Chronicles of the Elemental Guardians

Chapter 7: Mike

"My name is Skip Tanaka." The words bounce around in my skull. I can't breathe for a long moment. "Mike. Mike. Mike." Lottie's voice seems to come from very far away. I take a shuddering breath before looking at her. Her eyes are full of questions but she looks at me with concern. "Are you ok?" she asks softly. My whole body is shaking uncontrollably. I shake my head. "I- I- I don't know," I stammer. I then notice that several other students are staring at me, some with confusion, others with disgust. "Mike, what's wrong?" she asks, concern plain in her voice. I struggle to calm myself down. "It's- it's not possible," I whisper. "They said he was dead. He's supposed to be dead." Lottie watches me as I struggle to process my thoughts. Then a shadow falls over our table. "Mike, are you alright?" Skip Tanaka asks quietly. I look up and meet his eyes. I glare. "Of course I'm not fine," I snap. He studies my face for a long moment. "Son, let me explain," he starts. I don't let him finish. "No. You don't get to call me 'son," I snap, my voice rising. "You haven't earned that. You just disappeared off on one of your stupid aerial reconnaissance missions and never came back. Then we get told you are dead and yet, here you are, alive and well." He looks at me with a wounded expression. "Mike, I didn't have a choice," he says softly. I roll my eyes angrily. "You always have a choice," I say shortly. Lottie watches us as we talk. I meet his eyes. "Does Mom know?" I ask shortly. "Or does she still think you are dead?" Skip hesitates. "No," he says finally. "She doesn't know." I turn away from him. "Go teach your class," I say in a flat tone. I don't look as he turns and walks back to the front of the class. "Alright class, today we will be discussing the weaponized properties of nanotechnology," Skip says. "Can anyone tell me what nanotechnology is?" Nobody raises their hands. I sigh and raise mine. "Nanotechnology is a type of advanced tech that uses very small nanobots to create almost anything," I explain. Skip nods once. "In other realms, such as Earth, they have barely scratched the surface of what nanotech can do," he says. "They use it for surgical purposes. We, however, use it for much more." Skip opens a drawer behind him and pulls out a canister filled with a swirling, almost liquid mass of nanobots. He sets it on a table and twists off the top. The nanobots swirl out the top and form into a large metal ball. Several of the students gasp softly. Skip smiles as he puts his hand on the ball. It immediately envelopes his hand and turns into a metal glove. Skip flexes his fingers. "You see?" he asks. "The nanobots picked up on my thoughts and created what I wanted them to. Now, I have this glove." Skip holds his hand above the canister and the nanobots retreat back into it. He seals the lid before turning to look at us. "Each of you will be given a canister of nanobots. Then, you will learn how to use them and create something... unique. Understood." There is a general murmur of understanding from the students. Skip starts to pass out the canisters and soon the room is filled with the gentle whirring of the nanobots as students experiment with the tech. Lottie's eyes are closed in concentration as she focuses on the ball of nanobots. Her hands slowly ball up into fists as and her eyelids flutter. The nanobots move a little bit but mostly stay in a ball form. After a few moments Lotties eyes open and the nanobots fly out in every direction. "Ugh!" she almost yells. Her face is filled with anger and frustration. "Woah easy there," I say as the nanobots reform into a ball. She starts to calm down. "Sorry," she says quietly. I chuckle. "You can't force it," I explain. "You just... imagine it. Watch." I reach out and touch my ball of nanobots. The sphere slowly turns into a long dagger. I pick it up and twirl it around. "Not bad," I say as I examine it. I gesture to her own ball. "Go on. Try again. But this time, don't try to force it. Just imagine what you want and let the nanobots do the rest." She looks at me and then back at the ball of nanobots. She closes her eyes again and focuses. The nanobots slowly form around her hands, giving her elbow length fingerless gloves. She opens her eyes and smiles when she sees what she created. "Good job!" I exclaim. I put the dagger down and it turns back into a ball. Then Skip, who has been wandering around the class, claps his hands once. "Well done everyone," he says. Everyone looks up at him. "I'm afraid that is all we have time for today. Please return your nanobots to their containers then return them to the drawers." As the students start to put away their nanobots, the gong sounding bell rings and everyone quickly puts away their nanobots before heading towards the elevator. I put the ball back into the canister and stand up to walk to the drawers. Lottie puts the nanobots back into the canister and follows behind me. I set the canister down and turn to leave. Skip catches me by putting his hand on my shoulder. "Son... Mike, I am sorry. I wish it could be different," he says gently. I shrug his hand away. "Yeah, well, a little late for that," I snap as I walk away. Lottie puts the canister down in the drawer and follows me back to our seats to get our stuff. From behind me she quietly says, "Mike, I wish you would be a bit nicer to him. He's trying to apologize." I whirl around. "I don't care if he is trying to 'apologize.' He just disappeared and left us," I snap. "He doesn't deserve forgiveness." Lottie stares at me for a moment and stays silent. I grab my backpack and start to walk towards the elevator. Lottie follows behind me, staring down at the floor. I press the button to call the elevator and wait. I look at Lottie, who is still staring at the ground. "What's wrong?" I ask. She shrugs but doesn't look up. "Nothing," she mutters. I look at her dubiously. "You sure?" I press. She nods but still doesn't look up. The elevator arrives and we step inside. "What's bothering you?" I ask. She glances up at me and slightly smiles. "Nothing, I'm fine," she says. I shrug. "Whatever you say," I respond as the doors close. After a few moments Charlotte breaks the silence. "Um, Mike. Where are we going now?" she asks. I pull out my phone and open the schedule. "We have some free time before the daily event," I say as I pocket my phone. "Oh ok," she says. "What are you going to do right now then?" I press a button marked with a T. "You up for some training?" I grin as the elevator starts to rise. Her eyes widen. "O-oh I'm not sure that's such a good idea... I mean we aren't really that experienced...." she says. I roll my eyes. "Oh come on," I say. "How are we supposed to get better if we don't practice?" She thinks for a moment. "Well- I, I don't know," she says. I touch her shoulder lightly. "What's the worst that could happen?" I ask. "I don't know.. one of us could get really hurt," she explains. I laugh. "Oh come on Lottie," I chuckle. "It will be fine. Nobody will get hurt." The elevator stops and opens onto the cobblestone floor of the training arena. I step out and pull Lottie after me. "Ughh," she whines. We walk out to the center of the arena and I turn to look at her. "You ready?" I ask as I take a few steps back and crouch slightly. "Not really," she says, but she matches my stance. I close my eyes and reach deep inside myself, feeling my power. As I touch it with my mind, my hands grow colder. I open my eyes and see that my hands are surrounded by an icy aura. "That's nICE," I say, grinning. Lottie rolls her eyes as she summons two balls of fire in her hands. "On the count of three," I call. Lottie nods once. "One... two... three!" I roll to one side as Lottie shoots one of her fireballs at where I was standing not two seconds ago. I slam my hands against the ground and ice starts to spread from my hands, coating the ground in a thin layer of ice. I then summon my lightning power and I feel it spark along my skin. I start to run in a large circle around the arena, leaving a trail of lightning behind me. Lottie takes a deep breath and slams her fist into the ground. A large crack appears and it widens into a wide crevice. "Woah!" I shout as I jump over it and stumble on landing. I thrust my hand out towards Lottie and a blast of lightning shoots towards her. She raises a large stone wall in front of her and the lightning strikes it harmlessly. I throw another lightning bolt, this time around the wall and I feel myself vaporizing into electricity and following the course of the bolt. When it hits the ground, I reform immediately. "What the heck?" I say aloud as I study my hands. I look up towards Charlotte and my eyes widen. A large boulder is flying towards me. I conjure a hasty ice shield but the boulder breaks through it, slamming into me. I go flying a good 10 feet away and land hard on my arm. A loud crack comes from my arm and I shout with pain. I cradle my left arm against my chest. Pain spikes through me like someone drove a red hot dagger into my arm. Then Lottie is standing above me, a ball of fire in her hand. Her eyes are glowing bright red. She raises her hand. "Charlotte stop!" I cry as I raise my uninjured arm to protect my face. Then her eyes clear and the fireball fades away. "Mike?" she asks. She drops down onto her knees and reaches towards me then stops. "Mike I'm so so sorry," she says as she starts to cry. "I lost control of my power. I didn't mean to hurt you." I reach out and take her hand. "Lottie, it's alright," I say in a hoarse voice. The pain from my arm starts to creep over my entire body and I gasp with pain. "Mike? Mike!? Are you ok?" I hear Charlotte ask from what seems to be a long way away. My eyesight starts to dim. "Find... Alistor," I murmur as I drop into unconsciousness. Eventually, I start to wake up. My whole body feels numb and heavy. I start to hear voices around me. "Will he be ok?" I hear somebody ask. Another person answers. "He should wake up soon." I slowly open my eyes and see three people standing over me. I'm in what appears to be a hospital. I see Lottie, Alistor and Skip standing above me. Lottie looks at if she's been crying a lot. "Mike? A-are you awake?" She asks. I groan softly before sitting up. "Yeah I'm awake. What happened?" I ask. Lottie takes my hand and squeezes gently. "You broke your arm pretty badly and you passed out. Alistor brought you to the medical wing, where they fixed your arm." I look down at my arm. It is encased in a thin metallic casing. "Your arm is healed but you should take it easy for a few hours at least," Alistor says. I gingerly move my arm around. "Well, I feel fine," I say as I swing my legs off the bed. "How long was I out?" Alistor checks his watch. "Just an hour," he says. Skip looks at me. "Are you sure you are ok?" he asks. I shrug. "Better than ever," I say as I stand up. Immediately, my head starts to spin and I stumble. "Woah," Lottie says as she catches me. I take a deep breath and straight up. "I'm fine," I say. I turn to Skip. "Can I have a few of those nanobots canisters?" I ask. Skip looks at me for a long moment. "Why do you need them?" he responds. I shrug. "Just an idea for a project," I reply. Skip shrugs. "I don't see why not," he says. "I'll have them delivered to your room." Lottie looks at me. "Why do you want the nanobots?" she asks. I walk slowly out of the room. "Just a little side project," I says. She stays by my side as we walk out, making sure I don't fall. "Oh ok," she says as we walk. As we reach the doors, I'm struck by a wave of dizziness and I stumble into Lottie. She catches me and helps me stand upright. "Mike, are you sure you're ok?" she demands. I take a few deep breaths before answering. "Yeah, I'm... I'm just dizzy, that's all," I lie unconvincingly. I really feel like I'm about to throw up or pass out. Lottie looks at me. "Are you sure?" she asks. "You don't seem 'just dizzy'." I take a few steps out of the room and promptly collapse. "Mike!" Lottie cries as she crouches down next to me. I roll over onto my back and stare up at her. "So.... maybe I feel a little worse than I let on," I say. I hold out a hand. "A little help?" She stands and grabs my hand and pulls me up. I stand unsteadily and waver on my feet. "Let's go," I say shakily. Lottie puts my arm around her shoulder and helps me walk to the elevator. I press the button and lean against her as we wait. "Mike... I'm really sorry," Lottie says softly. "I swear I didn't mean to hurt you. I just-" I cover her mouth with my hand to stop her. "Lottie, it's not your fault," I say. "I'm the one who suggested we go practice. It's my fault. I should have listened to you." I drop my hand from her mouth and look down at the ground. Lottie stays quiet. The elevator arrives with a ding and we step inside. I press the button for the dorms and the doors close. "Are you ok Charlotte?" I ask after a moment. She nods. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just still feel really bad for what happened," she tells me. I sigh heavily. "Lottie, it's not your fault," I say. I slowly straighten up and stop leaning on her. "Yes it is. I'm the one who couldn't control my powers. I'm the one who hurt you," she says. I turn to look her in the eyes. "Charlotte," I say. "It is not your fault. You haven't had any practice controlling your powers. I should have thought of that sooner. It was a bad idea for us to practice on our own. I'm sorry for that." She looks down. "I still hurt you," she says quietly. "And I'll never forgive myself for that." I sigh. "It's not your fault," I say simply as the doors open. We exit the elevator and walk through the portal to the dorms. We enter the Hayle dormitory and we head to our rooms. I stop outside my door and look at Lottie. "Don't beat yourself up because I got hurt," I say as I open the door and walk inside. As I close the door, I notice 5 canisters of swirling nanobots on my desk. I smile slightly as I walk over and push the canisters to the side before booting up my computer. I sit down and open a 3D design app on my computer. I start to design a basic layout for a nanotech fighting suit. After about an hour of designing, I save the design and plug the canisters into the computer. The base of the suit is a dark gray color. There is a central power core on the chest that is a glowing blue. The shoulder armor is an even darker gray and has small spikes on it. The mask is a shimmery blue with a metal hood over the top of it. The arms have braces that are the same color as the shoulder armor. Then I pull up a coding app and start to type various strings of code into the application. After a while, I hit the download button and a progress bar pops up. As it slowly goes up, I stand up and walk to the closest. I open it and start looking through the various types of clothes. I eventually pull out a robe that is a mix of icy blue and electric blue. I shrug off my clothes, which leaves me in just the black jumpsuit. I pull the robe over the jumpsuit and tie the belt before walking back over to my desk. The progress bar is complete so I open the 3D design app and press the button to upload the design to the canisters. A few minutes later, it's done. I unplug the canisters and open them. I stand up and spread my arms. The nanobots swirl out of the canisters and they start to envelop my body, forming a set of metal armor around me. Finally, I'm completely encased in the armor. The HUD appears on screen and starts to scan the various things in my room. "This is sick," I say. I study my hands. I then imagine a sword and a long blade slides out of the arm brace on my right arm. I swing the blade around a few times. "Sick," I say. Then there is a knock on the door. "One second!" I call. I envision the suit shrinking into a dark gray watch. Immediately, the suit starts to shrink and swirl around me and towards my wrist as it turns into a dark gray watch. I walk to the door and open it. Tristan is standing there. He glances at my injured arm. "Hey man, what's up?" I ask as I move my arm behind my robe. He grins distractedly. "It's almost time for lunch and the daily event," he explains. I nod. "I'll be there," I promise. He nods and walks off. I cross the hall and knock on Lottie's door. "Char? You in there?" I call. "Yeah!" she calls back. I open the door and walk in to see Charlotte laying on the floor reading a book. "It's almost lunch," I say. "Then the daily event. You ready to go?" She looks at me. "I'm not really that hungry," she says as she goes back to reading. I sigh. "Well, you still need to come," I say. "That way you'll know what the daily event is." She doesn't look away from her book. "You just go," she says. "And then after lunch you can just come back and tell me what the daily event is." I hesitate for a second. "Are you sure?" I ask. "I don't want you to be alone." She glances at me. "I'll be fine," she says. "Just go." I sigh. "Don't do anything stupid," I say as I walk out and close the door. I make my way through the dorm. Most of the students have already left but there are a few stragglers. I exit the dorm and walk through the portal. I step into the elevator and press a button. A few minutes later, I'm in the Dining Hall. I look around the room and see Tristan sitting at a table with a few other people. I walk over and sit down next to him. "Hey Mike," Tristan says. "What did you do to your arm?" I look down at it. "Oh uhh... just a training accident," I say. He frowns. "Well, you'd better be able to participate in the event today," he says. Then he breaks into a grin. "You're one of our best teammates." I smile. "Don't worry," I say. "I'll be perfectly fine by the event." Just then Alistor stands up. "Attention students!" he says loudly. The chatter dies down and everyone faces Alistor. "Good afternoon students," he says. "I hope you had a great morning." He pulls out a tablet and consults it. "Ah yes," he says. "It is time for the announcement of the daily event." Everyone cheers loudly. Alistor waits until the noise dies down. "Today's event is the NanoSteel Showdown!" Everyone erupts into cheering. I turn to Tristan with wide eyes. "NanoSteel Showdown?" I ask. He laughs. "It's exactly what it sounds like!" he shouts over the noise. "Everyone has their own mech and we fight!" I stare at him for a moment. "That sounds awesome!!" I shout. He grins. "Yeah it's the best." Alistor waits for the noise to fade. "Yes, I know everyone is excited," he says. "But first, enjoy your lunch." The tables open and plates of food rise out of them as Alistor sits down. Lunch passes in a blur. People are talking, running around to form alliances, plotting to take down certain people. I quickly eat and then stand up. "I'll see you soon," I tell Tristan as I walk away. I exit the hall and take the elevator to the dorms. I walk down the hall and into the Hayle dorm. I head towards my room. I stop outside Charlotte's door and knock. "Lottie? You in there?" I call. She doesn't answer. I knock again. "Lottie? Hello? Anybody home?" I ask. Still no response. I open the door and walk inside. As I look around her room my jaw drops. There are burn marks all over the roof and walls. Books and drawings are scattered around the floor. Lottie's bedsheets are hanging off her bed and some of the easels are knocked over. I look over in a corner of the room and I see Charlotte sitting against the wall, blood dripping down her face from her head. Her eyes are closed. After a moment she opens her eyes and sees me. "Mike?" she asks, her voice shaky. I rush over to her and kneel down next to her. "Oh my god, Charlotte," I cry. "What happened??" She smiles slightly. "I tried practicing my powers. They got out of control and this happened. I'm fine though," she says. A broken laugh escapes me. "You are definitely not fine," I say. "You've destroyed your room and have blood dripping from a gash on your head." I glance around before looking at my watch. "I have to make sure it's not infected before I take you to the medical wing." I slap my watch and my suit spirals out from it. Once it is fully out, I flick my wrist and a nozzle appears on my arm. "Hold still," I say. I carefully spray disinfectant spray across the gash on her head, making sure to cover it completely. Then I retract the nozzle. "Now, let's get you to the medical wing," I say. She shakes her head. "No, I'm fine," she says. I shake my head as I scoop her up, using my suit's added strength to carry her easier. "Not a chance," I say as I exit her room and walk through the dorm. I walk to the elevator and step inside. "Medical wing," I say and the elevator starts to move. I look down at Lottie. "What were you thinking?" I ask. "Remember what happened earlier?" She looks at me. "Well I just thought that if I practiced I could learn to control it more," she tells me. I look at her for a long moment. "It was dangerous, Lottie," I say finally. "You could have killed yourself. No more practicing on your own. Understood?" She looks away. "Fine," she mumbles. The elevator stops and opens at the far end of the entry hall to the medical wing. I quickly carry Lottie into the medical wing and set her on one of the empty beds. I retract my helmet and look around for a nurse or doctor. "Hello?" I call. A middle aged woman comes out of an office and walks over to us. "What can I do for you?" she asks. I gesture to Lottie. "She hurt herself practicing her powers," I explain. She nods in understanding. "Ah of course," she says. She looks at Lottie. "What powers do you have, dear?" Lottie looks at the nurse. "I'm an Omnia," she says quietly. The nurse looks at her for a long moment before speaking. "Well, that explains it," she says suddenly. I look at her. "What does it explain?" I ask. She starts looking over Lottie's wounds. "The Omnia have extreme power, but they have the hardest time controlling it," she explains. "It's no wonder she destroyed her room and hurt herself." Lottie looks at her. "How did you know I destroyed my room?" she asks. The nurse chuckles. "Dear, I've been working at this school for centuries," she says. "You aren't the first Omnia I've had to deal with." I touch my wrist and my suit spirals back into a watch. "Will she be alright?" I ask. The nurse examines the gash on Lottie's head. "Normally, this wound would have already been infected and would have taken a while to heal, but this time, it's not infected yet," she says, mystified. "I have no clue why." I cough into my fist softly. "That may have been me," I say. The nurse looks up. "You? How?" the nurse asks. I hold up my arm with the watch on it. "When I coded my nano suit, I made sure it could create first aid gear. I used the disinfectant spray to make sure Lottie's head didn't get infected," I explain. The nurse nods. "That was smart," she says as she pulls out a needle and medical thread. "Dear, I need you to hold still while I stitch this up," she tells Lottie. Lottie looks at the needle and her eyes widen. "No no no no! You are not getting that needle anywhere close to my head!" she says, almost yelling. The nurse sighs. "Dear, I need to stitch up that cut on your head. Otherwise it won't heal," she says. Lottie leans away from the nurse. "No! Don't you get that anywhere near me!" Lottie yells. The nurse steps away from Lottie and walks over to me. "There is an anesthesia machine down there," she whispers as she points down the room. I sigh. "I'll get it," I say as I walk away. I grab the machine and push it over to Lottie's bed. I unhook the mask and walk to the head of Lottie's bed. I carefully put the mask over her mouth and nose. "Take deep breaths," I say. Lottie glares at me, but she starts to take deep breaths. Slowly, her eyes start to close and then she is asleep. I hang the mask back on the machine and then look at the nurse. "How long will she be out?" I ask. The nurse deftly threads the needle and starts to stitch Lottie's head. "About an hour, hour and a half," she says. I nod. "Well, I'm not going anywhere," I say as I sit in a chair next to Lottie's bed. The nurse finishes the stitches and puts away the needle. "I'll be in my office if you need me," she says as she walks away. After a while I pull out my phone and start scrolling through my texts. My fencing group chat is going on about how they got into finals. I type a reply then slip my phone into my pocket. About an hour later, Lottie starts to move a little. Her eyes slowly open. "Welcome back to the land of the living," I tease. She stares at me for a long while before turning her head away from me. I sigh. "How do you feel?" I ask. She mutters something but I can't hear it. "What?" I ask. She says something else that's still hard to hear but I try to make out words. It sounds like "I hate you" or something like that. I grin. "Aww don't be like that," I say. "I hate you," she says again, a bit louder. I study her for a moment. "Why?" I ask eventually. "You helped the nurse," she whispers. "You helped her with the machine. The one that made me fall asleep." I shrug. "You wouldn't let her stitch your head otherwise," I point out. "I didn't want her to stitch my head," she says quietly. I shrug again. "She had to otherwise it would get infected and it wouldn't heal," I say. She still doesn't turn towards me. "I wouldn't care if it didn't heal. You know needles are my biggest fear," she says. I reach over and touch her shoulder. "That's why we put you under," I say softly. "That way, you wouldn't have to see it." She shakes my hand off. "I still hate you," she says quickly. I shrug. "Anyways," I say. "Today's event is the NanoSteel Showdown. You should probably not participate because you are injured. But you can still come to watch." She nods but doesn't say anything. I turn and walk to the nurse's office. I knock lightly and the door opens. "What can I help you with?" she asks. I gesture to my injured arm. "Am I ok to get this cast off?" I ask. "It feels fine and I want to have it off before the Showdown." She picks up a scanner from a table and quickly scans my arm. The scanner beeps and she examines the screen. She looks up at me. "Your arm is all healed," she says. "You can take off the cast." I quickly unclip the metallic cast and drop it on a table. I flex my arm and stretch. "That's better," I say. "Thank you." She nods as I walk out and close the door. I walk back down the medical wing and sit in the chair next to Charlotte's bed. She looks at me for a moment and then turns so her back is facing me. I reach over and touch her shoulder. "Hey, I am sorry," I say. "But I won't let you stay injured." She doesn't look at me. "Just....... just leave me alone," she says kinda harshly. I sigh. "Will you come to the Showdown?" I ask. She is silent for a moment. "I'll think about it," she says finally. I shrug. "I'll be in my room getting ready," I say. I stand up and walk out of the medical wing and enter the elevator. I press a button and the elevator doors close. I lean against the wall as the elevator descends. A few minutes later, the elevator stops and the doors slide open. I exit the elevator and pass a few other Ethereal students as I walk through the portal. I walk down the hall and open the door to the Hayle dorm. I ignore all the people in the living room and slip into my dorm. I immediately notice a change in my room. What appears to be an armor stand is set up in the corner. I take off my watch and strap it to the arm of the stand then tap the button. The suit spirals out and envelopes the armor stand. I study the suit for a moment before sitting at my desk. I pick up the helmet that Alistor gave me for capture the flag and study it before setting it off to the side. I boot up my computer and open a coding program. I take a deep breath and start to type. Close to an hour later, I lean back and rub my eyes. After a second, I look back at the screen. I quickly check to make sure everything is written correctly. Once I'm done, I connect the computer to the suit and hit a few keys before pressing "upload." A progress bar pops up and slowly creeps towards 100%. As I wait, I lay on my bed and stare up at the ceiling. I feel a sense of calm wash over me for the first time since I arrived here. A minute or two later, a ding sounds from my computer. I roll out of bed and walk to my desk. The progress bar is completely full. I walk over to the armor stand and the suit spirals back into the watch. I take the watch off and slip it onto my arm. I tap the button and the suit expands, covering my entire body. Once the helmet is complete, I reach up and tap the side of the helmet. An AI conscious symbol appears on the HUD. "Hello Mike," a female voice says over the radio system. "I am Avalon. A Very Advanced Logic Operating Network. I am here to provide support on anything you may require." I grin widely. "It works!" I exclaim happily. "Mike, I am detecting an internal transmission coming from somewhere in the dorms," Avalon says. I frown. "Why are you monitoring transmissions?" I ask. Avalon's symbol turns a darker shade of blue. "It is in my programming," she says in a slightly annoyed tone. "You are the one who made me, Mike. You should know this." I sigh quietly. "I'm sorry Avalon," I say. "What did you get from the transmission?" Avalon scans the transmission and stops at a small section. "It sounded like two or more students were plotting to trap or hurt you somehow. It sounded like they are going to use your relationship with Charlotte as leverage." I frown. "That doesn't make any sense. Who would want to hurt me?" I ask. Avalon is silent for a minute. "If I had to guess," she starts. "I think it could be someone who holds a grudge against you." I consider this for a long moment. I walk across the room and sit on my bed. "Can you hack into the security systems and start monitoring the cameras in the medical wing?" I ask. "Would it be improper of me to inquire why?" Avalon asks. I shrug. "Just to be safe," I say. A moment later, the camera feed from the medical wing appears on the HUD. Charlotte is sitting on her bed, watching a ball of water float above her hands, which are glowing blue. The nurse comes out of the office and talks to her for a moment before disappearing back into the room. The camera feed disappears from the HUD, leaving me with a sense of relief. "Thank you Avalon," I say. "It is my pleasure," she responds. Just then there is a knock on my door. "Hey Mike?" I hear Tristan say. "Are you in there?" I tap my wrist and my suit disappears back into the watch. I open the door and say "Hey Tristan. What's up?" He studies me for a minute before responding. "It's time to head to the Mech Bay to prepare for the Showdown," he says. "Is it just you or is Charlotte coming?" I shake my head. "I'm the only one participating," I say. "But Charlotte might watch." He nods and beckons. "Let's go then," he says as he starts to walk down the hall. I exit my room and follow him out of the dorms and out to the elevator. He presses a button and the doors close. "How long have you been a student here?" I ask Tristan. "I've been a student for two years now," he says. "I'm the same age as you. I was raised in Atropolis until my parents discovered I had elemental powers. Then I was invited to the academy." The elevator doors open and we step out. We walk down a short hallway towards a door. Tristan pauses outside the door. "You ready?" he asks me. I nod. "After you," I say.

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