Max looked startled as Miss Katenbach pointed to him, trying to look tough. Who was he going to be partners with? Hopefully anyone but Azul. She looked cute, Max gave her that, but-
oh shit.
Max's body danced with static electricity as he flinched. Just his luck. He got the one person he didn't want to get. Sighing, Max shrugged as he took out two black fingerless gloves and put them on in order to contain the electricity in his hands before walking to "Grace." Max already made quite the worst of impressions, so this wasn't going to go well.
Grace is flawless!....If you ignore her personality, Max thought with a snicker as he approached Grace.
"Hey, Grace, it seems luck really hates us both. You hate me, and I really don't like you, so let's get this over with." Max looked towards the door. "Let's save the drama for after the business, 'kay? I dunno about you, but I'd like to live past orientation." Not even waiting for her consent, Max shoved his hands into his pockets and walked towards the maze. No matter how beautiful it looked, Max couldn't get himself to smile - he just wasn't in the mood. He tried to be all cool and edgy before realizing a problem.
"Hey, Grace. I completely forgot, forgive me.... where are we supposed to go again?" Max was never good with mazes. In fifth grade, he went to a maze with his sisters and they all got stuck. They had to call the authorities to help them out.
“Don’t call me that. The
name is Fitzy.” The girl says as she glares at the teen, before looking around her. This place was pretty deserted... She wasn’t sure if they were on an ocean like in Venice or something else, but she didn’t really feel like sticking around. Who knew abandoned cities could be creepy.
“I’m pretty sure sir what’s-his-face said something about making it to the highest tower...” She murmurs, spinning around and peering into the sky. Eventually spotting the peak of the building jutting over the tope of the roofs to her left, she points at it. “We have to get to the top of that.”
“Alright, cards on the table Mackenzie. What can you do? Anything that’ll get us up there?”
Max sighed lightly, happy Fitzy wasn't strangling him to death immediately. Max put his left hand out, and visible sparks of electricity emerged from it. "My ability is the power to control electricity. I can shock people, generate it to my muscles (never actually tried that before but whatever) and manifest it."
Max looked into the sky, seeing a tall building. He pointed at it, looking at the same one as Fitzy. "We're looking for a tall building, ey? I think that one's pretty huge, good point. But before we devise a strategy... what's
your superpower?" Max loved seeing others' superpowers. He'd seen a boy made out of goo, a girl who could make things float, someone who could control ice... there was just
so many possibilities!
“Great, so you’re basically just Static from those old batman cartoons. Looks like we’re walking.” And with that, the angry young lady begins to make her way down the street, purposely not revealing her ability to the young teen. Normally she would have given someone a clue, but he hadn’t exactly left her with a high opinion of him.
Not bothering to make sure he wasn’t behind her, the teen made her way down the street and quickly turned the corner towards the tower. It looked as if this place was pretty sparse, buildings wise, as all that remained between her and the large tower was a mile or so of racing bridges and what was probably water. This didn’t look like it’d be that bad.
That was when the bridge she was on began to collapse into the water.
Max, rolling his eyes, only followed her. "Hey! If we're going to live through this, cold we at least have the slightest level of trust between us?"
What a brat! Max thoughts, angry as he walked through the city. The buildings disappointed him - he expected something flashy, not just.... buildings. Max did have a bad habit of raising his expectations too high, however, so while he was disappointed, he surely wasn't surprised.
Max was thinking that this was already looking to be the low-point of his entire year when the bridge Fitzy was on started to break. Max's eyes widened as h wondered what he should do - save his (probably ungrateful) partner, or let karma do its thing? Max's emotions started to charge electricity inside him - even if he decided to dive in to save her, he'd probably get her killed. Did she even know how to swim? Max hoped so.
Max looked over into the water.
I hate myself. Calming himself down, he went backwards and jumped into the water, cleansing himself of any anxiousness. He fell gracefully as he swam to Fitzy, hoping she'd say something like
I don't need your help! so that he wouldn't have to get any more wet. "Hey, Fitz! You need some help?"
“Son of a bitch.” Was all Fitzy had been able to mutter before had she felt the platform beneath her crumble beneath her and the small girl was dumped into what was definitely water, her body flailing for a moment as the pain from the fall went through her like a bolt of lightning.
Breaching the surface of the water, the teen’s hair and clothes matted to her boy, she looks over to where she had just come from, in time to see Mackenzie throw himself from where the bridge had been like some suicidal person and begin swimming towards her.
“The hell are you doing?!” She shouts at him as she continued to flounder. Goddamn ocean with it’s goddamn physics
why did she never bother to learn to swim? “I don’t need your damn he-glhk!” She tried to say, before her body is once again submerged by the waves of the falling severe. What sort of death trap err they in?!
For a moment she felt that familiar temptation to release
it, but it quickly passed. She wasn’t sure she could control it yet, and as much as Mackenzie had pissed her off... he didn’t deserve what would happen if she messed up.
“We- We need a way back up!” She shouts to him.
Quickly.
Damn it! Max thought as she continued to flounder. Now I need to help her! "Trying to stop you from drowning, thank you very little!" Max replied, swimming like a madman. "You don't know how to swim, do you?! Could you at least move a little?! It would make things a bunch easier!" Max stroked through the water until he grabbed her shoulder before immediately recoiling. "Random question - would you prefer death or a guy you don't like grabbing you?!"
While he asked that, Max looked towards the borders of the bridge. There was no way he could climb, and as cool as it would be, his MP3 wouldn't grapple. But that wouldn't matter too much if he couldn't save his partner.
Death or him touching her. Oooh. That was... a close one... but she’s supposed that afternoon this she could just scream at him a bit more. Snapping her arms out, he girl grabs onto Mackenzie’s shoulders, stabilising herself just a little as she took a moment to look around.
No ladder, or anything really. Just rubble that had been caught on the sides and smooth steel walls. Looking back at Mackenzie, she lets her scowl show on her face. “We either need to swim our way to the damn tower or find a way up. Any plans, oh so noble hero?”
Max smiled at Fitzy clinged onto him, continuing to studying the area around them. "Well, I guess we could try to use that." Max pointed to some of the rubble that crashed downward into the water with his partner - it was of average size, but it would do. Stroking forward, Max grabbed on it and heaved himself up, giving him a better view while they floated on the water. "You can let go now," Max said as he looked at a black fence on the border of the bridge.
No! Max, stop! Using your MP3 as a grappling hook isn't going to work! Max bummed himself out.
Maybe Ditzy has a power that will help you guys! Maybe she's the sister of that girl who controls gravity? Max rolled his eyes at himself.
I wish.
"... I have let go." Fitzy responds, having released the other teen the moment she was able to grab ahold of the rubble and haul her body atop of it, trying vainly to get the sun to dry her clothes and hair off. Hair covering an eye wasn't exactly a pleasant sensation.
Sitting up, she looks towards their goal above, a good few metres of sheer wall between them, not even the furrows of brickwork. Looking around her, she's forced to let out a sigh at the sheer bleakness of the situation. If only Mackenzie was taller... they might have been able to climb on each other's shoulders. As it was...
"Look, I may have a way up, but I only want to use it as a last resort. Can you see anything else we could use?"
Max tried to jump and grab the fence, but he ended up falling backwards on the rock on his back and then rolled into the water. Max emerged from it. "Well, I don't think jumping is going to work, and I'm a few inches short for us to climb...." Max scratched his chin before jumping again, this time landing on his stomach and rolling into the water. "Godammit, I freaking swear-" Max accidentally generated some electricity in his legs, electrocuting the water.
"Hey, Fitz. You have any ideas?" Max shrugged as blue sparks of electricity zapped around him. "I could try some aquatic parkour. Like, I stroke to the wall and I recoil off it to the other wall, and then-" Max groaned and floated in the water, belly-up/ "Once we get out of here, I'm always going in front of you."
"Hm. Then you can be the one to get caught in crap like this." Fitzy responds, smirking a little. However, the slight grin lasts only a seond as she lets out a pained sigh. She had really,
really not wanted to do this, but she wasn't even sure if the teachers would bother to bring them back if they didn't make it to the tower.
Taking a few quick breaths to hype herself up, the soaked teenage slowly reaches towards her right eye, pace of breathing increasing until she was almost hyperventilating. Then, with one sharp intake of breath, she swiped aside the hair.
The eye beneath was inkly black, the entirety of it, yet not for long. The world around the duo darkened as a distant rumbling of... something was heard, as the iniy darkness slowly bled from her eye in a stream of ethereal black mist, revealing the stark blue beneath as a figure began to form in the darkness.
The Ghist had been summoned.
"Pick us up. Both of us. Take us... take us to the top of this embankment. You will not hurt him. Then
you will go back in." Fitzy commands, voice trembling from the effort of restraining the terrible being's raging will.
The Ghust drops its scythe into the darkness, the object dissipating into tendrils as the being reached down towards Mackenzie.
Max's eyes glimmered as Ditzy smiled. She looked like she was warming up to him - step one of maintaining (or making) a healthy relationship. Still, they could tell jokes all day, but they wouldn't get any higher up to the bridge.
Oh! I know! I'll shoot electricity from my hands, yell "SHAZAM!" and summon lightning from the sky to hit the border of the bridge! Then, we'll climb-
Max's eyes widened as he saw the Ghist. For the first time, he saw Ditzy look a bit scared, and she had a good reason to be - the scythe could cut flesh with a single slash. However, seeing a summoned demon arrive from an attractive slightly-bratty partner of yours while floating on a rock seemed to short-circuit Max's thinking to primarily one thought-
"Hot
damn, Ditzy!" He smiled a huge grin and grabbed onto the Ghist. It looked so...
badass! Max squealed a bit. A summoning ability was so cool!
"IT'S FITZY." She roars back, and for a moment the world flashed darker as the scythe rematerialised in the Ghist's hand, other painfully gripping Mackenzie's arm, before it once again disappears, the grip slackens and the world lightened just a bit.
It was damn hard concentrating like this, keeping the being restrained, and the girl couldn't afford distractions. The Ghist reached for her, its mind raging against her will all the while, grabbing her gently before dashing towards and up the wall, its body and gravity naturally acclimating to the vertical surface as it bodily hauled the duo up the wall and back onto the main street.
The moment it out them down, Fitzy began calling it back into her eye. An otherworldly shriek echoed in the duo's mind as the creature was slowly siphoned back into the girl's eye, the clear blue iris one again covered by that inky darkness, and the world reverted back to its normal bright blue, leaving the teen panting.
"Come on. Lets get this over with." She mutters after a few seconds.
When Max touched the ground, he actually got down and kissed it. "Oi! Sweet land! We have returned!" Max smiled a huge smile at Ditzy, admiring her. "So
that's your power! Fitz, you could be nominated for a list for 'Top 10 Mutants!'" Max stopped before hitting himself on the back of his head. "Not like any normal person would actually make a list like that, but you know what I mean. Well, you're right, let's not dilly-dally any longer! Get behind me - we're going to dominate this maze."
Max took out his black MP3, put on a catchy song, inserted electricity into it to put it to 100% charge and started marching for a few seconds. After a bit, he sighed and marched backwards, looking at his partner. "Oh wait, I completely forgot why you were leading."
She's the only one with an idea what to do. I'll just march everywhere and get us lost. "So... what's the plan, Fitz?"
"Walk towards the bigass tower. Get to the top. Don't get dropped in the ocean." She says from behind. Normally she would have taken point on general principle, but as her wet clothes reminded her, it was best at this point in time to just let the teen lead the way. Although she had to wonder how that mp3 player survived.
"O....kay," Max replied, feeling awkwardness from her. There was no way that water affected her - or did it? Maybe that was a side effect of her summoning - feeling quiet and dizzy. It wasn't too out-of-place, but Max had to wonder... Shrugging, Max walked forward, not trying to strike up conversation.
The walk was very awkward - Ditzy was unusually for someone so unusually loud, and Max got the vibe. He really wanted to ask about what made her so sad - did water remind her of a scary past? Did she not like summoning her summon? Was she extremely jealous of her? Max had no idea-
Max instinctively stopped as he peeked around a corner. A humanoid robot made out of metal wielding a katana was looking over the area, scanning for "intruders." Max looked to Ditzy and, trying to be as quiet as possible, drew two static fingers past his neck, which could've meant many things. "We're dead." "Shush!" "Don't!"
"Is that a-" Fitzy starts, before clamming herself up and peering over the corner to get a good look at the robot. Retreating bakc behind the safety of the wall, she looks at Mackenzie. "Are you kidding me? A robot with a sword? What kind of backwards place even is this?" She whispers almost furiously to the other teen, as if blaming him for this situation.
Sighing, she pauses to think for a moment. "Any ideas? You're the one with electric powers, and that's a robot. They tend to rely on that. Otherwise... I could use the Ghist to distract it. Maybe. Possibly. Last resort."
Max brushed his thumb by his nose and smiled at Fitzy, getting cocky. "Nope. This one is
all me. You got to save us last time - no it's time for Irvaron to shine."
I have to prove myself. A showing like this will surely impress her! Maybe she'll even show me some respect. Max rolled his eyes.
Not in a million years.
Max's face scrunched up, and he put his open hand forward, stressed. He was putting a lot of energy into focusing the energy - it was a technique he had just thought of using. Visible yellow sparks of electricity were sparking along with hand before materializing slowing into a ball. Max was sweating as it formed, but the noise had just alerted the robot. Max looked up, ready to fire-
What?! Surprised and distracted, Max released the electricity in the form of a bomb, blasting himself and the humanoid back. They were both a bit damaged, but the robot got up and drew its blade. Max groaned and looked to Fitzy. "Hey! I can try again, but you'll need to distract it!"
“What?!” Was all Fitzy was able to get out before the robot locked it’s gaze upon the duo. Contemplating exactly how she was going to murder Mackenzie, the blue haired spitfire started sprinting, Macintosh her arms over her head as she ran in a serpentine pattern just to the left of the robot. Fortunately (and unfortunately), it did the trick, and he machine pivoted it’s upper torso to strike at her.
Letting out a yelp of fear as only her instincts kept her from being essentially broken, the titanic blade passing only a metre ahead of her and casting sparks along the ground, she waited for Mackenzie to do whatever it was he was going to do.
Max was paralyzed in a few seconds in shock - he made good jokes even when in danger - when he saw Fitzy being attacked. His battle instincts kicked in as he got pissed off, his body starting to charge up. "HEY, STEELFREAK! Get a load of this!" Firing jolts of electricity from his fingertips, they all hit the robot, even strike causing it to pause for about two seconds.
This is my opportunity! Max thought as he recharged. Stamping his foot into the ground, he sent his electricity to his palm once again, but there was a problem - he was starting to run out of electricity. He'd never tried using so much of his power at once.
Whatever! I'm going to blow this trashpiece to bits, whether I shock myself or not! The yellow electricity he was using started turning blue, and it was azure when it manifested into an orb for the second time.
This time, something was different - Max learned what it was like to be shocked. He hadn't felt this experience since he was a kid, and even then he didn't remember it. His body flashed with blue electricity before Max focused it all into the orb, now calm. He was frying with a steam-like gas emitting from his skin. ((JTLYK, this all happens in about five seconds.)
Smirking with a pained body and a focused mind, Max carried the orb and fired it at the humanoid robot. It tried to block it with its sword, but its attempt was in vain - Max's attack broke through its sword and hit the robot, blowing it to pieces. Max sighed deeply before giving his partner a grin. "Don't mess with the Maxster, am I right?"
"Sure." Was the only comment from the blue haired girl as she raised an eyebrow. Yes, it had been mildly impressive, but she had also nearly been bisected by an angry robot (can robots be angry? Whatever) in the process, so her elation at winning was tempered a bit.
"Come on. We're close now. Lets just get to the top, deal with whatever it is that's
there, and we can go back." She says as she begins to pick up her pace, beginning to make her way towards the tower and hopefully the final obstacle.
Max nodded and dashed along with her. Hopefully, the last obstacle wouldn't be a pain - luckily, there wasn't much of a challenge on the way upwards. Max noticed that Fitzy wasn't as - enthusiastic? Energized? - as she was when they started, but he guessed that almost having your head sliced off and falling down a bridge can have that effect on someone. He just hoped that their first assignment didn't determine her attitude for the whole year - he liked her more when she was empowered.
After shocking and slicing their way through more robots, the duo soon reached a door near the top of the tower. There was a gentle roar that Max heard, so he assumed that it was a lion, or if his dream came true, a griffon. He looked towards Fitzy with a seriously silly and happy smile. "Ready to leave this hellhole, Fitz?"
“Lets get this over with.” Came the reply as the small girl walked towards the large doors, eager to finally end it. She was tired, still a little wet and just wanted a nap at this point. She would deal with this crap later. Then doors slid open automatically to reveal the room at the top of the tower and all thougts were dashed from her head for a mere moment, terror lancing through her.
It was large, to an almost ludicrous degree, and mostly empty, with steel grey walls. However, the key there was
mostly empty. The big glowing portal and fucking
dragon ruined it for her.
The portal was about the size of three people across, glowing a dark blue and pulsating with energy. It practically screamed 'Exit!', and was wuite obviously the goal. The only problem was the collossal lizard in the way. The same one that was staring at her.
It had to have been almost thirty metres legthways, and it was tall enough she was pretty sure she couldn't even reach its knees. With four legs and two large, titsnic wings it had dark brown, almost slate-coloured scales and twiste horns protruding from a head that leaked smoke from its maw. Eyes that betrayed surprising intelligence looked at her.
For once she was okay with releasing the ghist, with the simple command of 'Kill it!' before shoving Mackenzie to the ground and out of the dragon's sight and back around the doorframe.
Max was surprised when he saw the immensely intricate beast, almost paralyzed in shock. When Fitzy shoved him, however, he regained his senses and he got back up. "What the heck, Fitz?! Are you really going to let your Persona or whatever hog all the action?" Max carelessly peeked out the doorframe before running outside, hands jolting with blue lightning.
"Hey, Summon Thing, let's play a game!" he yelled, charging a blue orb of lightning in his palms before clapping his hands close together and fusing them. "It's called Thrash the Trash! Wanna
play?!" He fired a short burst of electric energy at the dragon, launcing himself a few meters back in the process.
"Oh my fucking god you moron! That's a dragon! Just bloody hide until the Ghist is done!" Shouta Fitzy from the doorway as she tried to snatch the suicidal idiot from his self delusions as a hero. Grabbing him by the clothes, the petite girl bodily hauls him out of the way of a gout of flame larger than he was that the dragon had sent at the annoyance and back around the doorframe.
"We can't fight the damn thing! We're just kids moron!" She yells at him over the sounds of crashing and roaring, cuffing him over the back of the head. "We're gonna need to run, or wait or something. Get to the exit. Not try and pick a fight with a
dragon."
Max struggled as she grabbed him, but he came to the inevitable conclusion she was right. If only this was like a TV show, when Max would get a power-up out of nowhere, learn how to fly, disintegrate the dragon with a wink, and fly with Fitzy into the night sky with her slowly realizing how awesome he was and eventually falling in love with him.
I've been watching too much anime, Max thought with a sigh as he stood up. He looked up at the Ghist - it seemed to be doing pretty well, considering it was up against a dragon. Getting an idea, he turned to Fitzy. "Hey, Fitz, let's ditch this joint. Fighting the dragon doesn't seem so fun anymore," he said honestly before taking his shirt off and fanning himself. "Oooh, I am
hot. Like, it's boiling out there!" Obviously exaggerating, he slung his still damp vest over his shoulder. This had to work. "Do you think you could tell your Persona thing to get down here, maybe?"
Fitzy’s face at Mackenzie when he took his shirt off was one that had rarely been seen upon this world. It perfectly blended surprise, indignation, anger and embarrassment at what she was seeing. It was only Mackenzie’s request to call the Ghist over that saved one of them. She wasn’t exactly sure who.
Glaring at the guy for just one more second, she began to tug on the connection, only slowly this time. The Ghist, screeching in her mind as it did so, made its way back towards the doorway and the duo, it’s scythe flashing and materialising as it defends from the dragon and it’s terrible flame, one of the few things that can hurt it.
Almost flinching at Fitzy's expression, Max knew that he had to be careful with his operation - even if the dragon was killed, his partner would probably kill him afterwards. With a resting face and a faux serious feel, he walked over to the Ghist and gave the summon his shirt. "Hey, Scythe Dude! If you don't mind, could you carry my shirt to the dragon for me?"
When you do.... be prepared for a shock!
Fitzy had to actively restrain the Ghist from breaking the teenager that dared to put a sweaty, wet shirt upon its visage. Using her will and control over it, the Ghist rises and dashes back towards the dragon, shirt flapping in the wind left behind by the force of its silent takeoff like some sort of flag. "This
better work." Fitzy comments.
"Oh, trust me, it
will," Max confidently replied, sure that his plan would succeed. As soon as the Ghist got close to the dragon, Max fired a small burst of electricity at his shirt, the dampness strengthening it. It exploded in energy, and Max hoped that it would hit a core part of the dragon - its eye.
Both the dragon and the Ghist reared back in pain as the light from the blast went off, blinding the powerful beast and almost completely destorying the Ghist, as the burst of light had gone off on top of it.
Recalling the beast was easy this time for Fitzy, and she waited no time telling Mackenzie anything. This was a limited window of opportunity, the dragon stunned, and they couldn't waste it. She stepped out and sprinted for the portal.
Clenching his fist in victory at how the plan was (seemingly) a success, Max jumped in after her, simply following. Max was happy she did that - he probably wouldn't have on his own.
I guess it is pretty stupid how I was determined to beat that monstrosity of a beast on my own, Max thought before leaping in.
The duo emerged into a large and spacious room, surrounded on all sides by churning cogs and gears. They had made it out of the maze, and into the clock tower.
"Oh thank god." Was the first thing out of Fitzy's mouth as she all but collapsed to her knees. "That was bloody insane. I'm going to
kill fhat teacher." She snarled, still panting a bit as she regained her energy from the short yet desperate sprint.
Max fell out after her on his stomach, aching as he got up. "Thanks for the escape route, Fitzy," he thanked her, happy that they escaped. He crouched down to her level and offered her a fist bump. "But before you go murder Uncle Jaime, how about giving me some knuckle? You were
awesome!"
Fitzy raised an eyebrow at Madkenzie, before turning her head away. "You weren't bad." Was all she said, before she began to make her way into the tower, looking for the teacher.
