"TRI-CLOPS HURRY UP!" I hollered up the staircase. I stood at the foot of the stairs impatiently tapping my foot as Jane and I waited for Iris to finally finish getting ready.
"I'm almost done!" Iris yelled back from somewhere on her floor. Her voice was just barely audible. I groaned and rolled my eyes then looked to Jane.
"And she was worried about ME being late!" I grumbled. Jane sighed and shook her head.
"I knew she was going to be running late, good thing I turned all the clock back a hour last night after Iris went to bed." She said. I blinked then looked back at the clock by the front door.
"Wait so it's actually seven not eight?" I asked. Jane nodded.
"Class isn't till eight thirty so I figure a hour and a half is enough time to walk to Baset's spire, be a nice change of pace."
"I guess." I shrugged then frowned and turned back to the stairs. "BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER CAUSE WE'LL BE MUMMIES BY THE TIME WE LEAVE!"
"STUFF IT STAR CHILD IM COMING!" Iris hollered back as she poked her head over the second floor banister.
"Not fast enough! I shouted back. Iris hurried down the stairs jumping the last two and landed in front of Jane and me. She did a quick twirl and smiled.
"How do Iook?" Iris asked.
"Like a Tri-clops." I replied. Iris gasped then glared at me and turned to walk back up the stairs.
"I'm changing." She stated.
"Iris I swear to every God of the Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic, Chinese, Japanese, and Pagan pantheons that if you walk up those stairs I will set every single scrap of clothing that you have on fire!" I shouted.
Iris stopped in her tracks and quickly spun on her heel and glared at me. Her jaw was clenched tightly and her nostrils flared as she spoke.
"You. Wouldn't. Dare." She said quietly.
I held my hand up and cycled some mana into it and imagined Iris' wardrobe bursting into flames. My hand was engulfed in bright orange flames. I got in Iris' face and stated into here eyes unblinking.
"Wouldn't I?" I said. The two of us stared off for several seconds until I saw a beast of sweat start to form on Iris' brow. She jerked her head away and stomped to the door.
"Fine!" she grumbled. "You're lucky I just bought a while new wardrobe!"
I closed my fist, extinguishing the flames then looked smugly at Jane. She just smiled and shook her head.
The three of left the dormitory and headed toward Baset's spire. It took me and Bone-lasher almost a half an hour to get there so I figured it would talk a hour and some change for us to walk there.
"How's you're arm?" Jane asked as we made our way down the busy collage streets. I smiled and flexed my arm. I took the splint off two days ago and since then I've had no problems with my arm or the bone claws. Like the doctor said, I had no problem using my arm and the bone claws worked perfectly.
"Nope! Good as new, hell better than new." I replied with a smug smile.
Iris groaned and rolled her eyes.
"I still can't believe that you did something like that. You could have lost your arm!" she chirped. I groaned and bumped her with my shoulder.
"Don't start Tri-clops. You and Jane already gave me a hard time about it five days ago." I said. Iris frowned and bumped me back, Jane just chuckled and lightly tapped my shoulder.
"Well you deserve it. We thought something serious had happened to you."
"I was fine." I said dismissively waving her off. Iris started slapping my shoulder.
"Stop dismissing our concerns!" Iris growled.
"Okay! Okay!" I exclaimed as I guarded myself. Iris gave me a few more slaps then walked around me to walk next to Jane.
"I wonder who the other team that won is?" Jane asked. I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"It's Damon's team." I spat, feeling sick having said his name.
"There is no way that you could possible know that." Iris said shooting me a skeptical look.
"When we were in Baset's office their guide was the only one that wasn't there." I said. "It's not that hard to figure out."
"Fuck...the DeCharles' are a bunch of egotistical assholes." Iris groaned.
"That explains a lot...I'm noticing that trait with a lot of nobles...." I said then gave Iris a sideways look.
"Up yours Star Child!" Iris snapped.
The rest of the walk to the spire took a little longer than we expected. Thanks to all the other students heading to class and clogging the streets with their personal steed carriages. We ended up having to stop at every crosswalk to allow the traffic to decongest a bit before we could go on. By the time we neared the spire a hour and twenty minutes had passed already.
"What the hell?" Iris said as we neared the spire.
A large mob was gathered in front of the doors of the spire yelling and chanting and generally hyping themselves up. The three of us slowed our approach as we tried to figure out what they were so upset about. A few people were carrying large signs that they raised proudly above their heads.
"Noble rights, Chase we'll fight?" I read the sign in disbelief. I turned to the girls and frowned. "Are they protesting me?"
"I think they are…" Iris said.
At that time a few guys splicers in the mob turned and saw the three of us. They started tapping on the people closest to them and pointing at the three of us. Within a few seconds everyone in the mob knew we were there and they all turned to confront us.
"Noble right! Chase we'll fight!" They started chanting repeatedly.
Iris, Jane, and I shared confused glances and kept our distance. Two figures started to make their way to the front of the mob. I instantly recognized the both of them. It was Kyle and Ranjesh.
"Chase Kingston!" Kyle screamed and the mob immediately silenced.
"WHAAAAAAT?!" I screeched my reply to the annoyance of the mob.
"Do you know why we are all here?" Kyle continued motioning to the mob behind him.
"Because you're a bunch of spoiled brats from rich and noble families who's had your future handed to them and been told your entire lives that they're special because of who your family is. And because you've spent all that time being told you're better than everyone else you can't stand the fact that someone you deem inferior not only beat you but gets to attend the advance class you were sure you'd attend. So this is just a pathetic temper tantrum." I said innocently blinking.
A wave of silence fell over the mob. After Chase's words sink in a fervor fell over the mob and they started shouting and yelling curses.
"Shut up peasant! You cheated your way into the class!" Ranjesh shouted. "There is no way a classless nobody would be able to beat us in a fair fight!"
"Way to prove his point…" Iris groaned then pointed at Kyle and Ranjesh. "You both lost and Chase barely had anything to do with it!"
"Yeah…actually Iris was the one that knocked your entire team out…Jane and I just dealt with your evos…" I said.
"You shouldn't have made it out of the first round. There's no way you could have knocked that first team out by yourself!" One idiot in the crowd yelled.
"It's obvious you cheated! And we're not going to stand for it!" Another yelled. The entire mob yelled in agreement.
"That's right! I'll prove it myself!" Kyle shouted. "Uratha!"
Kyle's farm crystal glowed and a crystalline structure shot out of it and landed a few feet in front of him. What emerged from it made my entire body break out in hives and a feeling a dread and pure terror wash over me.
Kyle's evo was a rachnid. The unholy abomination that is the combination of a tarantula and a scorpion. Kyle's rachnid stood at eight feet tall with eight spider legs, its twelve eyes stared at the three of us while its long curved fangs dripped thick acid like venom onto the concrete and desolved it on contact. Thick neon orange hairs stuck out between the gaps in the rachnid's scorpion armor and it's long scorpion stinger swayed as if it was lining up to strike.
"NOOOOOOOOOOPE!" I screeched as I cycled mana into my hands. Bright blue flames immediately engulfed my hands as I held my hands up a torrent of flames spewed out in front of me. A tornado of flames swallowed up the rachnid. It let out a ear piercing screech but that was soon silenced by the whirling monsoon of flames.
"Chase stop! I think you killed it!" Jane exclaimed and grabbed my shoulder.
"Yeah! Stop before you use up all your mana" Iris added grabbing my other one. I closed my hands and the flames extinguished. I turned my head an looked at the girls.
"I. Hate. Rachnids." I said slowly and through gritted teeth. Jane and Iris looked at me then over at the now charred corpse of the Rachnid then back at me and nodded slowly.
"I can tell…" they both said.
"Uratha!" Kyle screamed. He stared in disbelief at the now charred remained of his evos, the flames had been so hot that the concrete around it had started to turn red hot and bubble. "You peasant bastard!"
"For the love of Ra! Will you stop it already!" Iris groaned.
"We just want to go to class." Jane said.
"No! Fuck this! I won't let this insult to my family's honor stand!" Kyle shouted. Ranjesh stood beside Kyle with his chest puffed out.
"Yes! Allowing this piece of shit to attend a paragon's class would be a dishonor to all nobles!" Ranjesh yelled.
"Fine!" Iris replied then gave Jane and I a smirk as her farm crystal started to glow. I smirked back as I realized what she was about to do and glad my right hand in front of me letting it glow as well. Jane's crystal was already glowing as well.
"Jingles!"
"Jangles!"
"Bone-lasher!"
The three of us summoned our evos and they landed around us. Bone-lasher and Jingles roared protectively at the mob while Jangles landed on Iris shoulder.
"Jane tried asking nicely now I'm just going to be a dick!" I said. I cycled mana into my hands and bolts of lightning started jumping between them. "Move out the way or I'll electrocute your ass!"
"And then we'll have our evos pick your bones out their teeth." Iris added.
The mob all started looking intimidated and turned to Kyle and Ranjesh for leadership. They both turned to look at each other then looked at our evos. Bone-lasher was growling territorially at Jingles who'd landed too close to it for its liking. As if sensing their gazes Bone-lasher turned its eyeless face to the two dumbasses and growled.
"I…I…" Kyle started.
"Oh fuck this!" Iris groaned then snapped her finger. Jangles flew off her shoulder and rushed Kyle and Ranjesh.
"No! Not again!" Ranjesh screamed and ran off swatting at the air trying not to get stung by the hivdrix.
"Hey! Don't leave me!" Kyle screamed and ran after Ranjesh. Seeing their leaders run off in the face of such a small evo the mob was easily demoralized but unsure what to do. Jane took this moment to walk around the corpse of the rachnid and smile sweetly at the rest of the mob.
"Can you please move out of the way? We really need to get to class." Jane asked sweetly with a bit of steel. As if mesmerized by the sweetness yet authority of her tone a few started to make a pathway for us though the rest seemed unmoved. Jingles let out a ear piercing roar and stomped it's paw and the rest of the mob quickly to let us pass.
Iris and I quickly followed after Jane as she moved toward the spires entrance through the pathway the mob made. I could here all several of them whispering among themselves as we passed.
"Did you see that? He didn't cast a spell sigil with that fire or the lighting."
"That liger shark looks more dangerous now than a week ago…."
"My God! Look at his hand! That can't be…"
I ignored them and looked back at Bone-lasher and held my hand up. Bone-lasher jumped back into my crystal and Jingles and Jangles did the same with Jane and Iris. Our evos secured we turned and walked into the spire leaving the mob dumbfounded.