The crew walked into the gym. The man apparently named Cain also walked towards them from where he stood, still grinning
"How's it going, Thorne?" He inquired
"Exam day is upon these youth," Headmaster Thorne responded. "Out of the way, I must prepare the room."
Xander tilted his head in confusion. The room looked fine for some sparring to him.
Suddenly, the room began to morph into an expansive terrain with various biomes.
"What the hell…?!" Xander exclaimed, though under his breath.
"It's a special magic this room was imbued with when it was constructed. Sometimes, buildings have magical properties. This one has the ability to shift into whatever the one shifting it requires of it. This time around, it was a terrain room that was needed," Kylo explained.
Xander nodded.
"Room transmogrification complete." The headmaster spoke as if nothing cool had just happened. "Cain, introduce yourself before we begin."
"I am Cain, I don't have a family name. I am the Defense Arts teacher at this school, and I am also a gym nut. My magic is called Copycat, and it fits perfectly with my area of teaching."
Xander raised his hand. "What is Copycat?"
Cain laughed a little. "I don't want to spoil it. I know you're new, so Kylo and I are going to give you a show before your big fight."
Xander sighed. "Is everyone here like this?"
Headmaster Thorne spoke again, with his wise, empowered voice; "Enough chit-chat, let us begin the long-awaited exams."
Suddenly, Xander felt hot. He started to sweat. Looking to his left, he saw Apollo, who was on fire and smiling.
"Let's get this thing started!" He shouted. Walking over to the far side of the gym, where he would begin his exam, Apollo left trails of flames on the floor, which were quickly put out by his sister.
Max clapped and got into position.
"You ready to finally be taken down, Max?" Apollo taunted.
Max said nothing but instead laughed.
"He sure does laugh a lot," Xander thought.
Out of nowhere, a large speaker appeared next to Max. Xander was confused, he didn't remember seeing it there before. Max snickered, as he pressed play, and a heroic rock song started to play. "There is no way… Does he think this is a video game or movie?" Xander thought to himself. Max was not taking this seriously. Apollo did not mind, however, it was the exact opposite. The flames on Apollo's shoulders burned brighter, and a huge grin stretched on his face.
Cain stood on the sidelines and motioned for the rest of the class to follow him. His build was huge, and his muscles were very toned. This was how Xander wanted to look for a long time before he gave up on getting stronger. Seeing this large figure, standing so powerfully, really motivated him. "I think I might start working out again," Xander thought.
The two competitors stood still, one with his hands in his pockets and tapping his foot, and the other with his arms crossed and enveloped in fire.
"Jeez, could this take any long-" Adrian was cut off. A strong pressure was sent through the gym, even blowing out some of Apollo's flame. Cain stood, his left arm straight out to his side. He looked at Adrian. "Quiet, just watch." He spoke sternly.
The music began to rise and build up. As soon as all of the instruments kicked in, both Max and Apollo exploded into action. This is especially true for Apollo, as the room erupted in flames. Flashes of the two danced around the room. It was all so fast, Xander couldn't follow it all with his eyes.
Cain blocked all of the fire from reaching the students, a feat which surprised Xander. Aspen regulated the temperate to keep them all cool, but even still, it was sometimes too much for her, and it would get extremely hot very quickly out of nowhere.
"Is Max okay over there? Surely he's burning to a crisp with all of that fire, right?" Xander asked.
"Tch, are you stupid? It's Max, of course, he's fine." Adrian responded. Almost like he heard that, Max appeared through the flames.
There was almost no damage on him. Even his clothes were intact. Xander was shocked. Kylo just smiled. He hadn't seen his teacher fight in a very long time.
Apollo also reappeared. Similarly, there was almost no damage on him, aside from his own flames completely engulfing his body. He chuckled. "I didn't think I would need to do this so early but screw it. I need to warm up anyway," he said, lowering his body and getting into position.
"He wasn't already 'warmed up'?" Xander asked, rhetorically.
The incredible guitar solo played by the speaker reached a crescendo and echoed through the gymnasium.
Within half a second, Apollo launched himself into the air. Using fire to propel himself up, he flew through the air at a speed that Xander couldn't keep track of. As soon as he reached Max, he changed his position midair, so that his arms were directly in front of him, aimed at his teacher. He smiled. "Everyone look out!"
At first, only a few sparks flew out of his palms. But after a short time lag, the gymnasium exploded in flame and power.
Xander, along with Jinx and Aspen, were thrown against the wall behind them. Cain tried his best to protect each of them from the blast but it was too difficult. Luckily, he was able to at least shield them from the actual explosion itself, only leaving the wind to knock them around.
The room was immediately filled with smoke, debris, and heat. The ground was completely torn up, and the ceiling, while extremely high up, crumbled slightly. In only a matter of seconds, the awe-inspiring room that the group was once in, was almost completely annihilated.
Xander's ears rang. His head hurt, and his vision was blurred. He didn't seem to be injured, however, probably due to Cain's efforts. When his sight returned in full, he looked around to check if everyone was okay, but there was only smoke. He coughed.
"What in the world happened? I thought this was an examination, not a natural disaster." He thought to himself. "...is Max okay?"
Not surprisingly, the music has stopped. The speaker had been destroyed in the explosion. But after a short hesitation period, it started back up again.
"What? How is there music playing right now?" Xander thought. He knew for a fact that the speaker did not survive that explosion, as it was almost directly in the target zone. Then he heard a laugh.
Apollo laughed hysterically. "You're okay? I thought for sure that could have taken you out!"
"What is he talking about? Max couldn't be okay after that. Even if he's still alive, he can't be conscious." Xander thought.
But, as Xander sat there, confused, the smoke started to clear. It wasn't clearing like normal, however. Instead, it was all traveling to a single point in the middle of the gymnasium. It started slowly at first, but after a short second, all of the smoke, and all of the fire, instantly disappeared. There stood Max, completely unharmed, smirking.
Apollo sat on a rock that was once a part of the flooring, the simulated environment around them completely gone. He was out of breath but was still laughing. "You never cease to amaze me, Teach."
Apollo got up and walked over to Max, who was also walking toward Apollo. When the two met in the middle, instead of fighting, they started doing something unexpected.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Xander said aloud. "They're doing a secret handshake?" He thought.
Smiling and laughing, both Max and Apollo completed their special secret handshake, which lasted a decent amount of time.
Xander thought the fight was over at that point, but quickly realized he was wrong when the two simultaneously threw a punch at one another.
The speed at which they fought, attacking and defending, was unlike anything Xander had seen. But, he did notice something strange about Apollo. It seemed that his attacks were slower, and more sluggish than before. "That huge attack from earlier must have tuckered him out," he guessed.
Max and Apollo exchanged punches and kicks, each showing off their strength. Apollo added fire to his attacks, but the flames could never even touch Max. It seemed his power almost negated all of Apollo's magic.
Finally, after a few minutes of hand-to-hand combat, Max landed a solid punch on Apollo's jaw. Then, in what could only be explained as teleportation by Xander, a large wooden stick appeared out of thin air, which Max then grabbed and landed one final connection with Apollo's stomach, sending him to the ground. The stick broke on hit.
That was it, the fight was over. Max had one, although no one aside from Xander was really surprised.
Kylo walked closer to Xander, who was standing there speechless, then put his hand on Xander's shoulder. "That was pretty cool, wasn't it?"
Xander nodded slowly, not really knowing how to process any of the information he had just seen.
The headmaster clasped his hands together, and the room reverted back to what it was before the destructive duo ruined it.
Apollo was standing and walking alongside Max, laughing. The two acted as if nothing crazy just happened.
"You two certainly gave us a lot to live up to," Cain jokingly remarked as he winked towards Kylo, who agreed.
"Am I going to have to fight that power?" Xander worried, looking towards Adrian, who had seemed a little angry ever since Max and Apollo began their battle.
"Did I fail?" Apollo laughed while asking the Headmaster for the verdict.
"You destroyed the whole gym, which is a feat not many can accomplish. What worry might you have about your passing, considering your intense firepower? You have passed this examination battle with flying colors."
"AND FLYING FLAMES!" Max popped up out of nowhere, yelling this in an attempt to be funny. The room was quiet.
Sighing and facepalming, Headmaster Thorne announced the next battle; "The next examination battle taking place here will be between Aspen Armoni and Jinx Selle."
Aspen walked forward, smiling and waving. "Wish me luck, guys."
Jinx was asleep on a bench. She might have been asleep during what can only be described as a nuclear deathmatch, too.
"How does that even happen?!" Xander was profoundly confused, while also envious of her for having the ability to sleep through loud noises.
"I'll get her," Aspen said after noticing that Jinx was not budging. She slowly woke her friend.
"Mmm.." Jinx rubbed her eyes, sleepily.
"It's time for our battle!" The two were polar opposites.
"Ok…" Jinx muttered in a soft voice. She barely got up and, with a sleepy stride, made her way over to a rocky area under a tree, still looking drowsy.
"Let the second exam battle commence!" Headmaster Thorne commanded.
"GOOOOO!" Max was now sitting in a theater chair, eating popcorn with 3D glasses while waving around a flag.
Xander sighed. "Where the hell does he keep getting this stuff?"
Ignoring Max, the battle began. Jinx picked up a rock and sleepily threw it. She picked up another, pocketed it, and dashed around as icicles were shot at her.
"Huh, it's a fight at normal speed," Xander said to himself, relieved after the previous battle.
The icicles disappeared with sparkles shortly after they hit their target. Aspen shifted around the area, relentlessly firing icicles toward her drowsy companion. The two didn't seem powerful, especially compared to Max or Apollo.
Suddenly, Aspen was thrown into the air. Jinx threw the other rock at her opponent and it nailed her in the stomach. Aspen's eyes looked empty. It was as if she was in a trance. Her body fell to the ground. Jinx dashed towards her, picking up a few more rocks along the way. As if instinctually, Aspen's body was enveloped in an ice construct, which sent Jinx back a little, almost losing her balance. She muttered something and tossed a pebble at the small ice dome, which bounced off and fell to the ground.
Aspen emerged from the top of the ice, with more of it appearing before her. She fired a barrage of icicles again, only faster this time. Jinx looked overwhelmed as she straightened her posture, finally waking herself up fully. She tossed a rock at the bottom of the ice wall, which slowly gave off sparks.
Not seeming concerned about it, Aspen continued her attacks. Jinx was seemingly able to dodge them all effortlessly. Aspen's wall remained, but started to melt, as she was no longer supplying it with cold air, exposing it to the overall temperature of the room. After the previous fight, it was difficult for her to keep her ice from melting because the heat from Apollo's fire still remained. She started to beeline towards Jinx, constructing ice paths beneath her feet to slide towards her opponent. Jinx dropped a pebble where she stood and sidestepped the oncoming girl skating on the ice. Aspen turned and shifted her momentum back towards Jinx, who was at a tree now, her hand placed firmly against it. She ducked behind the tree and made a beeline for another.
Suddenly, her pursuer caught up with her and shot her with an icicle. Jinx brushed against Aspen's coat as she fell without resistance. The ice was more powerful than it looked. Jinx dozed off again, a reaction from lying on the ground.
"I know we both have more defensive-type magic so this feels arduous, but you did pretty good. I think I'll take the victory now, I know you're tired," Aspen giggled as she created a dome of ice around Jinx in an attempt to trap her. All of a sudden, Aspen was thrown into the tree trunk, and the ice that was being formed around Jinx evaporated in sparkles.
"Wha-" Xander began.
Aspen was slumped at the bottom of the tree. Jinx was asleep.
"Who won?" Max asked, confused. "That wasn't really a battle, was it? I just saw rock throwing and some ice." He seemed disappointed that there wasn't more to the fight. It looked like there was no damage at all.
Thorne ignored Max's complaining and went to inspect the battlefield. He looked dumbfounded, stroking his beard.
"I declare this battle a draw. Both combatants have been rendered incapable of fighting. One fell asleep and the other hit her head on a tree," Headmaster Thorne walked over to the rest of the group. "They both did what they could with their magic and certainly performed better than the previous time."
"What happened last time?" Xander inquired.
Kylo spoke up for the headmaster. "Last time, they were placed in matches against me, both of them separately. I tried holding back but their magic is not really suited for battle, such as this. Aspen, as you probably remember, is defensive. Jinx is just hexes, which is good for preparing an area before a battle or covert operations. They're both talented, but they aren't suited for head-on combat." Kylo scratched his head and sighed.
"Kylo is correct. Furthermore, I am the reason they were pitted against each other. Since there are no good matches for the two, I placed their exam battles against each other. Instead of a grade based on showing of strength and skill, their scoring is unique to them, relative to how they performed previously." Headmaster Thorne explained.
"I see…" Xander understood. He looked towards the two girls. "They looked like they had some combat expertise, though. They could at least fend for themselves."
An impatient, but stern voice echoed throughout the arena. "Kylo, relocate them to a safer area, our battle is next." Cain jumped into a fighting stance. Xander felt like the only thing on almost everyone's mind here was fighting. Kylo slowly walked up and got into his own stance.
Sighing, Headmaster Thorne began to officiate the battle. "Examination battle three is about to commence between Defense Arts instructor Cain and Kylo."
Kylo stared at his opponent, with a look of contentment in his eyes. Cain did the same, cracking his knuckles as they both continued to stare into the hearts and souls of the other. Suddenly, the ground exploded beneath both of the figures and they vanished without a trace. Just as quickly, they reappeared between where they both were, locked in a dance of fists. Punches were a blur, and kicks were just as fast. There was a constant noise of skin hitting skin, striking with brutal force. A subtle breeze picked up from where the others watched in awe.
"Copycat sure is awesome, isn't it?" Max said, enviously.
"What's that?" Xander asked, unsure. He had heard of it just a few minutes ago, but never received an explanation.
"Cain's magic is more along the lines of mimicry, to be honest. Copycat enables the user to copy the physical movements of their target. It matches the speed and direction, but not the strength," Max explained.
"So that's why Cain looks like he lives in the gym. So he can make up for that gap in his skill." Xander realized.
Xander, now aware of what was going on, watched a little more eagerly. He could now make out the literal mimicked movements, unable to tell any difference between the two fighters' fighting styles. That is to say, it's Kylo's style but Cain is copying it.
Unexpectedly, Kylo was thrown backward thirty feet with a grunt, his feet digging into the dirt, attempting to maintain balance on his two feet. Before he stopped, he asked, "Was that it?" He threw himself back into the fight with speed equivalent to the initial dash of the fight. The sounds of various impacts picked back up as the duo revived their skirmish, this time bouncing around the room.
The fight had a similar intensity to the first fight, between Max and Apollo, but only there was no fire or insane explosions. Just hand-to-hand combat. It was interesting how the two previous fights compared to this one. The previous fight was almost nothing like this.
Kylo crashed down into the ground in front of Xander at the speed of a missile. Pebbles flew and dust was thrown into the air. He had a coughing fit as he shakily got back up.
"Are ya done, kiddo?" Cain laughed as he appeared next to Kylo.
Out of breath from the collision with the ground, he attempted to reject that notion but fell over backward and was out cold when Cain kicked his knees in and slammed him into the ground.
Xander winced at the excessive showing of force. Soon after, however, Xander realized something. "Max's fight with Apollo seemed more exaggerated than this one. This one was decided in around two minutes. Max must be an even bigger showoff than this guy," Xander glanced back and forth between the different people in the room and sighed, knowing his assumption was blatantly true.
And with that, the fight was over. It was now time for Xander's own test.
"Adrian Thorne and Xander Gray, step forward now," Headmaster Thorne boomed, wasting no time between the battles.
Xander gulped as his legs locked up. He watched Adrian, who, with a bold walk, stepped up just before the crater caused by the prior battle.
He clenched a fist and angrily stated, "Don't get mad if I kill you. You're just not worth my time. Insignificant."
Xander felt himself go weak in the knees. "Am I going to die?" This was the second time Xander had genuinely believed his life was going to end. He stared Adrian down from his back.
"Well?! We don't have all day, scum." Adrian barked as he hastily turned around to face Xander, who had his hands on his knees at this point, breathing heavily.
"Why am I even doing this. What point is there to this? I just want my normal life. I haven't had a need for magic yet, why would I need it back at home if I am just living a normal life," Xander began to have a crisis within his own mind, wondering what had even brought him to this moment.
Suddenly, he remembered his sister. The entire reason why he is here in the first place is because his sister was attacked by some evil magic user. "Naomi… I hope she's okay." He knew that Max and Kylo had organized a way for her to be returned home safely, but Xander was still worried. Not only that, but he missed her. Unlike his parents, he missed Naomi, who made him feel cared for.
With that thought, he realized what he had to do. "I must protect Naomi, from anyone who tries to hurt her again. But before I can do that, I have to get stronger. Getting into this crazy school is the only way I can do that."
Xander, with newfound confidence, stepped forward.