**AUTHOR'S NOTE**
I am sorry for not updating in a while, I had severe writer's block and couldn't get the story to sound right. But, here is the beginning of our conflict, as well as the beginning of our heroes' troubles. And we will see what the twins are really all about, or at least Sam!
**WARNING**
This chapter contains blood and implied/attempted murder. (At least in Brightmore's eyes)
As was customary at the beginning of the year, the duelists were to present their skills before the three masters in order to demonstrate their capabilities. The battles usually were arranged as 2 on 2, thus explaining the evenly numbered chairs, as an added incentive bonus. And, as by luck or circumstance, Gabriel and Raiden found themselves facing off Cassandra and Samuel respectively, and Allison would be dueling against Sabrina. Orion and Yazmin, however, were going first, and intended on setting an example for the three of them.
The two of them set out inside of the stadium, ready to duel. Yazmin activated her bright orange and yellow gauntlet, and summoned her creature. "Justicar Arcanix!" she called out, and a massive titan of a Mecha Thunder emerged from the portal. It bowed reverently before her before turning to face Orion. Unlike most of the students, he was not phased upon seeing this beast before him. "You're not switching it up for our very first battle at the academy?" he asked, a bit of a condescending tone apparent in his stuttering voice.
"Best to stick to who and what you know best," Yazmin said, crossing her arms. "Now then, are you going to duel me, or are you going to just stand there judging my every move, like usual?" Orion grinned, and then activated his white and grey gauntlet. "Waterspout Gargoyle!" he cried, and the Aquan leapt out of the portal with a loud screech. While the size difference between the two was vast, the smaller Water creature was a touch more powerful, meaning the match could go either way.
And with that, the two commanded their creatures to push forward and attack. Waterspout Gargoyle immediately leapt onto the Light Creature's head, clawing and biting, rapidly attacking and clinging onto it with a steadfast grip. Justicar Arcanix did not yield, and even stood still and waered around blindly as its attacker searched for a weak spot with berserk ambition. Orion was confused at the pause in battle, was she seriously going to let him win? He called the Aquan off to try and change tactics.
But, as soon as it released, the Light Creature snatched it up with one massive metal hand and threw it into the wall with a resounding smash. Absolutely stunned, the Water creature struggled to get up, completely out of breath from its prior attempt. Yazmin gave a snarky grin as Orion quietly realized what her point of attack was. But, before he could do anything else, she commanded Justicar Arcanix to use "Solar Wind!" and Waterspout Gargoyle was almost instantly banished, evaporating into water droplets.
"That's enough," Master Brightmore's voice called out from above. He, as well as the other two Masters, were at the highest point of the coliseum, observing everything from a near eagle-eye view. "Yazmin, while your tactics were admirable, they are not exactly optimal for a Light creature's sensibilities. You may find yourself with quite the adamant creature on your hands if you don't think to differ. Orion. Keep a strong defense as well as offense. Rushing into battle like that is irresponsible."
The two bowed in reverence, and Yazmin returned her creature before joining Orion back in the stands. Meanwhile, Raiden, Allison, and Gabriel were unsure about Brightmore's sudden reappearance, which seemed almost coincidental with their arrival.
"I just don't get why they let Brightmore in here of all places after he betrayed the entire order!" Ray whispered over to Allie and Gabe. "I mean, sure, it's not exactly the most mainstream place for him to work, but isn't anybody else here finding this a little sketchy?"
"Well, maybe he's changed!" Gabe whispered right back. "I mean, remember how we found the scorch marks of a Light creature's weapon on the platform of the waylines? He could have very well realized the errors of his ways in joining The Choten, and decided to turn over a new leaf with people that would be less judgmental of his previous wrongdoings."
"Yeah, get real!" Allie lobbed back. "Everybody here knows that he ran here the second that we re-fortified the veil because he was scared! He's stuck here in hiding because nobody else wants him." Gabe turned to look at Allie, and she felt a massive blush creep up her face. "Uh, at least… so I've heard."
"You've been gossiping?" Gabe asked, throwing up an eyebrow. Allie defensively shrugged. "Hey, what else is there to do here? Besides, it's not like anyone's actually willing to defend him." As they argued on the ethics of spreading rumors about one's own teachers, Ray was once again letting his mind wander, as was triggered by Gabriel mentioning the Choten. He thought back to the room with the replica Mother Virus, and wondered if he should tell his friends about what he'd seen.
He was quickly cut off from this when he realized it was his turn to duel, seeing his opponent already waiting for him in the center of the arena. "Wish me luck!" he said to the both of them, and rushed down the steps to join Sam. Upon his feet hitting the ground, Sam gave him a quick once-over glance, huffing gently. "Somehow, I pictured you a little less…" He gestured to Ray's entire body.
"A little less… what?" Ray asked, but Sam just shook his head and activated his cyan and brown gauntlet. "Dragon of Reflections!" he called, as the Tsunami Dragon soared out of the Portal, landing loudly behind him. Raiden, ignoring the weird sort of bluff, activated his golden gauntlet, and called for his partner "Tatsurian the Unchained!" and Bob stomped out of the portal, Ray climbing on top of him.
"This seems oddly familiar," Bob said, surveying his surroundings. "What's the plan of attack?" Ray looked over at Sam and his dragon, looking for any weak spots. The spines on her arms and legs appeared brittle enough, like stained red and gold glass that reflected off every single speck of light, causing little prisms to appear at her feet. "I'm thinking something like surprisal. Make it look like we're just bursting straight in, and then we strike when he least expects it!" Bob nodded, and roared loudly, as they charged straight towards the duelist and his creature.
Sam put up his shield, but the Dragon remained a deadlock gaze, and took the blow straight on. Recoiling from the hit, Ray clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. But, when he opened his eyes, something was extremely off. He was 14 again, and atop Bob, though Bob seemed to be resisting more. He wasn't even in the Academy anymore, but at the temple in San Campion. Master Brightmore and an unevolved Ra-Vu stood before them, as Ray's teachers and an equally young Allie and Gabe anxiously looked on.
"Man, now it's really familiar," Ray muttered under his breath. "Uh, Bob! Try taking out Ra-Vu …again, I guess!" he then yelled, but Bob didn't move. "What are you talking about, exactly?" he asked, shifting his shoulders a bit, and turning around to face the younger Gabe and Allie. "This is our target!" The hybrid armed his missiles and fired directly at them. "Bob, no! What are you doing?!" Ray demanded, as the missiles seemed to fly directly through the force field and hit… Sam's dragon.
Everything switched back to normal. Raiden was at his proper age again, they were in the academy, in the battle with Sam, and Gabriel and Allison were safe, but looking extremely confused. Ray shook his head, trying to decipher why he'd just flashbacked to that one moment in his life. Recovering from the attack, Dragon of Reflections growled, and then stated in a raspy voice "You just think you know what's going on." Sam, taking a page from Raiden's book, climbed atop his dragon, despite her utter confusion.
"Alright then, fine," Sam said. "Let's not waste any more time with this." Ray glared, and Bob's wings unfurled as he took to the sky, Dragon of Reflections hot on his tail. He blasted his rockets downwards, only for them to miss her and smash into the ground. As high as they could go without smashing against the ceiling, they clashed and parried, dinging claws and spines into each other as often as they could. Ray, upon noticing Master Brightmore and his almost pallid expression of disgust, gave a short wave, and want back to the battle at hand.
After yet another clash, the Tsunami Dragon and her rider were directly beneath them. "Bob, now!" Ray yelled, and they piledrived them down into the ground, knocking up black ash and soot everywhere. Sam went careening off his creature and skidded to a halt on his face. Sniffed back blood, he weakly got up and slashed downwards with his gauntlet, though Ray didn't see anything much happen. The Tsunami Dragon, now being pinned down by Bob's massive claws, weakly looked up at the two of them with a wounded glance.
"Alright, Bob!" Ray called out. "You know what to do!" But, Bob did not respond. He started shaking violently, unable to do anything, as Dragon of Reflections cocked her head to the side, with sarcastic innocence. "Bob, c'mon, it's not real! Whatever you're seeing, it's a trick!" Ray reassured him, the armored dragon still staring down his foe with wide eyes. Bob clenched his eyes shut, and fired a missile directly into her face, and she was banished.
"I saw you," Bob whispered as he opened his eyes slowly. Ray was speechless as he climbed off Bob's back. "It's okay." Ray said. "I'm okay, alright?" He gently then returned him to the Fire Civilization, and then walked over to Sam. Sam turned away, and looked at the ground, his bloody nose still dripping heavily. Master Brightmore, almost livid in both his expression and body language, practically stormed into the ring, eschewing any sort of former politeness.
"How absolutely wonderful that you're still up to your old tricks, Raiden," he practically accused, sternly gazing down on him. "Others may claim that your dueling style may very well prove successful, but do keep in mind that this is a professional setting, and there is not a single professional excuse to intentionally coerce and murder one's sparring partner!"
"Wh- coerce?" Ray asked. "Hey, I didn't tell him to start copying me! And what about him completely throwing me and Bo… Tatsurian the Unchained off guard and having us think we're murdering our own friends? You've got nothing, nothing at all to say about that?"
"If you'll kindly excuse my causal speech, do shut up," Brightmore responded. "You don't get any special privileges for being born into this profession, nor twisting the rules to however you see fit." He took a very long deep breath, and then turned to Sam. "Samuel, nice work. Using her reflective capabilities to fool an opponent as such is seldom done correctly. Though, I would not recommend mirroring much from that boy."
He returned up into the seats, as did the other two young duelists. Ray, taking a rather long walk of shame up to where he was seated, could feel the tens of eyes staring at him as he did so. He sat down next to his friends again, feeling a pit growing in his stomach. "Oh, yeah, he's definitely changed, Gabe." Allie said, reclining back in her seat as Ray himself gave a deep sigh. Things weren't exactly going as planned, and he felt like they weren't going to change anytime soon, with Brightmore as a teacher again.