And here is chapter four. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, elements, or borrowed plot ideas from any source I acquire them from, specifically KingsIsle. I merely own any original characters I create.

"Blah" = talking

"Blah" = thoughts, writing, sound effects, or flashbacks

"BLAH"= Yelling

(Blah)= scene change

EXSEED

Fourth Pip: Duel

The bells' harmonious chimes were already ringing as Tala pushed open the front double doors of the general studies building. His pace quickened as he stepped foot inside, cutting a swathe down the hall through the remainder of people also rushing towards their own classes. It had been a relatively easy journey to class, as easy as sprinting through the overflowing masses of the shopping district and commons could be, and he breathed a sigh of relief upon finding his seat near the middle of the back half of the classroom.

With the ham sandwich he had too hastily guzzled down prior protesting in his stomach, the black haired teen gave a few cursory glances around the room. The first thing he picked up on as he surveyed the space's occupants was the lack of Victoria and Fate's presence. He glanced up at the clock above the blackboard. Granted, they still had a few minutes left before class began, though today was the blonde's first actual commute to class from outside Ravenwood. She had no idea the kind of pedestrian traffic that littered the streets during the morning rush; something Tala was already well versed in.

Moving his eyes forward, he spied the respective backs of his other classmates. Collectively, their voice managed to fade into a background hum around him, though he was able to single out a particular conversation that piqued his interest.

"Did you hear about what happened the other day? Everyone's talking about it." The pale skinned, green eyed Mindy Pixiecrown whispered to students adjacent to her.

"You mean about that attack in Gobbler Dorm the other day?" Duncan Grimwater, who sat behind her, asked in confirmation, tuffs of his own shaggy white hair falling underneath the hood over his head. "A friend of mine who lives on that floor said the whole room was completely destroyed."

"What? I haven't heard anything about this yet." Susie Gryphonbane, a tanned skin girl with coffee brown hair, interjected. "What happened?"

Duncan turned to his left to face her, leaning the side of head on his propped arm. "From all the stuff I heard, apparently someone attacked Victoria's room while Ty Stormwhisper and some new transfer student were visiting, and that the transfer student saved Ty and drove the guy off."

"Wait, isn't a new student joining our class?" Anna Flamewright realized, touching up her dark blue hair with a brush. "Is it the same guy?"

Any further follow-up regarding the girl's question was prevented by the timely entrance of Mr. Herbert Runewarden, who greeted the presently assembled class of ten with an eager smile. His cheerful disposition was always a breath of fresh air for the students, what with the likes of Cyrus Drake instructing their first class every other morning. As always, he retrieve a small notepad from his travel bag and initiated the traditional roll call, which moved forward in the usual manner with a mixture of 'here', 'present', and one or two 'right in front of you sir' for good effect. His difficult eyesight had always been a topic of well natured humor amongst the students.

"Now, let's see…" Herbert whispered to himself, before bringing his volume you back up. "It seems the only absent students are Ms. Flaresong and…"

"Sorry we're late." The man's voice trailed off as a fiddling of the door handle preceded the arrival of the girl in question, followed closely by another humanoid figure. All eyes darted to the figure that entered behind her. Victoria continued towards her desk, continuing her sentence over her shoulder. "Didn't know how crowded the commons is in the morning." Tala couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Ah, there you are, Ms. Flaresong. I'll overlook it since you've had quite the eventful past few days…" The instructor added two final checks to his tally before directing a curious eye towards the boy. "And you must be our transfer student, no?" He gave a silent nod in reply and Mr. Runewarden turned to face the class body. "Alright children, we have a new student joining us today. Please tell us who you are."

As he stepped forward, all the seated novice wizards directed their attention to him; more specifically the class's female population. His hair, a conglomeration of messy, raven-hued spikes, complimented well with his tanned skin, just short of light brown; though it was not until they lay eyes on his faultless, emerald eyes that melting sighs escaped a few mouths.

"My name is Fate Evergreen." Whichever females hadn't sighed at that point caught up with the other as soon as he gave a smile and began to speak. "I'm a transfer student from Krokotopia. I hope that we can be coming good friends."

A nod of approval and subsequent hand gesture from Mr. Runewarden gave him leverage to choose his own desk, and he subtly slipped into the seat to the right of Victoria, who sat behind Tala. As the instructor started towards the board and everyone save the new transfer retrieved their textbooks, Tala could only continue to chuckle as he keyed in on the whispered conversation taking place in front of him.

"He came here with Victoria, so that must be the guy that saved Ty."

"Did you hear that? He's from Krokotopia."

"This proves it. Foreign guys are always more attractive."

o o o

"So…Krokotopia?" Tala asked with a raised eyebrow as he, Fate, and Victoria made their way down the hallway after class, their bodies near shoulder to shoulder.

"The Headmaster told us he'd have to have a convincing backstory." Victoria answered. "He at least looks more Krokotopian than the people native to Wizard City, and it was easy to pass off a transfer student from there."

The trio continued moving at a uniform pace, sticking within the confines of their small group and conversing over the various questions Fate voiced. To the boy's credit and Victoria's surprise, he had managed to come to terms with his situation fairly quickly, especially for someone who had supposedly been locked within a crystal for a thousand years. Ambrose's careful guidance and the girl's own private tours over the past weekend had been particularly helpful in familiarizing him with the more prominent districts and culture of the city and various worlds. She was merely glad that he had mostly able to adjust, and that the worry and concern that had dominated his face just days before was subverted with an inquisitive and joyful spirit.

Within minutes, they arrived at the General Studies Building Cafeteria and were greeted to the multitudes of clanging utensils and even conversations washing over them. White washed brick formed the walls of the open hall, disrupted only by the silken banners of the various magical disciplines. Even more vibrant than the tapestries was the ocean of color formed by the outfits of students, either digging into meals at wooden benches and tables or retrieving them the lunch line, contrasted against the fresh carpet of grass strewn over the floor. It was at that point that its proper name, 'The Garden', fully made sense within Victoria's mind.

The trio grabbed their meals, Tala and Victoria directing Fate in what appeared to be food and what actually was food; a minor setback of a magical school. Then, they weaved their way through crowds of students before the blonde girl spotted a solitary figure at one of the middle round tables.

For a student of death, his skin seemed surprisingly healthy; not the usual pale that the others paraded around. His solid black held a greyish tint at places and fell down to the nape of his neck. His shirt and pants, both a dark grey, were embroidered with various black lines and symbols of his particular school. Lastly, a wooden staff topped with a red jewel surrounded by gold, leaned against the table.

Journeyman Necromancer: Malorn Ashthorn

"Mind if we sit here?" Victoria asked with a sarcastic edge, snapping the boy out of his thoughts. His eyes rose from his coffee brown, hardcover book and with a few welcoming gestures, the group took to their seats.

"Well, haven't seen you in a while, Victoria, Tala." He remarked with a smirk, directing his eyes to the black haired, green eyed boy across from him. "Who's your friend here?"

"Oh this is our newest transfer student, Fate Evergreen." Her fork plunged into her salad, and she downed her mouthful before continuing. "Fate, this is Malorn Ashthorn. He's a long time friend of Ty and I."

"Ah so you're the one everyone's talking about." Malorn remarked, closing his book's cover after the two exchanged curt greetings.

"Talking about me? For what?"

"Well apparently you turned into quite the star once everyone learned of your involvement in that attack a few days ago." The necromancer directed his eyes over the boy's shoulder to the table a dozen feet behind him. He and Victoria carefully turned around, first to the table then all around, noticing the quick but obvious glances other students would cast every now and then. When their eyes returned to Malorn, he continued. "I'm actually a little intrigued myself at that. Among the second semesters, Ty's a known talent. It must have been quite the struggle against a guy that could take him down."

"Now that he mentions it…what did happen?" Tala queried, lifting a curious eyebrow at Fate.

"Well actually, I didn't…"

"Hey, you."

Fate's words instantly cut off as a distinctly male voice sounded off behind him, inviting a silence in the area around them that was previously full of preteen chattering. Without even turning around, the emerald eyed boy could feel the stares of the other students and particularly the piercing gaze of the boy behind him. With a gulp, he gradually craned his neck and took sight of his provoker.

His deep yellow hood, its color consistent with his shirt and pants, covered the thin, aesthetic face of the pale skinned boy. A cape, outlined in grey, cascaded down to his lower back from his shoulders. Grey sleeved arms rested comfortably at his sides, a long metallic staff held parallel to the ground in his right hand.

Initiate Conjurer: Nolan Stormgate

"Ah, Nolan. How nice it is to see you." Tala's tone was laced with a sort of lackluster spite, eyes darting off to the side to avoid receiving a visual of his form.

"Can't say the same for you, Mythhammer." The hooded boy replied evenly, as if he hadn't noticed or rather simply completely ignored it. Tala grunted, now allowing his face to follow suit in the direction of his eyes while Victoria silently wondered where their little spat had come from. Nolan directed his focus back to Fate. "Word around the first year classes is you saved Ty Stormwhisper."

"First years already? How fast do rumors spread around here?" Victoria queried inwardly, her eyebrow twitching before deciding to intervene. "Just leave him alone, Nolan. We don't want any trouble."

"I'm not bringing any trouble, Flaresong." She took note of his obvious tendency to refer to his lesser liked acquaintances by their surnames. "I just came to get a look at this supposedly powerful transfer student." His eyes took on a more condescending mirth. "Though I suppose they were just rumors after all."

"Why don't you let his ability speak for himself, Stormgate. He may surprise you." Malorn countered with an amused smirk. Nolan paused for a few seconds, then returned the same gesture.

"Is that a challenge, Ashthorn?"

"Only if you think you can handle it." Tala added, positioning himself back into the conversation. "Our boy here will mop the arena floor with you."

"We'll see about that. Be at the general studies gym at midnight. Try not to get caught or you forfeit." The Conjurer gave one last withering glare at Fate as he spoke before turning around and walking off. Victoria watched his retreating form disappear into the crowd of seated students, the overpowering variety of colors causing her to lose track of his position soon after.

Malorn refocused his gaze upon Fate, who for some reason seemed completely unaffected by the events that had just transpired. He thought this strange, though eventually assumed the boy was attempting to hide his nervousness, which prompted the death student to send out a few words of encouragement. "Don't worry. He's not even as strong as Ty, and we'll help you work out a strategy. What spells do you know?"

"Spells? I don't know any spells."

Silence reigned for the space of five seconds before Malorn spoke evenly.

"Sorry, I didn't quite hear that right. Say that again."

"I don't know any spells. And as I was about to say before, I didn't save Ty from anything." His eyes trailed off to the side and his voice grew the smallest bit quieter. "He's the one that saved me."

Another silent space ensued, more awkward and lengthier than the last. Fate watched as their faces, particularly Tala and Malorn's, adopted a serious quality. The former brought his cup of water to his mouth, took a few sips, then spoke as he lowered it back down onto the table.

"We are so screwed."

"I don't know why you two are surprised." Victoria said, her voice level though the tone of her words taking on a subtle scolding quality. "Both of you always jump head first into stuff like this without thinking, and now Fate is going to get pummeled by an upperclassmen because of it."

"Hey." Fate interjected. "What makes you so sure I'll lose?" He stood his ground as the blonde a scrutinizing stare. "Maybe if I just punch him before he can cast something…" Tala and Malorn's eyes met each other, and each of their faces took on a 'why didn't we think of that' look.

"What are you? From Grizzleheim?" She snapped back, those same looks soon deflating. "This isn't some brawl. They signed you up for a wizard duel. You won't last a minute without spells of your own." Her voice calmed down at this point, and she breathed out a heavy sigh. "I'm going to go talk to Nolan and call this thing off…."

"Absolutely not!" Tala argued in a raised whisper. "We called Nolan out. If this fight doesn't go down, Fate will lose face with just about everyone."

Victoria's tone matched his. "Are you serious? What matters more; your pride or your life?"

All three boys blinked, then responded in complete unison as if the answer was obvious.

"Pride."

The blonde haired wizard was dually surprised by the underlying seriousness in Fate's voice, and under their awaiting stares, she could do nothing except concede, albeit unwillingly. "Fine, go ahead. But don't expect any help from me. I don't approve of this one bit."

The three boys exchanged gleeful high-fives at her words, Fate mostly caught up in the other two boys' excitement. They stood from the table, taking their respective books and food trays to the local disposal bins before making their way towards the exit, leaving Victoria to finish her meal on her own and with a distinctive feeling about the inherent lack of common sense within the male persuasion.

o o o

It was with haste that Victoria made her way down the darkened general studies corridor, dimly lit sconces providing the only source of visual guidance. She purposely rolled her feet as she moved, making sure to limit the echo her steps made. Against her better judgment, she was coming. She hadn't planned to come, even going so far as to completely remove the event from her mind, but her own caring instincts had kicked in sometime between the trip back to her new apartment and the subsequent beginning of dinner.

Thankfully, it wasn't too long before she had reached her destination and the fear of being caught out of the dorms by the school night watch alleviated for the most part. She entered the general studies gym with caution, noticing the large number of people that had formed a wide circle over the rubber-padded, beige floor. Recognizing a few familiar faces, she made her way over to fellow classmates Mindy Pixiecrown and Susie Gryphonbane, who struggled to see from their position near the outer rim of the circle.

"Hey, you made it Victoria." Mindy exclaimed with glee as the blonde approached, her voice mostly drowned out by the chatter of the students in front of her.

"Yeah, just barely. What's with all the people? I didn't think there would be this many."

"Apparently word got out to some of the higher classes." Susie explained to the best of her knowledge. "I wouldn't be surprised if the whole student body knows by now."

"Gossip around here is like an epidemic." Victoria thought with a sigh before the sound of Malorn Ashthorn's raised voice near the circle center captured her attention. With a few gestures she and her two classmates pushed and maneuvered their way through the packed confines of the crowd, which were not as thick as the outside had made them appear to be, muttering small apologies as needed. As they reached the inner wall of the circle, she looked around, quickly spying her charges a few meters away to her left.

As the three girls walked over to them, Nolan, who stood across from them on the circle's other side, stepped forward, grabbing his metallic staff from one of the two students beside him. With an encouraging pat from Malorn and a nod from Tala, Fate mimicked his actions, doing his best to maintain a confident façade. The two reached the center of the circle just the female trio arrived beside his two 'coaches'.

"How does it look?" The brown eyed girl did her best to mask the worry in her voice.

"Not great, but at least there's a slim chance now." Malorn replied, keeping his eyes focused on the future combatants while his face took on a small grin. "There was no way were going to pull off teaching him spell signing, so we opted for a different route. It took me most of the evening, but I found my old practice wand."

"Practice wand? How's that thing going to help him in actual combat?"

"You're in your first semester, so you wouldn't know. Practice wands didn't always have those Professor-controlled safe modes on them. That only started last year." His index finger stretched out and the blonde eyed the short, star capped wand clasped in Fate's right hand. "The one I started out with completely skipped spell signs, so he should be able to cast."

Sounds of shuffling feet filled the floor as students around the inside perimeter of the circle began to scoot backwards, ushering those behind them in the same direction. Fate kept his eyes fixed on Nolan, who had already placed a fair distance between them and taken a stance. The dark haired boy mimicked him, finding it the most appropriate gesture in the downtime before the commencement of the fight.

Amidst the beginnings of cheers from the assembled spectators, one student stepped out from the audience and began to proclaim in a loud voice. "Alright, this is a one-on-one duel. Minions and pets are forbidden. The match ends when surrender is verbally declared. Are you ready?" Two nods, one more hesitant than the other, gave him his answer. "Very well. Begin!"

"Let's see what you've got, transfer." Nolan was already prepping his spell the moment the signal was given, his index finger extended and tracing a strange, triangular pattern in the air. Simultaneously, a glowing orb of energy materialized, floating to the right of his right shoulder.

Through this, Fate kept his eyes focused and his visage calm. Malorn had scarcely touched on the occurring events earlier in the day during their prep session, though it was enough for the boy to assess the situation accurately. His arm flew up parallel to the ground, and the star-topped wand pointed at Nolan's position. Upon seeing this action, the Myth student began to hurry through the remainder of his sign, its lines jagged but otherwise functional. He was unsure what spell his opponent would be able to cast without drawing some sort of sign, though the look in Fate's eyes suggested his sureness.

As Malorn had hastily shown him just an hour ago, Fate began to draw magic into the wand, and the object garnered a shine not so much dimmer than the pip that hovered next to Nolan. The Initiate Wizard finished the last of his sign and with an extension of his own staff, the pip imploded, and both boys spells burst forth simultaneously.

Or at least, that's what should have happened.

A large, brown bat materialized in front of Nolan in a curt flash of light, flapping leathery wings in an effort to keep its pudgy body aloft. On Fate's end, nothing. No flash of light. Nothing, except for brief outline of a spell sign dissolving into particles literally the moment it appeared. Nolan's Blood Bat set the confused boy in its sights, and as it darted towards him, Malorn and Tala could only look down in utter annoyance at their luck.

"He would fizzle…"

Fate made a horizontal sweep with his wand as the bat soared in, which it easily avoided with a strong flap that boosted it over the attack's range. Nolan immediately began a second sign upon seeing his opponent resorting to swat the creature away. A second bat appeared within moments amidst the roiling cheers of the crowd and flew in to join its comrade.

"What's wrong, transfer? Where's all the power that saved Ty, huh?" The Myth student jeered, sending a third bat his opponent's way. All three bats began to circle around Fate's position at different speeds and heights in a form reminiscent of a tornado, so fast that the boy deemed it impossible to pick them off with a swing of his wand.

"Alright, that's it." Victoria spoke aloud, voice muffled by the crowd but audible to those around her. "This is nothing but pointless bullying. I'm stopping this fight before it grows out of control." She stepped forward, and as Tala and Malorn moved to keep her in place, a horrible screeching sound wrenched everyone's attention from the fight.

Three lavender hued bats, wreathed in electric currents, soared just over the heads of a section of the encircling audience, the displaced wind blowing at their hair and hats. The flying mammals picked the blood bats off with perfect precision, charged fangs sinking into flesh and wings carrying the myth creatures toward the ceiling before all disappeared in small explosions of light and electricity well above everyone's heads.

Nolan looked to left, surprised at the simplicity in which his spell was vanquished, and spied a familiar form pushing through the crowd.

"What do you think you're doing, Nolan." Ty Stormwhisper asked with raised eyebrow, everyone having gone quiet at his appearance.

"Ty? I…" The Myth Wizard began to stutter as the Diviner approached Fate, asking if he was alright to which he gave a positive reply. "There was this rumor…that you were saved by this kid. I just wanted to beat him so I could…"

"So it would be like indirectly beating me." Ty finished the sentence in an unamused tone, catching the boy off guard. He placed a hand on Fate's shoulder. "Next time you get a bright idea, why don't you check your rumors. I saved this guy, not the other way around."

Skeptical whispers from the assembled students were soon quenched as Fate nodded in agreement to Ty's words. Soon after, shuffling feet accompanied the gradual movement of wizards out of the gymnasium, most muttering thoughts of disappointment of the match's conclusion. Mindy and Susie, joining the crowd, threw last waves to the group and Nolan before exiting. Nolan was the last to take his leave, muttering under his breath and not slightly content at his admittedly shallow victory.

As he escaped earshot, Ty turned to the others, letting loose a terse explanation. "Sorry about all that. He's pretty driven when trying to beat me."

"How did you even know about this?" Victoria asked curiously.

"A classmate told me about a midnight duel and I'd been on my final day of bed rest, so I wanted some excitement. Imagine my lack of surprise to find Nolan had a hand in all this." He chuckled to himself at those last words before shifting the subject. "Anyway, it's late and I have class in the morning, so I'm heading back to my dorm."

"I'm with you there, Ty. Hopefully I can sneak back into the house without getting caught." Tala added, motioning over his shoulder for the others to follow. Fate followed behind Victoria as they all made their way out, though he paused and turned to Malorn as he remembered something.

"Oh, almost forgot." He tossed the star-capped wand to Malorn, uttering a word of thanks as the boy caught it. At that, the necromancer stood still, watching the quartet travel into the hallway before his eyes wandered down to his practice wand.

It dawned on him in the following seconds.

"Wait…practice wands can't fizzle…"

(Authors Notes)

Alright, sorry about the wait for this one. College really does capture your full attention, and writing my main project doesn't help this story receive a scheduled update either. Luckily, I get out April 15, which will hopefully leave me more time to write both.

Fight was short, though I didn't want it too long anyway. Hopefully I did the featured spells justice. I will say that some spells and aspects of combat might be altered slightly to fit my direction, though nothing glaring.

Next chapter begins the Unicorn Way arc. Hopefully I'll be able to add a fresh spin on it.