Alkalians (47 page)

“
Uh-huh,” says Sean. “And
you would be in your morph again right now, if I wasn’t
here.”

“
Yeah. I would probably go
out of my way just to find a few battles, too.”

“
Indeed. Hey, do you have
your badge with you?”

“
Hah, of course.” She
reaches down between her towel and herself, pulling out a green
badge. “It’s a shame I didn’t get red, it would have gone better
with my fashion, you know.”

“
Right. Did you have it on
you when you were swimming?”

“
Oh, no, but I suppose I
could have, if I didn’t care. It was with my towel. After that
first year Nicholas took the community by storm and won the whole
tournament, they’ve made the badges waterproof.”

“
Really? I didn’t know
that, but that makes sense. Considering the wake the Wrecking Wave
leaves behind, people would want their badges waterproof. As for
when they weren’t, what happened then?”

“
Oh, it was a near
disaster. Over half the student community would have failed the
project portion if the staff hadn’t made an emergency event of
handing out new badges to replace their broken ones. For the
tournament portion, however, the damage was done. Some of those
expected to get high scores and gain a place didn’t make it, and so
the unexpected came to replace them. A few even turned out to be
dark horses in the competition. There was that Magician guy whose
spells cast illusions and mirages, and that’s when James Iroshen
came into the spotlight as a fighter. In the end, however, the
extraordinary, exotic battle morph of the freshman Nicholas was the
victor, alongside the senior Saul, the Black Dragon from
Riaquen.”

“
Dang. That must have been
an eventful year for all of you.”

“
Hah, sure was! Nobody was
the same after that year. The seniors and I of today, freshmen back
then, had lost our innocence, you could say. Oh, speaking of
Nicholas, I’ve heard rumors going around that Matt had fought with
him, and may have defeated him. Do you know anything about
that?”

Sean snuffs and replies, “Would I? Of
course. Rose and I were there to witness it! Matt literally turned
the tide, I tell you, and he smoked that Whale out of the
water!”

“
Wow, that’s, that’s
amazing! When everyone knows of it, that’s sure to make Matt appear
evermore greater than Cain.”

“
Oh yes, that it will. I’m
betting the whole community will know the truth of it by the time
the battle royale is over.”

“
I would bet differently
there, Sean. I would bet you double that everyone will know by
tonight.”

“
Oh? Now why would you say
that?”

“
Because I could go tell
my girls to spread the word like wildfire.”

“
Hey, that’s cheating! You
would fix it in your favor!”

“
But of course I would,
Sean. I am Lady Luck, after all, remember?” When he pouts, she
chuckles. Seeing they are still alone in the field with no one
seeing them together, Cynthia decides to bring up another subject.
“Out of all the boyfriends I’ve had, do you know why I’ve liked you
the most?”

Completely and honestly surprised,
Sean asks, “I’m your boyfriend? When did this happen?”

Cynthia laughs before saying, “Did you
think my flirt with you before was going to end there? Anyway, it’s
just because of what you do naturally.”

“…
What am I doing
naturally?”

“
You make me
laugh
! I’ve always had
to put on tough impressions with anyone else dating me, but you let
me relax and enjoy myself by just being yourself. Plus, you
wouldn’t care who’s in charge of our relationship, you’d be happy
just to be with me. Am I right?”

“
Ah, sure, I guess.
Although, you do scare me yet.”

She laughs again, assuring him, “Don’t
worry, we’ll just have to be together more, and then you’ll get
used to me. Would you like that?”

“
Hmm, you sure it’s okay?
I mean, considering your reputation and the class divide between
us…”

“
Pff, I don’t care about
any of that anymore, the way times have changed. I don’t want to be
plotting or manipulating anymore, I just want to have fun. And I
have fun with you, I’ve found out. You see, Sean, we both satisfy
the other. We’re mutual.”

A deeper meaning of those words sets
into them both for a moment before a cold wind blows by, causing
Cynthia to shiver. Then, upon inspiration, she opens up her towel
and stretches it along her arm. Taking the hint, looking at her for
the nod of approval, Sean comes closer and lets her put her arm
around him, having them both in the towel. After a few steps
together, she says, “Hey, I feel warmer already.”

“
Uh, glad to hear it. I am
as well.”

“
That’s not surprising,”
she remarks, smirking as he squirmed shyly. She then suggests as
she presses him against her body beneath the towel, “How about
hanging out at my cabin for the evening? I could show you my recent
sculptures, and, a few other things.”

Considering her words, and
the wink she gives him, Sean throws his anxiety to the wind,
saying, “Yeah, you know what? I would
love
that.”

“
As would I.” After their
eyes look deeply into each other, with no more delay, they
romantically kiss.

Chapter 11

Sinister Shadows

***

That same day, in the college’s main
building, Matt runs through the halls, being chased by several
students. They call after him, all wanting to fight him, and Matt
can’t figure out why they wanted to. Desperate to get away from
them, he turns into the library and hides. The pursuers follow him
in, look about earnestly, but are unable to find him and leave
while grumbling. When they are all gone, Matt reappears from where
none of the students expected someone would be, laying down
underneath a shelf.

As he walks away from the bookshelves,
dusting his clothes off, he notices someone studying in the back of
the large library. When he recognizes her as Lyn, Matt heads over
to her curiously. While getting closer, he sees Lyn is reading
through a folder of filed papers.

Lyn already knows who was coming to
her without seeing him, as the other students had made a great fuss
searching around her. She says, “Having fun being target number
one?”

“
Not really,” Matt tells
her as he sits down in a chair next to her. “What I can’t
understand is why everyone even wants to fight me now. I thought
most people were afraid to fight me!”

“
The Royale Project is
when most students get the nerve to challenge the top students of
battle,” Lyn explains to him. “They think since people like you
will be battling so much to get the most points, they can get a
good score off you when you’re tired out.”

“
Oh, so they don’t want to
give me a break, is that it?” Matt nods as he understands, and
asks, “What’s your score, right now?”

“
Uh, let’s see.” Lyn takes
off the badge on the belt at her waist, checking the back of it.
“Three hundred twenty-six points. And you?”

Matt pulls his badge off his green
jacket, checking the back. “Five hundred forty-two.”

Lyn blinks. “Wow, that much already?
You’ve been busy! I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing still, or
not, that we have the same badge colors now, haha.”

“
We do? Oh yeah, look at
that. What a coincidence!” They both laugh before he looks back to
the files out before her. “What are those papers about?”

“
Oh, these are the files
on the cases my father’s been involved in for Tirez. In most of my
spare time, I look at my father’s work and review all the news
about his battles and the criminals he went after. It just helps to
remind me how important and hard his job can be.”

“
Ah, that’s cool. So, if
you don’t mind me asking, has there been any criminal your
father
didn’t
catch?”

“
Actually, there was one,
and the only one, who he couldn’t capture.” Lyn grabs one paper
from the folder, and reads it out loud while Matt follows along.
“Fifteen years ago, Fenrir Arcterus led an investigation upon
rumors of Shadow Core terrorist activity in the southern provinces
of Tirez. His squad soon found the cavern in which the terrorists
were located and got into full-out battle with them. At first, it
seemed like Fenrir and his men would defeat all of the criminals
without any difficulty. However, further along into the fight, he
realized someone was taking out his own men, one-by-one, then
retreating into the darker spaces of the cave.

“
He followed this
particular character, and discovered this Dark Warrior was a Beast,
Snake style, and was very skilled in combat. It was Fenrir’s
hardest match he had ever encountered, and yet neither combatant
could land a finishing blow. Then, he discovered there were
explosives hidden throughout the cavern, and realized the open
battle with the S.C. was a trap. Fenrir managed to escape right
before the bombs detonated and the cave collapsed, being the only
one of his squad to survive. As for the terrorists, it is believed
that none of them got out alive.”

After Lyn finishes reading, she turns
to Matt and says, “I’m curious to know whom that Beast Dark Warrior
was, since even my father couldn’t overcome him. Ironically, I’m
actually disappointed one like him was lost so easily to a
cave-in.”

Matt is deep in thought,
remembering something, and says, “You know, something like that
sounds familiar. I think my own father had a run in with this same
Dark Warrior. Plus, this Alkalian must have been a
she
, not he.”

“
Really? What
happened?”

“
Let’s see. He said it was
years ago, probably just before your father got involved. He was
doing border patrol and came upon some Tirez officers questioning a
lone woman. Suddenly, the woman morphed into a huge serpent and
started fighting them all at once. Without receiving a scratch, she
forced them all into demorphing! Then, before she could kill them,
my dad finally jumped in and distracted her while the officers got
away. However, even my dad had trouble with this woman. Not only
was she a Dark Warrior, but her attacks were so relentless and
possibly deadly, any one mistake could have been his
last.”

“
How did it end?” Lyn
asks.

Matt sighs before answering, “At some
point in the battle, she vanished. My father couldn’t find her
afterwards, nor could he reason why she would have retreated. But
he was glad she did. They both had been wounded, but my father was
worse-off from what he remembered.”

Lyn is astonished. “Wow, what a
character this person must have been. To think she fought both of
our fathers, and neither of them could best her. And in the end,
she lost her life to no Alkalian, but a force of nature. What a way
to leave her mark.” As she puts the papers back into the folder,
she asks Matt, “Anyway, what shall we do now?”

Matt, a bit flustered by her changing
of topic, replies, “Uh, I don’t know. I’d rather not head back
outside for awhile, with guys trying to force me to fight them.
Anything else we could do?”

“
Hmm. How about we head to
our study hall? We could chill out there, just you and
me.”

“
Oh, uh, okay.” Leaving
the table, Matt and Lyn exit the library together, side-by-side,
and stroll along the main hall. Something bothers Matt as they
walk, and soon he decides to discuss it. “Hey, Lyn.”

“
Yes, Matt?”

“
Is it just me, or are
Beast-type Alkalians the strongest kind of all
Alkalians?”

Lyn giggles, and then says, “Any kind
of Alkalian can be the best or worst. Throughout history, and even
today, there are examples of different Alkalian types being the
most powerful. Blade wielders who can cut down any number of foes
they face. Those whose guns can annihilate anything before them.
Magicians or Elementals whose attacks are just as fierce as
nature’s fury. And, as you may have noticed, animal morphs who can
unleash supreme primal rage. May I ask what made you consider
Beasts?”

“
Ah, three examples I’ve
learned about in the past few days. Your dad, that Snake Dark
Warrior, and Nicholas Narqailein.”

“
Nicholas? So, those
rumors about him fighting you are true?”

“
Yes, they are. And, I
beat him.”

“
You defeated
Nicholas
!? Matt, that’s
amazing! Congratulations!”

Blushing at her praise,
Matt says, “Hehe, thanks, but let’s not linger on that matter. I
don’t want word of me defeating him going around, or things might
get
really
crazy
for me. Anyway, the three I mentioned made me feel like Beasts
could be the toughest fighters, since they seem so
formidable.”

“
Well, those three also
use magic, which adds to the overall potential strength of their
battle morphs. Like I said, anyone could be an elite Alkalian in
their own way.”