Hello everyone! Sixsamchaos here!

Please review and send me your opinions if you want to.

Criticism is encouraged and I would like to get any advice so that the story is more appealing to you.

I would also like to ask if anyone is willing to allow me to use their OCs in this story as well.

If anyone has any questions about my story then please send me a message.

Now before anyone believes that Xander is a mary-stu, I will tell you that it is not true. He does have some weaknesses even if they are not physical. Also, Xander's history will be shown through bits and pieces as the story progresses.

Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero in any way, shape, or form. I also don't own anything from other animes, books, or videogames as well. They belong to their respective owners.


It wasn't long until Xander felt the effects of the transformation on his body. Wincing slightly from the pain and soreness, the cowboy walked slowly to and tree nearby and sat at its base. Yawning, the young man soon drifted off to sleep, as his body was adjusting to his new freedom of mobility. Being trapped in stone, Xander wasn't able to train his body, therefore it was not used to such movements. It was a miracle that the cowboy could walk at all.

'Well, today has certainly been an interesting day. Still, I wonder why I was summoned here. I had accepted my fate and gladly took it. Why bring me back when I am not needed?'

*The Next Morning*

It wasn't long when the sun arose in the distance and signified the beginning of a new day. The sun's rays shined through the shadowy veil and brought upon the light that many of Halkeginia's habitants were familiar with. The animals and mythical creatures awoke from their dens and homes and flexed for another day of peace. The Halkeginians slowly awoke from their sleep and prepared for the coming of a busy day. A soft breeze waved through the fields and forests and provided soothing warmth to all it caresses.

It was this kind of peaceful feeling that Xander awoke to and could not help but smile at the new morning. Slowly shaking off the drowsiness, the cowboy stood up and began going through the morning of stretching one's muscles and hearing the popping of one's bones.

'I must admit. I may have been a statue for over five hundred years but that was the best sleep in my life.'

Looking around, Xander sees that neither the students nor the servants were anywhere to be seen. "Huh. Guess I woke up a bit earlier than anyone else. Well from what I can tell, Louise is a student; therefore, I bet she expects me to wake her up like a servant."

Due to previous experience with a woman's anger in the past, Xander walked back Louise's room and quietly entered through the door. Looking at the bed, the cowboy saw that the sunlight coming through the window accentuated the young girl's vibrant pink hair. Combined with the little teen's relaxed sleeping face and a partly opened mouth, Xander smiled at the girl's cuteness.

'Aw. She reminds me of little sis and the twins. Unfortunately, expecting me to be your servant and expecting me to sleep on a small pile of hay won't get you anywhere.'

It was after this thought that Xander began thinking of ways on how to awaken his sleeping summoner. It was then the perfect thought came to him and caused a disturbingly happy smile grew on the man's face. Making sure to grab his cloak, Xander walked over to the bed and searched his utility belt for a certain pocket. Taking out a small metal ball with a green button, the cowboy carefully placed the ball on the end of the bed and pressed the button.

The moment the button was pressed, a soft ticking sound was heard, as the button flashed green. With his deed done, Xander turned around…and high bolted it out of the room but the man made sure to close the door quietly. Once the door was closed, Xander merely walked over to one of the windows near Louise's room and sat on its sill.

After about two minutes, a large explosion could be heard from said mage's room along with a sudden shriek. Both sounds were so large that it was most likely that everyone in the school heard it. Looking over, Xander smirked at seeing a small amount of green gas flow out of the room underneath the door. A moment later, an enraged Louise shot out of the room and slammed the door closed in a futile attempt to cut off the gas. Coughing and hacking, small tears could be seen on the girl's face, as she glared at her familiar. If looks were able to kill then Xander would have been dead four times over. Growling, the young mage stomped over to him with angry pink eyes. Should Louise have been wearing something other than her nightgown, the little teen would have looked menacing. However, anyone given by her current glare would find the pink-haired girl to be extremely adorable and cute.

"Were you the one that caused that explosion?"

"Yes."

"Why did you do that?"

"To wake you up from your slumber."

"Why did you wake me up like that and what is that horrible smell?"

Unknown to the cowboy and mage, the two had gathered a small audience in the form of Kirche, Guiche, Montmorency, and Tabitha. The three had gathered to see what was going on and found the answer in the form of an amused Xander and an enraged Louise. Kirche was the first to come upon the two, as her room was directly next to Louise's, while the other three were nearby and were originally heading towards class. The four didn't what was going on except that it involved the two, green gas, and the explosion. (One that wasn't caused by Louise.)

"I woke you up by using one of my personally made stink bombs. As for the reason why I did it, it was to send a message."

"What message?"

"The message that I am neither your alarm clock nor am I ever going to sleep on that poor excuse for a bed."

"Why you insolent familiar! Not only have you disrespected me but you also attacked me with noxious gas! For your punishment, there will be no food for you today!"

"My, isn't that a little harsh little Louise?" asked Kirche.

It was then that the two noticed the other four mages staring at them with various expressions. Kirche was obviously amused, whereas Tabitha had no expression and was more focused on her book. Guiche was appalled by the man's actions in treating a lady and informed his girlfriend that he would never do anything to harm her. As for Montmorency, the girl was more curious about the gas that had been accumulating near the door.

Blushing from embarrassment and anger, Louise immediately brought out her wand and blasted Xander with an explosion, while yelling out: "You insolent dog!"

This led to the expected yelp and a crashing noise but when the dust was blown away by Tabitha's wind spell, Xander wasn't near the window. Curious, Louise the others looked around the hallway for any sign for a soot-covered man until Tabitha pointed her large staff upwards. Following the pointed direction, the young mages saw that Xander was embedded into the ceiling before falling and crashing towards the floor. With her anger vented, Louise let out a sigh before finally calming down.

*Groaning* "I'm going to feel that later on." Shaking his head, Xander stood back up and noticed the curious glance that Montmorency was giving him. "Something on your mind or am I just that appealing to observe."

Blushing slightly from getting caught, the blonde-braided girl asked the cowboy about the green gas. In fact, it was then that everyone looked towards Louise's room to see that a thin mist of green gas was flowing through the door's underside.

"Oh that. It's just the stink from my stink bomb. I keep them around whenever a prank, punishment, or distraction is needed."

"Punishment? That smell was the most terrible thing I have ever experienced! It was as if my nose was about to melt off my face!" shouted Louise.

"Well that is the point of a stink bomb. However, you are correct with that remark since it was made from some of the most disgusting things I could find. However, I don't want any more problems between us because that will waste time. As an apology, I shall get rid of the smell."

"I was planning on making you clean up the mess anyway familiar," said Louise.

Sighing, Xander walked over to the door and fully opened it, allowing the green gas to flow freely from the room. This instantly brought several reactions, as the smell was indeed horrible for even flies to survive in. The Tabitha walking away in a slightly fast pace towards their classroom. Guiche passed out from the noxious fumes, which led to his girlfriend dragging him as quickly as she could away from that vile room. Kirche on the other hand stayed behind, as did Louise but when the busty redhead was about to use a fire spell to burn the stench away Xander stopped her.

"Careful. My stink bombs may have the purpose of distraction but it is also highly flammable. One spark and you can kiss this room and this part of the hallway gone."

With being told of the dangers, Kirche stopped her spell and simply stood back with Louise, as Xander walked into the room and opened the large window near the bed. This allowed the gas to dissipate in the open air, while Xander took another metal ball out and pressed on its button, however, the color of the button was blue instead of green. Soon a blue gas began filling the room before dispersing out the window similarly like the green gas. Returning back to the two girls in the hallway, Xander told Louise that it would take a little time for the blue gas to take effect. Nodding in satisfaction with the answer, Louise then focused her attention to her rival.

"So why are you still here Kirche? I figured you would have ran when you smelled that foul stench like the others."

"Well Louise, I would never allow myself to let some little bad smell to keep me from teasing my littlest little rival."

Growling at the jab to her height, Louise merely glared at the girl before her attention was then placed on her familiar again. Following her gaze, Kirche saw that Xander was having some sort of staring contest with the fire salamander that Kirche had summoned to be her familiar.

Neither one of the two blinked before Flame let out a small breath of fire and started growling at the man. This confused Kirche quite a bit, as Xander didn't seem like a dangerous person.

"Well this is peculiar. You must have quite the impression to make Flame growl at you. Did you do something wrong?"

"No. I just think that your familiar doesn't trust me yet that's all."

"I can understand that. Well Louise, shall we be heading to class hmm."

"Fine Kirche but your familiar better not do anything to mine while we're walking."

"Stop calling me that. I have a name and it is Xander Melee not familiar."

"Quite dog! Do not forget that you don't get to have any food today because of that stunt you pulled."

Sighing, Xander followed the two girls towards their class, as he had nothing better to do. Of course, this was after Louise had changed into her school uniform, as she didn't really trust Xander with her clothes after that little wake up call of his. While walking, Xander observed the two girls and their little arguments. Apparently, Kirche loved to tease Louise about almost anything that she wasn't strong in. However, it was mostly about her height and chest that irritated Louise in her conversations with her rival. Although, Xander was not the only one to be observing, as Flame was also keeping on eye on the man and was prepared to strike him down if he ever tried to harm Kirche.

It wasn't long until the three entered the classroom and brought on the reaction of those waiting inside. They were mostly whispers about Xander being Louise's familiar. However, many of these whispers were about Louise paying a commoner to act as her familiar. This irritated both Xander and Louise, although the cowboy tried not to show that he was losing his patience with these people.

Once Louise had taken her seat, Xander sat on a seat to her right, as the teacher entered the classroom. She appeared to be slightly older than Prof. Colbert and had brown hair and blue-gray eyes. She also wore a black dress with a purple cloak and a matching purple hat. She also appeared to be a little on the plump side as well.

"Good morning students. I am Mrs. Chevreuse and I will be your teacher in Earth magic for this semester," spoke the woman kindly.

With the professor beginning her lesson, this allowed Xander's mind to wander off a bit, much to his summoner's annoyance. It wasn't until the female professor asked Louise to transmute some rocks into brass. This made, Xander confused by the terrified reactions of the other students, although Tabitha just walked out of the room. His answer came in the form of another explosion.

Dust and smoke was everywhere, as the students and their familiars were strewn all over the place. Some of the students were trying to get their bearings, while others tried to calm down the startled creatures. The surprising thing was that Xander was entirely fine, as if the explosion had never reached him. This again brought Xander's curiosity, as many of the students glared and scolded at the surprised Louise. The most particular of comments that caught Xander's attention was "Louise the Zero".

'Hmm curious, why would they call her that? I better confront her about this later.'

*An hour later*

It was now lunch and Xander and Louise were walking towards the dining room. After that fiasco with the transmutation, Louise was sent to the headmaster's office, while the teacher was carried to the infirmary after being knocked out by the explosion. Louise was then given the punishment of cleaning up the classroom but by the time she returned, everyone was gone except for Xander. However, what surprised her was that the entire room was cleaned before she got there. Looking over to the cowboy, she was surprised that he did that for her and told him of her punishment. Xander merely smiled and told her that it was nothing.

As the two were walking towards the dining room, Xander decided that now was the time to confront her about what the students had called her.

"Hey Louise."

"Yes?"

"Why do the other students call you 'Louise the Zero' and what's with that Kirche girl?"

"It is a nickname that they gave me. It is because my success rate at casting spells is zero since they always cause explosions. As for Kirche, our families have always been rivals and adversaries. Plus she always teases me over everything!"

"Why would your family hate Kirche's family?"

"I don't really know. The feud between our families goes back to our great grandfathers. My ancestor was engaged to a beautiful woman but Kirche's great grandfather stole her away from my ancestor. This led to our families hating each other for generations."

"I see. Well to me, it seems like the two of you act more like friendly rivals than enemies."

"…Why are you asking me these things?"

"I am merely curious. Besides now that I am here, I have to learn more about this place."

'Maybe I can help her in that aspect. I know for a fact that she is not a zero but the question is.'

'Does she know?'

The rest of the walk was in silence for neither had anything more to say. During the walk, Louise couldn't help but feel that there was something about Xander that was more than meets the eye. Xander on the other hand went back to thinking about how he was going to survive this world. It wasn't long until the two approached the doors that led to the dining room; however, Xander told the young mage that he would like to explore the place a bit more and promptly left before Louise had the chance to say anything.

*An hour later*

It was some time since Xander had separated ways with the young mage and he was now walking aimlessly around the hallways of the school. It was a very peaceful walk as it allowed the cowboy to just look at the decorations and the embellished markings of the walls and artifacts displayed. However, that peace was broken when a loud grumbling noise was heard. Grunting, Xander knew that he needed to eat something soon or else he might resort to eating some of the other familiars.

'Damn it! I am used to not eating for long periods of time but everyone has their limit and I think I just reached mine.'

The cowboy was so focused in his thoughts at finding food that he didn't see himself walking straight into someone until it was too late. The crash wasn't too hard but it was able to knock the person on their butt, while Xander was able to steady himself. However, the crash did force his cloak to drop on the floor along with his hat. Shaking off the surprise, Xander looked down to see a maid, a very beautiful one at that.

The maid looked to be about eighteen and looked to be about a little taller than five feet. She had black hair that went down to the back of her neck with her bangs slightly over her steel blue eyes. They stood out from her creamy white skin gorgeously and she also had curves that would make any man drool, especially with her generous bust.

She was currently rubbing her behind because of the fall and was curious about what she had crashed into. She got her answer in the form of a hand being offered to her along with an apology. Following the hand up to the person it was attached to, the young maid couldn't help but blush at the handsome man in front of her. He wore a strange outfit that confirmed he wasn't one of the students or one of the faculty members. Soft brown eyes looked down with concern, while his messy black hair framed his face perfectly.

Still blushing, the beautiful maid took the hand and was pulled back to her feet. She blushed even further, as the young man smiled again and asked if she was all right.

"Oh. Good day milord. My name is Siesta. Is there anything that I could help you with s-sir?"

"Nice to meet you Siesta. I am Xander Melee and I actually do need some assistance," bowed Xander.

Before Siesta could reply to the newcomer a deafening growl filled the hallway. Quickly putting on his cloak and hat, Xander turned slightly away from the beautiful maid so that she couldn't see his blush.

"I do believe that you are hungry are you not?" giggled Siesta.

"Well it seems my stomach decided to speak for me," chuckled Xander.

"Please follow me milord. I can lead you to the kitchens for a meal, although it will just be the leftovers from this morning's breakfast."

"That is very generous of you Siesta and thank you. However, please don't call me milord, as it is highly insulting to me. I am no different than you or anyone else. Just call me Xander alright."

As the surprised maid led Xander to the kitchens, she couldn't help but blush at the fact that he was humble when it came to social status. Although this brought the prospect of the cowboy not being a student, she had to confirm one other thing.

"Excuse me Xander, but are you the familiar summoned by Ms. Vallière?"

"Why yes I am. Why do you ask?"

"Oh. It's all around the school about how a commoner was summoned to be a familiar for one of the second year students."

"Heh. Rumors are rumors and I tend to not follow them unless they peak my interest," chuckled the cowboy.

This brought a smile to Siesta's face, as she was almost sure that the man she had crashed into would have done something to her. Due to the fact that she was a commoner, the young maid couldn't do anything to the mages. This led to fear the outcome of what would happen should some of the more hormonal men set their eyes on her. Since the uniform brought out the girl's curves quite nicely and the generous bust that she had, Siesta was always worried that she might become a mistress to one of the mages. This worry was compacted by the fact that anything short of murder could be done to her by the predatory men.

However Xander seemed to be another story, a story that she wanted to read especially since the crash meeting was similar to the meeting in her romance novels. The commoner girl would meet her kind mage and the two would fall in love with each other, not caring about the social classes that stood against them. (Commence maid's daydream. The daydream will be up to your imagination.)

The walk had been uneventful and silent but Xander could not help but notice the girl walking beside him looked flushed and red in the face. Placing a hand on the girl's forehead, the cowboy said what he thought was obvious.

"Are you alright Siesta. You look a bit red there. Do you have a fever?"

"O-Oh. I am fine thank you Xander. Oh look! The kitchens are right in front of us," eeped the maid.

*An hour later, again*

*Drinking and gulping* "Ah. That was the best stew I have ever eaten! My compliments to the staff!" smiled Xander.

Despite the fact that kitchen staff were happy about how much the man liked their cooking, Siesta and the cooks couldn't help but gape at how much the cowboy had eaten.

30 bowls. This man who looked to not be older than eighteen had just eaten thirty bowls. This was astonishing to the cooks as they have never seen anyone eat as much as the man before them. It was then a middle-aged, well rounded man came up to the cowboy and slapped him on the back laughing. This was none other than the head-chef Batou.

"Well the thanks is much appreciated young man!" laughed Batou.

"Wow. You must have been starving to have eaten so much," spoke another chef.

"Well my last meal was over five hundred years ago, so it is quite understandable."

"What! Five hundred years?" shouted everyone.

"Oh. Allow me to explain. I was involved in an incident that resulted in me turning into stone. It wasn't until Louise summoned me that I was freed from my prison."

"Then that means you are over five hundred years old," said an amazed Siesta.

"Well technically I would be over five hundred but because I was trapped in stone, I never aged. Thus, I am still eighteen years old by my account."

"Well that is quite extraordinary but know that you are welcomed to eat here anytime young lad!" smiled Batou.

"Well thank you sir. I will make sure to taste your staff's delicious cooking again. As for you Siesta, I wish to thank you for helping me with my hunger. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"Well…I could use some help with passing out the sweets to the students. Today is the day off for the second years so that they could connect with their familiars."

"Very well, let us not keep them waiting. I'm sure they would love to be graced by your beautiful presence," flirted Xander.

This led to an extremely bright blush that grew even brighter when the head chef and his staff teased the poor girl. Smiling the two pushed a cart full of sweets towards the courtyards.

*Meanwhile*

Within the academy's magical library, one would first believe that a tornado had passed through the place. Books were everywhere and were either stacked or placed somewhere on the floor. The one responsible for such a mess was our own Professor Jean Colbert. The fire mage had been searching the library's shelves since the day that he had seen the runes on the familiar that young Louise had summoned.

"I know that I have seen those runes somewhere before but where?" muttered Colbert.

After searching for hours, the middle-aged man had only one tome left to search. The tome had surprised Colbert, as it was from the time of their founder Brimir. Pulling out the book, Colbert searched the pages until he came upon the very symbol he was searching for.

*Gasp* "It can't be. I must inform the headmaster at once!"

*Headmaster's office*

Old Osmond, as he was called, was known for many things. He was known for being the headmaster of the Tristain Academy of Magic. He was known for being a powerful and wise square class mage. He was known to have a small white mouse named Chuchu for a familiar. He was known for smoking and having a long white beard and mustache to go along with his white hair. He was also known for being an old pervert when it came to women, especially with his secretary, the beautiful forest green-haired Ms. Longueville.

The daily routine was handling paperwork, dealing with Louise's explosions, smoking from his pipe, and having his precious familiar inform him of what panties that his lovely secretary was wearing.

This led to the expected confiscation of the headmaster's pipe, while also receiving a beating for his perverseness by said secretary.

This was the scene that Colbert had come upon when he entered the large office.

"Uh. I am not interrupting something am I?"

"No, you are not interrupting anything Jean. I was just reminding the headmaster about how to act appropriately with his colleagues," replied Longueville.

"Well, nonetheless, I have important news that the headmaster must see!"

"What do you mean Jean?"

Colbert approached the old man who was somehow sitting back in his chair instead of lying on the floor. He brought out the book and a piece of paper. Handing the paper over to the old mage: "This is a sketch of the runes on Miss Vallière's familiar. And this is the book where the exact same runes appear."

Suddenly, the Old Osmond's face grew serious and politely asked Miss Longueville to leave the room. His secretary bowed and headed out the door.

"Tell me everything you know now Jean."

*Back with Siesta and Xander*

Back at the courtyard, the two had been serving cakes and pastries without problem until they passed a certain blonde playboy. When Xander had first seen Guiche, he knew that the two of them would have problems especially with the blonde mage's haughtiness. After serving the blonde man and his friends their cakes, Xander couldn't help but overhear the conversation going on between them.

"C'mon Guiche! Tell us who you're dating this time."

"Yeah! Tell us who's the new girl that caught your bait."

"Me? Going out with one girl? My, that's ridiculous, my fragrance and chivalry should be deserved by all!"

'Asshole's asking for it' snorted Xander. It was then the cowboy saw a small bottle fall out of Guiche's pocket. Seeing no harm in returning it, Xander picked up the bottle and placed on the table. "Hey. You dropped this."

At first, the blonde playboy ignored him but his colleagues didn't.

"Hey. Isn't that Montmorency's perfume?"

"You're right. That purple color is when Montmorency mixes her own perfume."

"So that means you're going out with Montmorency then, right?"

"No, that's not true! I mean-" it was then that a cute girl with chestnut hair carrying a basket approached the table. Xander recognized her as the one who was with Guiche last night. At the same time, the cowboy also saw Montmorency approaching the sweating man as well.

"Guiche is that true? Are you truly dating Montmorency?" asked the girl with tears in her eyes.

"Katie wait, I can expl-"

"Guiche! What is the meaning of this?" asked a furious Montmorency.

"Montmorency, this is merely a-"

*SMACK*

The teen was cut off because both girls suddenly slapped him on both sides of the face. Both girls angrily called him a liar before Montmorency stormed off, however, Katie had stayed behind and looked at Xander.

"Please enjoy this soufflé I made sir. And thank you for revealing what Guiche truly is," said the girl.

"No problem young lady. I am happy to help," smiled the cowboy. Taking the basket, Xander saw the girl walking away before turning back to Siesta, who had been watching the entire scene.

"WAIT!"

Xander turned back to see an angry Guiche pointing at him. "Me?"

"Yes you! How dare you make two beautiful ladies cry! How will you take responsibility for your actions?"

"Hey. I am not the one who two-timed and I make sure to stick with one girl once I have a relationship with them. Unlike you."

This caused Guiche's friends to laugh and agree with the cloak wearing man.

"He's got you there, Guiche!"

"Yeah! The man's right! HAHAHAHA."

Gritting his teeth, Guiche was furious at being humiliated and his dignity dropping like flies. "What disgrace is this, a mere commoner talking back to a noble? It seems I need to teach you a lesson."

"A lesson at what? Two-timing and then sucking at it?" countered Xander.

"That is it! I, Guiche de Gramont, challenge you to a duel!"

Instead of the expected reaction of fear and the begging of forgiveness, Guiche was given a simple shrug.

"Okay. When and where will your ass-kicking be held?"

"Meet me at Vestri Court after delivering those cakes," ordered Guiche, as he walked off.

Shrugging, Xander turned back to Siesta to see her quivering with a frightened expression. Whispers were already going around the courtyard about the duel between Guiche and Xander. Placing a hand on the frightened girl's shoulder, Xander looked at Siesta with concern.

"Are you alright?"

"You're going to get yourself killed!" cried Siesta.

It was then that Louise pulled Xander back, who had grabbed a piece of his cloak to pull him down to her level.

"What the hell were you thinking? I leave you for a few hours and you're already making trouble!"

"What? It's no big deal."

"How can you call accepting a duel not a big deal? I am taking you to Vestri Court right now so that you can apologize to him!"

Pulling his cloak out of Louise's grasp, Xander scowled at the little teen, as she flinched back from the expression. "Do you really think that little of me? I will not apologize for something that was his fault."

"But he is the son of a general and he is also a mage! You may have some fancy tools like those bombs but a commoner can't defeat a noble!"

"Come to the duel and you will see for yourself!" With that Xander left the two girls, as he asked one of the students to lead him to Vestri Court, which was surprisingly the first year girl, Katie.

*Meanwhile*

"Are you sure that young Louise summoned Gandalfr?" asked Osmond.

"Yes sir, he has the same runes that are found in Brimir's tome, but we can't confirm it unless we actually see him in combat."

It was then that Miss Longueville knocked on the door and was granted permission.

"Yes? What is the matter?"

"It seems that some of the students are dueling at Vestri Court. The entire school already knows about it and many of the students have formed an audience there. A few teachers have arrived as well to stop it but there are too many students for them to do anything.

"Who are the ones dueling?"

"It is between Guiche de Gramont and the Miss Vallière's familiar."

Osmond and Colbert turned to face each other before telling Miss Longueville to not worry about it. Nodding to the headmaster's command, the three mages walked over to a mirror, as Osmond casted a spell that revealed Vestri Court.

"Oh, Miss Longville."

"Yes headmaster?"

"Is there a betting pool going on between the two?"

"Actually yes. Most of the students are supporting Gramont, while only a few are supporting for the familiar."

"Please place 300 gold on Miss Vallière's familiar."

"Isn't it forbbiden headmaster?"

"How cruel are you Miss Longueville? You deny me of the pleasure of smoking, peeping at your panties and now you deny me of gambling," cried Osmond with fake tears.

"Very well," sighed the secretary.

*Vestri Court*

It was only a few minutes till Xander had arrived at the courtyard. Many of the students and even a few of the teachers had arrived to see the duel and it seemed that the majority of them expected Guiche to win. Walking to the center of the courtyard, Xander stood a few meters away from Guiche. Everyone, including Kirche, Katie, Tabitha, Montmorency, and Siesta were there to see the duel as well.

"STOP!"

Both duelists looked at Louise, who was catching her breathe, as she glared at the two.

"Guiche you cannot duel. It is forbidden for students to duel."

"Man is not student," spoke Tabitha who was still focused on her book.

"Don't worry Louise. I will make sure not to kill your familiar. By the way, I am impressed that you didn't run away by now."

"I never run from a fight. I have also heard that you are the son of a general are you not?"

"Why yes. My father is the general of this country."

"Then it is more important that this duel be made underway. It is ridiculous for someone to be as arrogant as you, especially one who is the son of a military officer."

"Enough small talk. Let us begin," growled Guiche as he pulled out his rose wand. Swinging his wand out, a small petal fell to the ground and transformed into a suit of armor with a spear.

"I am Guiche the Bronze, there for my Bronze Valkyries shall be your opponent."

Instead of replying, Xander merely stood where he was without even going into a stance or pulling out a weapon. Angered Guiche ordered to his golem to attack the cowboy. The metallic figure complied and ran straight for its target. Everyone expected the familiar to duck or run but they were horrified, as Xander did nothing and allowed the spear to stab him straight through the heart. Blood sprayed all around Xanderm as the ground and grass beneath him was stained in red.

The court was silent. None had every thought that the man would actually allow himself to be stabbed. Louise and the other mages were all horrified, while Siesta was in tears, believing that it was her fault. Guiche himself was also sickened by what he had done. He planned to scare the man who had insulted him into begging for mercy. Not kill him!

Suddenly everyone was startled, as Xander started laughing! The man grabbed the spear's pole and snapped it in two. This caused the golem to jump back towards its master with a broken weapon along with a large portion of Xander's cloak. This forced the cowboy to throw away the tattered remains and reveal his true appearance to the audience. Fixing his black cowboy hat (similar to Cad Bane's hat in Star Wars), Xander gripped the blade that was still in his heart and ripped it out of his body before throwing it off to the side. More of the man's life source spewed out before stopping almost immediately. In fact, it appeared that the fatal wound was closing up and already healing.

"I suppose you are wondering why I am not dying on the ground?" Receiving nods from the astonished mages, Xander fished into his shirt and brought out a necklace that was around his neck. The necklace was a thin metal chain and the object looked to be some sort of medallion. It appeared to be made out of gold and took the shape of a hawk (the hawk symbol is the same one used in Starcraft 2).

"This is the answer. To know who I am, you merely have to search for this symbol. Although to explain further, my people are known for extremely powerful healing abilities. However, that does not mean we are unaffected by pain or that we cannot die by conventional means."

Hiding the necklace back within his shirt, Xander spread his feet and took on a boxer's stance. Raising his hands, the mages couldn't help but notice the black gauntlets that looked more like leather gloves.

*CLICK, SHINK*

Suddenly, two blades popped out of the glove-like gauntlets. The swords were short but extended about a foot and a half passed Xander's fists. The twin swords shined brightly from the sunlight and appeared to be surrounded by a golden veil because of the sun's rays. However something was wrong, the cowboy looked at his right hand to see it glowing. The runes began to send electricity through Xander's body and caused a large number of sparks to appear. Grunting with the pain, Xander still kept his stance and stared at his opponent with a feral smile.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, Guiche recreated another spear and ordered his golem to attack again. As the golem charged, Xander also ran forward to attack.

Using his left blade to knock the spear aside, Xander stabbed the golem with his free sword. The blade sliced straight through the golems shoulder like a hot knife through butter. Spinning around, Xander ripped his blade out of the metallic body and used the momentum to swing his left arm out into an arc. This resulted in the golem being decapitated from behind, as the bronze body crumbled into dirt before it hit the ground. Turning back to face Guiche, the cowboy began walking towards his direction, all the while enduring the pain that the runic marks gave him.

This caused Guiche to panic, as he swung his rose rapidly. This caused about six petals to fall on the ground, but instead of one, each petal created about two or three valkyries. Seeing the large group before him, Xander couldn't help but be impressed by Guiche's ability to control so many golems at once. Now Xander was facing against sixteen golems that all carried various bronze weapons. This included maces, spears, swords, shields, and hammers.

Smiling despite the pain, Xander closed his eyes and began to focus on his energy.

'I hope I can still do this.'

After gathering the needed energy, Xander saw that all of the golems were charging and four of them were three feet away. Quickly reacting through years of fighting, the cowboy unleashed the built up energy towards the four golems.

"GRAVITY CRUSH!"

Suddenly, all four of the golems were smashed into the ground by an unseen force and crumpled under the pressure. Shocking Guiche even further, Xander ignited his blades so that they were on fire and swung both arms in outwards arcs towards another four golems.

"MAGMA CUTTER!"

The moment that was said, a wave of red fiery energy shot out and struck the four metallic figures. The super conducted heat cut the golems horizontally in half and was hot enough to melt the metal bodies. Jumping over the melted bunch, Xander attacked the final eight golems with his super heated blades.

Charging the first one, Xander stabbed at its elbow, while dodging a strike from a sword from the second golem. Quickly grabbing the cut off limb, the cowboy smashed it against the second golems head, as he kicked the first one down.

One down.

Turning back to the fallen golem, Xander proceeded to slash at its chest with his blades before it turned into melted rock.

Two down.

Suddenly, Xander was thrown back and crashed into the ground, as a hammer struck him from the side. Continuing its onslaught, the hammer golem proceeded to smash at Xander, as he used his reflexes to dodge the attacks as much as he could.

'Damn. The runes on my hand are not only hurting me but they're also slowing down my healing abilities. I need to end this quickly.'

Looking up, the cowboy saw an opening in the hammer golem's attack and jumped up to slice at its chest. With the blades still having the fiery energy, it looked as if Xander was using fire swords than metallic blades.

Three down.

Turning back to Guiche, Xander saw that two of the remaining golems were charging forward in an attempt to double team the cowboy. Parrying one blow from a sword, Xander slashed at the second golem but was able to still slice through the bronze armor with his super heated swords.

Four Down.

Grimacing at the broken rib he got from the hammer golem, Xander was able to lunge out of a sword slash but he wasn't able to fully dodge it. This resulted in a large gash on his left side as Xander panted for breathe. Gathering up what little energy he had left, Xander used the last of his energy.

'I can use the GRAVITY CRUSH one more time before collapsing. I better make it count.'

Focusing on the last four golems, Xander immediately unleashed the pressurized force on their metallic bodies. This led to another crumpling and smashing result, as Xander made a full sprint and tackled Guiche into the ground. Luckily for the blonde teen, the twin blades were no longer on fire. Sheathing his left blade, Xander used his left hand to pin the struggling Guiche down, while he raised his right sword above his head.

This caused Guiche to stop struggling and look at the hardened brown eyes with his own frightened blue-gray eyes.

"Okay! Okay! I yield! I yield! Please don't kill me!"

Huffing from the lack of breath, Xander stood himself up and walked over to Louise and Siesta. The other mages stared at Xander with either fear or fascination. Stopping in front of the shocked girls, Xander spoke one thing before collapsing in front of them.

"Told you I could take him down," smiled Xander before losing consciousness.


So... Love it, hate it? Please Review to let me know.

A/N: Just to let you guys know if Xander seems even the slightest bit like Mary-Stu then please inform me immediately.

Also please check out my other stories and send me your thoughts about them if you have the time.

Goodbye!