"Woah!?" Blade flailed around with her arms as she plummeted towards the arena grounds of Red Fountain, yet it was barely a few meters and she had such high speed from getting hurled. "AHHHH! WINX!" Blade transformed and hit the brakes hard as some familiar people were in the way of her crash landing.
Codatorta turned his head and sidestepped her completely. So, Blade whizzed by him and Saladin.
"Blade!" Her classmates screamed out to warn her. They already were at the arena, besides the fact all of them wanted to meet up beforehand at the lake.
Blade had slowed down as much as possible and deactivated her Fairy form again to roll off the sand she still was too fast. Once back on her feet she angrily turned around. "HEY! What was that for!?"
Votzaak shook his head and a tablet appeared next to him and he typed something down, "Oh, by the Great Dragon, and you're the fastest of them all? In the field, you'll be chewed out a thousand times over." He pinched his nose bridge.
Blade simply couldn't catch on, "What?"
"Well, well, now that the third test is concluded…" Saladin started his speech.
"Third?!" Everyone was utterly confused and they looked at each other but no one had an answer.
"I get that this one was a reaction test," Julius interrupted, "But what were the other two?" He saw no rhyme or reason for Headmaster Saladin's statement. Just like the rest of the students.
The Order members looked at each other weighing their options. Yet lastly Ararel stepped up, "First one was if you could spot to any degree the bodyguards that were following all of you because of the PSI attack on Blade. You also might have noticed some minor mishaps you couldn't explain." He said with a bit of amusement in his voice.
"OH! YOU, YOU! ARRGH!" Kitty hissed, "Please tell me, we get to punch you in those tests…" She growled lowly, ready to whack someone.
"So… the second test was indeed intel gathering?" Blade spoke up staring at her bracelet.
"You knew!?" Nebula stared at her confused her light purple hair falling to the front as she facepalmed, "Why didn't-"
Votzaak coldly stated, "You all failed that one too. BIG Time. You had the skills for that one at least and didn't-"
"Don't be too harsh," Grandmaster Parcival intervened, "They were studying and in the end, they got some intel." He could read it in the Leprechaun's aura and expression.
"Lucky break," Votzaak hissed back at the White Jade Grandmaster.
Karim from the Head Hunters chuckled, "Luck is part of the job as well, sometimes you get a lucky break through an informant. Or you see a person of interest randomly in the streets." He seemed a bit sad, sympathetic actually, as he addressed the students again, "Sadly though, you won't truly have the time to check it out. So, we still can't let you pass." He had hoped just for a second, but no. He didn't expect anything specific of those kids, nothing at all, yet he would gladly see them succeed. Karim was in his hybrid form; as a Werefox he was as beautiful as any other and had very well-cared-for fur. His white fur turned dark turquoise on the back and faded out towards the lower back and head towards the snout. The lighter markings down his face. And his hand and feet dipped in a turquoise as well. Yet unlike Councillor Shiri he had not only their typical parted skirt but also four golden rings along his arms from which a fine yet sturdy scarf hung down attached to it an intricate ornament made out of darkened golden stings and three triangular stripes at the end, it gave the vibe of something like a dreamcatcher. His staff, also made of the same gold had the same ornament at the top, it was giant, bigger than his head. Still what stood out were his bright light-blue elongated arm and head fins.
The students looked at each other in silence a bit annoyed, rolling their eyes, and simply tensing up a bit. These 'tests' were not working out in their favour.
"Great," Headmaster Hagen from Hoggar, the smith school, stepped forward, "We got a long day ahead of us. So, let's continue. Specialists to the right, Blade, you too. The Ladies please to the left. We'll first test your knowledge of techno-magic and forging."
"WHAT?!" The Fairies and Sorceresses complained loudly. "BUT-"
"SILENCE!" Votzaak demanded in such a thundering voice that the students flinched. 'Seriously… no order.' He gave a stern side glance to Griffin and Faragonda.
Even Hagen was a bit thrown off. Votzaak didn't hide his grumpiness one bit. "Anyways…" Hagen refocused as he crossed his arms behind his back while Iolas and his team set the test up. "First of all, you Ladies choose a partner. And since there are more of you. Some of you gentlemen and Lady can take on at max two people. Once teams are formed, I'll explain the exercise." With that he moved on to Iolas's team set up some tables and a wall of phanto-weapons with them. While the rest of the grown-ups turned towards each other, chatting.
"Blade!" A bunch of girls stormed at her, "Take me, take me!"
Blade a bit perplexed stepped backwards, "Guys, please, at max I can take two. And we don't even know what the test is."
"But you are the heir to Lunasteel. Sooo, you gotta be good at forging, besides you worked on those-"
"SHHH," Keith hissed to the girls as he walked over to the large group surrounding Blade with some of the other Specialists. "They actually might not know that…"
"Yeah, anything can be a test here…" Mercury uttered through clenched teeth.
Meanwhile, the Order members and teachers stood around talking yet also very covertly watching their new students.
"Oh, boy, they are screwing around so much…" Codatorta rubbed his nose bridge in disbelief.
Master Nerrocean was unimpressed as well, "Indeed. I thought they learned something in the task force. But…"
"They are a sad uncoordinated bunch of runts," exhaled Apex Predator Itzcali a bit disappointed. After their Palladium stunt, she had expected them to be much more cunning.
Marksman Fane yawned bored, "Did you actually expect anything of worth?" She looked to the students who out of nowhere did a rock paper scissors contest and wasted even more time.
"Hey," Professor Palladium defended his students, "It's hard to pass tests if you don't know what they are."
"Life is a test, you never know what's around the corner," Sanari Gwaine promptly held against it he didn't mean to offend, it just was, well, it had to be said.
"Exactly," Sanari Cei crossed his arms, "And making teams, based on strengths is basic, common sense. Yet they are uncoordinated and take forever." A bit scolding, he looked to Avalon his fellow Order member.
Slayer Nabu raised his hands to slow the two men from White Jade before Avalon could take the word, "I was a student too, we all were once. They simply see that Hagen isn't done preparing and we didn't tell them to hurry. So, of course, they use their time to the fullest." Nabu looked into a few faces that still were utterly unconvinced by the students' conduct, "Please, see a bit of reason, they are still teenagers, we all know how talented newbies are that somehow pass our Orders' exams, and these are even greener than that."
"I got to agree," Shanna pushed her long white hair back over her shoulder. "You should expect nothing, and be happy about anything. Otherwise, you will put them in harm's way or will be quickly discouraged from teaching them. This is the first time for… mostly… everyone here teaching such young people." The old Elven Lady gently remarked.
"Hm," Riven scratched his chin, "But it also feels wrong to pretend they know nothing at all. They had their fair share of encounters."
Avalon watched as the students finally got a move on in sorting out the teams, "And barely scraped by, it wasn't facing difficulty in the past, it was a pure state of survival, they were truly desperate at times. Not to mention that some encounters only apply to a few of them. I think we'll have a hard time getting rid of some of the subconscious habits they have established and get the rest up to speed." He paused as some nodded slightly to his observation.
Faragonda smiled it was true there was a LOT of work to be done to even get them to a base level of what the students, all, needed to succeed on the missions that would be handed out to them in the future they would be more tasking than anything she had given her students over the years, "Even from the written exams it's more than clear that besides their personal preferences, they are at different stages of applied and theoretical knowledge." She together with Griffin and Saladin had spent a few nights to get a good overview themselves.
It took a few more minutes till the teams were sorted out. A fresh breeze blew around the tables set up in the arena. A big wall was stocked with all kinds of weapons and models. Iolas and his team went back to the other teachers as Hagen stood in front of the Blade and the others.
The master smith carded his long white beard, "Well, then, your job is to take a weapon from the wall," He pointed over to it, "of your own choosing. Once you choose you can't put it back. Then, you go to your group's table and give your team members the assembly instructions for your weapon, these are on the table next to the wall. The rest of your team moves to the left side." There actually was a designated area marked by white glowing lines to stand in. "And through the intercom of your bracelets, those with the instructions explain to you what you need to do to disassemble and reassemble the weapon. Once that is done, you will hand the weapon over to one of the instructors for a structural integrity test. Any questions?" He looked at the frowning faces of the girls and a lot of facepalms from the boys.
If they had known, they would have built the teams way differently. But now it was too late. "Can we change groups, sti-"
"No," Master Aithlin resounded from the sidelines. "In missions, you can't swap out members you have to make do with what you have." It wasn't a reprimand at all, just a simple statement.
"Great…" Dean from Team E scratched his head, he had Breeze and Volcano in his team who both had no idea whatsoever and he wasn't the best at assembling weapons or explaining for that matter.
"Well then," Hagen nodded to the students, "begin." He turned around to take his place next to Aithlin, Ilrune and Riven who obviously stepped up to observe them all and summoned their notepads.
Blade took hold of Sienna and Serina, her teammates, for this test since those two were the winners of the rock paper scissors contest and pulled them to the side first. While the other teams stormed right at the wall to get the easiest weapons. "Okay, first off, did you ever have any of those weapons in your hands once they were disassembled?"
Both shook their head, "Come on, Blade, we gotta get a good weapon," Serina got impatient already. No one had ever stated this to be a race yet everyone was behaving like it was one to some degree.
"Don't worry about the choice of weapon," Blade simply stated as she pulled out a few of her weapons from her belt pouch. "Okay, so first off, and now watch carefully, some parts are the same in any weapon. Like the energy core the crystal stabiliser and the frame for the energy core." She quickly disassembled her three weapons, a dagger, bow and spear. All weapons that were on the wall in various models. Blade already could see the fight ensuing at the weapon wall, yet simply ignored it. 'Hopefully that's allowed…' But so far none of the instructors called her out on it or stopped her.
"Blade, come on," Sienna pulled on her crop top, "They're getting ahead."
"Focus," Blade cut off Serina before she could nag as well. "It's a test if the weapon works in the end. You only need to fit those three parts into the outer hilt frame and make sure nothing is rattling. All the other parts are for looking fancy or making it more durable. Or stronger. But, in the old days' weapons were built with only those three parts. The drawback to nowadays weapons is that once empty they are empty. They can't use kinetic energy from being carried to reload. But to build those up correctly," Blade held up the generator, "Is a pain in the ass for people who know nothing. It might explode and whatnot. So, we stick to the simplest build-up… okay? So, who feels more confident to go first?"
Mercury had Steela as his partner, "Go grab an axe. I know them all, we'll get this done in no time."
Steela nodded as they approached the wall with haste, "Aye, Sir, let's mop the floor with them all." She grinned at Misery next to her sure of their victory. They wouldn't waste any time.
Julius breathed out, 'Okay how do I do this…?' He took a katana from the wall and looked up just to see a bunch of the girls fighting over daggers. "Girls careful!" He quickly intervened as some daggers in the pulling matches got activated. "Damon! Don't send them in like harpies!" Quickly he searched for Amber and Dusk in the chaos.
Kai looked at Birdy, "So what do you want to build?"
Birdy played nervously with her pigtail, "What's easiest?"
"Just take what you are most interested in since you have no idea. Just take the one that most motivates you."
"Lion, found one!" Rise happily waved two chain-sickle around. "Got one for each of us!"
Lion wide-eyed stared at his girlfriend. He had helped Julius to sort out the dagger mess, "You…" He smiled hiding his displeasure, 'Has she any idea how complicated that will be!?'
Every one of the Specialists went first as they all knew it would be good for the Sorceresses and Fairies to look at an instruction manual first. Before having to deconstruct and assemble the weapons next to themselves. The girls' explanations had been more than lacking and confusing, yet of course every one of the boys had taken their standard weapon so they didn't even need to wait for the construction instructions. And mostly in less than one or two minutes built their weapons and handed them over for testing and of course passed the weapon test.
"Slow down, Kitty," Alex tried to calm the eager Sorceress, who in record time had more or less broken apart the weapon. He scratched through his dark purple hair.
"Don't be such a sissy, we gotta win this!" Enthusiastically Kitty took some parts into her hands she had disassembled last. "Okay, and now..." Kitty eagerly stuffed two parts together that had to fit somehow together.
Alex went half pale, "No, no, you need the stabiliser first!" He nearly jumped out of the designated area.
Kitty half-smashed the part in her hands on the table and a bunch of screws and small parts hopped off the table and rolled away, "Dang it, well, I collect them once it's time." She mumbled to herself, while Alex had a hard time staying composed. "Which one was the stabiliser?" She asked over the intercom.
Alyssa held two parts seemingly looking the same from her Phanto-bow in her hands. "What do you mean the one with the marking!? They both have a marking! You know you're supposed to explain…"
Michael sighed as he puffed his red hair to the side. This was so stressful yet he stayed calm, "The one, that attaches on the left side of the hilt…has a marking accordingly."
"IT LOOKS THE SAME." Alyssa protested.
"NO, it DOESN'T," He swiped over his face. 'Seriously?! This isn't hard…'
"Lion… What are you talking about?" Rise scratched her head and ruffled through her short hair hurried and overwhelmed. "This is way too complicated," She stomped her foot on the ground and nearly slipped in her red high heels.
"Careful," Lion's voice resounded over the intercom, "Why did you choose such a complicated weapon, then?"
"How was I supposed to know!? You just went off to the others!" Rise pouted.
"…" Lion sighed. He glanced to Blade who still was sitting on the sand doing something with the two girls. 'What's she up to?' He shook his head and noticed there were a few students on the ranks chilling out, before he refocused. "Okay, now you need to take the spindle of the generator and squeeze it into the holding clamps of the-"
Rise groaned loudly and everyone looked to her, "What the heck are you talking about!? YOU SUCK AT THIS!"
Mercury had a grin on his face Steela was doing so well, "Okay, and now you take the sickle-shaped part and insert it into the gap."
"…" Steela stared at all the parts in front of her, "Sickle? You mean like a ring?" She wasn't sure what he meant.
"No, sickle like a half-moon. Should be about a fingertip long and flat," He elaborated.
"Hmmmm, I only have a flat square about that size," Steela scratched the back of her head, "I could create a part that fits."
Mercury frowned, "Wait, square…" He thought about it. His eyes fell on the model number on the instructions. "Wait, you have model 2rt.460, right?"
"2rt… What? They are all axes looking the same," Steela looked up confusion written on her face.
"Check the handle's outta case," Mercury already ran through the possible models in his head.
"EH… ah here, 2rt.560, Wait… oh shit, I gave you the wrong manual! I'm so sorry, what are we going to do-" Steela went a bit pale there.
"Chill, take the last three parts out and then you start with the square part. You need to…" He knew his axes all too well and simply chucked the instructions manual behind him. There was no point in using it now and he simply went about it on the top of his head.
Eagerly Misery placed the crystal into its stabiliser, "Ha, that's-" Suddenly she could feel a surge building up.
"DUCK!" Keith screamed ready to charge to her table.
"WOAH!" Misery jumped into the air, her green dress waving in the wind. The girls next to her didn't catch on quickly enough, though.
"Barrier of light!" Saladin quickly rose his dragon staff and cast first. The explosion went off setting the table on fire and parts smashed against the glimmering forcefield before subsiding.
"What happened!?" Misery was even panting a bit not to mention the others stationed around her. Some of them had dropped their constructions and now were loudly complaining, since some fell apart and they had a setback.
"Ha!" Amber walked up to Hagen and proudly was the first to hand in her weapon, while others still collected parts from that prior hiccup of Misery. "There you go one Crescent blade."
Hagen took it from her, and turned it around a few times nothing was rattling it had good weight. He had not seen any parts fall off the table or left behind. "Well then." He took a step to the side and activated it. "Let's see if it holds up." He activated the blade. Energy got relayed through the circuits. Yet with a snapping noise and a little tremble of Hagen's hand, the blade vanished before he could do anything else with the weapon.
"What but – I did what Julius explained…" Amber let her head hang. "What happened?"
Hagen opened his hand with a gentle smile the hilt had sprung open and fallen slightly apart. "Seems like you got your magnetic clamps wrong, they depolarised." He handed the scraps back, "Not to worry you still can try again." He noticed the snickering Specialists on the ranks, since the test had begun a few gawkers were gathering.
As Amber walked back Gilliana skipped towards Ilrune. "There," She handed him her dagger.
Ilrune could already feel it was light, too light. One glance behind her and he saw that all kinds of parts including the energy core were still on her workbench. "…Seriously?" Theatrically he tried to activate the weapon. Of course, nothing happened. "How do you want to fight with this? It's useless in battle." The Eques remarked unimpressed. Max her specialist was already standing there pale like a vampire.
"Simple, I swap it with a working one of an enemy and he is screwed while I am fine," Gilliana crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Right…" Ilrune raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, it's more time affiant and has a higher success rate than me ever getting this thing back together," Gilliana made her point.
Ilrune was a bit lost for words and pressed it into her hand. "Well, if that's what you want to go with." He marked something down on his notepad. "You still have time though till the others are done. Maybe do give it a REAL try?"
Serina looked at the sabre, "And you are sure, Blade? I am missing like half the parts…"
Blade's voice resounded over the intercom, "Yes, just make sure nothing rattles and is secured inside the hilt and you can hand it in."
'Alright…' Serina breathed in deeply as she stepped towards the instructors. A bit reluctantly she halted. Not sure to whom she should give it.
Master Aithlin had a stern look at her, yet did not speak.
Serina looked to Blade and Sienna who shooed her to step up so they could get a move on.
"I…uh…Here?" Serina a bit tensely handed over the weapon to Master Aithlin.
"Well, then let's see," The Elf stepped up. Of course, the weapon was lighter. He had already noticed the parts left behind on the workbench. He activated the sabre. A bright vibrant yellow. He swished it through the air. "Hedera." Aithlin grew some vines and slashed them through without a problem.
Serina's eyes sparkled, "It works. YES!" She rejoiced loudly before finding her composure again. All the girls were staring at her. She was the first to get a pass so to speak.
"Indeed, it does, but it will not hold forever. Yet, I guess, Blade already told you that," Aithlin gave the sabre back and turned around to take his place again.
"WOOOHOOOO, MY TURN!" Sienna ran to the workbench and swished the other parts to the ground. "Let's do this!" She placed her weapon on the workbench.
Dahlia got more nervous with the second as she watched Serina walk back to Blade and the boys, "No, I am telling you there is nothing like a round pin."
Seth balled his hands, "But it should be there…" He looked to Mercury who was in the last steps to explain to Steela how to finish the weapon. 'Wait…' He looked at the manual and squinted his eyes trying to spy the parts on the table. "Damn it."
"What?" Dahlia looked up at him.
"You picked up the wrong weapon just like Steela," Seth sighed deeply.
Dahlia got a bit hectic, "Well, then just tell me what to do next without the manual."
Seth let himself fall into the sand, "No can do, I am no good with spears. I don't know any other than that one. I'm so sorry…"
"Now what!?" Dahlia tucked on her short flower dress stressed out.
Steela walked up to the instructors ready to get approved but suddenly Polarissa bumped into her, "I'm first!" Polarissa crossed the line, "THERE YOU GO!" She pressed the sword hilt into Riven's hands.
"Hey!" Steela complained getting agitated.
"You snooze you lose," Polarissa stuck her tongue out and the two got into a little skirmish.
Riven shook his head and simply activated the blade and noticed a tremor inside the hilt, "SHIT!" In the blink of an eye, he threw the damn thing into the air and tackled Polarissa and Steela to the ground.
"Wall of darkness!" Griffin cast as she stopped talking to Votzaak. The blade exploded in the tiny bubble and she turned back to her conversation as if nothing had happened.
Steela went red, her neon green hair flicked in her every movement as they stood up, "You, maniac! Are you trying to kill us?!" She pushed Polarissa backwards.
"Not my fault! Tell that to him!" Polarissa pushed her back and pointed towards Tyson, who was speechless, to say the least.
"Oh, you…" Steela growled not amused by being pushed back herself.
Yet Riven simply took his spot at the instructor lineup without another comment. In fact, none of the adults interfered.
"GUYS!" Tasu shouted so loud that everyone stopped what they were doing. She just had finished her weapon as well. Irritated the two Sorceresses looked at her. "Conduct."
One word stated firmly, yet neutrally. Polarissa looked back to the grown-ups. "Wait, what?" They did nothing unlike the guys up in the ranks you held their stomachs from laughing so hard. 'Urrgh… those…'
"Oh, for crying out- uurgh… thanks a lot," Steela hissed at Polarissa and went straight to hand over her axe.
Sienna was done as well with the two hook swords she had chosen. 'Why wouldn't the teachers reprimand them…oh, don't tell me. Mercury was right!? No matter what we do, EVERYTHING is a test.' She instantly tensed up. "…Here, I- I mean thanks for, uhm. I am done thanks for your service? For, I- eh…"
Tasu snickered, "I have finished my assignment, please grade my team's work." She gave a warm smile to Ilrune.
"I will," Ilrune took the short sword from Tasu and ran the test. It held up properly. "You got the weapon right, but your generator has some minor misfunction. Still, very good."
Tasu blinked confused and even disappointed for a second there. But had to hurry back as Nebula still had to build hers.
"Solid work," Hagen and Master Aithlin had finished testing both Hook swords and handed them back to Sienna.
"Team Blade, three-man team, has finished!" Aithlin proclaimed loudly.
"Team Mercury, two-man team, has finished!" Riven resounded next to the Order Master.
There was a shift in the air, tension, and the atmosphere instantly changed. The students looked at their friends in question who rejoiced and met up away from the test area already exchanging high fives. Like an unspoken word everyone knew they had to hurry. No one wanted to be last.
Gilliana who was disinterested had gone back to the workbench to try again, looked up, "HEY! I was first. I finished! What is this crap!?" She hammered her fists down on the workbench and her newest try fell apart like a house of cards.
Max flailed around with his arms, "Gilliana, come on, you nearly had it this time…" He smacked his hand against his forehead.
After those proclamations, the whole test went a bit haywire. The girls wanted to get done fast so did the boys. Yet with less communication and shaking hands reassembling became a thing of unimaginable problems if not scenarios none of the grown-ups would have predicted in a thousand years. Riven was sure the kids tried to kill him, he had the most defective weapons. From delayed overloads to parts splintering off. Elongated blades or even a bow summoning an arrow into his face instead of into the direction of the targets.
"Uhmm, not to be harsh or anything…" Sanari Gwaine looked to Avalon, his old buddy, "But we planned with like double the time… and now it's been like twenty minutes for something that should have taken them all together about ten. Are we sure they can-"
Fane snorted so hard and pointed covertly to the tables, "Definitely not."
Rise with a pile of parts stomped forward already losing a few parts on her straight path towards Hagen, "There, I'm done." She pressed everything against his breastplate.
Hagen tried to catch some as he held his hands beneath the girl's. She was distraught her hair strands loose. "You okay?" It was written all over her face.
Rise simply opened up the hands wide and let the parts rain down on his hands and to the ground, "I think, we BOTH can agree I'll never get this done. Or will take part in your graciously offered choosable course." She turned around on her heels and blew the hair out of her face.
"Rise…" Lion had caught up, "You can't just..."
Rise glared at him, "I know you mean well, and explain stuff, but no way in the Shadowlands will I understand this shi- craft." She crossed her arms in protest.
Lion gazed at her. Searching her eyes, "No."
"What!?"
"No. I know you, you can do this. I will not let this stand," Lion grabbed Rise by her neck collar and dragged her back to the weapon wall, took another chain-sickle and pushed her to the workbench. "Now, from the top…" he tipped on the workbench and didn't leave her side.
"Hm, interesting," Professor Avalon inspected the two with his aura reading.
Parcival and the others from White Jade nodded, "Indeed, he knows how to calm and motivate her."
"Well, they are in love. That can be a strength and weakness," Sanari Gwaine looked to Mercury.
"Let's give the runts two more minutes and then we end this. This… this, well, whatever this was," Apex Predator Itzcali suggested as she shrugged with a hidden chuckle.
Iolas nodded as his gaze wandered the students were losing focus no doubt about that, "I agree, if they butcher the other tests this much we'll be here till sunrise."
"Ahh, Virion, what's wrong?" Votzaak mischievously nudged the Elf against the leg.
Virion sighed as he tugged his helmet under his arms, "You prepared the dummies for the medical test, right? What curses and wounds did you use?" He asked but…
"Ahh," Votzaak gave him a side glance, "But the Council Guard doesn't cheat. I can't tell you and you should know that." He was awfully chipper.