Trials And Error 2/2

A blue and pink butterfly flaps over the grass next to the track's concert. The 2 walk through the crowd, and meet up with their friends, standing on track with the other students who arrived.

Zeke: Hey, slowpokes!

Saiko: Kai, Ano. I'm glad you 2 are fine after yesterday.

Ano: Thanks, Saiko.

Kai: You guys ready for the exam?

Zeke: Of course! I spent all week practicing moving around while in my Sync form, like how we practiced in gym before.

Saiko: We were lucky to have found open time slots to train at the gym in the first place.

Kai: Hey, that's what Mr. Thomson said, too.

Saiko: Oh… I sound like a parent, now?

Felt: Hey, Gira. Don't sweat the exam, alright.

Gira: S-sure, thanks.

Hera: Jeez, can this wait get any longer!?

Felt: Hey, To be fair, you should be used to the heat, with your Fire Power and everything.

Hera: Yeah, yeah. Just don't get freaked when I use that power to scorch the competition!

Felt: Don't-

Hera: Yeah, Felt. Got it, not literally

Zeke walks over to the 3, for some conversation.

Hera: Hey, shocker! You wanna bet on who finishes this thing first?

Zeke: No, it wouldn't be interesting. It's gonna be me!

Hera: Pfft, we'll just have to see! … Oi, Kai! Saiko! Ano! Good luck out there!

The 3 share grateful smiles as Zeke walks back over, waving her the same luck.

The crowd of friends and classmates continue to talk, but a student calls out to a certain someone.

Student #1: Hey, what's that freak doing here?

Suddenly, the crowd goes silent, and the attention squares on the unfortunate one with no Power.

Student #2: Oh, yeah. That weirdo.

Student #3: How'd he even get a Sync? I bet he stole it.

Student #4: It's so creepy being in the same District with that guy…

Ano, Saiko & Zeke's concerned faces fail to phase Kai's reluctance to let them say anything back. But just before Ano decides to shout something…

Lucas: I don't know… I think he's got potential!

The crowd of students turn to see District Leader Lucas, waving at them as he walks towards the edge of the group of kids.

Kai: District Leader Lucas!

Lucas: It's a pleasure to see you again, Kai. Same to you too, Kai's friends.

Lucas' cheerful greetings ends as he dawn's a more serious look, and turns his eyes to look at the general crowd.

Lucas: People who deplore those different from them have no place In a occupation dedicated to protecting others. Make sure you remember that before you start this exam, kids.

All the students shout "Yes, Sir!", In response.

Lucas: Great, now-

Ruby: Hold it, mister!

Lucas is interrupted by his right-hand man, Ruby. Who's walking towards him with a stern face that startles him.

Lucas: O-Oh, Ruby! I-

Ruby interrupts him yet again, holding the collar of his robe with both her hands.

Ruby: I agreed you could greet the kids, and give em a pep talk. But don't forget, I'M the one who explains the exam! Besides, look at your hair! Did you even comb it before you left the office?

Lucas: Uh…

Ruby: Thought so! Now, step back, and let me handle this!

Lucas follows her instructions.

Ruby: Great, now… As you've been told, before. This exam has 2 parts to showcase your skills for enrollment. The first part will be to test your mobility. It'll be important to be able to maneuver around long and short spaces, as well as demonstrate your quick thinking and reaction time! Our trusted Guardian facility members have constructed a course for this with their Earth Power, which you'll all get to see soon enough! The second part is at the end of the course. Where a giant, spherical boulder will be ready to be destroyed inside a small rock-made coliseum. This part will demonstrate your strength, and tactical ability to handle combat, pure and simple.

Some students whisper how glad they are to have trained for this, one of them wishes they paid more attention in preparation classes.

Ruby: During all of this…

Ruby summons a small portal with her hand.

Ruby: I'll be monitoring the whole thing with a see through portal! It'll follow you throughout the whole course. And the other end of this bad boy will be in a little place, showing your amazing skills to a room filled with the Guardians who agreed to be Captains this year!

The crowd erupts in applause, having been energized after hearing this.

Ruby: Any questions? … Alright then! I think we're ready here!

She summons a small portal in each of her hands, she raises her left first.

Ruby: Ruby to staff; …do it!

The field and track, and even beyond that, morph greatly. in front of the students eyes, now lies an entire course made entirely out of rock.

Ruby tossed the right portal in the air.

Ruby: Alright guys, Turn your Syncs on!

Everyone does just that.

Ruby: On your mark…

The crowd faces the course ahead.

Ruby: Get set…

Various students get ready to dash. Saiko readies her thread, Ano lays a knee and hand on the ground, small sparks of electricity start popping up at the heel of Zeke's boots.

Ruby: …GO!

The crowd immediately launches into the course's field, and starts making their way to the facility's intricate design.

Ano breezes through the course by flying through the obstacles, constantly creating a flow of ice that keeps him in the air. And quickly dodges any projectiles that come his way.

Felt easily makes pace, dashing over gaps and slashing through the surprise walls that pop up from the ground.

Zeke simply parkours over the course, jumping from wall to wall and passing several students. Hera rockets herself from the ground and lands on a pillar, and rockets herself off with another explosive shot from her fist being thrown behind her, amplified with one of the legs from her Sync.

Saiko skillfully uses her Thread Power to wire and swing across every thin pillar and rock sticking out of the elevated ground she can. She lands a 360 degree flip on a flat surface, and reminds herself of a conversation she had yesterday…

—-------------------------------------—----------------------

Saiko: You, what?

Sarah: I've arranged with District Leader Lucas to suspend you from having to complete the second part of the Guardian Enrollment Exam.

Saiko: But… why would you-

Sarah: We're both aware you have no chance in doing something that requires that much destructive force. I trained you, myself. And that's the only thing you'll need. I've made it so you only have to worry about showing your mobility, which I've already made sure you had plenty of…

Sarah starts to walk and passes by Saiko.

Sarah: If you can't do this on your own, then it'd be better to give up becoming a Guardian…

—-------------------------------------—----------------------

Saiko opens her eyes back, and immediately gets back to the exam.

A majority of the students seem to be doing just fine. But one of them is all the way in the back, running as fast as they can to keep up.

Kai: Damn it! *Huff* I didn't get to practice using this ability! Cause you were sleeping!!

Talin: I didn't know you would be running a marathon! You've physically built your body, right? Tie that into your ability!

Kai: What? *Huff* How!? …Wait! Yesterday, I felt a surge of something while I was fighting that weirdo… like adrenaline! And lunged like a rocket!

Kai looks at his hand while running, feeling a sense of finality growing in his next judgement of how to proceed in the exam.

Kai: I'll just have to do that again!

He looks straight ahead at the upcoming gap between rock surfaces he's running on.

Kai: I… Can jump this!

The cocky one with Wind Power, Vanessa, feels a sense to look behind her, and notices Kai from a far distance. She decides to slow down her own progress, sure of her own skill, and watches what Kai does out of curiosity.

Kai increases his speed, tightly focusing on jumping the gap. He squats down right at the edge and leaps into the air. And almost Immediately slams into the wall, just barely grabbing onto the ledge.

Kai: I-it didn't work? How?

Kai pulls himself up, and slams the ground with a fist. After a second, he looks back up ahead and starts to run again.

Vanessa: How'd that dumb-*** even get a Sync?...

She turns back around, with that question lingering in her mind, and continues pushing herself through the air riding her Wind current

Meanwhile, in a dark room illuminated by the light from the portal. Several Guardians watch closely on several students, flipping through their identification book to see who's names they're interested in.

Rose: That Fire Power girl with the scorpion Sync is rather skilled! So is that Bear Boy… who are you interested in, John?

John stays silent, watching the exam, with an already made up mind.

The students finally make it to the end of part 1, and are met with just what they were told. A giant spherical boulder, waiting to be destroyed.

Ruby: Good job, everybody! Now, all students will have a chance to attempt at breaking this little puppy! The boulder will reform itself after someone's turn, don't worry! Now, how we're gonna do this-

Zeke and Hera launch into the air, dashing over the crowd and destroying the boulder almost in its entirety with a bolt and fire shot.

Ruby: Uh… We're going by the class's attendance sheet.

Several classmates do their best against the boulder, some destroy a decent bit of it, some fail to. Ano's ice wave skewers the boulder with ease. Felt slashes it. Vanessa shoots a piercing turret of wind. Gira rips a large square piece of rock out of the ground and slams it into the boulder at high speeds.

Soon enough, it's Kai's turn. To much of his horror.

Talin: Kai, your heartbeat is becoming dangerously fast, are you tired? Is it anxiety?

Kai: I- I can't, I can't do this! I'll fail, I'm gonna fail!

Talin: Calm down, just think straight-

Kai: I can't! I can't-can't do this, I don't know if I can even punch that!

Talin:... You know what to do though, don't you? I'll provide the necessary strength.

Kai: What?

Talin: I'll send energy throughout this body in a single pump, once more. This is important to you, isn't it?

He slightly calms down and feels a hand on his shoulder, and sees Ano smiling at him.

After catching his breath. He stares at the boulder, and closes his eyes. He feels a surge of energy throughout his body. Opening his eyes immediately as it feels like he's ready.

He stomps his foot into the ground, and jumps right to the ball at a brisk pace. Breaking it apart with a mighty, glowing fist, getting shocked reactions from the others.

Kai: I… did it?

Talin: See what happens when you clear your mind?

Kai stops looking at his hands, baffled by his actions, to turn around. Seeing his friends congratulating him with smiles. With Kai returning the smile in celebration.

Sunset. The students wait on chairs placed on the school campus. On a portable stage placed in front of the school gates. Rose calls out the 4 rookie Guardians she'll be leading.

Rose: Hera Fotia, Felt Collis, Vanessa Anemos and Gira Braun. You'll be under my watch as Team Beast, understand?

Hera immediately hugs Felt, happy they all made it.

Rose hands them their Emblems, a physical representation of what Team they belong to do/Guardian they are. A net-like sleeve of vines leading up to the hand where a rose is.

Rose walks off the stage, leading her new team to the office. John takes the stage, carrying the 4 emblems, blue small robes with an "A" written on the chest, for the 4 members he's chosen.

John: Blue top, freezer, thread master and bolt boy.

Kai, Ano, Saiko and Zeke walk up to the stage.

John: You guys seem interesting, enough. You're on Team Aura, starting today!

Their eyes widen, and they look at each other in amazement. John hands them their Emblems.

They toss them over their shoulders, and button them. The first sign of progress to becoming fully fledged Guardians.

They stand outside of the gate, looking at the sunset, excited for the next day.

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