RainingStorms Welp, I've tried.
Excuse the crappy work~ :'3
"Five minutes is up! For the first round, Summer and Winter will be against Farzel. As for the second round, Glade and Aqua are against Ariel." Lumiere announced from the audience stand.
Aqua waved at Winter and Summer, cheering them on while Glade yelled at Winter, telling him not to screw up. At that, Winter sighed and rolled his eyes at his brother.
Summer studied the Earth type user standing at the other end of the arena; the serious expression on his face could be seen as his armour seemed to be glowing with a strange green luminance.
Farzel seemed to be a nice person, offering his long sleeved jackets to Glade and Aqua and assuring them that they would need it in the next round against Ariel.
Other than that, the bespectacled boy was rather quiet during the entire training practice and everything about him was shrouded in mystery.
His reaction during the introduction was strangest to her, especially since everyone else was stunned, surprised or in awe when they found out about Winter was a Double-type and that he even had a special power.
However Farzel merely accepted that information as if the news was perfectly ordinary and he was indifferent to Winter, instead of giving the eyes of admiration people usually had.
Summer then approached him, asking him why wasn't he surprised and she remembered the answer clearly.
"So what if he's a Double type? That still doesn't mean he'll always win if he becomes careless due to his talent nor does that mean he can save everyone with it."
There was an underlying bitterness in Farzel's soft voice and the expression on his face was torn with grief at that time.
Had Farzel failed to save someone precious to him even with his power, 'Crystalline Protection'? Whatever it was, Summer did not have time to think about it when Misty called out for the competitors to get ready for the battle.
Winter tapped on her shoulder, reminding her in a whisper about the makeshift battle plan they had came up with. She nodded, covering her face with her fox mask as she unsheathed her flamesword.
Farzel smiled at them, nodding politely before holding up his metallic shield, his only weapon, which was decorated with gemstones and crystals arranged in a spiral. Winter stood beside Summer, prepared to execute the plan.
Misty took that as a sign as they were ready to start the battle and as soon as she said "Start", Summer raised her flaming sword and flaming oil rained from the sky, lighting up the dark arena. Farzel immediately keeled down and held his shield above his head, blocking the oil with it.
Winter created an ice dome surrounding Summer and himself before using Ice Craft again to create his weapons. Summer sworn she heard Ariel squealed in delight but she focused on directing the oil storm at Farzel.
Winter surrounded Farzel with his weapons and with a snap of his fingers, they were embedded in the ground, creating a cage around him and Summer stopped the oil storm once Winter broke the ice dorm down.
Their plan had worked perfectly, Winter's ice had frozen the oil from the oil storm Summer had created and this made an icy enclosure around Farzel, freezing the whole arena floor in the process.
It would be claustrophobic being trapped in such a small space and Summer knew first-hand how cold the ice Winter created when it surrounded her. And no matter how Summer thought about it, there was no way Farzel could stand being in that place for so long and it was impossible to escape from the cage.
It was cruel but it was better than getting burnt by her flaming oil or stabbed by Winter's weapons. Summer sighed, waiting for Misty or Lumiere to announce the end of the battle after seeing no sign of movement from the ice block in the dimly lit room.
What she didn't expect was the ice enclosure to shatter into pieces and Farzel to stand up, dusting himself as he looked amused at the two of them. Stunned, she looked at Winter who had a shocked expression on his face.
"No. No way! Why did my ice-"
"Shatterred?" Farzel finished Winter's sentence for him, looking straight at him.
"It was a good plan the two of you thought up and it certainly would have worked on most people. However, you miscalculated several things."
"Number one, you failed to prepare when someone broke though the ice." Farzel calmly pointed out their mistakes and Summer gripped her sword tightly, tensing up as she prepared for a sudden attack from the Earth type.
"Number two, you did not think that anyone could attack from other directions like from the ground or behind you, leaving fatal openings."
"And number three..." Summer gasped when Farzel raised his left hand and the shards of shattered ice rose up in the air, gleaming as they reflected the little light in the arena.
"You didn't think that there would be someone who can control the ice. Unfortunately for you, my Crystalline Protection allows me to control any crystal within my range and ice is a form of crystal."
Farzel sent the ice shards flying to them and Winter blocked it with an ice barrier. Summer jumped over the barrier and charged, trying to buy some time for Winter. She dodged the crystal spikes which jutted out from the ground, narrowly avoiding one which scraped the side of her shoulder.
Winter snapped out of his shock, gritting his teeth as he sent bullets of water at Farzel, momentarily distracting him from Summer and in response Farzel flung white powder at the incoming bullets.
The powder absorbed the water, turning into large crystals. He then formed a shield with them. Blocked Summer's flaming sword from his back with the crystallic shield and sent her flying to Winter's direction, allowing him to catch her safely.
This continued for a while, Winter and Summer trying to attack Farzel only for him to block or return the blows with a counter attack.
Eventually the frozen ground of the arena was covered with crystals except for a small area where Summer and Winter were standing.
So far, Farzel was always on the defence, refusing to attack and both Summer and Winter were slowly getting worn out by their repeated attempts to attack him.
Winter was getting frustrated.
His ice powers was completely shut down by Farzel and his water powers were always drained by the salt crystals (Summer found that out when she chipped the crystals and tasted them, finding the sea scent from the crystals suspicious), forcing him to rely only on his wind powers.
Suddenly, something seemed to click in Summer's head and she shared her idea with Winter. He looked doubtful but he agreed, they did not have much of a choice either way.
Summer raised her sword again and Farzel, expecting the flaming oil to rain down on him, held his metal shield above his head.
It never came. Rather, oil just poured around him but it was not hot at all and Farzel was puzzled, raising a hand to inspect the oil that he caught.
Winter whipped a strong wind and Farzel shielded himself with the crystals around him but once again no direct attacks was aimed at him and Farzel was getting confused. Summer grinned, taking advantage of Farzel's lowered guard to set the oil, now cooled into wax by Winter's wind, aflame.
Thick plumes of sooty smoke rose from the burning of wax and Farzel found himself surrounded by flames all around him.
It worked.
Farzel started choking on the smoke and collapsed, his body shaking from the fits of coughing and he was blinded by the haze in addition to the already dark surroundings.
He threw his shield down, signalling his surrender and Summer let the flames died down. The air cleared and she saw how the heat from the flames melted most of the crystals on the ground and Farzel struggling to regain his breath.
"The victors of this round are Summer and Winter! Will the next competitors get ready?" Lumiere announced and he tapped on the key card. The lights were turned on and Summer saw how the debris on arena floor was cleared up with some kind of magic in an instance, leaving no sign of the fight in the previous round.
Farzel tried to stand up and he proceeded to walk towards the audience stands in an unsteady manner. He managed to reach the stairs when his legs buckled under him and Winter, who was right behind, caught him just in time.
The green-haired boy then smiled sheepishly at Winter and Summer, gratefully accepting their help as they made their way up the stairs, supporting him from both sides.
Seeing all of this, Ariel cast a worried look at Farzel and folded her arms, huffing. She raised her voice, directing her words at him.
"Idiot. As expected of such a big softie who thinks he's acting cool by taking a fight against people lightly, especially after telling them they were careless!"
Farzel heard that as he settled down on the bench and sighed to himself, burrying his face in embarrassment. Misty chuckled at them in amusement as Ariel continued to point out the faults made in the fight just now, especially the boys', much to Farzel's despair and Winter's growing discomfort.
"... so work on that! Do you hear me?! As for the two of you," Ariel turned to Aqua and Glade, startling them with a wide grin that the Cheshire cat would be proud of.
"I see that Mr. Glade decided not to use the jacket Farzel kindly provided then it would be your loss. I'm not going to be serious in this fight but I have a condition for you to win against me."
"Huh? Are you looking down on us?" Glade demanded, a little ticked off by how high and mighty Ariel seemed when lecturing his brother and she shrugged.
"Well, you can try against my Impetus Dance if you want but IF let's say you can't!"
"All you need is to guess what weapons are inside this basket," Ariel shook the wooden carrier she held on her right hand, "And name all ten of them! Then I'll forfeit this match."
"Alright, we understand." Aqua said, putting a hand on Glade's shoulder to calm him down. Glade frowned in annoyance but he didn't shake Aqua's hand off.
"Since we've made that all clear, let's begin the match." Lumiere said and the lights were turned off. Summer blinked a few times in the darkness, getting used to the dim room.
Immediately, metal clashed with metal as Glade used his double sword to block the almost invisible weapons attacking him. Aqua created a barrier water around her, successfully guarding against the attacks. Flashes of bright light reflected by metal
"HOLY SHIT!" Glade yelped when a shiny metallic rectangle sliced the air just a few centimetres away from his face.
Aqua gawked at the bizarre weapon Ariel had flung at them. Somehow she managed to keep control of her shield's thickness and strength as the sharp object failed to penetrate it.
(I didn't realise how dirty it sound until I finished typing. Whoops~ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )
"Ahh, looks like she bought that along after all." Farzel mumbled, who was seated on Summer's left. Summer tilted her head, wondering what was he talking about. She squinted her eyes in the darkness and she could only make out the basic shapes before they were gone.
Winter, on Farzel's right, looked just as confused as he tried to make out the weapons flying around in the arena. Under Ariel's control with Impetus Dance, they were just too fast, appearing and disappearing in a matter of seconds with the power of the wind.
"Is that a cleaver?!" Aqua gasped, finally remembering the name for the heavy kitchen knife that nearly slashed at Glade. "Like those used in the butcher shops to cut meat and bones?!"
"Oh, bingo!~ I knew you guys can do it!"
"Yes we can, but that's not the point! WHY DID YOU BRING THAT WITH YOU?"
"Huh? What's wrong, are you scared?" Ariel teased, catching the huge kitchen knife with her left hand hand and waving it in front of her two opponents.
"No, I'm not!" Glade retorted almost instantly before backing away with Aqua from the shorter sliver-haired wind type. "But in the first place, why did the school even allow you to bring THAT THING WITH YOU?!"
Glade's voice cracked and it went an octave higher and Summer couldn't hold back her snicker.
"Huh, I couldn't?"
"You didn't even ask, did you?!"
"I don't think ever she did." Farzel commented. "The school didn't seem to mind much except for the time she bought a chainsaw in the arena."
"Chainsaw?" Winter actually sound horrified. Farzel nodded glumly.
"Yup. That might be why we don't have a lot of juniors, she probably scared them away."
"Honestly, we're a pretty scary bunch for a gang. That includes Farzel who hung the necklaces around your necks." Misty added, standing behind them as she kept an eye on the 'fight', which was more like a wacky Game Show.
Summer and Winter glanced down simultaneously and found the sliver chains with a ruby and sapphire attached to it respectively.
Since when did he put them there? They stared at Farzel who awkwardly looked to the front, trying very hard not to meet their eyes.
Aqua and Glade gave up on a direct confrontation when they realised Ariel was an expert at defending against long distance projectiles.
Moreover, it was impossible to get closer since she won't allow that, making sure they were kept busy with her 'babies' and dealing with different items of mass, shapes and sizes in the darkness proved to be a challenge.
"There's a sickle right?"
"And a metal fan."
"That's two down, three more to go!"
"The heck? Is that a pickaxe?" Glade grimaced but he didn't think he would be surprised anymore after slicing through a chopping board with his sword. His arms were getting sore and the angry cuts he received from those weapons weren't helping.
"I caught something!" Aqua announced, trapping another weapon with her water spheres. A hairpin.
"Great! One more..." Glade muttered, completely focused on his surroundings now. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and dropped his weapon.
Something fast was headed towards him at around 2 o clock. Glade reached out and caught it.
"A scroll? Really, a roll of paper as a weapon?"
"I'm a librarian after all~" Ariel chirped, waving her hand and the items were returned to her just as the lights were turned on. Farzel was there to greet her when she stepped out of the arena. She huffed, snuggling closer to him as they watched their 'juniors' from the future gather in the arena.
"Glade, you were amazing! Thank you!" Aqua cheered and hugged her partner. Glade smiled smugly, folding his arms and raising his head.
"All part of my plan!"
"Was shrieking and nearly getting slashed part of that plan just now?" Winter asked, shaking his head in disappointment.
Glade groaned, covering his face in embarrassment when Aqua giggled. "Can't you just play along and say that I was great?"
"Okay then, you earned a gold star for a very, very good job."
"Can you not join my brother against me, Summer?! I mean, I know the two of you are super lovely-dovey but there's no need to gang up against one person!"
Summer decided not to pay attention to either of the brothers as she headed to Aqua's side. "Great job out there, Aqua!"
"Yeah! And you're amazing as always too, Summer!" Aqua held out her hand and Summer returned the hi-five enthusiastically.
"Are you seriously ignoring me? All of you are terrible!"
"Pfft-" Ariel covered her mouth with her hand but it was easy to tell that she was smirking at him. Glade shot an annoyed glare at her and then sighed.
The next battle... The four of them looked at Misty and Lumiere, both of them standing in the middle of the arena.
"What about a two on four battle?" Lumiere asked, putting on his hood. Misty shook her head.
"A bit too much if we go all out together like that. I'll take the Wolfenstrikes and you take the girls, deal?"
"Haha, fine with me. I may think of myself as a gentleman but that does not mean I'll go easy on the two of you, understand?"
"Of course." Summer held her sword by her side and faced Lumiere. Aqua brandished her wand beside her with a solemn expression on her face. On the other side, Winter and Glade stood back to back, completely in tune with one another.
"We shall begin." The arena was plunged into darkness but there was an eerie, cold atmosphere that wasn't there before.
Lumiere raised his hand and purplish flames burst out surrounding Summer and Aqua, taking the forms of creatures. Wolves, tigers and bears glared at them, growling and there's the magical beasts.
Trolls, goblins and spirites with flames instead of flesh gathered behind the animals. They remained passive, studying the girls with a strange interest through their hollow eye sockets, looking at them almost hungrily.
Lumiere smiled, holding out his hands. "Now, feast!"
At this time, Winter and Glade were able to see the grayish-green Mist around them thanks to the light Lumiere's flame beings gave out. It seemed harmless, creeping slowly on the ground as it oozed and steamed, giving off odd, exotic scents and even weirder noises. Winter was deciding whether to blow it away with Whirlwind when Glade suddenly slumped forward and collapsed in a heap.
Winter turned around in alarm, wanting to check on his brother when a wave of dizziness passed though him. His legs grew weak and he was forced to kneel down.
Poison. Poison was in the mist; Winter realised it too late. He was too focused on the thick vapour that was on the ground that he failed to detect the thin veil of mist hanging in the air.
Now Glade lay unconscious on the floor and it was all his fault. He didn't even know whether Glade was alive so relief washed over him when Glade shuddered. And that was the last thing he remembered.
Everything else became hazy, it felt like he was in a dream. A dream where he was surrounded by the ocean.
Winter was sinking, deeper and deeper in Enchanted waters. It was a curious feeling, he thought to himself. Frightening at first but weirdly comforting.
However, something was off.
Why was he here?
When did he came here again? Winter struggled against the imaginary blue-grey matter around him.
Too tiring...
Perhaps he should give in and let the darkness consume him.
Then Summer's strangled scream woke him up.
Hearing her frightened voice, Winter forced his eyes open and sat up, ignoring the awful sense of vertigo as he looked across the field.
Summer clutched her sword tightly, ripping it off from a flame-tiger's mouth but found that the blade became useless as the tiger bitten off half of it. She tossed it at the tiger, making it disappear.
Now vulnerable, Summer stared at the flame monsters, her body trembling like a leaf. She felt small now, glassy tears threatening to fall as the monsters loomed over her, ready for their next snack.
"And... Let's stop at there." The lights were turned on and the monsters vanished. Relived, Aqua and Summer sighed in unison before they heard footsteps approaching.
"The two of you did well against me. And if you keep this up, you'll catch up in no time," Lumiere said as he offered his hand to them. Summer shook it, gaining a new sense of respect for the 'king of Year 4'.
Misty tended to Winter and Glade's wounds, most of them were bruises and cuts caused by the rough floor. Winter felt the effects of the poison easing as he inhaled the antidote in the mist around him. Misty bowed her head apologetically. "I'm so sorry, I wanted to test out a new type of poison but it seemed like it was too much."
"Poison? Is there anyone in this group who isn't a monster or something?" Glade complained, secretly angry with himself. Fainting in a battle even before he actually fought was lame.
"No-pe~" Ariel rolled the P at the end for an added effect.
"That's why the teachers don't really like us!"
"We didn't start off this strong but it was thanks to the previous generations who came up with this training plan." Lumiere explained as he summoned the book.
"Which may be why the teachers dislike the Librarians for being too independent. They can't do anything about us since we still give results."
"... Though aren't we skipping class a bit too regularly?" Farzel asked.
"Nonsense! We'll be fine as long as we don't skip tests or Battlemania!"
Hearing that Aqua paled, turning to her friends. "Guys, isn't Battlemania the next class?"
"Crap. We got to go!" Winter stood up and looked to Lumiere and Misty, silently asking for their permission.
"Go. Else you'll be late." Misty nodded her head. She smiled proudly at them, looking at her little sister's and her friends' disappearing figures. "She's really grown up."
"Her friends are interesting too," Lumiere added, grinning.
"Let's meet again in the future."
*~*~*~*~*
"How many minutes do we have left?" Summer asked, hastily checking her flamesword. Like what Aqua had said earlier, whatever happened in the arena, injuries, fatigue and weapon damage did not affect their reality.
Except for a couple of things, Glade noticed something was now written behind the picture of the librarians and with the help of that note, an envelope was found hidden in the book.
In it was three gold key cards, the two sliver necklaces with a sapphire and ruby and four keychains.
Summer smiled as she entered the arena with the others. Sure, they were late but the school could afford to wait for them.
After all, they were the strongest.
~The End~
...
Note behind the picture:
To those reading it,
we hope you are able to win the hearts of the school through your strength, passion and kindness.
In the red book,
an envelope with something precious is enclosed in page 253.
Please make good use of it.
From us, the Student Librarians.
P.s. The second ceiling light in the arena is faulty and it would be rather troublesome if there happened to be a blackout when it breaks during a battle right?
Not that we have anything to do with it of course. It was an accident. ;)
Shuppet here!
By the way, do you want to see more of these guys? Who do you want to see the most?
What do you think of the battles? (They suck lolol, I know~ :'3)