" "Yeah!"[b] Pitt shouted. "Let's go kick some ass!" They shouted together, their resolve stronger than before. At that, they made it to the ledge and vaulted the railing, falling some three stories down to the ground.

Al ran over to the side to make sure Zac was okay, but turns out he made a pit of sand at the bottom and dived into it, "Note to self, learn spell" he mumbled to himself. “You should probably go down there with Zac for regular training. Kira, the cranky giant cat who just happens to be my demon, should be able to help you out and place you in a proper training group. We have a mission in 6 days and if Kira thinks you aren't ready, then you will not accompany us on this mission. I would recommend that you follow Zac … but take a safer way.”

"Ok, then, I'll see you tomorrow then." Al said, he jumped the railing, too but provided a cushion of air so that he would more float down than actually fall, that's safer than sand-diving, right? Eventually, he caught up with Zac and Pitt and listened to what Kira told them to do for physical training:

"Now, since you were late and I am handling the physical portion of this, you will run 10 laps around this court yard (which is about 2 miles all together) without breaks. If I see you even begin to slow down, I will add more and I won’t hesitate to keep you here all night. After that, you will do 30 push-ups, 35 sit-ups, and 200 jumping jacks. Your muscles will burn because that is what this course was designed for. Only the toughest of the tough can be accepted as true mages. It is nearly impossible to do this without dying the first few weeks, but you should get the hang of it if you just got done battling Robert and actually lived. Now, get started. I have more children to yell at for slowing me down.”

That much, you've got to be kidding me, I'm not gonna feel my arms for a week after this. Nonetheless, he began his activities as he was told to. His run was about 4 minutes longer than Zac's and he was already nearly out of breath. He thought about cheating and using air to aid with the push-ups, but quickly thought against it when he took a look over in Kira's direction, however, he did help with the air flow to his lungs. The push ups were long and agonizing, but he longed to keep up with Zac and was done as Zac was just starting his sit ups. The jumping jacks offered a reprieve as the robotic motions allowed for Al's mind to wander and before he realized it, he was done. Kira had dismissed the other student, but did that mean he was done as well? He cautiously assumed yes and took a seat on the grass. Remaining silent until he could fully catch his breath.

"Just sit for now. Its not often, but I feel bad for making you work so hard after dueling Robert. I know that takes a lot out of a person, especially with someone like him fighting someone like you." Kira paused and looked at the edge of the roof, barely catching a glimpse of Robert as he walked by. He was obviously watching the battle go down. "Tsk. From what I heard, that young girl should be getting more than a battle with Luke. Disrespectful kids like that need something more ... punishing if you ask me." Kira growled to herself.

"Wait a minute..." Zac said, a sudden realization dawning on him and opening the backpack he'd set down by the track course before running and training. Zac rummaged through it for a moment, Pitt looking on anxiously. "Pitt!" Zac exclaimed, holding a small cooler into the air. "WE CAN EAT LUNCH!!!"

"AHHHH!!! YESS!" Pitt squealed in victory. "I'm so hungry Zac! Let's eat it now!" "Yeah, yeah. Come sit over by me in the grass." Zac patted the ground next to himself, a good ways away from Ms. Kira and the other students. Pitt flew over next to him and looked on with awe as they opened their over stuffed lunchbox. Zac pulled out everything that was inside and the spread was glorious. "Now?" Pitt asked hungrily, drool flooding from her mouth. "Now," Zac obliged. Signalling that the feast was about to begin, and feast they did. They devoured all eight sandwiches, five apples, four thermoses of juice, three bags of chips, seven carrots, and a single massive brownie. "Ahhh..." The pair sighed with relief. "That's so much better..." the pair patted their over full tummies with satisfaction. Not a crumb was left. Finally getting up, Zac approached Kira, there was something on his mind.

"Umm... excuse me, Ms. Kira, I was wondering if, next time, you could push me harder. I feel kinda bad for saying this, but I'm aiming to be even better than your master. I know it's a big statement, but I'll make it happen with the strength of my beliefs and the support of my partner." Zac said, smiling at Pitt. "Not now, not for a while, but eventually. Eventually I'll beat him. That's my new goal." Zac said. His voice never wavered. "Yosh! Datte-bayo!" Pitt exclaimed in agreement. "As for Lilly, who Luke is fighting, she'll have plenty of punishment. Luke is three years older than her. He could cast circles around her. Easily. I personally don't like it, but she's strong. She'll be ok." Zac said. "She has to..." Zac whispered to himself. "Anyhow, I don't mean to be rude, but I am very tired. I did just battle with an F class mage AND do all your training. If it's ok with you, I'd like a nap. Do you mind if I leave, just for now?" Zac asked, his eyes were closing and he yawned loudly. He stumbled in place, standing still but almost falling over. His fatigue had finally caught up with him, exacerbated by his now over full stomach. Pitt yawned too and lazily floated up to her favorite spot on Zac's head, instantly falling asleep when she touched down in his soft, golden locks.