“Well,” Chris stepped toward the man. He was shorter than Chris was expecting, but not much shorter. “From what I can tell it's just damage to the armor and to the uh…”
“Wrong.”
“What?”
“It’s worse,” the mechanic pulled out a small flashlight and shined it into the exhaust.
“Worse how?” Chris asked as he looked inside. There were bullet holes everywhere inside one of the tubes. It looked as if one bullet ricocheted over and over inside, but the holes above and below the tube suggested that they had been shot from above and the shots cut through.
“That ain't’ good,” the man cursed under his breath. “And if that is damaged-- I’m glad I got a spare engine.”
“By the way, what is your--” Chris started.
“Hourev,” he told Chris.
“Well I’m--”
“Christopher Spellcrafter.”
“You know my name?” Chris raised his eyebrow. The man ignored this question.
“Hand me that big wrench,” the man pointed at a collection of wrenches back on his workbench. There were two wrenches that appeared to be the largest, so Chris grabbed both just in case. He did not need to anger this man anymore. He had an extremely bad temper already. Why would he risk doing anything to push him further? The man turned his head back and shook his head, “I said the big one,” he took both. “But I do need that one too.”
“You really think it can be fixed?” Chris asked.
“Hah,” he cackled as he began to disassemble part of the plane. “Boy, I could fix it on my own. But not only is this your punishment, but you’d be better off knowing how the Spark works.”
“I don’t fly it--”
“Don’t matter!” he stopped what he was doing and turned suddenly. “It’s important that you do so this doesn’t happen again. It’ll serve you better and you can take care of it.”
“I don’t think--”
“Pft,” Hourev turned back to the plane and ignored what Chris had to say.
A few hours went by as they helped Hourev disassemble their plane. He briefly explained all of the different components to them as he worked. He mostly directed these explanations to Chris, and had him assist more than the rest. He worked Chris the hardest and made sure he knew, and before he could replace a part Hourev would ask him what its purpose was. If he did not know, he could not put it there until he could answer. I can’t remember all of this.
Ian carried in the heavy engine and the old man set to work on installing it. This engine was entirely new and just ordered, and it was the newest model. It seemed fitting for the Spark. He added in his own modifications to the engine that he had been working on as well. He never stopped working or even took a moment to think about his next action.
Eventually, they once again had the Spark in all its glory. Megan repainted the armor with Ian, and Chris and Penny went behind them to make sure they did not miss any spots. The plane was red with yellow symbols on the wings that would represent their call sign, ‘Delta.’ The interior was black with a completely new and updated functionality. cockpit glass that could display images, help track targets, and allow easier communication.
“Is this the color you’re going with?” the old man questioned. Chris and Penny agreed. Hourev clapped his hands together and passed out water. “Alright…now we just need to do a few more things.”
“There’s more?” Ian held his face in his hand and made an annoyed sound.
“Just need to add the bullet resistant coating, heat shield, and update your A.I.”
“He sure can complain,” Ian thought aloud.
“You mean Cornelius?” the old man laughed under his breath. “Well he’s one of a kind, but he’s good. He’s just got a tempter. This next update will allow him to autopilot more efficiently and engage in combat when unmanned. He can even extract these two from the most dangerous situations.”
“No, I was talking about--”
Megan elbowed Ian in the lungs and smiled. Chris smiled back at her and shook his head. He always found their bickering to be funny, but he couldn’t help but wonder what their partnership was like. Each partnership appeared to be very different, even if only a little. He wondered about this as he continued his work on the Spark, and he would sneak glances at Penny while working. He was so distracted that he almost messed up while painting; much to the old mechanic’s displeasure.
“Alright. You’re done,” Hourev clapped his hands together.
“Don’t we need to check if it runs?” Penny asked.
“Hop in and try,” he paused. “Do. Not. Take. Off.”
Penny placed a ladder against the plane and climbed up. Chris followed behind her. The cockpit was completely outfitted. Comfortable black seats, new controls, light blue screens, and more weaponry on Chris’s side. He would now have control of a guided missile, secondary guns, target highlighting, and a few more features. The screens illuminated as the plane came to life. Penny smiled to herself and looked at Chris. “Well, we did it.”
“Yeah,” he smiled.
The AI Cornelius appeared on the center screen between them just below the engine readings. A smiley face appeared with the text ‘updating’ over it. The text faded and Cornelius began to speak. “I’ve gotten an update! Splendid!”
“I almost forgot about him, honestly,” Penny shrugged.
“Uh-huh,” Chris agreed.
“Not you two again!” Cornelius whined as a crying face appeared on screen. “Don’t do this to me, Hourev!” he begged.
“They’re your pilots. You’re to take care of them,” he declared.
“No! God why?!” he sobbed as his screen shut off abruptly.
“He’ll get used to you,” Hourev waved his hand, disregarding its pleas.
When the plane was finished, they were allowed to go. The four of them still had another punishment, but it would have to be the next day. It was late and they were all tired. Their second punishment was to go down to the village a few miles from the city. The headmaster’s instructions were very clear. They were to assist the villagers with whatever they needed for a whole two weeks. It was a long walk, and so they needed to rest up.
Chapter 21
Four they are
For the next two weeks Chris, Penny, Megan and Ian were to go down to the village and help out. It didn’t matter what they did, but they had to assist in some form or fashion. The walk was rather long. The path to the village lead to a long covered wooden bridge. The bridge was brown and red and was the only way to get across the lake quickly. On the other side of the bridge was a dirt path and a small hut that appeared to be meant for resting. It was kept in good condition, but they never really used it. The village was not far from that point, and so they continued on. The only time they stopped was the first time they came down. They had all been tired from working on the plane and wanted to take a short nap before continuing on.
The village wasn’t too much to marvel at. They had supplied most of the food that went to the city along with water. There were no magic users. Everyone in the village was powerless. They had some fighters, but no firearms. Most of the villagers were farmers and builders, and there was a fairly large number of children (much to Megan’s delight.) So naturally Megan tended to the children by playing with them and babysitting while the parents worked. At times she helped the farmers. At times Penny would help her, but she had her own job.
Chris and Ian would help the builders by moving heavy things like barrels of water and food. They would also help to thin the local wolf population. Penny accompanied them from time to time, but Chris would try to impress her by insisting he didn’t need help. They were much easier to deal with now and he was glad. However, they were moving out farther. The headmaster wanted them to clear out nearby wolf dens in the forest. It was a little cruel, but it had to be done so more people did not get hurt.
“On your left!” Ian called out to Chris. Chris quickly spun around and fired an ice shard int
o an airborne wolf and dodged under it as it crashed into the ground. Ian smashed his broadsword into three wolves and punched another in the face before cutting clean through it with one great swing.
“They keep coming,” Chris swung his sword once to clean it. “Where is that den?”
“We need to find it soon,” Ian groaned. “We’ve been at this for God knows how long…”
A wolf on Chris’s right began to howl and paw the ground. Suddenly, its fur caught fire as its eyes turned ruby red. It snarled and began to circle them. All of the other wolves did the same. “What the--?!” Chris pressed his back to Ian’s. Both of them readied their weapons once again and tensed up. Chris was ready for any attack to come his way at this point. He could not relax or let his guard down. Who knew when they would attack. He could not chance trying to attack just yet. There were too many. They would have to defend each other.
“Is this what happens what you enhance an animal with magic?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never seen this crap before.”
Penny came down from the sky, landing on top of one of the many hostiles. She flipped forward and landed beside Chris. The wind blew hard as their fur was extinguished. Megan was flying toward them on the head of a giant sunflower. The yellow petals were spinning rapidly, allowing her to move rapidly through the sky. Her hand outstretched again as the wind intensified around them; blowing away the wolves to give them breathing room.
“We thought you needed help,” Penny smiled at Chris.
“Nah,” Chris said, trying to play it cool. “We had this under control.”
“He’s not a very good liar,” Megan noted as she flew overhead, firing life energy down at the wolves. A few were killed by it instantly, but some shook it off.
“I’m a great liar!” Chris said he swung his sword at a wolf. It jumped back in response to avoid the hit.
“Then I can’t be friends with you,” Megan stopped flying around and hovered just above them. “I’ve got you covered.”
“Aww. You do care about me,” Ian replied as he countered a wolf by catching it by the maw and throwing it back.
He did not care that it bit his hand, and he did not appear to feel it. It healed almost instantly anyway. Since he was a tank, Chris figured this was normal for most.
“I don’t,” she rolled her eyes. “Chris, your left.”
Chris attempted to block, but he was a little too late. The creature bit into his arm and burned him as it caught fire once again. He screamed out in pain, and almost instantly caught Penny’s attention. Penny ignored all other wolves as she ran over and sliced clean through Chris’s attacker. She spared no time to spin back around and follow up the first attack with a second. It fell to the ground in the form of ash. Penny had seemed very intent on making it pay for that.
Megan held out her hand as a green beam of energy shot from her hand onto Chris’s arm and healed the wound and the burns. She then used yet another spell to increase his stamina slightly. Chris sprinted forward and cut down five wolves rapidly; darting from one to the other in seconds. It wore him out a little, but it went away quickly as Megan used yet another spell. She’s really good at that.
The last wolf fell with a loud thud. They all lowered their weapons and scanned for more, but it was finally clear. Megan deduced that this must have been their den due to the sheer quantity alone. It took them minutes for the four of them to finish them all off.
“Thanks for that, Penny,” Chris held up his hand.
“You don’t have to thank me,” Penny high fived him. “You’re my partner.”
“Still, thank you. That hurt…”
“Does it still hurt?” Megan asked as she leapt off of the sunflower, which turned into pollen as soon as she did. She descended slowly and landed gracefully near them.
“No, thanks.”
“Good. I thought I made a mistake there.”
“Perfectionist…” Ian shook his head. “Now you see why she drives me crazy.”
Megan walked over and pressed her finger hard into his chest, “At least I’m organized and get things done efficiently! I think it’s best to be a perfectionist than to be a bumbling--”
“Guys,” Chris said simply.
“They argue like this all the time,” Penny assured. “You get used to it.”
“Still.”
They made their way back to the village and reported their successful subjugation. The wolves had been given magical abilities, but it was an extremely painful process. They could not control what was happening to them, and it was not their fault. According to the villagers, the wolves used to not pay them much attention, and some would come to the village for food until recently. Now they were only interested in harm. The way they acted when they fought, Chris would tell they were in a great deal of pain. At the very least, they were put out their misery. They could not perceive what was going on with them.
When they returned back to the city, they were exhausted, but they couldn’t relax just yet. The headmaster had called them to his office. After cleaning up, they headed straight there. Megan was not with them, because she had gone on ahead without them.
Chris changed into a white shirt, a black and blue jacket, jeans, and white shoes. Penny wore the outfit that she wore when he had first met her. Ian simply wore his usual attire with his hood drawn back. Once all three of them met up they headed to the administration building. Megan was waiting there for them on the steps playing with a daisy. She was twirling it around in her fingertips slowly, admiring it.
Megan had her hair in a French braid. She wore a green shirt with a thick black line going down the center, a green and black jacket, green gloves, and a green skirt. Black stockings, and green boots with a slight incline in the back. The undersides of these shoes were black. Megan also wore a green wizard hat.
Ian gawked at her for a moment before coming back to his senses. This was merely her outfit from when Chris first met her-- or at least it appeared to be. It was a different color and more accurately represented her school of magic. Chris wondered why she only just now decided to wear her school colors. It seemed like the thing all students did, and yet she had not previously done this.
“You’re staring, Ian,” Megan continued to admire her flower. She glanced up at all three of them. “You’re all staring actually. What?”
“I’ve just never seen you wear this color,” Chris told her.
“Eh.” Ian shrugged.
“You do look nice though,” Penny complimented.
“Well thank you, Penny,” she said kindly. “And Chris, it’s a long story. It had to do with me training under the headmaster. I didn’t have the best past.”
“Uh-huh?” Chris nodded, trying to understand.
“It represented purity. I did some...messed up things at one point,” she admitted with a sigh. “I’ll tell you what, since you’re another earthling I’ll tell you later. But you have to tell me about how you got here!”
“Deal,” Chris extended his hand and helped her to her feet. “I’m looking forward to it.”
They entered the headmaster’s office and waited for him to finish speaking to Autumn. After Autumn left he began to address them.
“I would like to make you four into a squad,” he told them. “I think it’s about time. Considering that you will be serving under General Nicholas soon, I do believe I should. It’s a bit earlier than most, but even so it is necessary.”
“Yes sir,” Megan nodded. “I remember you telling me about this.”
“You knew?” Ian questioned. “And didn’t tell us?”
“I knew, but couldn’t tell you,” she corrected. “Why else would he have us help them with their plane? Helping them with the village...He wanted us to get used to each other.”
“She’s right,” he extended his hand toward them before intertwining his fingers and staring at them intently. “She was the only one of you to know. I was looking for a squad to place her.”
“Then why d
idn’t I know?” Ian seemed really confused.
“You two are still learning to get along,” he sighed slightly. “I just know it would have been mess someway--somehow if I told you both,” he continued on. “I wanted to find another partner group that synchronized with yours. In truth, not many people can keep up with you Ian, but it makes sense.”
The headmaster sat forward in his chair, “An extremely strong, active and self-confident partner pairs well with an intelligent, planning, insecure partner. Strength and wisdom don’t always agree, but they make a fine team.”
“What about us?” Penny stepped forward, taking Chris’s hand and bringing him with her.
The headmaster turned toward them and smiled his warm smile, “An extremely protective and heroic partner who is good at everything, but excels at nothing. Positivity, but uncertainty.” Me? Chris thought. That does sound like me.
Now he addressed Penny, “A veteran who would love more than to protect others as she learns who she is. So many questions about simple things, and yet a knowledge of all others,” he glanced at Chris for a moment. “And it seems complete trust for her new partner. And something more between them that is developing.”
They both looked at each other. They were extremely confused and unsure of what he could mean. Chris obviously had feelings for Penny, but he did not believe she returned them at all. In fact, she seemed utterly clueless about his feelings or romance. Even so, knowing that she trusted him was enough for now. She was definitely his closest friend here. Penny was his best friend. Perhaps that is what he meant.
“Harmony,” he raised right hand toward Chris and Penny. “And discord,” he now raised his left hand to Megan and Ian. Headmaster Brood then brought his hands together. “A perfect team. Despite what you may think, it still makes a balance. But even so, there must be a leader.”
All four looked at each other for a moment. Who would be the leader? Chris wasn’t really sure, but he figured Megan would be most qualified. She seemed extremely smart and the most knowledgeable. On the other hand, Penny knew so much about the Empire. She was even a Sorcerer from the Shadow Realm, and in most cases, she is calm and collective. It would make sense for it to be one of those two.
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