Hal grunted and strained, feeling like at any moment, that would be it. His freakin' arms would just fall off. It was inevitable. It wasn't like Hal hadn't done a pull up before. Heck, he did them all the time for Hockey training.
But he didn't have around 200 pounds in weights tied to his feet then. It was totally retarded. No one could do this. He'd like to see that bony–ass, weak old man try and do even one of-
"Just five more Hal, you can do it, concentrate. Here I will give you one, for free." The white-bearded man known only as "Wizard" walked underneath Hal, who was hanging and sweating from the iron bar suspended six feet in the air in the study. The old man calmly put one thin, arthritic hand under Hal's feet, and lifted Hal from arms-length underneath the bar, until he was a full two feet over the bar, holding it with white knuckles below him.
Hal would've yelled at Wizard in outrage, but he was too tired.
"How are you so strong? It's not fair" Hal said weakly, as Wizard slowly let go of him, and Hal felt the crushing weight of his body and the weights tied to his legs once again. The amulet tied to his hand glowed, and he knew that if he lost his concentration for even a moment, the weight would probably dislocate his arms and legs.
No. No, Wizard wouldn't let that happen.
Wizard walked around in front of Hal, a look of kind concern on his face.
"I'm not, Hal. And you know that. Make yourself lighter. Let the amulet do the work. This is not about your body, it is about your mind. Relax, don't try to force it. Just believe it, know you are lighter, through the amulet, and it will be so. Only when you force gravity to loosen its grip on you will you be able to do this".
Hal's body felt like it was pulling apart; the bones in his legs were being slowly pulled away from their tendons, his muscles screamed for relief. Hal desperately tried to force his body up, up over the bar, but they wouldn't move. He wanted to curse, to scream, to yell at Wizard for doing this to him, but then, then he knew there was only one thing left to do. He would not be hurt, because he weighed no more than 100 pounds. Even babies could lift that much.
Forcing himself not to think about it, he loosened his grip on the bar, he let himself feel the force of gravity on his body, through the amulet. And then, he let himself relax. He was lighter. The amulet made him so. He felt a surge of heat, of energy from the amulet on his wrist, and suddenly his muscles relaxed. He still felt the weight on his feet, but it was ten pounds at the most. Resisting the temptation to giggle like a stupid school-girl. He pumped off four more chin-ups, and then let himself drop. His eyes closed, and he felt his body relax almost against his will as he fell to the earth. He was exhausted. When he opened his eyes a moment later, Wizard was in front of him, a hand raised. Hal was floating in the air, and the weights on his feet were gone.
Wizard was grinning broadly, as he lowered Hal gently to the mat underneath him.
"That was very good Hal! I am astounded with how quickly you are learning."
"Thanks Wiz, man. Hey I got a question for ya though. If I had failed, and lost it, you know. I mean- couldn't I have been...?"
Wizard shook his head.
"No Hal. I was watching you very carefully the entire time. I would not have let anything happen. In fact, I came very close to stopping the whole thing. You should not have insisted on so much weight."
Hal snorted.
"Not goin all out is for wimps" he said somewhat raggedly, his chest heaving, his eyes closed as he lay on the floor." After a moment he sat up, looking at the amulet tied to his wrist. Strange how such a girly thing could have so much power. It had a gold base and a pair of silver angel-wings fused onto the base, with an emerald directly between each wing. After a few minutes he sat up, and looked at wizard, who was sitting at his desk nearby, looking at Hal with concern.
"Don't worry Wiz, I'm cool." Actually Hal's every muscle felt like it was going to rip off his body; they all burned. Hal was starting to feel really tight, and unsure he could walk too far like this. "Anyway- I was just wonderin why I even have to learn this way anyhow? Can't I just try to guess the exact weight of stones and things, like I did last week? Or, I dunno move heavy stuff with my hand, or something"
Wizard shook his head. "You won't ever master being able to effect gravitational fields unless you can do it in extreme circumstances. You told me that you wanted the quickest, most effective way to learn to "kick ass" as you put it, and this is it. If you learn to control your effect under these circumstances, then nothing will distract you. Not even combat, if that is your wish. And more than that, you will learn it thoroughly, so that you may do it consistently. What you accomplished today was VERY impressive. But you will not be able to do that consistently for a while yet."
"Thanks Wiz. Yeah I'm pretty pumped about it. It was like the weight wasn't there. It rocked. This amulet you gave me is great. But..."
Wizard smiled. "You wish to know how you can get a 'better one' don't you? Well, when you are ready, I have a test for you, that I think you may be able to do now. Sooner than I thought, I might add. You may only take this test once per day, but as many days as you require. When you complete it, I will give you a more potent amulet.
Wizard paused again, his blue eyes twinkling.
"And", he began, casually, "If you complete the test, you will be allowed to compete in a House-Wide Competition, where you can win items and various other resources many times more powerful than what you currently hold. Additionally, you will be allowed to go on more difficult missions."
Hal's mouth dropped. "Really? Rock on! You mean like...?" Wizard nodded.
If Hal could raise his fist enough to pump it, he would have. He could bust his buddy Derek out of wherever those cowardly punks with frilly black hats were keeping him. Tommorrow, it would be three weeks since the incident at Vertigo. A week after the incident, Hal had demanded to know where Derek was, what those jack-asses in black had taken him. Jeremiah had avoided answering him for a while, but eventually he told him that most likely Derek was being held to try and find out information about The Library-the place where Hal was training.
The freaky nerds in black hats were part of something called the Technocratic Union, that was trying to get rid of people like Hal, who could change the way the world worked and make it kick more ass. Hal could hardly wait to jump in there and send their bony little punk-asses flying through windows. He clutched his amulet and smiled. He couldn't wait.
"Yo, Wiz. Let me take this test of yours now. I'm ready. Let's do it."
Wizard shook his head. "Not today, Hal. You need to rest your body. Remember, you can't beat these things into the ground. This is done by your mind, not your body. However, it still requires your body to be in top shape because of the way you are training right now. I will let you attempt the test tomorrow. Good work today, Hal. Really. I am most impressed with your progress. Ok, I have work to do now. And you should get to the hospital wing."
Hal was about to protest, but then he realized that he really was pretty hurt. And those guys could do pretty awesome stuff down there. Hal began to try and get up, but Wizard laughed, and shook his head again.
"Hal, you never stop, do you? I almost feel sorry for people who stand in your way." He paused, and stopped chuckling after a moment.
"I don't think you are able to move to the Hospital Wing in your current condition. I will give you a hand. I will see you tomorrow, Hal. Think about what I said to you today." And with that, Wizard snapped his fingers, and Hal was suddenly in a bed in the hospital wing.
It just so happened that Hal, Rich, and Collin all got back to the apartment early that day, and none of them had much homework. It was good for a change. The last few weeks had been insanely busy for Hal. Between school work, hockey practice, and training at the Library, Hal barely had time to sleep. As a result, he hadn't seen his roommates too often. It was good to finally get a chance to catch up with them, and find out what they've been learning.
"Yo, Rich!" Hal said, as he emerged at the top of the stairs, after crawling through his stupid bedroom window again. "Collin! Yo, what's up guys?"
Rich and Collin were sitting on the couch, appearing to argue over the remote again.
Rich and Collin turned and brightened as Hal descended the stairs. Rich got up and came over to meet him. Concern colored his face as he saw Hal limping a little. The guys in the hospital wing had done an amazing job, but Hal was still felt really tired, and his tendons were still a little sore. He was glad he didn't have hockey practice 'til next Monday.
"Hal, are you alright?" Rich asked, offering him an arm as Hal reached the landing.
Hal waved him off.
"No, it's cool man. The guys at the hospital wing fixed me up real good. They just said it'd be better if I let this heal more naturally."
"Rough day?" asked Rich.
Hal told him about his ordeal on the chin-up bar. But added that it was totally worth it, and how impressed Wizard was.
Rich eyes got a little bigger as he listened to Hal's story.
"Wow, that's cool. Gravity huh? Awesome, you can really push people around now, eh?"
Hal clenched his fist. "Totally dude." Hal looked around. "Where's Mirvin at anyway?"
Rich shrugged. "He went to train with that Michael guy I think. I haven't really seen him at all."
Hal nodded. "Oh ok. So where have you guys been training anyway? And what did you learn?"
"Me and Collin have been with Dan." Rich winked at Hal.
"Watch this," he said, turning to look at Collin. Collin appeared to have forgotten about Hal completely. He had a bit of a short attention span. He was watching something on the TV now, looking totally absorbed. The TV remote hung loosely in his right hand.
"CELERIOREM ME FAC!" Rich shouted, instantly jumping forward. The world seemed to distort around him, and he moved inhumanly fast, whizzing around the corner of the couch, grabbing the remote out of Collin's hand, and hopping onto a beanbag chair beside the couch. Then he changed the TV channel.
The effect ended, and Rich sat leisurely on the beanbag chair, watching a kung-fu movie.
Collin didn't move an inch during the whole encounter. It didn't look like he noticed. Hal couldn't blame him too much though. Rich had been little more than a blur. Collin brought his thumb and forefinger together now though, trying to use a remote that wasn't there anymore. He looked confusedly around the room, finally spotting Rich, who was on the bean bag chair now.
"Hey! Come on! No magic outside of the Library, that's what Dan said!" Collin frowned, as his eyes spotted the remote in his hand. He didn't appear to have noticed it before.
"Hey! I was using that! It's not fair for-'. At that exact moment, the TV turned off. Smoke billowed out of the top of it.
"Oh no. NO. Just NO." Collin said, horror in his eyes.
He stood up.
"Not AGAIN. YOU, TV!" Collin said, addressing the TV. "You WILL obey me. You WILL work. MARK MY WORDS WELL, FIENDISH CONTRAPTION OF METAL AND GLASS!"
Collin approached the TV at this point, saying various strange things to try and coax the TV to work again. At one point Hal could've sworn he observed Collin kneel beside the TV, give a quick glance around to see if anyone was in earshot (Hal was, unfortunately), and then whisper into the TV speaker-
"Ok, Ok I'm sorry. Just tell me where it hurts ok?"
Hal decided to not even think about that anymore. While Collin was... "fixing" the TV, Hal walked over to where Rich was sitting on the couch. Rich seemed to be dividing his attention between glowering at the malfunctioning TV, and looking worriedly at Collin's antics. By the time Hal made it to Rich's beanbag chair (he had to walk gingerly, and therefore slow) Collin appeared to have moved onto more practical methods of checking the television set, such as looking at the cords in the back.
Rich turned to look at Hal with concern as he limped over and carefully set himself down next to Rich.
"You sure that you're ok, Hal? You do look pretty beat" said Rich.
Hal nodded. "I am. But it's all good. The way I broke through today was awesome. Plus Wiz said that if I pass some test he's gonna give me a better amulet, AND-"
Hal paused dramatically, watching Rich look back at him, interested now.
"He'll let me enter in some huge competition, where I can get all sorts of stuff. Like crazy items, more training, and even be able to go on missions." Rich's eyes widened a bit, clearly starting to look excited. And actually, Hal thought to himself, he looked a bit annoyed too.
"What? Really? I wonder what it is, exactly? I need to enter in that too." He paused, thoughts and possibilities bouncing around in his mind. Then he frowned.
"Damnit, why didn't Dan mention this to us? "
"He was probably too drunk to remember," called Collin, from behind the television. He was still rummaging around back there.
Rich frowned again, clearly annoyed, but excited at the same time. "I am so in. We have to ask Dan about this tomorrow. Ok, Collin?"
There was a grunt of assent from behind the TV.
Rich stopped again, and Hal got the feeling that something had just occurred to him, because his face seemed to get longer.
"Yo, Collin, maybe you should be careful back there, there was smoke coming off that thing after all."
That's right. Hal forgot about that. Weird. He didn't think that TV's could fry out like that. Collin waved them off, said that he didn't care what it took, he'd figure it out. He also said that everything looked fine in the back anyway, and it made no sense. Hal shrugged.
Then Hal turned to Rich again, something had been bugging him- oh right. "Yo Rich, what was that crap you shouted just before you flew across the room just now?"
Rich grinned. "It's my foci. 'Celeriorum Me Fac'. It means 'Make me faster' or 'Give me speed' or something like that. Dan taught it to me. It's Latin, and Dan said that the words have power."
"Foci? What the hell does that mean?" Hal asked, annoyed that he didn't know. Rich assumed "lecture-mode" and Hal resisted the urge to pound him for being a know-it-all.
"Foci. It's whatever power you use to focus your will onto things. In this case, I used this old command, spoken a certain way, to increase the kinetic force in my own body." Rich paused, seemed to see that Hal was still drawing a blank.
"It's just like your amulet. You focus on it, and change things. In your case, make gravity affect your body less."
"Oh ok. I get it." Said Hal. "No offense, but it makes you sound kinda fruity."
Rich frowned.
Hal laughed. "Don't worry though, that move you pulled was wicked awesome. It makes it worth it I guess." Hal paused, and then grinned. "I can still kick your ass though. Easy."
For a moment, Hal thought Rich had taken offense to this, but then he lightened up and laughed. Hal laughed with him, slapping him on the back. After a moment he turned, and saw Collin, who was sitting sulkily in the couch, apparently having given up his quest for the moment.
"What's wrong man? You look like your dog died."
"The TV," he began. "I can't figure out. It makes no sense. Everything back there looks fine. Where did the smoke come from? Why-"
Hal cut him off "Dude, don't worry about it. Just wait for Mirvin; he always seems to figure it out."
"But it's like its resisting me somehow; it makes no sense, it-"
"COLLIN" Hal shouted. He was tired already and didn't need to hear anymore of this...
The TV flickered on, in a surge of power, the screen turning a bright blue, then a sheet-white, then it sputtered, and died once more. Everyone stared, dumbstruck. At that point, Mirvin came down the stairs, wearing some weird gadgets, Michael-style. "Mirvin deficient on amino-enzymes and combustible carbohydrates" He began, dance-walking down the stairs. "And additionally-"He paused. "Why does everyone stare at Mirvin?"
Hal pointed to the TV. "Fix it, nerd. Now."
Mirvin mumbled to himself, as he meandered towards the television set. Despite Mirvin clearly meaning for it to be under his breath, the mumbling was distinctly audible to all.
"Stupid Hal, Makes Mirvin do everything, Does no one care about Mirvin's day? No, Mirvin only useful for FIXING things, well! Mirvin will no take it. No Mirvin-"
Before Mirvin had even reached the television set, it flickered on, back to the channel it had been on before the whole ordeal.
Hal stared at the set, then at Mirvin, then at the set again. Mirvin was looking at the TV, confused.
"Ok. Um thanks Mirvin buddy." He said, a little shocked.
The next day was a Saturday, but Hal wanted a chance at that test Wizard had for him, so he headed through his bedroom window after his morning stretches and breakfast.
Hal went to Michael's desk, and was told that Wizard was in the actual library section, waiting for him. Hal opened the big wood doors, wondering why Wizard wasn't in his study.
He found Wizard in the very back, sitting at a desk Hal didn't remember seeing there before. Beside him was a huge square block of concrete, looking very out of place on the library rug. Hal had a sickening feeling he knew what that was for.
As Hal approached Wizard, he noticed that the library was looking pretty empty today. He wondered if that was intentional. As Hal drew close to Wizard, the old man spoke up.
'Good morning, Hal. Nice to see you. And yes, you are correct about the state of the library, and the fact that I am meeting you here instead of up in my study. I cleared out this area on purpose, so we would not disturb anyone. And we cannot use my study, because I have set it up for your test, which you may attempt after today's lesson.
Hal decided not to even think about how Wizard knew what he was thinking. "You may go ahead and try to lift that concrete block now. But please, I do not wish a repeat of yesterday. Do not attempt to lift it until you are sure you have reduced its weight considerably. Take your time. The work here should be with your mind, not your muscles. If you are straining or sweating, than you are attempting it too early.
Over the next few hours, Hal was tempted to try and lift the block many times. He did try actually, just once. He hastily replaced the block when Wizard looked at him with disapproving concern. This was good, since Hal felt as though the block would tear his arms off. He just couldn't reduce the gravity affecting the stupid thing quite enough. Or barely at all, to be honest. Wizard told him not to worry about it though. It was going to take time for him to learn to affect materials other than himself, so Wizard said.
As Hal tried again and again to reduce the weight of the concrete block, he amused himself by asking Wizard questions now and again.
"Hey Wiz, why do people call you Wizard anyway? Isn't that kind of I dunno, weird? Do you have like, a real name?"
Wizard chuckled, amused. He pondered then, rest his chin in his hands and looking up at the ceiling. "Why I suppose it is a bit esoteric, yes. To be honest, it's a bit of an inside joke. And yes, I do have a real name, but Wizard is so much easier to use, don't you agree?" Hal guessed he couldn't argue with him there.
Suddenly Hal started getting an odd feeling. And the strangest part about it was that the feeling wasn't coming from his situation. It was coming from a LOCATION. It was specific; Hal could feel something behind him, feeding him this feeling. It was totally divorced from anything he was doing right now. It was like someone behind him had him hooked up at some kind of contraption that just fed him energy. It took him a while to pinpoint the location, but continuing to work with the amulet seemed to help.
Finally he thought he knew where it was coming from, and looked in that direction. It was indistinct at first, hazy. But as he focused, it became clear enough to see a little, although the image still had a ghostly effect. It was at the back of the room, a few feet in front of the back book shelves. It looked like there was a hole in the ground, and something was coming out of it, something that looked like hazy, blue flame.
Hal stopped his work on the concrete for a moment.
"Hey Wizard, what's that?"
Wizard looked up from something he was reading. "What is what?"
Hal pointed to the glowing thing behind him. "That. It's like a weird hole in the ground, that's spitting something weird out. And it's giving me a strange feeling."
Wizard blinked, surprised. "You can see the node?" He asked, disbelievingly. Wizard shook his head, laughing. "Hal, you continue to surprise me, every day. "
Hal felt a surge of pride. He totally kicked ass. It was then that Wizard explained to him that the feeling he got was from something called quintessence. This apparently was the crap that made up everything. Hal didn't really understand that part too much. But basically he got the idea that quintessence was what you could use to make cool stuff with magic. The reason why Hal could see it now was probably because his training was making him come into touch with other of those weird "sphere" thingies that Wizard was always talking about. Wizard told Hal that apparently he had a natural talent for something called "Prime" which was the sphere of reality with dealt with how crap is made. Hal nodded throughout all this, not really getting what the old dude was talking about. But anyway, he could see weird blue flames now, and it was awesome.
After a few more minutes of Hal failing to get anywhere with the concrete block, and being distracted by the blue fire, Wizard stood up.
"Ok Hal, that's enough for today. It takes time you know, you mustn't rush things." Wizard walked towards the door, holding his books. He motioned to Hal. "Come on now, you can just leave that block where it is."
Hal followed Wizard out into the room with the desks, feeling a little tired. Wizard cleared off some space on one of the many empty ones (not too many people here today) and had lunch brought in. They relaxed there a while, eating. Wizard explained that he wanted Hal completely ready for his test, since it was not especially easy. Hal asked Wizard some more questions about the node. Wizard told him that there were a limited number of these places in the world, and that the one in the Library had been moved here. And that actually, it was what kept this building running, and it's what kept it within the bubble outside of time they were in. Wizard launched into a long lecture about the spheres of Correspondence and Matter and how they were used to run the Library, but Hal's eyes glazed over pretty quick. So Wizard switched to explaining how the nodes were extremely important, and re-capturing nodes from their enemies was one of the things the Library did. Hal perked up at this, especially when Wizard told him that since Hal obviously had a little talent with Prime and detecting Nodes, this might be a mission Hal could eventually go on. That was totally cool. Hal couldn't wait.
After Hal was fully recovered, and ready to kick ass again, Wizard led him toward the stairs leading to his study. He stopped at the top, and Hal noticed that there was a rope barring off the hallway in front of him. There was a sign on the rope that said "Do not enter without speaking to Wizard". Hal scratched his head.
"What's this Wiz?" Hal asked, confused.
Wizard smiled. "It's your test Hal. It's very simple. In a minute I'm going to teleport to my desk in my study. There I will wait for you with your new amulet, sitting right on my desk. I will also have the information and entry form for the Inter-House Level 2 Tournament coming up in a little while. All you have to do is come down to my office and see me. It's that easy."
Hal looked at Wizard, suspicious. "No way man. There's definitely a catch. What did you do to the hallway? Why is that rope there?"
Wizard looked innocent. "Well, it's possible that the hallway in front of you is only a few feet thick, and that it can only reliably support a weight of about 110 pounds."
Hal stared. "110 pounds? What? Dude I weigh like 215."
Wizard looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm. You have a point there; I guess you'll just have to make yourself lighter then, now won't you?" Hal gaped. Wizard chuckled, and then got serious.
"Don't worry Hal. You can do it. Don't run, walk. Focus. This is not a test of your body. REMEMBER that. If you run, you will only increase the pressure on the floor. Remember, gravity only has a pull on you if you let it. Use the amulet, force gravity to let you go."
Hal tried not to let his voice betray how nervous he felt. "Ok, yeah sure. Um, what happens if I fall? You know, just out of curiosity. I figured I should know, you know- since that won't happen. "
Wizard nodded. His face remained serious, but Hal could swear that his eyes held a look of amusement, just for a second.
"Well now. I have a certain young woman under my tutelage by the name of Erica. I decided to let her continue her training with Correspondence by allowing her to move materials from where they are made in the kitchen, and instantly transport them to underneath this hallway, which was made by a few students practicing Matter. I believe you two are acquainted? She tells me that you met during the contest involving Kristyna and James? She also mentioned that you spoke some words at the match that she heavily disagreed with, something involving an Italian dish, perhaps?
Hal groaned, and turned his head toward the ceiling. He had said that James could never lose to a chick that used pizza as a weapon. Wonderful. Some chick who had a fetish for knives was in charge of putting crap underneath he hall way to break his fall. He REALLY couldn't fail now.
Wizard noted Hal's expression and reassured him. "Don't worry. I made sure to approve all the materials she used." He paused, distaste showing on his face. "It's perfectly safe. I don't recommend failing though. It might be... unpleasant." He looked Hal straight in the eyes.
"No matter. You can do it Hal. Keep your weight under half of what it is now and you will not encounter as much as a tremor in the ground. I'll be waiting in my office. Just come and pay me a visit. I will see you in a few minutes" He finished, sincerely. And with a snap, disappeared.
Great. Just Wonderful. Not only did he have a serious weight problem, but there were freaky chicks out for his head.
Hal calmed himself, took a deep breath, and concentrated on the amulet in his right hand. When he felt the energy surge, cutting gravity's pull on his body, he closed his eyes, and took a step forward over the rope and into the suspicious looking hallway.