Chapter Two

ELEMTECH ACADEMY

Private Claire Reynolds stared up into a rectangular mirror. Her hair was frizzy and small bags were swollen underneath her eyes. She sniffled then let out a long-winded yawn. Running water echoed inside the small room that Claire stood in as she slowly lifted a blue toothbrush in front of her teeth. "Alof ourf advanshed techslology," Claire mumbled as she brushed her teeth, "ansh we stilsh can't finsh a betstersh toolf to cleansh oursh teefsh wiff." After Claire finished brushing her teeth she removed the white tank top and cotton pink colored panties covering her body then stepped into a shower on the left end of the bathroom.

A stone plateau measuring roughly five miles in diameter rested undisturbed and encircled by a large mountain range. A top secret Vandarian training facility covered the surface of the plateau with holographic camouflage generators hiding its presence atop the stone structure. Inside the camp hundreds of future Techmages hurried to their assigned classes. Claire Reynolds, wearing her V Trooper uniform minus the standard issue weaponry and helmet dashed down a metal sidewalk towards her class. A loud buzzer rang in her ears confirming what the soldier feared. Claire burst into her classroom interrupting a lecture in progress. All of the students turned in their seats to stare at the exhausted Techmage cadet. The instructor of the class looked up at Claire. "You're late, Miss Reynolds."

Claire sighed in annoyance while walking to an empty seat. "Sorry if I needed a little extra sleep after nearly getting fricasseed last night."

The instructor smiled. "Don't worry Claire, this is not grade school you don't have to worry about being paddled just because you're a little late."

Claire frowned and at the same time, smiled adorably. "Aww and I was really looking forward to you spanking me."

After silencing all of the laughter in the classroom, the instructor continued his lecture. "It's finals time ladies and gentlemen. Soon some of you will be powerful mages."

"Um, don't you mean Techmage, Captain Serge?" One of the students asked.

The instructor glanced at the soldier. "Oh…right, Techmage." He folded his arms. "And why is it Techmage instead of just mage?"

"Because technology recovers the raw Materia, processes it into usable orbs, then weapons and accessories are designed to allow human use. Since so many machines are a part of the whole magic process some glory addict scientist slapped 'tech' in front of mage and here we are now."

Serge smiled at Claire. "I see you won't be having any problems with the written portion of the final." He took a few steps forward returning his stare to the entire class. "How is everyone's endurance holding up?"

"Sir I've got a serious problem." A student said while raising his hand.

Serge turned to the man. "What is it, Benson?"

"Well I know I'm not the most athletic guy in the military but I have been going through intense endurance training for most of last year. Every time I try and include Materia in that training though…" The cadet sunk in his seat. "I always pass out."

Serge tried his best to hold in a chuckle while his students laughed at the poor cadet. "I don't know what to say Benson. Some people have a higher affinity for magic than others."

"But I thought with training my MP (Magic Power) would eventually rise!" Benson whined.

"Magic isn't only about endurance, the power of the elements flowing through your body take more than a physical toll on you." Serge stated.

"Sir, are you talking about that whole Gaia theory…?" One of the female students asked.

Serge held his head down closing his eyes. "Is it really so hard to believe? Magic drains its caster but it has been recorded that some mages have been able go as far as unleashing summoning Materia even after all of their magic power was gone." Serge's eyes slowly opened as his gaze rose to the class. "Is it really so hard to believe that your MP comes from something other than adrenaline?"

The class fell silent for a handful of minutes before Claire broke the tension. "I doubt the planet has a soul, we've been to the center of the earth already. There's nothing there but lava and magma."

Serge let out a nonchalant grunt as he smirked. "Never said I believed the planet has a soul."

A loud buzzer rang and the students of the Elemtech class crowded around the room exit until all but one remained. Claire stared at Serge as the instructor walked towards her. He wore a long brown leather overcoat, a brown vest, a dark blue T-shirt, brown cargo pants and beige sneakers. He had short green messy hair and a long loch of it hung over his forehead between his blue eyes. Claire smiled as the Elemtech instructor wrapped his arms around her pulling her close. The two gazed into each other's eyes for almost a minute.

"You know, it really isn't appropriate for a teacher to be dating a student." Serge said with hints of seriousness and humor in his voice.

Claire slid her hands up Serge's chest then wrapped her arms around his neck. "Are you saying you want me to stop seeing you? I hope not. Any student knows that dumping a teacher right before the finals is an academic death sentence."

Serge chuckled a bit while brushing some of Claire's hair away from her eyes. "Well I suppose the fact that we're both consenting adults erases all the morale boundaries between us."

Claire kissed Serge softly then pulled her lips away. "Most, not all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Serge agreed, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. "So…do you wanna get the ruler or should I?"

"What? No paddle?" Claire giggled.

"Well unlike the other students I've slept with I actually have genuine feelings for you. If you ask around I'm sure you'll find out paddles can sting."

Claire's lips formed an adorable smile as her head titled to the side. "Aww…but isn't that kind of the point though?"

Serge smiled. "Yeah, but I think I'll start you off with something light. I wanna excite those ass nerves, not pop them."

A blue haired woman dressed in a black skintight bodysuit cleared her throat loud enough for the couple to hear.

"If you two are done with your," she cleared her throat again, "studies, I have something I need to discuss with the good captain."

Lieutenant Sena, Captain Serge, and Private Reynolds slowly walked down a silver sidewalk past several buildings and hundreds of students.

"So, how's the naughty professor life treaten ya?" Sena asked with a small smile on her face.

"Horrible." Serge replied.

"It's that bad?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't be if there was some actual naughtiness for me to enjoy."

Claire frowned then stuck her tongue out at the instructor.

"The power that thing holds over me is unimaginable." Serge said holding in a chuckle. He put his arm around Claire as she giggled. "So what did you want to talk to me about, Sena?"

Sena waited until after a group of students walked by before she answered. "I'm sure by now you know about the attack on the shoreline research lab last night?"

"What about it?"

"That was the first time Kazunian soldiers have set foot on our country since this whole war started."

"Technically we're not at war with them yet. No one in power has declared anything on anyone."

As Serge finished his sentence a large plasma screen attached to a tall building behind the three soldiers flashed on. Everyone who happened to be outside of the training facilities gazed up into the huge TV as a small group of middle-aged men and women appeared on the screen. They sat at a long wooden table dressed in fancy suits with their hands clasped together. All of their expressions were stone cold hiding any thoughts or emotions running through them.

"My fellow Vandarians," one of the men near the center of the group spoke, "it has come to our attention during recent developments that the Kazunian Empire desires no peaceful solution regarding the death of Emperor Guan Suenada's nephew, Yen Kang." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Unable to accept the fact that the Leviathan summoning caused by the nuclear reactor explosion was an accident, the emperor has made it quite clear that his satisfaction will come at no less the fall of Vandaria."

Another one of the suited politicians, a woman near the center of the group spoke next. "We have sent ambassadors to our allied nations of America and Japan whom have promised to aid us with…political and financial support but have strongly expressed their intentions to keep their own forces out of the coming conflict."

A man seated at the far end of the table lowered his head as the cameras centered on him. His eyes rose to stare at every Vandarian watching TV that morning. "It is with my utmost regret to inform you that as of 10:23 a.m. …we, the Orange Sun council of Vandaria, by order of President Dalton in response to the hundreds of deaths brought upon this country by the Kazunian Empire, have formally declared war on Kazun."

Sena glanced around the Elemtech academy at the many students, whose stares were pinned to the large plasma TV. Smiles and smirks appeared on a few excited faces while most of the soldiers lowered their stares to the ground making no attempt to hide their fear. She turned to Serge and Claire and folded her arms.

Serge shrugged as a nonchalant expression covered his face. "You were saying?"

"I saw them carting away some of the mutants that escaped from the lab but I don't think those were what they were really after." Sena explained.

"Then why attack a near defenseless laboratory?" Claire asked.

Sena hesitated for a moment wondering if she should divulge what she knew to her friend. "Well the…uh…"

Serge put his free hand on Sena's shoulder. "Hey don't go X Files on us, you know anything you want to tell me you can tell Claire."

Sena nodded in agreement. "It's not that I don't trust you Claire it's just people are going to start dying for information a lot less important than this." Seeing that her words brought no hints of fear to her friend's face she continued. "The lab the imperials hit was one of the many research facilities that received purified Materia and radioactive mutant specimens. There's a difference between that lab and most of the others though…"

"What?" Claire anxiously asked.

"All of the summoning anomalies as scientists like to call them were once considered myths and fairy tailed creatures. Even though they've now been documented and filed away in our history, the Leviathan…unlike the others we have actual recordings of that dragon being worshiped as a god back in medieval times."

Serge smirked. "Don't tell me all the white coats are worried people are going to start believing in gods instead of them again."

Sena shook her head while smiling. "Nah, it's not that. It's just, Materia researchers had all but given up their search for the summoning Materia with the power to call the Leviathan and…Bahamut. People started thinking the beasts never existed."

"Now that everyone knows they do, things are going to get pretty heated around the world." Serge added.

Sena nodded. "It hasn't been proven but intelligence believes that the imperials somehow found out that we discovered the Leviathan summoning Materia in an underwater cavern and Yen was sent to…borrow some of it. During the fight radiation was released into the raw Materia and well you both know the rest."

"So the whole thing about Leviathan's attack destroying Yen's private jet was a cover up excuse for Kazun to attack us." Claire said.

"Yeah and they're down there right now at Marotherma Labs searching the caverns for more Leviathan Materia. Several of our people are still down there being held prisoner…at least I hope those imperial bastards took prisoners."

Claire thought about why Sena would come all the way out to the middle of nowhere to tell Serge about a lost Elemtech lab. It only took a few seconds for the realization of the situation to hit her. "You're going down there to stop the imperials," she turned her stare to Serge, "and you want Matt to go with you."

Sena already knew the plan Claire was thinking up from the tone of her voice. "Claire I know what you're thinking but I can't help you out on this one. The casualty estimate for a shock troop assault was over sixty percent and that was measured against our best units."

"They're actually going to send a full squad of Techmages down there?" Serge wondered.

"Leviathan is the most powerful summoning monster of the water element. If the imperials have gotten their hands on more of its Materia a team of mages has a better chance of stopping them from using it."

"Hey I'm going to be…" Claire tried to protest but Sena interrupted her, "a low level Techmage in three weeks."

Sena shook her head as she continued. "The first of the two problems to that scenario is only high level Techmages can volunteer for this mission and the second is we're launching in two weeks."

"The imperials could be gone in two weeks." Serge pointed out.

"I know, but as you know there haven't been that many missions that required the skills of over five Techmages at one time."

"Can't you guys just give me my diploma without making me go through the final exam? We all know I'm gonna pass." Claire begged.

"Yes you will pass, too bad I won't be here to see it." Serge said.

A hint of surprise spread across Sena's face. "So you're going?"

Serge nodded. "I saw the flight recorder video of when Leviathan destroyed Yen's jet but I wanna see him up close and personal. Besides if there's a lot of the red stuff down there I know the brass will put the survivors on the top of the list when they hand it out in its processed form."

Claire folded her arms and took a few steps away from Serge and Sena. Serge stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist then lowered his chin onto her shoulder. Claire leaned back a little and closed her eyes as she thought about the hundreds of things known and unknown beneath the ocean that could kill Serge.

"Hey, what's the matter with you Claire? You don't think anything's goin' to happen to us down there do you?" Serge asked.

"The thought had crossed my mind." Claire replied.

"Well stop thinking up bullshit like that. It's not like we're going down there armed only with assault rifles. We've got the most powerful magic known to man at our disposal and if that ain't enough…well I can always call on old man Ramuh to lend a hand." Sena assured her.

Serge tightened his grip around Claire's waist. "And if the old geezer can't cut it I can always have Shiva step in."

Claire forced a small smile onto her face. "Just…be careful…" she glanced at Sena, "both of you, alright?"

Sena patted Serge on the back while smiling at Claire. "Come on, when have we ever not been careful?"

One Week Later

Claire buried herself in her training to take her mind off of the coming mission her boyfriend and best friend volunteered for. She stood in a short line of seven trainees as a spell casting instructor walked up and down the line eyeing each student.

"If any of you wannabes are serious about becoming a Techmage then I'm sure you've all seen several recorded battles of those who have graduated from Twilight Dragon academy." The instructor said while walking with his hands clasped at the small of his back. "I don't want to see any fancy poses, no martial arts stances and absolutely NO chanting! Dancing around like boy bands and babbling on like some pointed hat wearing homosexual isn't going to do anything on the field but get your guts spilled onto the ground!" He stopped in front of the center of the line glaring at the cadets. "Just hold your hand out and shout the spell, do you get me!"

"We get you sir!" The cadets yelled.

Claire remembered Serge's words as she took a deep breath and began gathering her energy for a spell. You don't really have to say anything to use a spell. Thinking it is enough but you have to clear your mind of everything but the one word that activates the magic inside the Materia. When you have fifty plasma bolts flying over your head and your friends are dying all around you, you can imagine how difficult it is to think of nothing but one word. That's why most people shout the spells they're using, some even chant before saying the actual word. In the end though if you want to be able to handle any situation a Techmage has to face you'll have to learn how to clear your mind of those situations and focus on the spell, not your comrades, not the mission, just the spell.

Dark blue orbs of light rose from the ground surrounding Claire. Her hair lashed out in all directions as she slowly raised her hand aiming her palm at a life-sized model of a military jeep. She took a deep breath as the orbs flattened and vanished. Ice. A line of blue sparkling air the size of Claire's palm shot towards the model jeep then encircled it. Crackling sounds of ice fussing with metal echoed in the soldiers' ears as they watched the jeep slowly become encased in ice. The vehicle wasn't covered in a block of ice, instead several half-diamond crystals sprouted from the doors, wheels, windshield, and tires.

The instructor stared at the jeep for a handful of moments then turned facing Claire. "Exhale cadet, well done."

Claire let out her breath and smiled. "Thank you sir!"

"Hey did you hear her say the spell? I didn't hear her say the spell." One of the male cadets silently asked a female cadet standing next to him.

The instructor stepped in front of the confused cadet striking fear into the poor man with his authority-demanding glare. "She didn't shout the spell because unlike you she has enough discipline to PAY ATTENTION to the current situation! Now drop, and give me push ups!"

The cadet snapped to parade rest. "Sir, how many sir?"

"Get on the ground and don't stop till I tell you!" The instructor barked.

"Yes Drill Sergeant," the cadet dropped to the ground and began doing push-ups, "one Drill Sergeant, two Drill Sergeant, three Drill Sergeant…"

The instructor walked back and forth down the line as the cadet obeyed his command. "This is what happens when you talk! You will never talk when under my command! If you ever say something it will be what I ordered you to say so you won't be talking I will be talking!"

Ten minutes later sweat began falling off the cadet's face as his annoyance could be heard in his voice. "124 Drill Sergeant, 125 Drill Sergeant, 126 Drill Sergeant."

"Alright cadet get up." The Sergeant ordered.

The cadet slowly stood to his feet breathing heavily.

"You did a lot of pushups during basic training didn't you soldier?" The Sergeant asked.

The cadet smiled as he sighed. "Yes Drill Sergeant."

"Well you don't have to worry I'll never ask you to do another."

"Thank you Drill Sergeant."

"You just graduated to peeling potatoes."

The cadet moaned regrettably then fell back to the ground too exhausted to move.

One Hour Later

"To master the art of summoning is the ultimate goal of any Techmage. Take into consideration that some of you will never be able to accomplish this feat even if you master the highest levels of normal magic." A middle aged woman stated to her class.

"Um…why wouldn't we be able to summon if our MP is high enough?" A cadet asked.

The instructor lowered her head smiling. "Summoning anomalies are called from a different dimension, they won't come if they don't like who's calling. Some people have a higher sensitivity to one or two elements than others and as you all know the anomalies are of the four elements earth, wind, fire and air…"

Claire raised her hand then spoke before the instructor acknowledged her. "What about Bahamut?"

A bit surprised, the instructor turned her stare to Claire. "What about him?"

"Isn't his power non elemental?"

The instructor hesitated for a moment before answering. "There are no records of non elemental magic ever being used."

"Yeah but there were recently no records of Leviathan ever being summoned except things people passed off as myths."

Unlike most of her fellow teachers, Ms. Roze Hoover took a more serious approach to her job. Instead of casual clothes, a red overcoat, white blouse, and long red skirt extending down just above her knees covered the summoning instructor. Uncomfortable red high heels clicked with each step she took and her brown hair remained still in its dull bun formation. "Well take into consideration that all known myths surrounding Bahamut have told of a gigantic fire breathing dragon. Granted his flames split and caused several separate explosions, the explosions were still of the fire element."

"True, but wasn't an ancient tablet describing the destruction of some city found near the center of the earth? I'm pretty sure it said…As I gazed up at the heavens, the ground beneath me darkened under the shadow of the king of dragons. Our forces were too late in rescuing our summoner, he has been tempted by evil and his will now beckons for the destruction of all things. His spirit, combined with that of the dragon king produced a raging flame as black as the night's sky that holds no weakness to any of the known elements."

"You do know that little fairytale discredits all of the nonsense surrounding the different Flare spells. From what I've heard the flame is supposed to be gray and inside it the four colors of the natural elements are…I don't know all…swirly." A female cadet joined the conversation.

"It doesn't discredit it if you really think about it. Like Miss Rose said, some people have a higher sensitivity to specific elements so maybe if your element is fire then a Flare spell you cast will be gray with hints of red flame. If you have no special sensitivity to the elements then maybe it's just pitch black and obviously if you can master all four elements then it'll be gray and…swirly."

The instructor, Miss Hoover stared at Claire while keeping her thoughts from spilling out onto her face. "I'll tell you this much Miss Reynolds, if you ever do find any concrete proof about all of your unusual theories I'll be the first to recommend you for my teaching position at Twilight Dragon Academy."

Claire sunk in her seat a little as her cheeks turned red. "Um…thanks…I think."

Thirty Minutes Later

"So what was it like using magic in actual combat?" An excited cadet asked.

"Imagine Sergeant Gregor's face painted on every imperial in the area shouting at you the only way he knows how. Then imagine having to ignore him and concentrate on saving your best friend, almost getting barbecued in the process." Claire replied.

The female cadet sitting next to Claire in the Twilight Dragon Academy lunchroom shuddered at the thought of several hundred Sergeant Gregor clones screaming orders at her from all directions. "Ouch…I think I just wet myself."

Claire tried to stop herself from giggling but failed and almost choked on the piece of hamburger she stuffed into her mouth. She coughed a few times before speaking. "Please refrain from embarrassing yourself while I'm eating because you know I'll laugh at almost anything."

The cadet stuck her tongue out at Claire. "At least I'm not dumb enough to hide Materia in my panties of all places. You're gonna be mopping floors until graduation."

"Oh…shut up!" Claire demanded.

A violent rumbling shook the lunchroom knocking a few students out of their seats. Claire held onto the table she sat at only to hit the floor as it too fell over. She slowly stood to her feet after the shaking stopped then brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Not again…" She ran towards the lunchroom exit along with several other students. As the cadets emerged outside the lunchroom they all glanced around the academy trying to figure what happened. Their questioning thoughts were answered as half of the electrical field generated by the camouflage generator sparked and wavered over the academy. Above the field two war class airships appeared over the academy. The airships were painted red with large black stripes running through their adamantium born bodies. Both warships took on a long wingless rectangular form with round ends. Over forty plasma cannons were constructed into the left and right sides of the airships along with two fusion-powered engines. Another fusion engine was constructed into the back of the ships.

"How the hell did they find this place? I thought it was impossible!" A male cadet yelled.

"Forget how they found us…how the hell did they manage to fly two airships twenty miles into our country undetected!" Claire screamed.

Over forty Air and Terrain Lancers rained down from the black airships breaking apart the metal ground as they landed. Several Twilight Dragon cadets were shredded by thousands of titanium shards launched into the air from the impact of the Lancers. Claire dropped to the ground with a few other quick-thinking cadets then stared up at the Terrain Lancer in front of her. She began to rise slowly with the Lancer then froze keeping her eyes locked on the mech-sized handgun being pulled from its holster. Fear entered Claire's mind first as the black barrel of the red gun glided pass her. A wave of relief rushed over the cadet followed by a stabbing guilt as the Lancer vaporized its intended target, another group of fleeing cadets.

Outside: Summoning Anomaly Classroom

Roze Hoover casually stepped out of her classroom wondering what caused all of the commotion. Orange flames swirled around her red overcoat the moment she set foot onto the titanium sidewalk. A quick glance to the left brought an unconscious student into view. The summoning instructor stumbled back then watched the unfortunate woman hit the ground ten feet away from the classroom entrance. As her gaze rose from the now dead cadet, carnage and destruction exploded in front of Roze. Only a small amount of worry crept onto the instructor's face before her expression became stone cold. Roze turned in the direction of the fallen student just as a Terrain Class Lancer ripped open the ground a few feet from her class. The hundreds of metal shards shot through the air from beneath the Lancer's feet didn't dare interrupt Roze's stride. She held her purse up in front of her stomach with her left hand and let her right arm hang loosely as the sparkling titanium flew pass her. Her gaze slowly rose to the eyes of the Lancer pilot.

Is this woman crazy? The Imperial Lancer pilot's lips formed a maniacal grin. A red metallic fist pointed down towards a middle-aged woman wearing a red suit. Two seconds later the fist clicked then lowered and an orange flame ignited from the Lancer's wrist.

"That's it! That's it! Just stand right there! I love roasting Vandarians! Especially retarded Vandarians!" An insane laugh amplified by speakers screeched from the Lancer cockpit.

Roze's voice remained identical to her demeanor. "How…ironic…"

Titanium melting flames erupted from the Lancer's wrist then crashed into the ground sprouting around Ms Hoover. Confusion slowly crept onto the face of the woman standing behind the glass eyes of the Lancer. "What the fuck!"

Multicolored prisms of light formed a spherical barrier around the summoning instructor. Roze never removed her gaze from the Lancer pilot's eyes. Her purse fell to the ground as her arms stretched out to either side. The light prisms shattered out in all directions. Instead of consuming her, the orange flames encircled Roze until the blazing inferno raged behind her. Firestorm. The fire split in half then shot forward, smashing through the red Lancer's eyes.

Fear erupted inside the Lancer pilot. Confusion and anxiety froze her hands and legs to the cockpit controls. Seconds later deafening agonized screams shrieked from the Lancer's head. Although each and every Lancer produced by the Kazunian Empire is crafted with the strongest flame resistant metals known to man, an unseen force generated from Roze and the power of her Materia gave the flames unexplained power. The red camouflage design painted on the Lancer's head faded and the head itself, once hard adamantium steel, now oozed onto the armor's shoulders.

Roze gently stroked the green Materia inside the crystal bangle around her wrist before turning her back to the injured Lancer and its dead pilot. "So uncivilized."

Outside: Lunchroom

Crimson plasma bolts singed off a small lock of Claire's hair before she turned a corner around one of the damaged classrooms. Her back pressed against the wall and her lungs took in an exceptional amount of air in an attempt to sustain an overworked heart. Sweat fell from her forehead as she leaned forward trying to regain control of her breathing. A low but stern voice flowed into her ears. Claire almost didn't hear it over the attacking Lancers.

"Claire…"

The frightened cadet's gaze followed the voice and a woman covered by a dark red overcoat filled her vision. "Ms. Hoover?"

"Claire, come with me." The summoning instructor turned then walked into her classroom.

Claire hesitated for a moment then darted after Ms Hoover. Never in her life would Claire have preferred the inside of a classroom to the outside world. Today, however; the clean and silent discipline Ms Hoover's classroom always demanded felt comforting as opposed to the chaos outside. Still, she couldn't begin to understand why any of her teachers would want to stay inside a building that would most likely end up being destroyed.

"Um, what are we doing here Ms. Hoover?" Claire voiced her thoughts.

Roze faced Claire and her intense gaze almost startled the girl off of her feet. "I need you, Claire."

Claire's cheeks slowly colored red. "I…have a boyfriend…"

Confusion spread across Roze's face then she took a step back from Claire. "No! I mean I need your help. Come here."

Claire followed Roze over to the instructor's desk then waited for an answer to her question. Roze held her right hand out over a small section of the desk. De-spell. Four thin lines of light formed a rectangular image on top of the desk then vanished. Roze slid back the now unlatched section of the desk and pushed the bright yellow button hidden underneath it. Four sections of the steel floor flipped open revealing a rail, which the desk was attached to. The desk slid to the left and Roze raised her hand again, this time centering her palm over a square section of the floor. De-spell. Again, light prisms shined brightly inside the classroom. A dome barrier surrounding the floor shattered and each shard of light vanished one at a time. Claire gazed down at the floor. Slowly, the bright silver covering the square section faded into a grimy discolored brown.

Roze dug her fingers underneath the wooden hatch then opened it. "This way."

Claire almost fainted as a gust of musty air slammed into her face from underneath the hatch. She squeezed her nose shut with her fingers. "We're going down there…?"

A violent rumble that knocked most of the classroom chairs over answered her question. She quickly climbed down the wooden ladder attached to the floor, closing the hatch as she descended. Darkness surrounded the young Techmage cadet. Not even Ms. Hoover's red clothes were visible inside in Claire's opinion appeared to be a cave.

"Ms. Hoover?" Claire's voice echoed off the walls.

"Over here, Claire." A loud click followed Roze's voice and a line of torches burst into flames on every wall throughout the cave.

Everywhere Claire turned, another tunnel came into her line of sight. "Ms. Hoover…what's going on?"

"Twilight Dragon Academy was built on top of a stone plateau. Most of the staff, however, doesn't know about these catacombs. This plateau extends down beneath Vandaria, even beneath the ocean. The right choice of tunnels could lead directly to the center of the earth."

Claire's voice was muffled as her fingers still pinched her nose. "I suppose that explains the smell."

Twenty minutes and twelve tunnels later, Claire's patience began to fade. "Ms. Hoover, this stench is really starting to freak me out!"

"Calm down child. We'll be there soon." Roze assured her.

"Where, exactly, is there?" Claire asked.

Roze's eyes sparkled as her gaze rested on a set of torches pinned to the left wall. "Here is there Ms. Reynolds."

After four clicks from two red high heels, Roze stopped in front of the torches and examined them closely. A small indistinct button stuck out on the bottom end of the right torch. A panel of stone slid open revealing a sparkling black marble slab. Claire stared curiously at several unrecognizable characters etched into the stone.

"What is that?" Claire wondered.

"Your diploma, Ms. Reynolds. Just don't frame it." Roze answered.

Roze walked into dust floating down from the cave roof. A subtle rumble under the instructor's feet brought her stare to the ceiling. Loud cracks and rocky explosions echoed throughout the cave. Claire kept turning, frantically searching for the cause of the plateau quake. A large portion of the plateau split underneath Roze's feet. The instructor took a step back just as an enormous explosion tore out the ceiling from above her.

Roze hesitated for a moment then faced Claire. "Listen you have to go on."

Claire made no attempt to hide her fear. "Go on, where!"

Roze forcibly placed the black slab into Claire's hands then rested her own hands on the cadet's shoulders. "That tunnel…" Roze lifted her right hand then aimed her finger down the third tunnel from the left of three other passages. "Go down it until the smooth ceiling grows spikes. There will be many different roads for you to take so make sure you turn left the moment the ceiling changes. Follow that tunnel for thirty meters then take another left, here the spikes will vanish. Finally, keep going straight until…"

Another explosion rocked the weak ground of the catacombs almost knocking both women off their feet. Roze let go of Claire turning towards the fallen academy. Aero. Again, the instructor's arms extended to the left and right. Emerald gusts of wind swirled underneath and around Roze lifting her body into the air. She took one last look back at Claire. "Go!" The summoning instructor launched high above the shattered catacomb ceiling.

Claire's eyes widened and remained open. "Wait! Where do I go after the last tunnel!" Her eyes glanced down at the slab. "And what the hell am I supposed to do with this!"

Claire received no answer from her instructor as Roze disappeared over the catacomb ceiling. Cries of fear and agony echoed through the stone tunnels from the academy grounds. Claire remained still, gazing up at the two Imperial Airships hovering over what was once her training center. It took the sight of three Lancers flying over the large hole in the ground to snap the cadet's common sense back into focus. She vanished under the cover of the catacombs trying her best to remember Ms. Hoover's directions.

Twilight Dragon Academy

Smoke seeped from the top of an enormous barrel, built into an enormous cannon, which sat propped onto the shoulder of a Kazunian T class Lancer. A blue flame generated by the armor's short burst jet propulsion engines burned out with a bright loud spark.

Roze's stare lowered as the red Lancer lowered. Her posture remained still and perfect even as the ground shattered under the immense weight of the armor and the force of its landing. Roze kept silent as a strong gust of wind blew back her overcoat nearly ripping the clothing from her body. The barrel of the cannon, larger than most of the classrooms that still stood centered in front of the summoning instructor.

"Lady, I don't know who you are but I'll be damned if you don't remind me of my tenth grade chemistry teacher." A cocky male voice echoed from the Lancer's speakers.

"Whether I remind you or not young man, you are indeed damned." Roze's right palm centered in front of the Lancer's mechanized face. Lighting.

Thunder clapped far above Roze and the Imperial Lancer. Bright blue orbs of light rose from the ground around the instructor then flattened and vanished. Before the Lancer's cannon could recharge, three gigantic lighting bolts shot down from three corners of the sky. Two bolts hit the left and right sides of the Lancer's head while the third struck the center of the armor's skull sending a shockwave of deadly electricity throughout the metal monstrosity.

Blue waves of electricity traveled up and down the Lancer over the next twenty seconds. The unfortunate pilot's morbid grunts echoed from his armor's speakers. Unable to maintain its stance, the Lancer crashed onto the ground, taking several training facilities with it. Roze gazed up at the now ownerless cannon slowly falling towards her. The summoning instructor waved her arm above her head for a moment then let it hang loosely at her side. Three seconds before the cannon smashed into Roze, a sparkling light barrier blasted the death device back in the opposite direction. Roze turned on her heel then slowly walked away as the cannon slammed into the disabled Lancer. Smoke, metal shards, and waves of dust erupted behind the instructor.

"Impressive." An eerie voice seeped into the instructor's ears.

Roze's eyes widened and her body froze. "Th…that…that voice…!" Her body turned to face the cause of her shock. In front of her stood an Imperial Lancer. Unlike its mass-produced brethren this armor took advantage of a light beige color scheme with brown traditional Kazunian camouflage stripes. Stylish samurai armor plates wrapped around the Lancer's waist. A long bendable sheath with a stylized hilt sticking out of it latched onto the plates. Although the mech harbored a standard issue short burst jet propulsion pack, no other features that represent a T Lancer covered the armor.

The Lancer lifted its right hand into the air aiming its hand at Roze. Four fingertips slid open revealing four beam cannon barrels. Each black hole slowly began to retain a crimson glow. All four laser bolts were deflected into several different buildings by Roze's light barrier. A bone chilling silence endured for over forty seconds between the summoning instructor and the Imperial Lancer.

"…Something stronger…perhaps." The pilot of the armor broke the silence.

After many loud clanks echoed from inside the mech, four tips of four L-HR12 (Lancer-Hand Rocket 12th Series) hand rockets appeared out of the Lancer's fingers. Before the missiles could launch, however, an enormous firestorm raged from behind Roze then shot forward, surrounding the Lancer's head. Instead of smashing through this armor's eyes, the flames grew larger and spread around the Lancer's entire body hiding it from the rest of the world. Four explosions echoed from behind the flames adding to the raging inferno. Moments later the flames cleared and the Lancer stood undamaged.

Fear combined with disbelief forced a backward step from Roze. "Armor…stronger than…adamantium…ok then…" Roze lifted her right hand in front of her face. She positioned her thumb inward over her palm and bent her pinky and the finger next to it. After she closed her eyes, her hand began to tremble. "Stone…Aloe…your muscles…your skin…your limitless might born from the earth…" A circle of emerald colored energy spiked around Roze pushing her coat back into the wind. One of the Materia slots built into her crystal bangle shinned a bright crimson from underneath the protective covering. A bright green light peeked out from beneath the steel ground in front of the instructor. The light shot out to the left and right forming a thirty-foot wide circle. An unrecognizable character formed in the middle of the circle. "…Hear my call…come forth!" Roze threw her right hand to the side as the green energy surrounding her dispersed in different directions and the green light in front of her shined high into the air. "Titan!"

A violent earthquake shook the entire plateau briefly halting the Imperial slaughter of the Techmage cadets. The ground beneath the green symbol cracked then shattered. Several massive boulders launched into the air then smashed hard into the ground. Slowly the dust and light faded and an extremely well built gargantuan sized man wearing only a green loincloth stared down the Lancer in front of him. The man's face harbored three eyes, two under tree leaf born eyebrows and the third staring out above a nose with three nostrils. The presence of this astonishing creature only interrupted the battle raging around it. Although he harbored a mouth the Titan never spoke a single word as his hands tore into the ground below pulling up a massive chunk of the plateau. Swirls of emerald energy flowed from the Titan's massive arms into the large hunk of stone and steel.

The Imperial Lancer stood silent with both hands resting on the hilt of its Katana. "It is not enough, woman."

A deafening roar erupted from the Titan as he launched the energized hunk of earth and steel towards the Lancer. Three seconds passed and the Lancer remained still and silent. Another three seconds and the boulder was now within twenty feet of the mech. In two swift motions the Lancer drew its Katana with a bright spark and its sharp blade glided upwards through the air then shot down with great speed.

Roze blinked and in an instant the Lancer that once stood at least two classroom lengths away from the Titan now towered over her ten feet behind the summoning entity, slowly sheathing its Katana. "Im…impossible…it's just not…possible…!" Her words hung in the air until they were silenced by the sound of supernatural flesh ripping apart.

Massive amounts of energy stored within the Titan's body began to shoot out in all directions. A body splitting line drew itself down the anomaly's shocked and angered face. Slowly, the one Titan became two smaller halves. Emerald energy spiked and swirled from inside each half of the Titan until its split body hit the ground, shattering into thousands of pieces then vanishing from Earth's dimension.

Roze couldn't move. Her shock had overtaken her senses and her fear had destroyed any chance of them returning. Again, the Lancer's fingers shined crimson as plasma bolts generated inside them. Two seconds before they reduced Roze to a blood splatter on the ground an enormous blue beam of light half the size of the Lancer's foot smashed into the mech's right side. This blast did not damage the armor but instead knocked it off balance into a nearby training facility.

A familiar voice pulled Roze back to reality. "Ms. Hoover!" Benson stood beside Sergeant Gregor in front of an ATR waving his arms so Roze would notice him. "Hurry! This way!"

Gregor slowly lowered a smoking bazooka from his shoulder. "Let's go!"

"…Unbelievable." Roze ran towards the ATR.

Twilight Dragon Academy Plateau: The Catacombs

No violent earthquakes or loud echoes from weapons fire reached Claire deep within the plateau catacombs. She walked at a fast pace down the dimly lit tunnel Roze pointed out to her. Every few seconds her gaze scanned the ceiling until finally a long sharp spike filled her vision. Just as Roze had said, a tunnel revealed itself to Claire's immediate left. The cadet kept her stare on the ceiling. Each section of stone appeared flat until Claire stepped directly underneath and then several different sized spikes grew out of the rock surface.

"Ok now that's just wrong." Claire concluded.

Thirty meters…or was it forty? No! It was thirty. A light mist began to form throughout the tunnel. Claire couldn't stand tasting the noxious odor by breathing through her mouth. Smelling the fumes was just as unbearable so she covered her mouth and nostrils with her hand. Five minutes later Claire stopped in front of another tunnel that she hoped harbored the correct path. A low growl flowed into the cadet's ears after she took one step forward. Her gaze rose to the ceiling and the stone spikes vanished two seconds after filling her vision. Slowly, her stare turned until her eyes centered on a tunnel directly behind her. Far down the black nothingness that filled the tunnel two yellow lights flashed on. A white mist seeped out of the darkness under the lights.

Another growl from the bodiless figure forced Claire into a frenzied dash down the tunnel behind her. A few seconds that seemed like a few minutes to the adrenaline charged cadet passed and her head turned spotting the yellow lights closer now than when she was standing still. Claire's speed increased until shock exploded painfully inside her chest. A stone wall blocked off the tunnel and no other pathways presented themselves to the unfortunate cadet.

"Oh shit…holy shit…SHIT!" Claire held her pain filled chest tightly with her right hand.

Claire quickly turned to face the lights, which upon closer inspection harbored black pupils. As her breathing slowed, the cadet began to feel short tremors beneath her feet. Another growl flowed from the beast while a set of white pearly teeth shined under the torches. Slowly, a lizard face as black as the darkness around it hovered in front of one of the torches. Another ground shaking step brought most of the creature's armored ebony body into view. Two massive wings stretched out to either side of the tunnel revealing the purplish skin on the bottom of each limb. The beast's chin, neck, chest, and stomach were also purple. Its long tail swung around to the left then slid along the floor of the tunnel.

Claire could not remove her stare from the animal's eyes even as her legs began to back away from the beast. "Oh…my…" Fear froze Claire's sense of touch and she didn't notice the movement in her legs. She was also unaware of the stone floor vanishing from underneath her left foot. "Gooooooaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

Time had no meaning to Claire as her body fell through the catacombs. When her back hit solid rock death entered her mind first, then shock as her body began to slide down the stone wall. Two and a half minutes passed before Claire finally came to a halt on flat solid ground. The realization that her eyes had been closed came when she opened them and curiosity slowly began to overtake her fear. In front of her, a wide metal door dimly shone through the darkness. A small keypad clung to the tall metal plating beside the door. Confusion swirled in Claire's mind as she stared at the keypad. Now what do I do? Wait maybe… She entered a standard shock trooper hangar door code. She wouldn't send me down here just to get stuck at a door right…? Five hour long seconds passed before a green light flashed on above the door. A line of drew itself between the metal door as it split open, revealing nothing but pitch-black darkness.

Claire took five steps into the dark new area then stood still and silent. Another agonizing five seconds flew by before the sound of electricity forced on a bright white light. Several other lights flashed on illuminating the area. Claire slowly turned around taking in the entire facility she had just walked into. An enormous hangar surrounded the cadet. A massive square shaped metal grated platform hovered above a black void. Four rectangular platforms extended out from the square floor into the stone walls. A small shuttle collected dust on the center of the square platform. Relief managed to tear its way out through the fear and confusion surrounding Claire's heart and she held in half a giggle after the craft's keypad accepted her code. The door slid open with a mechanized hum then shut behind the cadet.

Claire's fingers glided over the control panel of the shuttle. "Sheesh, I know early graduations can be a little awkward or surprising but damn…"

The only exit that presented itself was an exceptionally large tunnel conveniently positioned in front of the shuttle. Two minutes passed and a low hum from the shuttle's engines echoed inside the hangar. The craft launched forward through the tunnel then came to an abrupt halt thirty feet down the pathway, almost crashing into a dead end. Two seconds after reaching the end of the tunnel a metal hatch above the shuttle covered with a thin stone camouflage split open revealing a bright blue cloudy sky. The hatch closed as the shuttle cleared its borders and the shuttle itself elevated high into the air just below the peaks of the mountains surrounding the plateau. Claire let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding before launching the shuttle forward.