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Joni is the guy who was looking for the #1 rookie earlier, and then fought Alex the next chapter. He was the one who cheated after setting his own rules for the match, and then lost.
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Chapter Twenty
"Welcome, parents of these fine individuals whom I have had the opportunity to acquiesce and put through rigorous challenges used to wheedle out the potentially petulant among us…"
Alex yawned, leaning back in her stiff chair to gather some type of comfortable position. She did not see the point of this meeting. Anyone could see it was a pathetic attempt to butter up the parents of such "unique explorers" that Grendal was describing this very moment.
The bored blonde nearly jumped out of her seat, feeling a slight nudge at the sensitive point near the side of her abdomen. Her eyes darted to the left, seeing Jackie attempting to cover up her widening grin.
Well, two could play at that game. Alex inconspicuously leaned back, stretching her arms out in what appeared to be a lazy fashion. Utilizing the distraction her arms presented, the Guardian quickly hooked her leg into teammate's chair without her noticing. A loud clearing of the throat put Jorge back into Alex's range of view.
"Here at Victoria Island's finest academy, we train to recognize the most inquisitive minds that hold the most promise to mold into young and successful protectors and intellectual warriors…"
The thoughtful boy was staring up at Alex through his flopping bangs, scrunching his nose at the mischievous glint residing in her eyes. He knew to keep his thoughts to himself regarding the blonde's pranks and instead just shook his head disapprovingly. Like Alex's other best friend, he was unable to suppress a grin. It was of course for a completely different reason.
Jorge had been on the receiving end of Alex's pranks and revenge tactics before, and knew all too well what would happen from personal experience. Whatever one did to Alex, they got back tenfold, unless she was feeling particularly merciful. Today was not a merciful day.
"Know that your children will be in the most capable hands the galaxy can offer…"
"Looks like someone robbed the poor Thesaurus today," Alex mumbled under her breathe, drawing the snickers of anyone close enough to hear her mumbled words. Jackie smacked her lightly on the back of the head, motioning towards Grendal with her free hand.
"Pay attention for once, Alex-baka."
Expecting a scowl or glare, it surprised the Asian girl to see a suspicious grin spread onto Alex's face.
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"Our students learn the utmost discipline and have been previously selected and sorted due to their self control and reliability to do the moralistic and proper thing in numerous situations and settings…"
A loud crash resounded through the chamber, followed by growling and a second crash. Unchecked laughter cut through the settling silence and prevented Grendal from continuing his wondrous speech. The large majority of parents and the entire student population turned to see exactly what the commotion was.
A scarlet faced teenage girl with mortified chocolate brown eyes lay tangled on the floor, half on top of one of the annoyingly uncomfortable chairs. Her torso was currently occupying one equally red blonde teenager.
Alex's limbs were hopelessly tangled between Jackie and the other chair, and she took her time despite her embarrassment to free herself and her friend. Numerous people in the surrounding area had been affected.
A dozen chairs were toppled over, along with the apprentices along with them. Most of the students got up scowling or laughing. If the encounter under the tree had taught her nothing else, it was to not panic in situations like these. You usually ended up for the worse if you did.
"Why does this always happen to us?" Jackie grumbled under her breath.
"Fuck if I know," was the dry response.
"What is the meaning of such a disruption?" Grendal teleported over to the mess hurriedly, glaring down at the sloppy actions of his future pupils.
To say he was angry would be like calling Zakum moderately strong; an aura of menace seemed to surround the elderly mage.
A second teacher joined him, glaring down with equal force at the young girls. He was the one who had spoken.
"It was a complete accident, sir."
Solid slabs of the palest blue met the newcomer's cold gaze.
"Accident? It seems as if horseplay was involved."
Jackie went to open her mouth to explain, but Alex beat her to the chase.
"It was my entire fault, sir. I was not paying attention and went to stretch my legs…"
An unnoticed clear crystal globe floating near the unidentified man's wrist clouded as she spoke, changing in color to a blood red shade.
"You are lying," the man accused. "Lying is not tolerated, you young hooligans! Tell me why I shouldn't expel you from the premises at this very inclination."
"Because then there would be two less to listen to the continual desecration of the common Thesaurus," Alex mumbled half heartedly.
Jackie should her head in disbelief; Jorge's eyes widened at the blatant disrespect in the comment.
"What was that?" Grendal growled dangerously.
"I said 'because then there would be two-" " Alex was cut off mid repetition, the look of distaste fading quickly from her eyes.
"Because, Mage-man, she is not your trainee to dismiss. I'm sure this disruption was all an accident. So, why not just forget it happened and let the insightful speech continue?"
Athena Pierce stepped out from the shadows to address her counterpart before returning back into her hidden location.
Grendal teleported back to the stage with much reluctance in his being. His charming mask had slipped to the look of a man who had sucked onto one too many lemons before returning to cover his face once again. He then continued his boring speech.
"What was that?" Jorge commented airily, his forehead creasing. Alex sensed the underlying question of his words. There was no way someone as gravity orientated and graceful as Alex could have tripped while pulling off her stunt. He had seen it done a countless number of times before flawlessly. Something was up.
"You know how clumsy I am Jorge. I'll tell you how I tripped after the ceremony, 'kay? Just keep on your toes incase it happens again."
Her two companions understood her words and nodded with chastising smiles on the superficial surface. Jorge reached up to tug on his earlobe before shifting slightly in his seat. Alex saw his wand discreetly fall into a spot that was much easier to access.
In a similar manor, Jackie let loose the strings holding her daggers in place with a near silent whisper of a spell. Alex had worked with her over the past week to learn and control the newly crafted spell. When their training was done, Jackie would be able to release the daggers from their clothe sheaths with just a verbal tug from her mind.
Alex had reached up to hang the inner crooks of her elbow onto the backs of her friends' chairs. A confident, easygoing grin spread lazily over her face. To anyone looking, it would appear for her to be in one of the most disadvantageous poses imaginable. However, Jorge and Jackie could feel the tensed
muscles which appeared to be slack and see the soles of Alex's sensible sneakers firmly planted on the ground with her calves drawn and ready.
"We can guarantee safety and the survival of such promising candidates with our carefully constructed curriculums and weapons instructors. Hold no fear in your hearts, my dear parents-"
For the second time of his presentation, an extremely noticeable bang was heard. A gaping hole was etched into the side of the building where a wall had once stood. A formation of jobs men walked in with metallic looks reflecting off of their stony faces. The first wave of attackers looked to consist entirely of warriors of all kinds and strength and luck bandits. A lone figure walked forward, posture pointing to an obvious background in the military fields.
"What in Victoria is your purpose?"
The man simply raised his head, displaying a feral grin which made most shiver.
"Social Darwinism, my friend."
With that utterance, four cloaked figures shot forward, immediately engaging each of the Great Four, respectively. Spells were shouted and the crowd looked on in horror as the legends faded from existence. The remaining fighters moved up much slower, careful not to break formation in their eagerness for onslaught.
Alex's calculating eyes cut back and forth between the confused class and family members and the approaching enemy soldiers. In her rough estimation, she guessed there to be nearly two hundred and fifty troops. Her peers wouldn't stand a chance against seasoned veterans.
"Jorge! Jackie! Rick!" Alex barked out, eyes not leaving the enemy now, "I need you to follow orders with no hesitation. Got it?"
"Hai!"
"Yes."
"Okay."
"Rick, separate the trainees from the family members here. Go!"
He dashed off without a moment's hesitation.
"Jackie, take the parents and other civilians out of the back entrance after helping Rick."
Thank the Gods that they attacked from the side opposite the family and emergency exits.
"Jorge, I need you to separate the apprentices by job classification. Then arrange waves, two to three hundred men groups. Got it? Get Rick to help after the sorting, you'll need it. Joni, Rick, a warrior, and you are to be formation leaders.
Listen carefully. The first layers of attack will be warriors, then warrior and bandits with battle mages. In between them I want our best group of archers settled in. They will fire at will until the first groups of enemy reach our warriors. After that they are to join the other archers. The next layer of attack is all of the clerics and the rest of the mages.
I want assassins and bandits after: half the bandits protecting clerics, and the other half protecting the last layer, archers.
With the archers, I want a five man team of the fastest we have as a final resort. I do not care what job they are. They will travel to each town and run to the counsels if necessary, telling of what has happened. Make sure they know to not stop until their message is delivered.
Tell Jackie to join me if she gets the chance. The evacuation is the main priority."
"What if they don't listen?"
"You punch them. Then tell them that if they don't comply, they will have to deal with me. All orders are to be given by me. If they want to live, they'll listen. Now, go!"
"I want a combat-"
Alex shoved Jackie back into Jorge, breaking her thought process and planning to look into Jorge's eyes. He started back just as fiercely and nodded, pulling Jackie away. The shorter girl broke free, hugging Alex tightly. Her fear was evident, shaking her entire body.
"Don't you dare die you baka."
Jackie then turned, running to join Rick in his efforts to safely herd the disoriented people into groups and some semblance of order. Rick looked up at Alex, standing unrelentingly straight with her back to all the chaos behind her. Jackie followed his gaze. He needed the confidence that they would succeed, live through this. She needed the confirmation of purpose and understanding of why she wasn't allowed on the front line. They needed to know that she wouldn't die. One look would make everything justifiable and right. They needed some sanity in this sight of chaos crushing down relentless on their young fragile minds.
Alex never looked back.
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Earlier
Alex's leg was firmly hooked into Jackie's chair leg as she prepared to enact her revenge. Her carefree posture and indifference were quite untrue. In a matter of seconds Jackie would be silently dumped to
the floor in a pile of humiliation. Well, perhaps it wouldn't be that bad, but she would regret exploiting Alex's weakness yet again. It was so wrong to take advantage of a ticklish person, her inner voice raged.
She heard Jorge's chair subtly scrape away from her. Alex smirked to herself, thrusting her leg forward to complete her plan. Jackie spilled onto the floor as Alex let out a victory holler of glee. She felt a swift kick to the unstable legs of her own chair. The blonde fell onto her Asian friend face first.
"What the-" Alex snarled. She looked up into the sneering faces of a pack of scantily clad girls. Alex grinned spitefully and threw her arm forward to catch the front legs of the nearest girl's chair. It started a mass domino effect.
"Alex!" Joni whispered out harshly. Funny, she didn't notice him behind her.
"What?" she growled back in an exasperated tone. Today was not a good day so far.
Joni slid her a thin sheet of parchment, folded thrice into a neat square. She righted herself and quickly scanned the message written.
A-
I know you don't trust me. I don't blame you for that. But there is something bad going down here. I'm sure by now you've noticed the lack of guards and rambling and shiftiness of the old man. But there is something you could not possibly be aware of. Last night, I heard my father arranging something suspicious last night. When I asked what it was after walking into the room, he snapped his communicator shut and ordered me out of the house. I don't trust it. I can feel it in my gut, something's going to happen. Keep on your toes, okay?
-J
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Alex stood, battle stoic with neither a grin nor grimace on her cautious face. Her eyes were concrete foundations of piercing metal, unforgiving and as cold as dry ice.
She knew there was little hope they would all survive. Alex was not stupid or optimistic.
The odds were only worsened when the Four were dispatched.
She estimated the troops again, plans formulating and reformulating as they marched forward at their daunting pace. Was her plan the best one? How could she be sure the trainees would listen? There were so many things that could and would go wrong. She could not expect any normalcy in this dire time for strategy.
Focus Alex, focus.
It didn't really matter anymore; they would be on her location in minutes, she realized, all three hundred of them.
A young spearman with an awkward grip on his weapon tried to hobble forward; she grabbed him by the collar and brought him to her face.
"Back in rank soldier. Get the squad commanders on."
Her voice held no room for argument. That was the trick; she had found it out a long time ago.
A magical communicator brought forth Jorge's voice. Alex sent the young boy back to his squad.
"Fight in party formation as much as possible. It is essential to staying alive. No one is to rush forth. Make sure we keep our ranks. These guys know how to fight and have one thing most of us don't: experience. We are purely defending. We are not fighting for honor or pride. We fight for survival. We fight for our lives. Make that understood."
Alex shut the device quickly before Jorge could respond. She needed her last remaining minutes to be into strategic proportions.
She opened her eyes to view those threatening all she had left.
Alex drew her twin blades, hands sliding into the comforting familiarity of holding battle worn hilts indented by her very palms. Grip flexing on the leather and metal binding, her eyes reflected momentarily into the well polished blade. In the shady light, her classmates and comrades visible for a mere second, as well as the inexperience drawn on their faces. Her chest clenched, stomach and mind clouding with doubt. Her stomach twisted into complex knots. Her will steeled itself shut as her fingers consciously locked, clenching with an ironclad finality.
Her stubborn determination shone through her face, catching bits of light pouring in from the raw hole in the side of the building.
They would not kill her comrades.
Not now. She was finally strong enough to defend the ones she loved and trusted.
She was strong enough to defend those who wished her dead and burned her with their hatred.
She was strong enough to defend her village.
They would not get those innocent civilians and children.
They would not get the hope and pride of her homeland.
No one would die prematurely.
She would keep her self proclaimed promise with all she had left.
She would make sure to protect with everything she had.
She would make damn sure of it.
Even if it cost her her life.
Because it would not matter.
It did not matter.
It was finally time and nothing could stop her.
It was finally time to begin proving just why she deserved to live.
It was finally time…
Time for redemption.
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Blah. Well first off guys, I wrote the first part of this chapter and the monstrosity of a computer I was using ate it and wouldn't give it back. Then the computer I wrote the whole chapter out on stopped working. I finally got my comp back after nearly a month, and retyped the chapter up again. Then my internet stopped working right after I posted my Bleach chapter. Someone out there seriously does not want you guys to read this chapter.
I'm sorry for the mad delay; I tried to make it up to you guys in chapter form. You know how hectic life gets. I finished my exams and am out for the summer, but my summer homework list is ridiculous. Sorry, I know y'all don't want any excuses.
I think this was my longest chapter for this story ever. I'm sure the next one will be a decent length as well. Alex fighting scenes are very fun to write.
I'm putting my A/Ns at the end starting now, with the exception to answering reviewers' questions at the beginning.
I'm not abandoning this or any of my stories but I've decided to update the story with more reviews and stuff more often. The reviews really keep my confidence up, as shallow as it is.
Once again, I'm sorry for my crappy updating skills.