The Room was huge. It was disgustingly white and so bright you couldn't even tell where the corners were. Normal people couldn't anyway. That was just the icing on the cake, though. In this football field size room was a veritable vomit pool of auras and magics flashy enough to put out both the Big Guy's eyes. If God Himself could nose his into the room in the first place. Most losers assumed this joint was a typical square room. Wrong. This place was built in a hexagon.
Why? Every idiot knew five was a mystical number, and a room carved in five was a room with magic waiting to happen to it. The Room was had spells up the wazoo. Every wall was chock full of spells, arrays, runes, charms, and spirits that kept their magic in, and the rest out.
The Room was nuts too. Some idiot managed to make it think.
It's purpose in the Compound was to teach young, potential magic users how to use their magic, only it didn't teach. The rumor was that the magic user who tried to craft the Room got so tied up in the magic, she couldn't get out. So while she kept trying to perfect her master piece with her magical body, her natural one slowly shut down and finally died. But her magic was still alive and kickin it because the Room was strong enough to draw on unknown sources of magical energy to maintain itself. Her spirit was trapped in the spell, and was forced to show up like an in-color Casper and teach. She didn't even have a name, so everybody just called her the Room. Or the Witch.
The Witch didn't teach, she tortured. Everyday the only sixteen magic users in the entire Compound showed up to learn in the Room. They all wandered around the Room until, like eating chocolate ice cream, the spot felt right. A single sheet of paper drifted down from wherever-the-hell, with each individual's instructions for the day typed neatly on it. Every now and then, a kid got lucky and only had to do something stupid, like studying constructs of magic. Runes and spells. Most days, however, the Room came up with tasks of magic on a scale of impossible. Like managing a complete transfiguration of an inanimate object into whatever showed up on the paper, or using their total knowledge of magic to survive in a mental simulation. The smart and strong usually managed to at least figure out how to accomplish their objectives. The ten-year olds were bored. Why? They kicked ass.
At least this ten-year old kick ass was bored. He sighed for the tenth time in three minutes glanced at his objective. The small cloth napkin in front of him taunted him. His breath huffed on it and it ruffled mockingly, as if to say, "Bored huh?"
The boy never passed up an opportunity to relieve boredom. He leaned over the napkin and nodded, "Yeah, you stupid blanket." He breathed over the small cloth again. It ruffled at him, "Why not do something fun? Like that kid over there?"
He looked over and saw a five year old Asian boy sitting on the ground twenty feet away. His dark eyes stared into space as he tranced. He got to enter a mental simulation, fighting against his own mind with every spell he knew to survive as long as possible.
The boy grimaced, "Cause, stupid, I don't know how." He blew on it roughly.
The chatty cloth didn't seem to want to talk anymore. "Hey..." It sat silently in front of him on the seamless white floor. His frown darkened further. "Fine, idiot. I never figured how to do that spell. It's freakin' hard, even for a genius. He's the only one who's more advanced than me, so the Room told him how to do it. Happy?" The dumb cloth didn't even move in the breeze of his breath.
He angrily shoved the cloth away from him, and glared at it, considering the punishment for torching it.
"Duo! Shut up!", an older, long haired, blond kid hissed at him from over thirty feet away.
Duo looked over and whispered back, "It isn't me! This dumb hanky won't leave me alone!" He pointed at the stupid napkin. "And what's it to you? Mind your own damn business, Milliardo!" Duo stared mockingly at the blonde's objective. The loser couldn't seem to make the pile of twigs in front of him catch fire. The blond flushed darkly and opened his big mouth again., "You will not call me that!" he hissed.
Duo smiled his best five year old, shit eating grin. "Maybe if you were as in love with those sticks as you are with me, you could freaking burn them. Even an idiot with a match can burn sticks." The blonde's face darkened to a near purple color, and Duo laughed quietly, trying not to attract the Room's attention. The other boy's angry thoughts fluttered against his mental shields, and he could see the aura of the blonde's considerable magic forming a focal point of danger. Duo flipped back his own plaited long hair and grinned wider. Not that the blond didn't have strong power, Duo's was just stronger. A lot stronger. And he was practically a genius.
When he sensed the blond had reached the peak of anger, Duo released, what to him was, a tiny burst of wild magic. A tendril of black streaked from him to the bundle of sticks and they flinched violently. The bundle flinched again and hurled itself apart, each flying stick bursting into flame. Milliardo yelped and ducked the flying fire-sticks.
Duo quickly looked back at his own project, assuming the perfect picture of innocence. Still, he felt the fine hairs on his neck shift, and sensed the cold presence of a spirit near. He winced, looking up to meet the metallic, grey eyes of the Witch.
"Mister Maxwell. This isn't the first interruption I've had from you." Her voice was like a computer, with no tone or inflection. "Normally I would punish you, but the Room feels as though I should ask the cause behind your anomalous behavior." Duo's eyes widened and he sent a quick 'thank you' to God. No one ever got to explain themselves in the Compound. It was always shoot first and ask questions never.
He put on his best 'poor baby' face. "I'm sorry, I really am. I never meant to hurt anyone I just wanted to try to help Milliardo with his fire, so he would help me with... meditation." His hands were clenched, his cheeks red, and his eyes wide and ready to cry.
"What made you think you could help another with his assignment when you had not completed yours? Why would a small fire require a wild flare of magic? There are many various magical means to set wood to light, the least of which would be an uncontrolled burst of power, is this not true?" She stared at him calmly. Shit!
Duo cast his eyes down and scrambled for answers. Maybe not a genius after all.
"I-"
Her metallic eyes peered unblinking at him. "Mister Maxwell, the Room has no time to spare energy in teaching liars or the unreliable and the Compound has no place in it for the disobedient. It is only because of your advanced grasp of the magics, that you have been allowed the chance to explain your difficulty. If, however you choose not to take this chance, or persist in your dissembling, the full consequences will fall upon you." He could almost see the vast mind of the Room behind her flat eyes. It hovered over him like heavy judgment.
Duo lowered his head, letting his bangs conceal his expression.
"I'm just ...,"he hesitated and briefly considered trying the 'stupid kid' routine again. "Bored. All the spells I learn seem like common sense, and...I'm almost as good as the kid in the simulation," some frustration slipped out, "but he's always five steps ahead and gets to do the really challenging stuff while I'm stuck with the baby steps."
He didn't look up, and the Witch didn't say anything but he could feel those strange eyes on him, and the Room's thoughts shifting behind them. He could also sense everyone else in the room studiously applying themselves to their conjuring. Finally she spoke,
"Your grasp of the magics is far advanced beyond that of all but one of your peers, and you possess great power. You are also lazy and your control is sloppy at best. Your power is abrasive and bucks uncontrolled at the restraints of the smallest of spells. It is the Room's judgment that Duo Maxwell is not able to deal with anything as complex as magics of the mind." Duo's shoulders sagged and his bangs further obscured his face in shadow. The monotone continued.
"The Room also constantly evaluates Its students. Though It is doubtful, if Duo Maxwell has shown suitable control over his power in one week's time, the Room will consider him for higher, more complex magics. If not, Duo Maxwell will continue learning at his current speed."
Duo's head flicked up in shock, but the Witch was already moving away. He'd just gotten off completely free of punishment, and the freaky spirit had just told him how to-" He reached out and yanked the napkin over to him.
He stared at it for moment before taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes. Almost immediately he felt his power try to hop out of him, and he yanked on it hard. Duo had always thought of his strange power as a dog. He could normally point and it would run out, knocking over everything in its path and disrupting anything nearby. Like the TV, and the wind, and even people. Trying to force his mutant energy into a spell construct was like trying to force a wolf down a rabbit hole. It was way too big and involved a lot of kicking and yelping.
Duo scowled with determination. His wolf was gonna lose some weight and learn to shut the hell up. He repositioned his body until he sat cross legged, and breathed in...two. three, and then out...two...three. Every part of his small body trembled before suddenly relaxing. And without actually moving, Duo turned around to peer inside himself.
It was dark. No, not dark, but utterly and completely black. For other people, it would have been frightening, but Duo knew that this was just apart of himself, and not unfamiliar in the least. He'd never managed to cross this thresh hold in Meditation, but now it felt easy, and he knew exactly how to find what he was looking for. He called it with a sharp whistle.
In the blackness he heard it answer. Sounds, like claws striking concrete reached his ear with a scary closeness. Suddenly Duo remembered a TV show, where every time the husband came home, the family dog jump on him and nearly squished him to death. He pictured himself crushed underneath a large wolf and threw his arms out.
"Whoa doggy!"
There was an awful screech, like a car accident waiting to happen before...nothing. A puff of warm air hit his cheek and a whine reverberated all around him. Duo cautiously reached forward. His hand touched something soft and cold. It moved an released another puff of air against his hand. Another high whine bit the air and something warm and wet licked his hand. He giggled and then outright laughed as he threw his arms up and about his wolf. It danced in his arms, big and full of power and excitement. Its fur felt like the softest thing in the world and he wanted to lay against its chest forever. His wolf wriggled impatiently in his grasp. It loved hugs, but really wanted to run and play. Duo stepped back.
"Ok". Duo called forth an image of an easy spell that could make light and it flashed brightly into view above him. The lines of the spell looked like a constellation in his inner sky, spiraling diagonally almost like DNA. The light faintly reached him glowing against his pale skin. Beside him, the wolf seemed to absorb the light and looked as big as a horse. The wolf crouched, tense, and stared up into the large spiraling white construct. If used correctly, the spell would manifest a small globe of light in the physical world.
"Go!"
The wolf leapt upwards, running like a streak of pure blackness and Duo gasped. He could feel the wolf moving through him! It reached the construct and leapt.
The wolf hit it...and shattered it! Duo moaned in dismay as he felt the wolf ruining the spell. As it ran through, it shattered lines here, and knocked whirls askew there, and completely rearranged the overall shape. If the spell completed now, it could either release a nova-like blast of light, or an explosion of flame.
"No! Stop!", Duo shouted. He yelped as he felt himself jerked tight and almost yanked after the wolf. Up ahead the wolf jerked to a halt midway, and seemed to be struggling against something. The wolf tried to leap and Duo nearly flew off of his feet. He could feel the tension all over, and his physical body began to tense too.
"I...said...Stop!" The wolf fought against him! Its head tossed to and fro and it snapped its jaws, struggling forward, trying to make its way through the opening Duo had created.
How could he not have noticed this? How could he have missed this wild beast waiting to pounce whenever he used magic? As Duo considered it, he recalled the constant feeling of intensely reigning back the power. He'd probably gotten used to it. He must have also had more control on the outside, only now he wasn't on the outside and he'd made a dangerous mistake.
He abruptly noticed that he was slowly rising and saw his wolf pulling him closer and closer to the completion of the spell. The wolf had crawled halfway between the mid point and the release point. Duo didn't have time for regrets. The boy gave one last mighty tug, and the wolf slipped back a few steps. Duo released the invisible restraints and the wolf howled in satisfaction. It leapt on, filling the mangled spell with destructive power, trying to fuel it enough to blow up the wards on the Room. Duo frantically threw his hands up, grasped the construct, and ripped it apart. He closed his eyes.
For a moment it seemed like he was too late. Then the spell shuddered and collapsed on itself, disappearing in a small wink of light. There was a howl...and the pent up energy exploded freely inside of him. The backlash of energy raced through him like acid rain and lightning. Whips beat at him from all sides, and salt scraped at his wounds. He felt violently ill all the while a howl, like a human scream echoed in his ear.
His physical body grunted and grit its teeth, as he shook imperceptibly in silent agony.
Duo blinked...and blinked again. Darkness everywhere. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear them. He looked around and still saw blackness. Starting to panic, he cast a light spell and gaped as the pattern of the spell filled the air above him, soft and white, casting down a gentle radiance. Waiting to be filled with magic. The ten year old studied the barely lit space around him, and discovered some sort of smog on the ground. He bent to touch it and it stirred and drifted around his fingers like cigarette smoke. But this was cool to the touch, and lingered on his hand. And black
"Where am I?" Duo frowned and tried to retrace events. "The Room...I roasted Milliardo good...and got caught. The Witch..." He sat down in the smoky black stuff, and found he had no trouble breathing. "You are sloppy...no, I'm sloppy! So I tried...spell...wolf...wolf...wol- SHIT!"
Duo jumped up and stared all around him. He couldn't hear anything...wait. There was something... He peered into the darkness and saw nothing. Wondering if his own magic could turn on him, Duo whistled for the wolf. Nothing happened. He whistled again and saw nothing but roiling black smoke, that kept rising to curl around his waist. He felt a pang in his chest at the realization that his wolf might be gone. It was after all, just a representation of his mutant energy. That didn't stop the pain in his heart though. But he could still feel the power inside, the wolf had to be alive.
At the corner of his eye, Duo saw something shivering.
"Wolf!"
He ran through the smoke to the wolf and saw...a hole. From which black smoke cascaded. He stared in confusion. "The Hell? It hung just above the smog, about the size of his head. Somehow in the blackness, the hole managed to starkly stand out. Duo reached out to touch the round edges, but his hand drifted toward the center...and into the hole. When the tips of his fingers brush the opening, they were slowly sucked in, like sinking into cake batter.
He snatched his hand out and slammed his eyes shut. Panic started seeping in. He didn't want to be here, he just wanted to be back in the Room with stupid Milliardo, and the genius Asian, even the Witch. Feeling the power all around him, Duo called to it. The wolf had to be somewhere, and he would come. The power built up around him and he encouraged it. He started to feel full, and just pulled more to him. But no paws pounding , and no lick to the face. Finally Duo felt light headed and...cold? He opened his eyes and gasped.
A black tornado silently spun in front of him. It sat before like a sky scraper, but it felt gentle, and undemanding...pliant. Duo let his gaze drift upward, and gave another tiny gasp. At the very top, several wisps of smoke drifted upward to flow into the spell. They slowly filled each whirl and spiral, completing the spell.
"That's my-"
There was a bright flash of light and he blinked.
"Power?"
The Room's brightness filled his vision. He blinked again. He saw Milliardo leaving the Room, and everyone else was gone. Or almost everyone.
The Asian kid was out of his trance and his black eyes were locked on Duo.
Duo called forth his power, and instead of a charging jump, it flowed. He held up a hand, and watched a thin plume of wispy black generate from his flesh. Duo swallowed thickly.
The white cloth lay still on the floor before him. He could think of a lot of ways to do it, but he didn't have the pure magic to back up any of them. He shrugged feeling regret well in his chest. The Room had been right.
At least half of most magic was a process. The words, the concentration techniques, the runes. You can't do the magic without the process, and you sure as hell can't do it without some kind of power. Maybe this meant magic wasn't for him. He still wanted to push his mastery as far as he could, he wanted to be the master! But he'd never be anywhere near as good the Asian. Because while he knew a lot about the processes; Duo forgot more about the processes in a day than the others learned in a week! And while he knew he had a lot of power, the ability to use and interact with magic clearly wasn't his primary ability. Eventually even Milliardo, who had power but was, process speaking, a little retarded, would outstrip his magic ability too. There was only so much Duo could twist his strange power to magic.
Finally he stood, not looking at the Asian, and left.
A small ball of light wizzed cheerily in orbit around his head.
