How anyone managed to fit a desk in the room through that skinny rectangle one called a door, was beyond him. Thoughts drifted from rainbows to sugar cookies, sifted through his sludge of a brain, as Alex recalled the classroom events from the afternoon.
Sitting up suddenly, he looked down at his hands. He felt he should've done more...got more involved; perhaps he should have decomposed the whole of the table instead of its edge. How ironic. While defying authority was in his nature, he’d cowered and hid in the face of mass scrutiny.
It was all Mrs. Quill's fault, the sexist pig. She’d allowed herself to be egged on by Melissa. She fed into it. And she called herself an adult?
All adults were the same as they were yesterday, reflections of their past personalities, children in disguise. Why'd he have to sit up in the front? She'd never given him a reason and he'd never asked. In denial of the partial blame, he trudged on, forever right, in his mind and his alone.
"What type of excuse is that? Being late my ass, I was in the classroom,” he thought aloud, clenching his fists as he stared at the wall ahead. "Bet it was because I'm an oddity."
With the equality or lack thereof in the school, it was reasonable but Melissa might've also been a cause and leading factor. Separate the talkers and teach in peace. Mrs. Quill got her wish only when security came for Melissa. She was raging like a banshee, and they intercepted her before she had the chance to break in the door.
Hormones were at an all-time high, and with the semester's end imminent. The tournament loomed around the corner, and tension neared its peak.
Oh, that’s right... Reaching in his pocket; he pulled out Melissa's bit of folded paper. Opening it, he read contents and smiled.
"Give her what for. Typical Melissa,” Alex snapped his head to the door. "What was that?"
Standing slowly, Alex, crumpled the paper and shoved it in his pocket as he faced the door, intrigued.
The thud was followed by a crash as the raised voices of multiple people neared and something hit the door again. He heard the jiggle of keys outside and as the right one was inserted, the door swung open, nearly hitting him in the process. Standing in the doorway was Melissa, with Katelyn behind. Behind them, Daniel and Sierra dragged the unconscious Ian out of the way.
"What the...?" Alex said startled.
Daniel dropping Ian, waved. "What's up man?"
"What are you guys doing here?" Alex demanded perplexed. What if they extend my suspension? he thought. Breaking and entering’s a crime isn't it?
Katelyn took an earphone out. "We’re breaking you out."
"Why?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you liked it here,” Melissa retorted, her voice as hard as nails.
"Well...no, I don't but-ugh...I only had two more days."
"And now you have none; convenient right?"
"It wasn't convenient,” Sierra corrected, coming up behind the blonde girl. "Melissa dragged us into this."
"Dragged?" Daniel said, lightheartedly, walking up to stand beside his sister. "She threatened me."
"Not my fault you're a pansy."
Katelyn tugged an earphone into a blade and raised an eyebrow. "You want to repeat that?"
"I'd love to,” Melissa said rounding on her. "Your brother’s—"
"Hey, hey, no fighting you two,” Daniel said standing between them. "Don't use me as your excuse to skewer each other. I don't want to be the cause of future injuries and bruised egos."
"Fine,” Melissa said and turned back to Alex. "Get your stuff together."
"What?"
Melissa rolled her eyes. "You want to leave this dump, don't you?"
"Hey, Corpus isn't—"
Katelyn morphed the dagger back into an earphone. "No one here has any school pride, Sierra, so shut it."
"Decision Alex—chop, chop,” Melissa said.
"Well...yeah, I don’t want to stay here. So, I guess I’ll go."
"Good, 'cause we're coming with you."
"What? No. Where?"
"Wherever you’re going,” Melissa said. "Friends stick together don't they?"
"That's her clingy way of saying she's going to follow and stalk you no matter how many rejections she receives,” Sierra said bluntly, ducking and moving behind Daniel as Melissa swung at her.
Katelyn looked up from her phone. "So Alex, you might as well just agree."
"Yeah,” Daniel pitched in. "I mean it's not like we really wanted go to this school in the first place."
Sierra nodded in agreement. "Yeah...I may be all familiar with Corpus but I've never been interested in the military, family tradition or not."
"Then why are you here?"
"Relatives sent Daniel and me. Our family is entwined with the government. They may have spewed that propaganda crap about great ole' Corpus but as prodigies, sending us here looks good for the reputation,” Katelyn said as she typed something into her phone. "Just like shining silver."
"It wasn't like that Katelyn. After mom and dad died—"
"Who cares..."
"Um...you two are done right?" Sierra asked.
Daniel leaned against the wall while Katelyn, plugging her other earphone in, began to blast them.
Sierra turned back to Alex. "My family owns this school,” she began matter-of-factly. "We Goethe's have always been patriotic nut jobs. Kaiga the free, hurrah, hurrah, and all that jazz. So, no choice for me."
"You poor thing,” Katelyn said sarcastically. "How you must've suffered."
"You don't even know what it's like to be a prodigy."
"Oh do, tell."
"My grandfather—"
"You spent your days sitting through dinner parties while your family went on and on about Aaron's potential. Oh, you worked so hard to get to where you are and yet you're still left unrecognized? Life's soo hard, ha, those first world problems."
"Oh shut up. You—"
"My parents are the military,” Melissa said violet eyes on the keys still in the door.
Her eyes were unfocused, faraway, and distant as they recalled the past. Sierra and Katelyn stopped bickering, as they, along with Daniel, watched Melissa, obviously intrigued. To them, her past was a mystery. Melissa looked up suddenly.
Her past would remain so.
"Anyway we're wasting—"
A boom from above shook the underground chamber. Pieces of the ceiling trickled down lightly as the hanging lights swung wildly. "What was that?" Katelyn said pulling out an earphone.
Daniel held out his hand, intercepting a trickle nearby. "Earthquake?"
Sierra smiled and headed for the stairway. "Let's find out!"
Close on her heels, the group followed.
Chapter 27
The Monks
Four figures descended from the clouds, their monk-like robes billowing in the wind. A woman with dark narrow eyes, her raven black hair whipping behind her, trailed her bald male companions as she gazed up at the rising moon.
"Disciple,” the man in blue robes called back to her. "You're lagging behind. Keep up and stay focused. We're about to enter enemy territory."
"Yes, Scepter."
Akane's eyes dropped down to the sprawling city beneath her before shifting to a stretch of land whose clustered circle of buildings resided in the shadow of a mountain.
Landing on a cliff-face she sat and crossed her legs like two of her companions, then assumed a mediation-like posture.
“I will watch over your bodies,” a man in black robes said, walking behind them.
“We are counting on you, Vargus,” a man in gold robes said as a metallic figure rose from the ground before him.
Taking on his features, the figure’s metal body took on his clothes and skin tone to form an exact replica. Two other clones sprouted from the ground before his companions and while Akane’s went from white fire to her, the blue robed man’s replica morphed from lightening.
Closing their eyes, they transferred their consciousness to their clones.
&nbs
p; Opening her eyes in a new body, Akane took to the air and wondered how many would have to die for the rod within those walls. How many students? How many innocents? How many lives would stain her hands today? "The stone of peace has thrown me. I am a servant of Viate, missionary and advocator of harmony. My soul and body belongs to the goddess and like a leaf on the wind I go where she has need of me. Let my victims past and near find solace that the end of their journey upon my blade will not be in vain. The righteous quest and cause admonishes my sins. In the name of a better future, I offer myself an adversary to this tainted world. Drawn will be my blade, for no sacrifice is too small."
Closing her eyes briefly, she put her hands together and touching thumb and forefinger to her temples she stamped the oath onto her being. Hovering before the school's transparent force field, slipping in-between her expectant superiors, hand outstretched, she released from her palm a blaze of white fire. Ghostly in their tendrils, the pure titus, her life energy, smashed the barrier which disintegrated in less than a minute, opening Corpus Academy for the monks.
~*~*~*~
They turned down the same hall they had gone down at the beginning of the year for their orientation. Sierra sprinted down and opened the auditorium door at the hallway's end and slipped inside. Following her lead, the five, crouching down behind the last row, peaked out. Debris from the hole in the roof above littered the stage where Mr. Goethe, Mrs. Quill, and various other staff had gathered, drawn by the noise in their meeting backstage.
Suspended in the air above the Goethe sphere, were three figures. Two bald men and a woman with hair were dressed in monk-like robes with each bearing one of the colors of crimson, deep blue or gold.
"Ooh, the show is like, just starting,” Sierra whispered.
Katelyn peered over her shoulder. "Who the heck are they?"
"How should I know?"
"It's your school."
"What are you guys talking about?" Daniel asked looking around at both of them. "Dude..." His gaze fixed on the ceiling. "They broke through the roof."
"Exactly, they broke in. No one asks for the—"
Katelyn waved a hand in her face. "Shut up, they're talking."
"We're here for the rod,” a man in the blue robe said.
"We have a rod?!" Daniel gasped. "They're like, super rare."
Melissa surveyed the scene with Alex from the spaces between the seat and nudged Daniel with a foot. "Shut up,” she said. Then, recognizing the woman, she let out a gasp.
"What's a rod?" Alex asked. "Some sort of stick?"
"Stick?" Katelyn scoffed. "They're the keys to the Dark Realm. Learn to stop and think, you moron."
"Did you hear what he said next?" Sierra asked.
"I don't know..."
"The blue guy said 'we know you have it or something,'" Melissa said. "Now shut up, we can teach Alex later."
"I can't hear them,” Daniel complained.
"Either they lowered their voices or they're too far away,” Sierra said.
"We can still watch, though,” Melissa pointed out. "It's too risky to get closer."
"Or leave?" Alex suggested. They all looked at him. "What? Doesn't this scream danger to you guys?"
"Why do you think we're in here?" Sierra said.
In the distance, Mr. Goethe challenged the intruders. "I don't know what you're talking about,” he proclaimed.
"We've done our research. We have a mystic and we also know you’re sheltering elevens,” another monk in gold robes said curtly.
His voice however was deeper, older and though wisdom could not be guaranteed with age alone, his tone held a hint of his personality in his profound confidence. While his position was in the middle, a little before his companions, it was obvious he led them.
"You are trespassing on private property and my school's grounds; please leave,” Mr. Goethe replied with as much authority as a man could muster when looked down upon.
"Hand over the Eighth Rod of Radiance and the elevens and we promise no one else will be harmed,” said the woman in red
"Is that a threat?" Mr. Goethe said, on edge.
"You can take it any way you like,” the blue robed man said. "We're not leaving without it and them."
Mr. Goethe put his hands together. "That's unfortunate; we'll just have to force you to."
"It's about to go down,” Daniel said.
"You know what we need?" Sierra asked.
"Popcorn?" Katelyn suggested.
"Yeah,” she and Melissa said at the same time.
"So...about the rods..."
"As Katelyn said, they're keys to the Dark Realm. To open it, you have to gather all thirteen and insert them in the holes found above the Rubik’s cube slot found in the—"
"Scroll enclave?" Alex guessed.
"You already know,” Melissa accused.
"A little."
"Well anyway, though the vast majority of rods used to be scattered throughout the continent in really dangerous places, now most of them are in the hands of Victashia. A few are in other countries and three are in Kaiga. It’s said that the person that gathers all the rods is granted a wish by the Dark Realm.”
"What, you still believe that?" Sierra interrupted. "The Dark Realm doesn't grant dreams."
"Evidence,” Katelyn said, holding out her hand. "Cough it up."
"I don't need evidence. That myth has about as much credit as a legend."
"How do you find a rod?" Alex asked redirecting the topic. They all looked at him.
"The scroll of navigation,” they said in unison.
"It's at the scroll enclave,” Melissa told him. "It tells whoever has it the fluctuating positions of all thirteen rods more accurately than any GPS, but only puzzlers—"
"Can make them?" Alex guessed.
"Wrong,” Katelyn said. "Puzzlers only make the Rubik’s cube, the hardest part. The enclave is powered by some type of ancient mumbo-jumbo titus which generates and pops out of the scroll like a goddamned gumball machine."
Mr. Goethe unleashed a volley of wind at the trespassers. Splitting up as the blast took out several lights, the after-wind broke through a layer of drywall near the entrance. The intruders regrouped at the auditorium's right wall.
The gold monk, settling his feet on the wall's side, was quickly joined by the other two who followed his example. The leader, attracted by the slight movement in the back of the auditorium, looked the way of the hiding students. Catching Daniel’s terrified gaze, the man smiled as the youth ducked back under the safety of the furniture.
"Takumi,” the blue robed monk prompted. Though he followed his companion's gaze, he saw nothing.
The gold robed Takumi turned his attention back to his companions. "Akane," Takumi said to the woman. "You've got the scroll. Feel free to spread a little fire in here before you start looking for the rod." Dark eyes then fell on the younger man. "Haruki, get out here as fast as possible. You're the decoy, get outside and...be a distraction. Oh, and while you're at it, find the nearest fire alarm and pull it. The more chaos the better."
"And you?" Haruki asked.
The sadistic smile returned. "I'll join you later...after I take out the trash,” Takumi said, his eyes shifting to the Principal, who was likewise organizing his own people within the duration of the short pause.
"Mr. Harrison, issue a lockdown,” Mr. Goethe said, looking at a dark haired man. "I want all our students behind closed doors."
"Yes sir,” Mr. Harrison said, and touching his watch, he began to connect himself through titus with the school wide speakers.
Mrs. Quill stepped forward. "But sir—"
Goethe held up his hand for silence. "There's no time to evacuate them, Haley. We can't afford to bring our students into this anymore than can we risk sparing our staff to lead them out. We have the numbers here. I'm not about to give that up. We're alumni, Corpus graduates, we prevail and conquer. We're the first and last line of defense. Don't let one of these terrorists out of this room. We hold t
hem here and kill them here. Understood?!"
"Yes sir!" they shouted saluting him before putting their hands together.
Chapter 28
First Stand
"Find the rod!" Takumi ordered.
Breaking off from his companions, he pushed off the wall and drawing out two long poles from his waist, dove. Twisting in the air like a bird as he shot towards Mr. Goethe, the faint orange of titus engulfed his form like a flame. They transmuted into liquefied metal.
Akane flying parallel to Haruki, clasped her hands together as she approached the other end of the stage. As she separated them a fiery red ran along the cracks of her palms like the earth with lava. Unleashing an inferno upon the Corpus staff from them in a dive, Akane covered Haruki as he left through the roof.
The instructors who'd become more accustomed to teaching titus than actually exercising what they taught, were at an incredible disadvantage. The consequences proved dire and over a third of the clustered forty succumbed to death on contact by the incinerating heat. Including Mr. Harrison, who, distracted with his orders of issuing a lock-down, was among the first to fall. Some perished due to the suddenness of the attack; they were unable to gather enough titus fast enough to defend themselves. Others simply made the fatal slip in concentration which caused their shields to falter.
Akane flew up as if in the attempt to leave, knowing all too well that a handful of the enemy's number would take the risk of dropping their guard to prevent her escape. The fact that few titus users were able to utilize both offense and defense simultaneously was also within her knowledge.
Dropping back to the burning stage at the last second, Akane gave the scholarly alumni a second helping, killing seven of the twenty-seven still standing.
Takumi, in tune with his surroundings, faded to the side as a blast of air sliced past him. Spinning up, then diving, only to feint aside twice more, he fled shamelessly in the wake of the Goethe's cutting winds and pressurized gales. The offensive onslaught however, was a decisive strategy on Mr. Goethe’s part. His goal: exhaust the monk of his titus and then, kill him.
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