Making his way through the crowd of cheering students, Sean goes to retrieve his suitcase of money, giving thank-yous and acknowledgment the whole way while the student and professional officers hurried away to tend to Tony. As he picks it up, he notices a familiar orange suit near him. He looks up to the chilling stare of Dante.
At first, Sean fears what Dante would say to him, but is surprised when the intimidating intermediate shows a little smile and says, “Nice fight. Keep that up, and you may just match me.” Sean’s surprise grows when Dante turns to Matt and tells him, “You and your roommates are becoming a special bunch of students, so expect others who may want to use you, for good or bad. I’ll be one of those with the good intentions.” He then slips away with the rest of the leaving crowd.
After he leaves, Sean whips back to Matt and asks, “And what was that about? You turned my worst nightmare into your loyal comrade!?”
“…Oh yeah, we didn’t tell him yet!” Matt reminds Rose. When she agrees, the three head back for their cabin with Matt telling Sean while Rose carries the suitcase, “Okay, this happened back on the third day of school…”
***
Later that night, in a dark-lit room, Cain paces back-and-forth near a long table. Mumbling things to himself, he stops his pacing and lifts his wide-eyed gaze to three individuals entering the room, stopping at the other end of the table. The guests consist of two men and a woman around his age, their appearances obscured by the bleakness of the room.
“You may know why I called you here,” begins Cain, motioning for them to sit down. The three take their seats as he goes to his own on the far side of the table. “That freshman, Matt Calamos, is becoming a threat to our society. Not only has he openly declared he’s a Dark Warrior, but he dares to tell those who are obviously above him that he will not bend to our will. Now, how shall we deal with him?”
The only answer is cold stares from the three until one of the men says, “Is this really such an issue? I mean, he may have beaten you because you greatly underestimated him, but there are other strong students around here who could…”
“It’s not just the fact he’s strong, Buster,” remarks Cain. “He actually voiced our system of supremacy an evil, and if he gets more people in the same mind set, generations of hard work and organization will be ruined. My spies say that not only has Lyn got him under her wing, but Dante Goros has already made contact with him, so it’s only a matter of time.”
“Yes, and not to mention the fact that, indeed, he is a Dark Warrior,” speaks up the second man. “The community so far has been uneasy about his presence, just because of rumors, but when the word gets out that he really is one there’s sure to be some kind of mass panic around here.”
“A good point, James,” agrees Cain before he thumps the table with his fist. “Which is why we need to put him back in his place as soon as possible!”
“I really don’t see the problem here, Cain,” interjects the woman. “My sources say he was only talking about himself when it came to defying a superior. Why exaggerate his words and thereby force him into representing the rest of the students, as well?”
“Oh, but don’t you see, Cynthia? Even if he’s not thinking about it now, he WILL take up that idea, soon!” Stabbing his fingers about in the air, he tries to explain with an upset look on his face, “If he hangs out with that Lyn and her skanks long enough, then they’ll poison him with the idea of trying to overthrow our organized rule. He would become their ultimate weapon, striking fear into our own people or other students who dare to face him! Or even Dante, I always knew he’d be trouble sooner-or-later, with his background in royalty, he has a way with words, and he could easily get that empty-headed fool thinking that he should bring about chaos and havoc all over the college, just to make things easier for him to take over!”
Thumping the table hard one more time, Cain shouts, “Don’t you all understand!? It’s about taking care of the threat, before he’s the threat! We must snuff out the single candle of ignorance, before it becomes a wildfire of rebellion!!”
There is a moment of uneasy silence after Cain’s ranting outburst before James brings up, “Another problem with all this is what’s happening to those most near him. His roommates, Rose Alamence and Sean Wyseinburg, are also being recognized as ‘special’ students. The creepy thing is how Sean, the failed freshman, was harmless days ago, but tonight he just trashed one of your best henchmen.”
“Well, what’s the problem with that?” objects Buster. “It’s about time he figured out his morph’s powers. Think about it, a guy with an unnatural thing for luck at gambling, and women, able to back himself up with his battle morph? We could use a guy like that in our employment, at the casino, to…”
Cain snaps at him, “How easily you forget that he’s also Matt’s roommate!!” Slamming the table in rising fury, he exclaims, “Anything that becomes of that pestilent boy will spread to his own roommates, I guarantee it! That’s why Sean suddenly growing a backbone is a bad thing, not a good thing! Fire Spirit burn you, don’t you even think about these things, you block-headed brute!?”
While Buster’s body tenses at the insult Cain threw at him, Cynthia quickly speaks up, “Do you think they may have a stash of illegal drugs? That could easily explain the rapid growth of their strength and skill. Perhaps Matt’s abilities are merely from the drugs, and now Sean and Rose are gaining them, as well.”
Cain considers the idea, and says, “That is a possibility. Yes, I like that theory.” Standing up to pace the floor behind his chair, he rambles on, “If we could have all three of them bagged for illegal drug possessions, yes, that would be great, oh yes, that would demolish their figures! And yet, no, it’s not enough, we can’t rely on authorities going easy on them, because they’re freshmen, no, we need something, something more certain, of their, demise…”
After the three of them exchange impatient glances, James asks, “What do you have in mind, Cain?”
He stops his pacing and addresses the three of them, a crazy look in his eyes. “Let me tell all of you here something. Think hard about this situation. Yes, I’m the only target of Matt’s wrath right now, but what will happen next if he does end my reign? What if his beliefs inspire more rebellion against your companies? Like I said before, this isn’t just a threat to my organization, but the whole ideals that have served as pillars to our student society are in jeopardy. That is why I have brought you here for discussion. We must join forces to stop Matt and his growing cult, before we ourselves are ruined!”
The other boss students glance at each other in silent communication, confirming that Cain was losing his mind, but they did have to worry about any potential threat to their organizations. Buster asks, “So, what’s your plan? How are we going to stop him. Take him down in an all-out battle together?”
Cain begins fidgeting and cackling. “Oh no, that would only make things worse. If all of us ganged up on him, it would only prove how tyrannical we are and add fuel to his fire. However, ah, yes, hehe, I’m already figuring it out, yes, yes, that’s good. They’ll fall right into that, haha! Yes, yes, I know how we can bring Matt and his friends to the ground, with their faces shoved into the dirt by our feet, without even using our morphs. Hehe, yes, if this plan is carried out perfectly, no one will ever dare object to our rule again, I swear it!”
Chapter 4
Flirting and Fury
***
The weekend passes by, and the next week of classes begins. A typical day of studies carries itself out, and Matt finds himself walking down the empty halls of the college, heading for Lyn’s study hall.
Throughout the day, he has noticed the fear and scorn of fellow students around him reach new levels. Groups of them upon seeing him would either gasp and move away or mutter curses or obscenities under their breath while he passed by. Expecting that since he announced he was a Dark Warrior, the only thing that worries him is whether any of the meaner-acting students may get ideas about ganging up
on and beating down on him. That is one of the reasons he was going to visit Lyn and her friends again, to ask for their help in watching his back around campus. The other reason was he had a lot of alchemy homework assigned to him, and was willing for aid in completing it.
As he comes to the door, Matt knocks on it a few times before a familiar female voice says, “Come in.” He opens the door and, to his surprise, the study room is empty. The only person there, to his greater surprise and interest, is Amelia, sitting on the couch reading from a magazine. Looking up to see him enter, she smiles, sets the magazine aside, stands, and walks over to him, saying, “Welcome back to the study hall, Matt. Did you need help with homework or something?”
“Uh, yeah, I had a bunch of alchemy homework here, and…” Unable to contain his curiosity, he asks, “Where are Lyn and the others?”
“Oh, they’re outside on campus, supporting your cause.” When Matt raises an eye brow, she explains, “See, after your incident with Cain at the casino, Lyn was sure he, and other jerks around here, would try to catch you by surprise and trample all over you. So, she and the others are going around warning everyone that whoever messes with you messes with us as well. In the meantime, she’s left me here in the study hall, trusting in me to help anyone who comes in with assignments to be done.”
“Ah, I see. That’s really kind of Lyn, to go and do that before I could ask her to.”
“Well, Lyn is a kind person. It’s only in her nature.” The two of them stand for a brief, awkward moment before she gestures to the table and suggests, “So, shall we see about that homework?”
“Uh, right, of course!” He and Amelia head over to the table and sit down in chairs next to each other, and he fishes around in his book bag to pull out a textbook, notebook, and pen. Keeping the notebook and pen, he hands the textbook to Amelia and asks, “Could you read out loud from the pages I need to go over, while I jot down notes summarizing them?”
“I would be happy to, Matt.” Taking the book from him, she opens it up and flips through the thick pages. “Where do we start?”
“Um, hang on here. Page 186.”
“Alright.” As she makes her way to the designated page, she says, “May I ask you, Matt, how it felt crushing Cain like you did in the pit over the weekend?”
“Well, I don’t know, I may have been a little harsh and reckless in what I said, but I guess it did feel good, humiliating a boss student like that.”
“Hah, I would say so!” Amelia arrives on the page, and asks, “Shall I start, Matt?”
“Um, yes. I’m ready.”
“Okay, then.” While Matt scribbles down notes, she reads out loud from the textbook. “One of the basics of alchemy transmutation, the ability to change one substance into another, is having the knowledge of the kind and amount of particles in the object one wishes to transmute. One measures how many particles are in an object by running energy through it, feeling the particles ripple and rattle as the energy waves move past them. The specific element or compound of the particles can also be identified by how the particles react to the energy, whether they cool, heat, ripple fast or slow, tickle, sting, etc. Therefore, once one knows enough identities of the elements or compounds, as well as the number of particles in the specific object, the alchemist can transmute the object, such as a lump of granite, into a…”
***
“Traitorous bitch!” The man in a brown suit spits at Lyn as they confront each other, each of them leading a group of students, Lyn’s seven cohorts behind her and six other men behind him, in an open field near the main college building. “How dare you protect that monster from the retribution he deserves? You know, as well as we know, that he’s a Dark Warrior, and that has to make him a terrorist. And a terrorist attending college can’t be a good thing!”
While the man is red in the face, Lyn is pale and calm as she states, “Someone being a Dark Warrior does not prove that he is also a Shadow Core terrorist. The only thing you’ve got against him is the fact he put Cain in his place over the weekend, and he’s sent cronies like you to unfairly ambush and assault him. But as long as Matt is with us, you’re going to have to go through us before you can get to him.”
“You, you, you would defend that villain when he’s clearly a threat to this entire community!? In case your feeble little mind hasn’t notice, but the other students are on the verge of mass panic with him still roaming the halls beside them! Would you let him cause the whole community to erupt into chaos by his mere presence?”
“I would let him, because he won’t. As long as he does nothing to them, they will soon tolerate his presence and not mind him anymore. If anything, they’ll be afraid to fight him, only, and that’s fine.”
“Grr, well, Cain can’t afford to take that chance! For the sake of the community’s stability, he must be put down.” The man then morphs, appearing in thick, brown armor with a large, double-bladed ax in his hands and helmet on his head. “And if you stay in our way, then we’ll put you down, first!”
Shrugging at the challenge, Lyn says, “Very well, then. If you want to put yourself in the infirmary, so be it. However, why don’t we try to keep this a civil confrontation, without having it erupt into chaos like you’re so afraid of. Our best fighters here from each side, one-on-one, and the loser’s side stands down and leaves. Sound reasonable to you?”
“Uh, fine, we’ll do it that way! I will represent my side. Which one of you will I get to slaughter?”
Smirking, Lyn replies, “If you’re asking about who you’re going to fight, that would be me, of course.” Taking a few steps back, while her associates and the Ax Warrior’s partners back off further, she enters a flash of white, reappearing as a large Wolf. Her fur is snow white with a silvery blue tinge at some points, and her icy pale eyes have deepened in color, sapphires that gleam at her opponent as she stares him down.
The Ax Warrior shouts as he runs at her, his massive weapon raised to sweep down through her. Instead of the blade colliding with her, Lyn leaps over the ax and past him, her front, right paw smacking his helmet and knocking him off-balance before she slams her shoulder into him from behind, sending him face-first to the ground with faint glows of green damage to his armor.
Growling in anger from being outmaneuvered, he gets back up and swings his blade around at her, but she again leaps over it, tackles him, her paws bruising his shoulders as she pinned him to the ground, and hops off him before striding off a short distance away, letting him back up for more attempts at hitting her.
***
“…When transmuting an object from one substance to another, the alchemist should be calm and focused, without any distractions to take away from his concentration. This insures that during the transmutation, he will not create too many of or the wrong kind of particles, as well as insuring he does not waste energy in the transmutation process.”
Scribbling down notes as she read from the book, Matt pauses and sits back in his chair, saying with a sigh, “Okay, let’s take a break from that. My hand’s starting to cramp.”
“Alright, no problem.” Amelia sets the book down on the table, observing how much he has written as notes. “My, that is a lot of notes. Some of it looks word-for-word from the textbook. Are you sure you need all of that information?”
“Eh, I would assume so. I would rather have more information than I need, rather than coming up short on some topic or detail.”
“Ah, that makes sense. Better to be safe, than sorry.”
Matt nods before the two sit there in an awkward silence until he clears his throat. “Uh, Amelia, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Matt, you can ask me anything. What is it?”
“Well, um, I’ve just heard a rumor about you, and I, I don’t know whether to believe it or not. I apologize if it will upset you, with me bringing it up, but are you, oh, what was the word, promiscuous?”
Not responding for a moment, looking back at Matt to make sure he is serious, Amelia sighs while leanin
g back in her chair before replying, “Oh, I suppose that rumor has some truth to it, but only to an extent. And no, it doesn’t upset me, you bringing it up.”
Slightly shocked about how open she is about it, Matt says, “Ah, okay. But, what do you mean?”
“Well, Matt, yes, I do have a reputation of sleeping around with other people on campus. However, I’m not doing it with every random guy I meet. I believe that only certain men, with a well-intending character or rarely-alluring attraction, deserve to share pleasure with me. So, it’s not like I’m carelessly giving myself out to others. It’s only to those who I respect or am greatly interested in. Does that clear things up?”
“Uh, yeah, sure. I think.” Suddenly becoming nervous, he then says, “Um, Amelia, if that’s the case, there was, um, something else I wanted to ask you.”
“You want to sleep with me, too?”
“Oh no, no, of course not! Er, I mean, ugh, it’s complicated!” Running his hands through his hair in exasperation, Matt explains, “You see, before coming to this college, I lived my whole life in rural isolation, away from many people, and I haven’t gotten to know women, uh, intimately. No, I mean, I don’t know how to have a relationship with them. I’m so intimidated of them, shy of them, that I don’t know how to approach them, to get closer to them, you know? And because of that, I’ve never satisfied desires to see the, um, physical features of them.”
Matt turns to face her directly, a shameful look on his face. “So, what I’m asking is, could you ‘educate’ me about a woman’s anatomy, so that I won’t have a desire to seek it from women close to me, like my roommate, Rose? I’ve noticed how open you’ve been about this difficult subject, and I think you’re the only woman I know who won’t mind doing it.” Then groaning, he looks away from her. “Oh, what am I saying. I’m sorry, Amelia, I have no right to be asking you that, I…”
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