RainingStorms, here you go!
I think I kinda lost touch with writing so sorry if it's crap! 😂😂😂
"Whoa... Where is this place?"
"I don't know, I didn't know that the Academy has a room like this," Summer responded to Glade, scarlet eyes already wandering about the golden interior.
A wooden meeting table cluttered with books of all sorts stood in the middle of the room surrounded by cupboards filled with books.
Paintings of the different school sections were hung on the walls, from the garden to the training rooms and Summer marveled at how realistic they looked.
Winter took the books from Summer and placed them on the edge of the table.
He suddenly frowned, sliding a finger on the surface and a cluster of gray dust appeared around it.
"Oh wow, looks like this place needs a good spring cleaning," Glade whistled, rubbing the dust off a chair and taking a seat.
"Yeah, I know..." Aqua sighed, hanging her head.
"Welcome to the Student Librarians' Headquarters! Or Librarian since I'm the only one left now..." Aqua mumbled the last part gloomily, slumping her shoulders a little.
"Once, this place was considered a gathering area for the elite students. Now, it's just collecting dust and I don't even have time to clean up since I have to do everything here!"
Despite the thick layer of dust covering the shelves, it still didn't change how grand the room seemed and Summer could almost hear the chatter of people here in this room during a meeting.
A sudden vision of four students, two girls, two boys seated at the meeting table came to Summer.
Why did she see that image, she wasn't sure, however, one of the girls in the vision closely resembled Aqua, with long dark blue hair except that she couldn't remember what that girl's face looked like.
It was just a blur.
"Four members of the elite huh..?"
"You know about the legendary four?!" Aqua burst out, looking excitedly at Summer who just shook her head.
"Not really, I just remembered hearing something like that."
"Legendary four? That's a pretty lame nickname for a group."
"Hmph. I don't think you have any idea about how powerful they are!" Aqua put her hands on her hips. "Let me tell you! Before the school built the training battlefields that we have now, there was only one main arena to use for practice but the Legendary Four managed to create their own arena right here!"
"Their own arena? A usual training arena that's 60 times 80 meters?" Glade scoffed, rolling his eyes. He then gestured to the ceiling of the room. "That's impossible! As if any student like us could create a whole arena in this little library!"
"I agree. Unless the students used an advanced spell of some sort to create an additional space within the library, and that requires a high maintenance after that," Winter said as he shook his head, watching as Aqua started looking around for something like she hadn't heard them.
"Here it is!" The librarian took out a huge red book and let the book slammed on the table. She opened the book, flipping to the middle where a strange rune was drawn on the pages and a picture was tucked in between them.
Glade picked it up and flipped it over before showing it to Summer and Winter when he notices something.
"Hey, check it out! That girl looks a lot like Aqua, see?"
"You're right. Is this person related to you?" Winter asked, pointing to the middle of the picture where a blue haired girl who resembled Aqua closely except for her blue hair was tied neatly into a low ponytail and the grey scarf around her neck.
"That is my big sister, Misty. She's the one who helped me in training my powers!"
"A sister?" Summer asked, wondering what was it like to have a sibling relationship. "I guess she must be a nice person to help you train."
"Yes, I'm grateful for that but it seems that I still can't beat stronger opponents like Winter or her yet." Aqua chuckled gloomily.
"It's not your fault, Winter's just insanely strong compared to you!"
As Glade was trying to lighten the mood, Summer and Winter studied the other librarians in the picture.
From the right, a bespectacled dark-skinned boy with messy green hair looked mildly surprised at the camera as the girl with long sliver hair in a sailor uniform on his left hugged him.
On the left was a blond boy dressed in a red hooded cape, his crimson eyes seemed to be gazing kindly at Aqua's sister on the right.
A rather noticeable feature on the boy's face was the reddish pink markings around his left eye, making it look like there are claw marks on his face.
"Hey, Winter. Those markings on the blond guy..." Glade whispered into his twin's ear and Winter nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I believe the other guy has it too." Winter pointed to the green haired student and sure enough, there were two faint stripes on his face. Winter then glanced back at Summer and Aqua, realising that they should not be discussing about this in front of them.
Fortunately the girls didn't seem to notice their conversation yet as Aqua was eagerly explaining to Summer about the past librarians. "The green-haired boy with spectacles, Farzel Ryavec, became the strongest Earth type from after his transfer in year 3. And the sliver haired girl hugging him, Ariel Bellanore was the strongest Wind type in the same year as him."
"Then there's the King and Queen of the Legendary Four. Lumiere Redvern and my sister, Misty Lake, are both one year older than Farzen and Ariel at Year 4. Lumiere is a Fire type and his power is 'Fire Banquet' and that power was given the nickname of 'Nightmare Banquet'."
"Misty on the other hand, is a Water type like me, with the power 'Enchanted Deep' also called the 'Bloody Mist'. Together, the two of them were the feared and admired 'King of Nightmares' and the 'Queen of the Mist' who ruled Battlemania."
Aqua's eyes lit up with something like admiration as she continued to lecture the other three about their predecessors.
Summer and Winter were listening attentively while Glade was staring imtently at the picture and of course the information went in one ear and out the other.
"The reason why they gotten so strong was because of the training in this arena! It's said that the arena allows people to be connected to an imaginary place so any wounds during battling would not be inflicted on the body when you wake up!"
"What?! There's something like that?!" Glade stood up from his seat abruptly, kicking the chair as he did so. He then winced when it fell with a loud crash and Winter looked disapprovingly at the ruckus made.
"Well, I can unlock the arena space with this keycard if you would like to see it." Aqua said and she placed the card in the middle of the rune in the book.
"Let me give you a fair warning first. Even though you will not suffer from any physical wounds when you exit, there were reported cases of students with severe trauma after battling in this arena. Moreover, this arena hasn't been used for a long while, do you still wish to continue?"
"Well, what do you think brother?" Glade grinned, turning back to look at Winter who smiled back at him.
"I'm in."
"Me too. I want to see for myself what this arena is like." Summer decided, placing her hand on the book like the others. As soon as the redhead placed her hand on the book, a strange white light from the book blinded them and the world around Summer turned black.
*~*~*~*
"Summer... Can you hear me?" Hearing her name being called, the fire type opened her eyes and hissed at the bright light shining on her face. She sat up, eyes darting about the room. She then noticed Winter in front of her, his face pale under the shine of the flame torch.
"We're... Here?"
"Yes, we are! Honestly, I didn't think it would work that well." Aqua said as she watched Winter offer his hand to Summer. The student librarian could not resist a grin when Summer accepted it and she tried to hide her smile behind her hands.
"You're weird." Aqua was startled when a low voice whispered from behind, tickling her ear. She squealed, clutching her ear and Glade, the culprit started laughing in amusement.
"Scary-cat!"
"Am not! Why did you sneak up behind me?" Aqua swiped at the Wind type user and he dodged it easily.
"Geez, you're super slow! You'll never keep up with my pace, let alone catch me idiot."
"You little-!" Aqua was already prepared to give Glade a piece of her mind when Summer tapped her shoulder, pointing to the door leading to a corridor.
"That's the arena right?"
"I think so?" Aqua nodded and Winter approached the door, his expression grim.
"Listen. There's someone else here."
At this, Glade and Aqua hushed, straining their ears to hear, quarrel long forgotten.
Sounds of metal clashing against each other, objects shattering and human voices shouting echoed from the other side and the four of them exchanged looks.
"Do you think they could be intruders?" Summer asked and Aqua shook her head.
"Not likely. No one bothers to visit the library and the only way they can enter is with my key card."
"Maybe that wasn't the only entrance..." Winter said.
At this, Glade shrugged. "Who knows? We won't know anything by staying here. Let's find out."
"Hey, wait Glade!" Summer called out as she followed behind the two brothers.
"It could be dangerous-!"
Before Summer finished her words, a sharp metal object flew past Glade, narrowly missing him by an inch.
"Who's there?!" A girl's voice called out and the four of them got into defensive positions, ready for a fight. The arena around them was dark and Summer braced herself for any sudden attacks from their hidden enemy.
It was a surprise when a glowing object approached them from the front, illuminating the stairs of the audience seats.
As the thing came closer, Summer recognised the shape of the animal with its sleek doglike body, glowing eyes ready for the hunt and those sharp fangs that could rip off the flesh of its prey.
A wolf. Summer didn't show it but she was stunned.
Animals rarely show up at the Academy, moreover a wild animal like wolves.
The glowing wolf suddenly turned behind and a dark hooded figure stepped up behind the wolf. Summer tensed up, sensing that this person was dangerous.
"Are you guys students here?" A male voice from the cloaked figure asked, removing his hood to reveal the face of the blond boy in the picture.
"That's funny. Only Student Librarians with the key card should be able to access this space according to the spell caster."
Summer turned to look at Aqua who fished out the Key card she had and showed it to the boy.
The wolf silently stepped forward, casting light upon the object for its master and his expression instantly changed.
Astonished, he grabbed her hand to get a closer look at the card.
"Huh? Isn't this... Mine? But it's right here."
He patted his chest pocket and pulled out a Key Card with the same pattern that Aqua was holding, the only difference was that it was shiny new compared to hers.
"Lumiere? What's going on there?" The lights in the arena flickered on and the glowing wolf vanished into thin air.
Lumiere Redvern, the Librarian known as the "King of Nightmares" observed the serious and uncertain looks on the "intruders" and he smiled gently.
"I think we have some guests, Misty." Summer recognised the blue haired girl in front of her from the picture, her lower face may be masked by a scarf but those azure eyes were so similar to the person standing beside her.
Aqua lowered her wand and called out hestitantly. "Sis..?"
"You are..." Misty Lake turned towards the voice, trying to recognise the familiar face in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Aqua?!"
Aqua nodded, tears of delight brimming in her eyes. "I haven't seen you so so long! You were studying abroad and I just can't believe I'll get to see you again like this, sis!"
"I'm studying abroad?" Misty could only stare, puzzled, at Aqua whose arms were wrapped around her. She then pulled down the scarf after Aqua released her hold, her mouth pulled taut in a line.
"Wait, Misty. I thought your sister is going to be 10 this year." Lumiere pointed to Aqua and turned back to look at the other three. "So if that girl is Aqua, does that mean that?"
"Yes. It sounds impossible but we're from the future." Winter confirmed. He pulled out a student identification card he had gotten after transferring and Misty took it, checking it in disbelief before glancing at Aqua and then at Lumiere.
"It looks official alright." Lumiere admitted, returning the card.
"This is crazy though."
"THIS IS freaking crazy!" Glade grinned, looking excited. He then pointed his giant doublesword at Lumiere and announced. "Anyway, I want to know how strong is a "King's" power! Can we battle against you?"
Seeing the intense and expectant looks on the two Wolfenstrike brothers, Lumiere laughed, sounding pleased.
"Why not? It won't be bad to have more people joining us in training, right guys?"
Two more students stepped up the stairs, both of them a year younger than Misty and Lumiere but they carried the same aura of confidence around them.
Farzel Ryavec and Ariel Bellanore looked at the newcomers, observing them and Ariel seemed especially interested in Glade.
To be exact, in his weapon.
She kept grinning to herself, eyeing at Summer's sword next and then at Aqua's wand before casting a puzzled look at Winter who only had his melee gloves and armour with him. Farzel sighed, reminding her that they have yet to answer the question and she straightened up, nodding at Lumiere.
The Year 3 Librarians gave their answer in unison, Farzel a little slower and less enthusiastically compared to the bubbly Ariel who was pumped up.
"I suppose..?"
"Of course!"
*~*~*~*
Summer quickly learnt that training with a bunch of elite student librarians is anything but boring.
At first, she expected that they would be in some kind of classroom and attending special lectures however that was not the case at all.
They were doing a "blind" test now, practicing about how to use their other senses to detect their surroundings.
So far, Glade and Ariel were brilliant at this, even going as far as to point out the exact distance from their objects. Winter took a longer response but succeeded in completing it while both Farzel and Aqua struggled to detect their surroundings and somehow did it.
"Alright Summer, you're next. Please keep your eyes closed." Summer nodded in response, a little wary of the darkness when her eyes were shut. She turned her head, facing the direction of Lumiere's voice.
There was a warm sensation on her right cheek now and the tell tale flickering sound of fire beside her was a dead giveaway.
"Now, what can you sense?"
"A flame. It's near the ride side of my face."
"How far away is it? Describe it, how big is that flame or how small?"
"... It's-"
"Big enough to be big and small enough to be small." Glade interrupted cheekily much to Summer's surprise and Ariel chimed in cheerily. "Also, it would be best if it's nearer to someone else. Like Farzel's glasses for example!"
"Eep..." The usually silent earth elemental gulped, shuffling away from Ariel and Misty giggled, amused with her juniors while Lumiere just sighed.
"Ariel, Glade, please take this seriously even though the two of you have a greater advantage as wind types in this test."
"But Lumiere, it's getting boring. I want to hurry up and test out my babies against theirs already!"
"Babies?" Winter repeated and Summer could easily picture him frowning.
"Your weapons silly! It's a pity I forgot to bring my entire collection today but a basket would do for now!"
"You have an entire collection?" Now that voice was Aqua's, Summer was sure. It was rather confusing to hear who was talking at first and gradually Summer started to pay attention to the details she never noticed when she opened her eyes.
"Sweet!" Glade was definitely grinning, Summer did not even need to guess.
He had gotten along with Ariel pretty quickly and now it was if they were best buds. Was it because their similar personalities?
Their types?
Are almost all wind type users as chatty as them?
For it certainly seemed so to Summer at this point as she recalled the fashionable twin sisters in her class who were also wind types (with the exception of Winter since he was a special case).
"Fine, since you insist, we'll start the battles now. I'm going to turn off the lights." Summer heard two clicks and a soft buzz from the ceiling. She opened her eyes and allowed her eyes to adjust seeing in the dark arena. There was still a little light from the corridors at the top of the audience stands and Summer could recognise vague shapes of people and objects around her.
"The theory still applies here while you are sparring." Misty said, walking away from them as she headed towards the audience stands.
"Since the four of you from the future haven't tried out this kind of battles, you may pair up to fight against us."
"Please get ready, Lumiere and I will be the judges for the first round and we will access the damage taken for each side to determine the winner."
"You have 5 minutes to prepare and decide."
"Summer, let's pair up." Summer flinched, not expecting that cool icy voice to speak up suddenly. She turned to Winter, unable to tell the expression on his face in the dark.
Summer suddenly felt her face growing warmer and she was relieved that Winter would not be able to see her in the inky blackness.
"Fine. You better not get in my way though." Summer said in a teasing manner and she held out her hand to her rival-now-turned-partner.
"Deal." Winter took her hand and shook it and that was when she knew the smile on his face was probably the same as hers.
~To Be Continued~