Suddenly, the room had changed. No longer were the gang and Aiden in a regular room, but now they were in what appeared to be a ground area. And it was time for the others to battle Aiden, who had already transformed into his beast form of a gray wolf.
“You guys ready?” Rey asked the others.
“Of course! I’ll go first!” Krystal exclaimed.
“We will?” Prince asked, surprised.
“Yes. Just watch. This pretty little sonic bell will rock him off his feet,” Krystal replied. “Now, transform already!”
Prince nodded and transformed into his beast form. “Let’s start things off lightly,” Krystal said. “Quick! Slam him directly!”
Prince leaped forward, hitting Aiden directly near his neck. As he pushed Aiden down to the ground, Aiden kicked him off. Krystal then drew out her wand, tapping it to transform it into her sonic bell.
“Prince, hang tight!” Krystal ordered. She activated her sonic bell, launching a sound wave straight at Aiden. Aiden tried to handle the power of the sound wave, but it was too much for him to take in.
“See! I got him!” Krystal exclaimed.
But then, Aiden’s eyes beamed and he suddenly transformed back into human form as the attack continued. “See! I’m so good that he’s already giving up!” Krystal exclaimed.
However, Krystal noticed the others were rather surprised. Aiden had just drawn out a wand, which he tapped to transform it into what appeared to be a sword.
“What the hell?!” Rey said, surprised.
“It can’t be. He’s also a ringmaster?” Sana asked.
“How can something like that even be possible?” Heer asked.
Aiden spun the sword, which created what appeared to be a mini tornado. The tornado consumed the sound waves like it was nothing and he plunged his sword to the ground, launching a powerful wind attack that hit both Krystal and Prince. Aiden transformed back into his beast form.
“What the hell was that?!” Krystal said.
“That guy…what is he?!” Rey asked. “How can he be a human-beast and a ringmaster at the same time?!”
So, this is what he’s been doing this whole time, Neil thought. All that training abroad…was for this. So, now he wants to prove what?! That he’s some special guy?! No. You’ve always acted like the big shot. Let me show you what I can do.
“Heer,” Neil called to Heer.
Heer turned to Neil, feeling concerned. “Yes, Neil?” Heer replied.
“I want you to transform now.”
“But Neil…do you even realize what we’re up against?”
“Just do what I tell you to do.”
“But Neil-“
“Fine! I’ll handle this face-to-face with him!”
Neil immediately drew out his wand, transforming it into his bow and arrow. “Just one hit is enough to take you out!” Neil exclaimed.
“Neil, wait!” Heer called out to Neil. But Neil didn’t listen. Instead, he fired an arrow from his bow directly at Aiden. Aiden dodged the arrow and then let out a gust of wind in the form of a howl, which hit Neil to the ground. Aiden leaped around behind Neil, transforming back into human form and holding the sword right near Neil’s face.
“It’s amazing, Neil,” Aiden said. “So many years I haven’t seen you…and yet you’re still the same whiny, arrogant little punk from our childhood.”
I got to help Neil! Heer thought. Heer transformed into her beast form and launched an ice energy beam from her mouth towards Aiden. Aiden pushed Neil back to the ground as he then transformed back into his beast form. But seeing the energy beam was close to hitting him, he transformed back into his human form as the energy beam hit him, enclosing him in an ice coffin.
“She got him!” Rey exclaimed.
“I don’t think he’s done yet,” Sana said.
Within the ice coffin, Aiden drew out his sword and hit it in the ice, shattering it to pieces. He transformed back into his beast form and tackled Heer to the ground. Heer pushed Aiden off and pounced at him forward, but Aiden tried with equal force to attack back. And it was when he hit Heer on her leg that she fell to the ground along with Neil, Krystal, and Prince, who were all down. Heer and Prince had both transformed back, unable to battle any further.
Rey and Sana looked at the four of them. Sana couldn’t believe her eyes. “He took them all out! And on top of that, he was able to move within that ice coffin,” Sana said. “This guy is unreal.”
“I really don’t know what we should do, Sana. This is getting out of hand. If we’re taken out, then its game over for all of us.”
“And I thought you were the one who was all excited to fight this guy!”
“I am. But he’s too powerful. We’ve never come across someone who’s a human-beast and a ringmaster at the same time. And he can transform back and forth so easily. So, now what?”
“We’re gonna have to play his game then.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Just follow my lead, all right?”
Rey looked at Sana, still unsure of what to do. Sana gave his hand to Rey.
“You have to trust me,” Sana told Rey. Rey looked at her hand, and then looked at Sana’s confident face. He smirked and nodded as he grabbed hold of her hand.
Rey transformed into his beast form, while Aiden prepared to take him on. “Rey, tackle him to the ground,” Sana ordered. Rey nodded and pounded Aiden directly, while Aiden tried to push against him. However, the two were evenly matched.
“Quick! Use a fireball attack on him!” Sana commanded. Rey released a fireball attack in the form of a roar, which hit Aiden in his face. Aiden fell back, trying to regain his posture. Aiden immediately transformed back into his human form and drew out his sword to attack Sana.
But Sana swiftly drew out her wand, tapping it to transform it into her trishula and held it against Aiden’s sword. Sana and Aiden were both pushing against each other with their weapons as much as possible. Aiden hit against Sana’s trishula, knocking it out of her hands. He took this moment to attack, but Rey pounced on him from behind, pinning him to the ground. Aiden transformed back into his beast form and hit Rey back.
Sana grabbed hold of her trishula again, spinning it around in the air. “Rey! Are you ready?!” Sana asked Rey. Rey nodded in response.
What are they planning to do? Aiden wondered.
“Let’s go!” Sana shouted as she continued to spin her trishula in the air until she finally plunged it into the ground. “Ring of Fire!”
Aiden’s eyes beamed as the power of Sana’s trishula sent forth a ring of flames that surrounded him in the fire. He appeared to be trapped as he looked around himself in panic. Rey leaped into the ring of fire, allowing the flames to enhance his power as he went on to attack Aiden.
But Aiden swiftly got out of his way and transformed back into human form and he drew out his sword and plunged it down to the ground, sending a gust of winds which consumed the flames, combining with them. He sent forth the attack at Sana, which hit her directly. Rey gasped, seeing Sana get hit.
Sana fell to the ground, dropping her trishula which had been worn out with the use of so much power. Aiden then walked towards Sana, still holding his sword in his hand. Once he got right in front of her, Rey appeared before Aiden, getting in front of Sana. He transformed back into his human form and said, “Back off.” Aiden looked at Rey, surprised.
“You’re not gonna hurt Sana while I’m still standing.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. We’re partners after all. If she goes down, I go down with her.”
There was a moment of silence as the others looked on while Rey looked at Aiden sternly, still holding onto Sana. “Well then…looks like I’ll have to do this for both of you,” Aiden said. Rey and Sana stood by, unaware of what was going to happen. Aiden looked at the two and finally said, “You pass.”
And all the worrying turned into confusion for Rey. “Wait, what?! Pass what?!” Rey asked.
“Simple,” Aiden replied. “This detention was Headmaster Devil’s way to test you all. And you two passed.”
“Um…maybe I wasn’t clear before,” Rey said. “What?!”
“What test is he blabbering about?!” Krystal asked.
“I too am confused,” Heer said.
“I’ll explain it to you all,” Aiden continued. “When Krystal, Neil, and Rey were all given detention, Prince, Heer, and Sana were given detention as well. Why? Because you all are partners. Whatever one individual gets, the partner receives the same.”
“Which is completely unfair by the way,” Prince said.
“Correct. It is unfair,” Aiden replied.
“Then why do it?” Sana asked.
“This is all Headmaster Devil’s idea. The relationship between a ringmaster and a human-beast has to be in balance,” Aiden started to explain. “And this punishment is a way of maintaining balance. There will be situations where you will face unfair circumstances. But that’s how things are. As partners, you have to face those situations with equal coordination and cooperation. A ringmaster and a human-beast have to be willing to go through everything together no matter what happens.”
“This is what this whole thing was about?!” Krystal asked.
“Yes. Take you for an example, Krystal,” Aiden said. “Rather than working along with Prince, you went ahead and attacked on your own to show off your own potential. And then Neil, you did not take the time to listen to Heer and went ahead with your own attacks for the sake of your own ego.”
“He acts like he knows everything,” Neil told Heer, rolling his eyes.
“However, Rey and Sana were a different case,” Aiden went on. “Their attacks were well coordinated, despite being imperfect. And once I came before an injured Sana, Rey was ready to take a hit as well. That is what the relationship between a ringmaster and a human-beast should be. The willingness to put yourself in your partner’s shoes and take whatever they get.”
“So, this whole detention session was just for that?!” Rey asked. “Then what was it with you putting us in those messed up classrooms?!”
“That was just Headmaster Devil’s way of messing with you all prior to the real deal…and for me to see how you all could manage,” Aiden answered.
Sana could see that for her, Rey, and the others, this was a lot to take in. “You mean to say I basically broke my heels for nothing?!” Krystal cried. “This is so not cool!”
“To hell with the drama,” Prince said.
“That is so messed up!” Rey exclaimed. “Neil, we’re never getting into detention again!”
***
The next day, at the academy, Rey and Sana were walking together in the hallway, making their way to their Power Coordination class. As the two walked, Rey turned to Sana and asked, “You sure you feel okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Our attack was more in balance than last time, so I didn’t use up too much energy.”
“That’s good. Man, I don’t want to see that Aiden guy again!”
“I just want to know…how is it possible that he is a ringmaster and a human-beast at the same time? Do you think Neil knows something about it?”
“Maybe he does. They are twin brothers after all. But Neil seemed just as surprised as we were.”
“We could still ask and see if he knows something. Or obviously Headmaster Devil might know some information as well.”
“No way am I asking the flirty headmaster!”
“Don’t act like you’ve never been a flirt before!”
“Hey! If that’s so, I wouldn’t care about that Aiden guy. He would’ve laid a hand on you if I didn’t come in at the right time.”
“Wait…why does that matter to you?”
There was an awkward moment of silence as Rey struggled to answer, realizing what he had said to Sana, while Sana looked on, confused. “It’s nothing!” Rey protested. “Forget it. Let’s just go to class.”
What a moron, Sana thought as she and Rey both went inside the classroom. They sat down in their row which was behind Krystal, Prince, Neil, and Heer.
“Where’s Professor Lawrence?” Sana asked the others.
“Apparently he’s not teaching our class anymore,” Prince replied.
“What?! The old man’s gone?!” Rey said, surprised.
“He retired all of a sudden. So, we have a new teacher coming in,” Heer said.
“I just wonder if he’s good looking or not!” Krystal exclaimed. “At least someone can keep my attention running in this class.”
“Whoever it is, I just hope it’s not someone like him,” Neil said.
“Agreed. That old man always picked on me,” Rey said.
“Please,” Sana retorted. “That was because half of the time you were playing with your phone in class!”
“Good morning, class,” a voice said. The voice was all too familiar to Sana. And from the looks on the others’ faces, they seemed to share her perspective. Sana turned around with the others and was shocked to see who had come. It was Aiden, who was all dressed up in a fancy white suit with a black tie and white dress shirt.
“You all know me as the school’s new mentor, Aiden Galloway,” Aiden told the class. “As of a today, I am your new professor. So you all can address me as Professor Galloway.”
“You can’t be serious?!” Krystal cried.
“This is a complete surprise,” Heer said.
“To hell with the drama,” Prince rolled his eyes.
“All of a sudden I want the old man back now!” Rey exclaimed.
“I’m gonna have to skip this class more often then,” Neil said, frustrated.
“Having him as a mentor is enough,” Sana said, rolling her eyes. “He’s the same age as us and yet he becomes a professor?! Things aren’t going to get any easier from this point on.”
Copyright © 2021 Meryl T
All rights reserved. All illustrations created by Meryl T.
The Ringmasters Society 