Chronicles of the Elemental Guardians

Chapter 5: Mike

As Alistor pushes open the door, I just about lose it. I would've bolted back to the elevator except Lottie was still holding my hand. I quickly drop her hand as we walk through the door into the large cafeteria. It looks a lot like the Great Hall from Harry Potter. About two hundred or so kids are sitting at various tables, talking loudly. As soon as the doors open, they all stop talking and look in our direction. I hear Lottie's breathing start to accelerate. I lightly touch her hand. Alistor walks down the hall to a long table where a dozen or so adults are sitting, watching us. He turns and beckons for us to follow. As we follow, kids start to whisper. I look at Lottie. She's breathing really fast and her eyes are very wide as she looks around. "Deep breaths," I whisper to her. We reach the head table and Alistor motions for us to turn around. We comply and turn to face the room. Everyone is still watching us. Alistor starts to speak. "Good afternoon, students," he says, his voice carrying across the room. "Welcome back from summer break. I hope you had a good morning. I would like to introduce you to our newest students." He gestures for us to step forward. "This is Mike Tanaka and Charlotte Everhart," he says. All the students start to whisper again. I can't catch very much of what they say, but I think I hear people talking about... my last name? Behind me, I hear someone moving at the teacher table. Alistor raises a hand to silence the students. "Now, I know what you are wondering," he continues. "What elements are they?" He gestures to me. "Mike is a Tonitruum Hayle," he announced. Everyone whispers again. He waits for the whispers to die down. "And Charlotte..." He gestures to her. "She is an Omnia." This time, everyone starts talking at full volume. "Students!" Alistor says loudly. "Calm yourselves. She is no different than any of you. Please treat her as such." I hear Charlotte's breathing increase. I reach over and squeeze her shoulder. Alistor turns to us. "You can go sit down," he says softly. I gently lead Lottie to a table that has enough room for us. We sit down and I look around the table. Most of the kids seem indifferent. One guy wearing a blue uniform leans over to shake my hand. "I'm Tristan," he introduces himself. "Nice to meet you." I smile. "It's nice to meet you too," I say. "This is Charlotte." Tristan extends a hand towards her. "Nice to meet you," he says. She shakes his hand quickly and then stares down at the table. I lean towards her. "Are you ok?" I ask quietly. "Just a little overwhelmed," she says, continuing to stare at the table. "I'm fine though." I look her in the eye. "It will be ok," I say. Just then Alistor claps his hands. "A few announcements before lunch," he says. Everyone turns to look at him. He clears his throat. "Today is Game Day!" he announces loudly. Many of the students burst into cheers while the rest groan. I turn to Tristan. "What's game day?" I ask over the noise. He laughs. "It's when we all do some sort of game together. Sometimes it's elemental paintball, sometimes it's mech fights, it can be anything. But today's game is capture the flag," he says. "Mech fights?" I ask, unsure if I heard him correctly. He nods. "It's really fun," he says. "I'm one of the best in the school." I laugh. "Well, we'll see how long that lasts," I joke. He roars with laughter and I feel a spark of friendship. I turn to Lottie. "Apparently today is capture the flag," I tell her. She doesn't look at me. "Cool," she says, with no enthusiasm. "Hey, what's wrong?" I ask, concerned. "Nothing," she answers. "I'm just tired and it is way too loud in here." I nod. "It is loud in here," I say. Alistor raises a hand. "Now, let lunch commence," he says. Hatches on all the tables slide open and plates of food slide up. "Woah," I say as I exclaim. Tristan nods. "It's pretty cool," he admits. "And the food is pretty good." He leans in. "Although, nothing beats Laura's cooking," he whispers conspiratorially, nodding to one of the girls, who is wearing the same color uniform as me. I laugh. "How do the dorms work?" I ask. "Like, do you guys hang out a lot?" He nods. "Almost every night," he says. "We draw from a hat to see what group has to host. It's fun. We'll do games, watch movies, play video games, all sorts of things." I look at him. "That sounds awesome," I say as I grab a plate and start to put food on it. I turn around to look at Charlotte but to my surprise she isn't there. I look around. "Charlotte!" I almost yell but I don't want to disturb others. I look around more. She is nowhere to be seen. I start to get nervous. I turn to the person who was sitting next to Charlotte. "Did you see Charlotte leave?" I ask. She shakes her head. I turn back to Tristan. "How long do we have to stay at lunch?" I ask. "Can we leave when we finish?" He nods. "You can leave whenever you want," he says. I nod. "How long until Game Day?" I ask. " 'Bout an hour and a half," he says, checking his watch. I nod. "I'll see you there," I say as I stand up and head for the doors. I walk through the doors and enter the elevator. I go to press the button and pause. 'Which one is it?' I think. Then I have an idea. "Please take me to the dormitories," I say aloud. Nothing happens for a long moment. I'm about to just press a button when the elevator doors close. "Now departing to the dorms," the elevator says. A few minutes later, the doors open, revealing the room with the portal. I walk through it quickly and then head to the door for my dorm. I open it and step into the living area. I turn and head down the hallway. I stop at Lottie's door. "Lottie?" I ask as I knock. I don't hear a response, but I do hear the muffled sound of music playing from inside. I knock louder. "Lottie?" I ask again. After a moment I hear the music stop and then the door opens to reveal Lottie standing there with a book in hand. "Oh thank god," I say. "You scared me. Why did you just disappear?" She shrugs. "I just didn't feel like being in there anymore," she tells me. I sigh heavily. "Maybe next time tell me?" I ask. "You really scared me.""Sorry," she says as she walks back into the room. I follow her in. "What are you doing?" I ask. She walks over and falls on top of her bed and continues to read. "I was just reading," she says. "I drew a few sketches too." She gestures to a couple drawings on her desk. I go over to look at them. One of the drawings is a sketch of the dining hall. The other one is of her room. "Wow, these are really good," I tell her. She doesn't respond. "Are you ok?" I ask. "Yeah I'm fine," she mumbles. I walk over and put a hand on her shoulder. ¨What's wrong?" I ask softly. She doesn't look at me. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine!" she says sharply. "Are you sure?" I ask dubiously. "You seem upset." She throws her book on the floor and stands up to look at me. "I'm not upset!" she yells, and for a second, her eyes flicker a reddish color but it quickly goes away. My own anger flares. "Well, I'm sorry for trying to be a good friend," I snap. I spin on my heel and stalk out of her room. I open my door and step inside, slamming the door behind me. I toss my helmet on the desk and unhook my jump pack. I set it next to my bed then flop onto the bed. I close my eyes and sigh. A few minutes later, I hear people walking through the dorm. I can hear indistinct chatter as people gather their gear and talk about the upcoming game. I stand up and grab my stuff. I open my door and walk across the hall. I knock lightly on Lottie's door. "Charlotte?" I ask quietly. "What?" she asks softly. "Can I come in?" I ask. "Yeah," she answers. I open the door and step inside. "Hey, I'm sorry for snapping at you," I apologize. "I was just... frustrated." She is sitting at her desk, drawing. She looks at me. "No, don't apologize. It wasn't your fault. I didn't mean to get mad... I-i couldn't control it. My anger took over me," she says. I smile slightly. "Well, I'm still sorry," I say. I nod towards her helmet. "You ready to go?" I ask. She turns back around and continues drawing. "Do I have too?" she asks. "It's school, Lottie," I say. "You always have to." She rolls her eyes. "But I don't want to," she says. I scoop up her helmet and then toss it towards her. "You never know," I say. "Maybe it will be fun." She catches it and then stands up. "Fineee," she says as she starts to walk towards the door. I follow her and close the door. We walk into the living area where a lot of Hayle are hanging out. I see Tristan talking to a few of them, so I walk over. "Hey Tristan," I say as I sit down. He nods at me. "Hey Mike. You ready for this?" he asks. Lottie sits down next to me. I nod. "You bet," I say. "I'm a god at capture the flag." Charlotte rolls her eyes. Tristan checks his watch. "We need to get going," he says to the group. We all stand up. "Lead the way," I tell him. We all exit the dorm and head through the portal. When we get in the elevator, Tristan presses a button and the elevator starts to move. Charlotte stands in the corner of the elevator looking down. "So Tristan," I say. "What exactly is your version of capture the flag?" He grins widely. "Imagine capture the flag, except with the most over the top field, jump packs, and elemental powers," he says. My eyes widen. "No way," I say. He nods. "They'll assign teams before we start, then we get 10 minutes to discuss strategy," he says. I turn to Lottie. "Did you hear that?" I ask, excited. "It's gonna be so fun." She looks at me and nods but then continues to look at the ground. "What's up?" I ask her quietly. "I don't think these people like me," she tells me. "Why do you think that?" I ask. "I heard them whispering about me. They said that I shouldn't be here because I'm overpowered and I'll destroy the school," she says. I frown. "Then prove them wrong," I say. "Beat them at everything. Prove you deserve to be here just as much as they do. Don't let them just push you around. Remember what Alistor said. You are already more powerful than all of them." She smiles at me. "I'm glad that we are here together," she says. I smile. "Now, let's go show them what we're made of," I say as the elevator stops and the doors slide open. We step out of the elevator into a large antechamber. Most of the school is gathered, waiting. Alistor appears on a large floating platform with the rest of the teachers. "Alright students," he calls. "Today's teams are Hayle, Fenix, Aestus, Oris, Spiris and Ventulus. The rest of you are on the other team. Please head to your starting rooms." He gestures to two doors that are on opposite sides of the room. Half the kids go to one side. Tristan gestures for us to follow him. Once we enter the room, Tristan turns to us. "You two can help figure out a strategy if you want," he says. "What are we allowed to do?" I ask. "Like what can we do with our powers?" Tristan grins. "Pretty much anything," he says. "Your under suits will protect you from getting injured, but it will still hurt like hell." I nod. "Alrighty," I say. "Basically what you two should do is get used to the gear and learn to control your powers," Tristan says. "Just don't do anything too reckless." Charlotte grins. "No promises," she says. I laugh. "I think that goes for both of us," I tell Tristan. He chuckles. "Well, come on and let's start planning." We walk over to a large holographic table and Tristan presses a button. A 3D holographic map appears and I gasp. "We are playing in that?" I ask. The map shows two large wooden forts around the flags, with dozens of small towers and buildings spread out between them. Large trees dot the map and there are several walls set up too. A large trench stretches across the center of the map. He nods. "Alright everyone, gather round," he says and everyone gathers around the table. "Ok," he starts. "Our standard defensive group will stay by the flag. Our two offensive groups will go on the left and right. The rest of us will spread out on our side. Everyone understand?" We all nod. He presses another button and a mini map appears on our wrist braces. Tristan turns off the map and puts on his helmet then turns to us. "Our helmets are equipped with radios," he explains. "You can just talk and we will hear you." I nod and put on my helmet. Immediately, a HUD appears, showing me all of my teammates' positions. I gesture for Lottie to follow me as we all walk to a door that leads outside. We emerge in the central keep of the fort. "Alright people!" Tristan calls. "Let's move it!" Everyone breaks into their groups and takes their appropriate positions. A countdown appears on my HUD. 5-4-3-2-1, GO! The two offensive teams immediately start running towards the middle. I watch the mini map on my wrist brace as both large groups head towards the middle. I turn to Lottie. "You ready?" I ask her. She nods. "Let's do this," she says. We quickly run up the stairs to one of the towers and peer out at the field. As we watch, I spot something. "Hey Tristan?" I say. His voice comes over my helmet radio. "Yeah?" he asks. I stare out at the field. "We've got about half a dozen enemies sneaking down the middle," I say. "They're going from fort to fort." A long moment of silence. "Jack, Lilly, Paul, did you hear that?" Tristan asks. "We heard," a female voice says. "Take them," Tristan instructs. "We got it," Lilly says as she and two guys run out of the fort and start to stealthily make their way towards the group of enemies. As I watch, I notice a large gap in the enemies defending team. "Tristan, I've got eyes on a golden opportunity," I say. "There is a large gap in their defense. I can go in quietly then use my lightning speed to get in and out with the flag." Tristan hesitates. "It's risky," he says. "If you get tagged, you're really deep in enemy territory. We might not be able to get you. Not to mention, you haven't learned to control your powers." I raise a hand. "Actually, I've learned how to control my speed already," I say. Tristan sighs. "Alright, go for it," he says. "Be careful." I nod and turn to Lottie. "Stay here," I say. "Keep watch. I'll be right back." I vault over the tower wall and fire my jump pack. It slows my fall so I land softly. Then I quickly take cover behind a wall and peer around. I don't see anyone so I start to make my way towards the enemy fort. I cross the center trench and study the enemy fort. Sure enough, there is a large gap in their defense. "Tristan, where exactly is the flag?" I whisper. "It's in the central keep," he responds. "Got it," I say as I continue to study the fort. A group of 6 people run out of the fort and head towards me. I press up against the wall as they run past me. I take a deep breath and step out of the cover and take off towards the fort. The world blurs as I run at lightning speed. I dash though the door, dodge around a few defenders, grab the flag and run up to the top of the tower. Without missing a beat, I jump off the tower and fire my jump pack as I do. The extra boost carries me a dozen yards away from the fort. I land in a stumble and quickly start to run again. "Hey!!" A voice calls out behind me. I become aware of two people running after me. They must also be Tonitruum because they are easily keeping up with me. They flank my sides and I have an idea. I suddenly stop running and they shoot past me. As soon as I stop, I change directions and start to run again. I see a large group of enemies in between me and my side of the field. I run faster and when I get close enough, I fire my jump pack and my speed allows me to jump straight over the group. This time, I land in a roll and continue to run. I jump across the trench and run as fast as I can towards the fort. "I've got the flag," I shout as I dodge around people. "But I've got two on me." Tristan quickly responds. "I gotchu." Two ice blasts shoot from one of the towers and hit the two kids behind me. They go sprawling and I burst through the gates of our fort. I stop and gasp for breath. I take the flag and stick it next to ours. Then I collapse to my knees. Charlotte comes running over. "Mike! Are you ok?!" she asks. I stretch out my hands and turn them over. "I- I can feel my power," I say. I make small bolts of lightning flicker over my hands. "It's... immense." I try to stand up but I stumble and almost fall over. Charlotte grabs me to keep me from falling over and then puts her arm under mine to help keep me steady. "Careful there," she says. "You look exhausted." I shrug. "I feel fine," I say. Just then, Tristan's frantic voice comes over our radios. "Incoming!! You've got 3 guys heading straight towards the base!" I don't think, I just let my instincts take over. I jump and twist in midair to face the door. I thrust out my hands and large streams of ice shoot towards the door. A wall of ice starts to grow in the doorway. As three people come into view, lightning emerges from my fingers and smashes into the figures, hurling them away. The ice seals the entry way and I lower my hands slowly. I sway for a moment before I collapse fully. As Lottie tries to help me, a web of electricity surrounds me, shocking her as she gets too close. My eyesight begins to dim. "Mike??" I hear Lottie talking, but it seems to be coming from a long ways away. "Mike?" My eyes close and I lapse into unconsciousness. When I reawake, there are several people standing around me. I also become aware of a net of electricity around me. I sit up. "What happened? How long was I out?" I ask. "Not very long," Tristan says. "We would have moved you, but..." He trails off and gestures to the net of electricity. I mentally will the net to dissipate and it does immediately. As soon as it disappears Lottie runs to me and sits by my side. "Mike! Thank goodness you're alive!" she says. I smile slightly. "I wasn't injured or anything," I say. "Just exhausted." She smiles too. "I know, but you still scared the heck out of me," she says. I turn to Tristan. "What happened? Who won?" I ask. He grins widely. "You won for us," he says. "When one team gets the flag, the other team has 5 minutes to get it back. Your ice wall kept them out for long enough." I smile wider. "Awesome," I say as I stand up. "If we won, then why are we all still here? Let's go celebrate!" Everyone laughs as we all exit the fort and into the starting room. As we walk, I notice one of the Aestus girls is watching me. It's Lilly, the girl who helped take out the enemies trying to sneak up on us. "That was really impressive," she says when I notice her. "They way you stole the flag and the way you defended the base." I smile at her. "Thank you," I tell her. She blushes. "No problem," she responds. She quickly vanishes into the crowd as we step out of the starting rooms into the antechamber. Charlotte walks over to me grinning widely. "What are you smiling about?" I ask her. Her smile widens. "Looks like Mike got himself a little girlfriend," she says teasingly. I blush fiercely. "What do you mean?" I ask. "You know what I'm talking about," she says. I look away and rub the back of my neck. "I don't know what you are talking about," I mutter guiltily. Lottie laughs. "Oh Mike, what are we going to do with you?" She laughs more. "Oh hush!" I say loudly. "What about you and Jayden, huh? You two were getting pretty close after practice." She blushes bright red. "Hey! That wasn't anything," she says. I raise my eyebrows. "Oh really??" I say. "You have talked to him for a day and a half and you start making out at the first opportunity." The elevator doors open and most of the group gets on. Both Lottie and I stay in the antechamber. She rolls her eyes. "It wasn't me who went in for the kiss. He's the one that made the move!" she tells me. I wave a dismissive hand. "You still let him," I point out. She blushes harder. "I- uh... well- I...ughhh...." she mumbles. I laugh. The elevator arrives and we step inside. "Dormitories," I say and the elevator starts to move. "And it's not like we were doing anything," I continue. "She was just giving me a compliment. What's so wrong with that?" She rolls her eyes again. "She walked away blushing and smiling. I think there's something happening between you two," she says. I sigh. "Lottie, Lottie, Lottie, you may know a lot, but just because a girl blushes when a guy talks to her doesn't mean there is something going on," I say. She rolls her eyes again but doesn't respond. The elevator stops and opens. "Arrived." We step out and walk through the portal. We walk to the Hayle door and I reach out to open it. I open the door and we walk in. A decent sized group of kids are in the living area. Some of them are sitting on the couches, playing on one of the various consoles. One group is sitting around a table, staring at a game board. A large group of girls are in the kitchen, discussing various recipes and foods. I turn to Lottie. "Ima go video call my mom," I say. "Just to check in." She nods. "I'll be in my room if you need me," she says as she starts to walk off. I follow her down the hall and enter my room. I pull off my gear from capture the flag and set it on a shelf. I then sit down at my desk and boot up the computer. Before I open the video call, I quickly download an app that allows me to change my background. I select a photo of a normal dorm then I open the video call. It rings for a little while. It finally picks up and my mom's face appears. "Hey Mom," I say, smiling. She smiles. "Mike! How are you doing? Are you enjoying your new school? How's Charlotte?" she asks. "I'm doing fine. So far I love it here. And Lottie is doing fine," I say. "How are you doing?" She shrugs. "I'm doing ok," she says. "Nothing exciting. A few of your friends came over to ask where you were." My smile fades a bit. "I do miss home," I admit. Her smile fades too. "Oh honey, I know. I miss you too. But this is a great opportunity for you. Make the most of it." There is a knock on my door. "One sec, Mom," I say. "Come in." Tristan pokes his head in. "Hey Mike," he says. "Nice place. We have dinner soon. Just letting you know." I nod. "Thanks." He closes the door. I turn back to the computer. "I've got to go Mom," I say. "I'm glad I could talk to you." She nods. "Have fun," she tells me. I wave. "Bye," I say as I close the video call. I walk out of my room and cross the hall. I knock on Lottie's door. "Lottie?" I call through the door. "Come in!" she yells back. I open her door and poke my head in. "We've got dinner to go to," I say. She's sitting on her bed, reading a book. She looks up and nods. "Okie dokie," she says. She puts a bookmark in her book and sets it on her bed then she stands up and walks to the door. We exit the dorm and head back through the portal. When we get in the elevator, I say "Great Hall." The elevator starts to move. A few minutes later, it opens, but it is not the area where we had lunch. This looks more like an entry hall. Large columns support the ceiling and there are large windows on either side of the intricately designed wooden doors. "I think we are in the wrong place," I say as we step out of the elevator. A row of plaques are embedded in the wall at eye level. "What are these?" I ask as I run my fingers along the smooth metal. Lottie shrugs. "I dunno," she says as she examines the plaques. "They look like recognition plaques?" she suggests. I pause over one of the plaques. "I think they are for the teachers," I say. I tap on the plaque. "Look, here's one for Alistor." Lottie walks over to one of the windows and peers out. "Woah Mike," she exclaims. "Come here." I walk over and look out the window. "Wow," I gasp. The academy overlooks a large grassy plain, but that's not the impressive part. What has captivated our attention is the enormous city on the shore of the continent. There are hundreds if not thousands of towering skyscrapers, many of which were connected by bridges and skywalks. There are dozens of smaller towers and buildings between the larger skyscrapers. From here, we can't see super well, but I'm pretty sure I see vehicles flying between the buildings. "That is incredible," Charlotte says. We suddenly hear a loud noise and the room rumbles. Out in the plains, a large door slides open in the ground and a large mech rises out. A few moments later, it flies towards the city. "Wow," I say before turning around. "Come on Charlotte," I say. "Let's get to dinner." We walk back to the elevator and I say "Dining Hall." The doors close and the elevator starts to move. When they stop, we walk through the dining hall and sit at a table with Tristan, Lilly and a few other kids. Lottie and I grab a plate of food as Tristan turns to the group. "Anyway, we were saying that Glazye was picked?" he asks. One of the guys in green and brown nods. "Hayle got drawn, but Aestus was saying that they wanted to do it tonight," he says. Tristan considers this. "Aestus has hosted quite a lot recently," he says, looking at Lilly. She nods. "That is true," she admits. Tristan looks at a few of the Hayle girls. "And I know that you have been preparing all day," he says. They all nod energetically. "Alright," he says. "Hayle will host tonight. Be there by..." He checks his watch. "Be there by 6:30." Everyone nods and goes back to eating. I turn to Tristan. "So what is the plan for tonight?" I ask. He grins. "Most of the kids will come to our dorm to hang out and do whatever," he says. "The girls are making food and we will do a bunch of other fun things." I smile. "That sounds fun," I say. I turn to Lottie. "Did you hear?" I ask. "Everyone gets together to hang out." She nods. "Yeah cool," she says. "I'll be in my room, all alone, listening to music and reading." I frown at her. "You should come hang out with us," I say. She shrugs. "You know I'm not a party person," she says. "You should still do it," I say. "You might have fun." She sighs. "I don't know," she says. "I'll think about it." I nod. "Ok," I say as I turn to keep eating.

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