" Students, I'd like you to meet your new classmates. Their names are Cameron and Bertina."
Syaoran gave them a once over; trying to get a first
impression. Cameron - tall with dark brown hair and striking
dark blue eyes, was as fit as a ten year old could be. Bertina on the
other hand was frailer, with short black hair in
an almost Egyptian bob cut, and large brown eyes behind a pair of thin
oval framed glasses. Her complexion was
almost deathly pale, but there was no mistaking the healthy shine in
her eyes. She was timid, and hid behind
Cameron noticeably. Marc was the first to make an impression, and the
first to make a tactical mistake.
" Hey, girl, what's your sign?"
He smiled slyly, only to suddenly find himself face to face with Cameron. Marc immediately stood up cockily.
" Hey, I'm sure a strong, sensible guy like you could do with a new partner.."
Bertina was fearful, she didn't want to be traded,
she didn't like the look in that boy's eyes. But, Cameron only
glared warningly, and even Marc understood its meaning... "Flattery
will only cost you your neck..."
Sakura could see where this was going and worked up the courage to approach Bertina.
" Hello. My name is Sakura."
" Hi."
" And this," Sakura motioned to Syaoran," Is Syaoran."
" Cameron's and I are together," Bertina motioned
behind her," We're very glad to meet you."
For five seconds, there was a tense silence. Cameron
and Syaoran evaluated one another, reading each other the
way guys do, and for a horrified minute Sakura thought they might duke
it out...but then...
" Good to meet you, Syaoran." Cameron stuck out his
hand.
" You and I have something in common." Syaoran said,
returning the handshake.
" Yes. We do." Both of them glanced at Sakura and
Bertina who were busy chatting softly with Tomoyo.
" So, Bertina, what's your magic?"
" Earth." Her voice was almost a whisper, like the
rustling of leaves in the wind.
" Earth? That's kind of generalized...anything specifically?"
" Plants.."
" And Cameron?"
" Rock."
" Oh."
Bertina waved her hands delicately, and a silver
vine appeared from the marble floor, twining itself around and
around, until it formed a delicate circlet.
" For you."
" Thank you. It's beautiful." Sakura's eyes widened
in surprise and she picked it up and put it around her wrist.
Suddenly, the little circlet glowed. Sakura yelped a little, and Bertina
apologized.
" I'm sorry. It's suppose to do that."
" Wow. It's wonderful. Thank you."
Bertina pulled another one together and handed it
to Tomoyo who, together with Sakura, admired its fragile
links. Marc in the meantime decided to try again and slinked up beside
them.
" I still say you're missing the opportunity of a lifetime."
Sakura sighed in disgust. Turning her back to Marc,
she tried to continue her conversation, but Marc was
insistant.
" Aw, come on. One of you must want to dump your pathetic excuse of a soul-mate."
Eyes flared.
" Don't ever call Syaoran pathetic!"
" You're a loser if you think I'll dump Eriol."
Marc stared at Bertina. She turned away, too shy
to speak, but her body language told plainly she was not
interested.
Marc smiled, but it was forced. With what little
pride he could salvage, he left, kindling a fire of revenge.
Meanwhile, Meilin was trying her best to make the worst of things.
She sauntered over to Syaoran.
" I don't know what you see in that little girl." She murmurred.
His silence perturbed her, so she tried to weave her charm around Cameron.
" I mean, I know partridges with more figure then they do."
Syaoran's glance told Cameron to hold his rage. Bottled up, it only fueled his temper further.
" What do you see in those measly excuses for girls anyway?"
Syaoran was about to lose it, but there was no point
in letting Meilin get the best of him. He could see that
Cameron was about to burst too.
" Come on." He muttered, yanking Cameron along," We have better things to do."
Luckily, at that point, Mr. Terada had returned.
" Class, I'd like to introduce you to Mrs. Mackenzie, my assistant teacher."
A tall woman with a mysterious smile, and long dark red hair walked beside Mr. Terada.
" Hello, students. Let me be the first, to welcome
you to Chimaera Chateau. You'll each have your own private
room for your things, and I'll show you to them."
" Mrs. Mackenzie will be teaching you for a while,
as I have some urgent business to attend to."
Mr. Terada left, and Mrs. Machkenzie smiled.
" Let's begin now, shall we? Now what has Mr. Terada
managed to teach you?"
" How to make our animals appear, and how to make
art..."
" Hmm. Then, you're behind. Strange, its not like
him to slack students off."
" Well,"
" Nevermind. Now, Cameron, Bertina, you were not
with this group correct?"
" Yeah." Cameron.
" Do you know how to summon your animals, though?"
" Yes."
" All right. Everyone, my first lesson requires
you to have your animals, so do it. You'll only need them for a little
bit."
Immediately, 8 animals appeared out of nowhere. Purple
bird, indigo bird, two black birds, one white cat, one
orange cat, a green snake, and a copper snake.
" Very good. Now, I'll introduce my animal to you."
A cloud swirled, and out of the skies, a fuchsia
colored hawk the size of an elephant landed in their midst.
Everyone gasped.
" Yes, she is impressive, isn't she? You see, your
animal does not just reflect your magic, it reflects your power
as well. As you grow in strength and ability, so will your animal.
Now, don't take this the wrong way, your animal
may grow big, but doesn't mean that it will be of much use to you.
Your animal will merely be a symbol of your
power, and can intimidate. But, in no way, can it ever help you in
your battles. Animals can not harm the living soul,
but I'll explain that further as we go. Right now, we're going to try
to bring out the powers within you so that you
will be prepared. Now, to begin. Each of you, at minimal, needs to
memorize one basic spell. It would be rather
stupid of a Magi not to know at least one spell.
In my class, you'll learn a minimum of: one defense
spell, two attack spells, one restraint spell, and two release
spells. This is the goal for all magic types. The first I'll teach
each of you is a defense spell."
" Shouldn't you teach attack first?"
" Attack spells are important, Syaoran, but defense
is a life and death importance. You need to know how to
protect yourself against many types of magic, and without a good defense
spell, you can know all the attacks in the
world and they wouldn't help you.
Now. The trick is to get the defense that will work
to your advantage. Choosing the right one can be difficult. The
stronger the magic that is bombarded on you the stronger the defense
you need. Certain kinds are known to drain a
Magi's power, so its important to find the best one."
" Best one?"
" Well, its common sense that a fire Magi would
not use a water defense, because that could extinguish a great
deal of his power, and vice versa for the water Magi. Technically,
Magi could summon any power they want, but
some powers have adverse effects against his major magic type.
Now, each of you has a different magic, but the
defense spell is much the same: a protective covering of some
sort, to repel the opponents attack. It is merely the make-up of the
shield that differs. For psychic, your defense
would be your mind.
I find, that for my psychic
students and dark art students, it is difficult to form a shield correctly,
because
unlike the elementals you're barriers are not physical. For you it
is necessary to form a shield with your power, but
in a way that it wouldn't tap off your reserve. In this way it is easier
to maintain your defense to the peak, without
draining you as well...now, will my psychic students please step forward?
Good. Give it a try."
Eriol and Tomoyo both formed shields, small round disks of purple psyche, but Mrs. Mackenzie shook her head..
" No, try again. They must completely surround you. Attack is not always from the front."
Eriol and Tomoyo extended their shields to form bubbles.
It held for a second, but flickered and disappeared.
They stood panting.
" You see my point now? It takes a great deal of
energy, but it can be done the way I said, one just needs to
learn the way to do it. Try again, this time, do it as though you are
blowing up a balloon. Tie off your energy from
the shield..."
Eriol nodded, but there was a decided pause as they
took a deep breath - the first time had been draining. With
careful consideration of their resources, they slow bubble formed around
them, and their eyes closed, each
imagining how they could tie off their energy. Suddenly, an idea hit
them. They slowly merged together their
energy, forming one large bubble around them. It lasted longer, over
5 minutes, before it flickered and they gasped.
" Good! That is another way to do it, merging to
one. It saves energy forming one shield. But, you will have to
learn to do it separately later, in case your partner is not present.
Now, let's move to...Bertina and Cameron."
" Us?"
" Yes. Please."
Bertina and Cameron stood in front of Mrs. Mackenzie. She waved a gloved finger.
" Now, you're magic is..."
" Plant."
" Rock."
" Very good. Now, you're defense is elemental magic.
You're barriers of defense will be more physical. A cage.
You have it easier, because you're defensives don't draw off your energy,
but you'll still need to learn the proper
way to form a good shield on the first try, as you cannot add to the
shield you make."
Cameron and Bertina exchanged worried glances.
" All right, to begin..."
For an hour or so, Mrs. Mackenzie slowly instructed
them in the ways they could defend themselves against
attacks of other magics. By the end, they had the minimal defense experience
of a 20th class mage, lowest in the
ranks.
" Very good. Now, why don't you all relax in the
dining room?"
" All right!"
Mrs. Mackenzie herded them down a hallway. A huge
mahogany door was opened, and everyone gasped. A long
table clothed in white linen was set with many delicious delectables.
Each child rushed over to a seat and sat down.
Just as they were about to eat, Mrs. Mackenzie interrupted.
" Be back to meet me in the main lobby. We have more to learn before the day is done."
Hunger had been plaguing them since their arrival,
and they gladly filled their stomachs. As they calmly ate, they
talked.
" What do you think this school is training us for?"
Eriol asked over a slice of bread.
" I don't know." Cameron answered. " But, whatever
it is, its got to be better than where we were."
" Nothing will ever be better then where I was."
Sakura muttered.
" That may be your case, but we were glad to get
away." Cameron muttered.
" Yes." Was Bertina's only answer, but her face
registered the same pain as Sakura's - both sad, but for
opposite reasons.
" Oh, look. its about time we get back."
They hurried all the way to the lobby, and continued
their study. All afternoon, and through the night, they
trained in defense, their teacher firm and strict, making sure they
knew exactly what they were doing, unwilling to
let them get away with the smallest mistake.
" Perfection is the difference between life and death. One small mistake can cost you more than your life..."
As they were ushered to their rooms that night, each
one of them was tired, and felt as though lead weights had
been wrapped around them. The girls to their rooms, and the boys to
their own. Each room contained a large bed,
complete bath and a huge wardrobe full of different clothes, and beside
each bed, their bags and belongings were
laid out along with nightwear, just so their clothes would not be wrinkled
for the next morning.
Time flew. Almost a year passed, and the children
learned quickly, gaining new skills and achievements each
day. Sakura, Tomoyo and Bertina grew extremely close. Cameron, Eriol
and Syaoran would never be as close as
the girls, but they had their own bonds. Marc and Meilin stayed their
distance. They pushed others away, and the
others found no reason to include them, as they repeled all kindness.
Another year, and the children are all 12.
They've become experts at their magics, and Mrs. Mackenzie found that
the studies were beginning to bore them.
But, there was nothing more she could do for now...it wasn't the time
yet.
Another year flew by and their powers steadied a
little. They were now at the same level as a class 19 magi
which would seem a very small improvement considering the time they'd
spent. But, since they hadn't actually
faced another magi in battle, it was no surprise. The only changes
had been their physical appearances, their
animals were the same as when the 8 children started. And it angered
some of them, particularly Marc. He fumed
as the others went about looking busy.
" I can't believe it!!! Two years and still no improvement!"
He gave his bird a disapproving glance.
" It may take more then 3 years for the experience
to build up." Bertina said quietly. She was still the same shy,
timid girl as when they'd first arrived, but she'd built up a little
self-confidence in that time.
" Maybe you can tolerate this, but I CAN'T!"
" Patience is a virtue..." She continued.
" NOT FOR ME IT ISN'T! AND IF YOU DON'T QUIT SPOUTING
THAT TRASH, I'LL..."
" You'll what?"
Marc looked up into the eagle eyes of Cameron. His
bravado slumped visibly, but he still was in a nasty mood.
Cameron took another step forward, calmly eyeing the other threateningly.
" I'll...I'll..."
Marc lifted a finger, then let it fall. His eyes
broke the gaze, and he looked at the floor in defeat. Then, he slowly
raised his eyes back up. They no longer reflected coolness, and stability...rather
an uncontrollable fire roared, built
up from two years of wrath.
" I'll DO THIS!"
Before everyone's eyes, he powered up an energy ball,
and aimed it at Sakura. Syaoran's eyes widened, and he
sped across the hall towards her to save her from impending doom. But,
he was too far. The energy blast shot
across the room, and Sakura watched with horror. She was about to duck
in hopes of a chance of escaping, when a
body tore in front of her, shielding her entirely from harms way. There
was a gasp all around and Sakura looked up,
expecting maybe Cameron or Eriol to be her angel of mercy. But, what
she saw shocked her. Bertina heaved
silently, arms crossed before her face, and blood dripping slowly down
her elbow to the marble floor. Sakura
couldn't believe what she was seeing. Could this silent mysterious
girl, one who was too timid to confront even
herself, be the one who'd just saved her from a fate worse then death?
Cameron's eyes glazed over in rage. He rushed at
Drake, but Syaoran got there first, with a good backhand right
across that cruel smirking face. Cameron turned to assist, but Syaoran's
face told him plainly " I'll deal with this..."
and Cameron knew better then to interfere. Turning, he rushed to Bertina,
who had dropped to her knees, Sakura
beside her with tears pouring.
" Why'd you do it? I could have taken it..." Sakura
muttered softly.
" I'll be fine. Go help Syaoran, I'll be all right."
She smiled reasurringly, as Cameron's arms enveloped her.
Sakura was about to place her hand on the red welts running up and down,
but for some reason, Bertina pulled
away slightly. Syaoran saw from a distance as well, and though it puzzled
him, he was relieved. Sakura shouldn't be
using that power against such an awful wound.
[ BERTINA!] Cameron's mind was filled with raging
emotions.
[ I'm sorry.] She expected a reprimand.
[ Don't ever scare me like that again...] Her eyes
turned upward, in wonder. He'd been afraid for her?
Impossible. He was Cameron, he had no fear.
Bertina smiled silently, cut off by a wince. Her
arms were a mess. Cameron helped her up and moved her quickly
up and towards the med lab.
***
Syaoran and Sakura paced outside the emergency room,
Tomoyo sat wringing her hands, Eriol holding her
reassuringly. Syaoran glanced up, Cameron was leaning against the wall,
biting his lip. Several screams erupted
from the room, and Cameron squeezed his fists tighter, his eyes tighter.
Helpless, as they fixed her up.
Sakura closed her ears to the screams, willing herself
to deaf. Out in the furthest parts of the corridor, Meilin sat
back and watched the group.
***
Bertina gritted her teeth, as the stinging elixer was applied again.
" AAAAGGGGGHhhhhhh!" She clenched her teeth, teary
eyed in pain. She gripped the stainless steel bench, as
she tried to maintain mental block. But, some of the pain still managed
to seep through, and Cameron could sense
her.
[ Hold on. You'll be all right.] His words reassured her.
" Hold on, sweetie, you're doing just fine." Mrs.
Mackenzie poured a small bit more of the elixer, another
scream of pain.
It was a mess of welts and burns up spanning her
elbow to the back of her fingers. The dark magic prevented
blood clotting, and so this painful process was necessary to remove
the spells from her arm so she wouldn't bleed to
death. Mrs. Mackenzie heard a soft sobbing from outside. Sakura had
been inconsolable, and it still escaped the
teacher why she wanted to wait outside suffering this torture. Cameron
too was in a great deal of shock, and if not
handled properly could do something quite unthinkable, self afflicted
damage even.
***
3 hours. Three hours and they hadn't come out yet.
Cameron's face was wrinkled with worry. He flinched as a
hand fell on his shoulder.
" She'll be all right, Cameron." Syaoran's smooth bari-tenor voice echoed.
Cameron nodded solemnly. No matter
what, he wouldn't cry…a lump formed in his throat…
" If she doesn't make it, you'll need a new partner...I volunteer!"
SLAM! Meilin clutched her cheek in shock. Cameron
heaved angrily, then stormed off. She watched him, then
huffed.
" WHAT DID HE DO THAT FOR!! WHAT DID I DO TO HIM?!!!"
Sakura sighed in disgust, and followed after. Syaoran left next, glancing back once.
" I didn't think anyone could be so self-centered. I guess I was wrong."
She gasped as he departed. Her shock was replaced with anger as she screamed after him.
" I'm NOT SELF-CENTERED! I JUST PLAN AHEAD!!!"
She grumbled softly and left as well, leaving Tomoyo
and Eriol waiting patiently for the patient. Neither one of
them said anything as more screams echoed from behind the door.
***
Swish...
Eriol looked up. Tomoyo slept soundly on his shoulder.
" How is she?"
" She's all right. Is Cameron here?"
" He left, but he should be here any second. Their mental link is strong."
" Yeah."
Silence insued, as Bertina walked out wobbily. Her
entire lower arm up to her elbow was swathed in bandages.
She looked up, and saw a figure blurrily hurrying towards her. She
tried to clear her eyes, but pain and her visual
handicap still fuzzed her vision.
" Bertina!" She felt arms embrace her, and tears
welled up. She stared at the blurred figure.
" Cameron?" Her half-blind eyes wandered up to the
blur of color that was his face. Automatically, her hands
went up, feeling along the lines of his face, reading his expression
by touch as she was used to doing so many times
before.
" She's going to be all right." Mrs. MacKenzie wiped her hands.
Bertina's eyes were wide. Her hand stayed on Cameron's
cheek bone, as she looked at him with tear-stained
face. She could feel his tears sliding between her fingers, and his
muscles clench as he struggled not to sob in relief.
He'd been afraid. And it scared her. If he could be scared, there were
things out there worse then this... Suddenly,
her vision cleared up.
" Here, your glasses."
She turned obligingly to the newly arisen Tomoyo who had placed them on her again.
Syaoran watched the two, Cameron murmurring softly,
Bertina quiet, clutching her arms to her breast. They
were the true Magi pair. He sighed and watched Sakura. Someday, he
hoped it be the same for them as well...
" Bertina's arms will heal, but they'll have permanent
scars. She might experience further pain," Mrs.
Mackenzie told Cameron later.
" How much pain?"
" A dull ache. Her muscles suffered a lot of damage.
I don't know if she'll be able to use them fully again. But,
mostly, its mental pain. It hurt her a lot during the procedure. She's
been through a lot of shock, and if not properly
handled, it could have disasterous effects."
Cameron nodded.
***
" You have pushed the limits of my temper once before, but this has got to top it all!!!"
Mr. Terada pointed out. Mrs. Mackenzie fumed, anger
consuming her as it had never done before. Even Mr.
Terada dared not to cross her - when she was angry, she got angry.
" WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, NEVER HAVE I SEEN SUCH FOOLISHNESS IN A STUDENT!"
Her voice
echoed. Memories of the girl in her med lab flashed fresh in her mind.
" I warned you Marc. I made sure of it. I don't like to punish students,
but this was a major catastrophe. An
infringement of this school's code," Mr. Terada replied sternly, "
Therefore, you will be stripped of your powers for
the next 5 years. You'll serve those five years in a child's rehabilitation
ward, hopefully recovering from whatever
is debilitating your mind."
Marc didn't cringe, or plead, or yell. He simply stared off into space.
[ Damn, that Bertina kid...she'd messed up my entire
intentions...Well, she'd get what was coming to her soon
enough...then...Sakura!!!]
***
" Thank you Eriol, nicely demonstrated. Sakura your turn... All right, begin!"
Sakura stood silently in the battle field. She watched closely. Suddenly...attacked!
" TRANSFORM!"
She transmorphed, changing into a small cat, white,
and opened her jaws wide. Out of it, a blizzard shot across
the ground, hitting the metallic droid full impact. It exploded.
" Well, done! Next!"
Syaoran looked confidently across the field as the
next metal droid was ejected from a small tube. It flew silently
toward him, and he raised his sword ready.
" Begin!"
Syaoran raised his sword, and flames began to lick
up and down the blade. The entirety of it glowed red, and as
the droid closed in, he raised it, and sliced through the target like
a knife through butter. The two melting halves
fell to the floor sizzling.
" Well, done! Tomoyo, you're up!"
She nodded in compliance, and strode onto the field as the next pod ejected.
" Begin!"
A small round ball formed in her palm and she rolled it towards the enemy. It knocked into the droid and stopped.
" That's you're power? What a pansy!" Meilin screamed.
Without warning, the ball sprouted multiple tentacles.
They gripped onto the droid, and it convulsed violently as
the energy was sucked out of it. The ball glowed intensely, then returned
to Tomoyo – the droid remained crumpled
on the floor.
" Amazing! You all have improved a great deal!"
They smiled proudly. Eriol looked approvingly at
Tomoyo, and Syaoran and Sakura glanced at each other, proud
of their accomplishments. Cameron cheered from the sidelines, and even
Bertina smiled, clapping softly. All but,
Meilin.
She growled angrily. There was no one there to help
her. No one to tell her it was all right, or to tell her that
she'd done a good job. No one. And for once, she cared.
" Why must I ALWAYS BE THE ONE TO SUFFER?"
