(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 44

Wednesday seemed to zip by as the group was getting mentally prepared to go back into the machine the next day. Midway through Thursday, Ichi's snide voice called over the intercom. "Attention students; will Ke'Undre Wolf, Keiko Tsusaki, Michael Eagle, Kim Stewart, and Megumi Gladestone please come to the front office? Thank you."

Dre stood, ignoring the "oohs" from his peers as he gathered his supplies and filed out to the hallway. Outside of the classroom was eerily quiet until Michael and Keiko both stood at the end of the hallway; he noticed how annoyed Keiko looked the closer they came. "Mr. Itchy-nose ruined my coloring," Keiko pouted.

"They let you color in your class? What are you taking?" Dre asked as he followed beside her and Michael.

"Advanced algebra," she huffed.

Dre raised an eyebrow. "Advanced? I thought that you'd be in, like, basic math or something."

"And what's wrong with that?" Michael asked, defensive.

"Nothing, nothing," Dre said quickly, his hands up in defense. "Unless... You're in basic math?" He laughed at Michael's scowl, surely getting the attention of the classes down the hallway. "You're in basic math," he repeated through his laugh.

Growling in his throat, Michael said, "So what if math isn't my strong suit. I'm still a better Apprentice than you."

"You guys mind being a bit louder? I'm sure that there were still some people outside that couldn't hear you," they heard Megumi say from the foyer. Both she and Kim stood at the edge of the hallway; Kim grinned and blushed as she locked eyes with Dre.

"Tell that to lower brain-cell over here," Michael said, making Dre taking his attention off of Kim.

"Oh, I do sincerely apologize, Master Michael. I'm just trying to lighten up the mood since we have a date with a machine!"

The five walked together to the front office door, where McManus sat lounging in his office seat; his feet were rested on the desk and he had a magazine covering his face. They weren't surprised. Dre slapped his hand on the top of the counter, making McManus jerk up into a seating position. His fingers intertwined with each other before he rested them on the counter. In an instant, he looked as if he hadn't been woken from a nap. "Wow. That's impressive," Michael said.

"Oh, it's just you guys." McManus said as he placed his feet back on the top of the counter. Placing the magazine back over his face, he said, "Ichi already went to Amity to prepare you all for the machine. The location is Reiax Arena." He gave a yawn as he replaced his hands behind his head.

"So I guess that you're not going then?" Megumi asked. She gave a dry stare at McManus's snoring.

At once, the five pulled a piece of the honey drop; each said "Reiax Arena," before swallowing the candy and were lurched to Amity.

Soon after their departure, they landed in front of the large, dome-shaped practice arena. Ichi stood waiting in front of the door. With a snide grin, he said, "You all look like you're ready for another day full of fun and excitement." The team glared at him, but he just simply chuckled as he continued. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you fight against unwinnable odds this time. In fact, I have a surprise for you all. You aren't going in alone."

"You mean we're going in with Hwan-Jin's group," Megumi stated.

For a moment, Ichi looked dumbfounded. Then, his familiar smile appeared on his face. "They're all waiting for us. Since I'm representing you, I'm expecting you all to give it all you got."

Michael growled in his throat. "So, what about Ian and Rose?" he asked with a bit more malice than usual.

As he pushed open the glass door, he gave a smile over his shoulder. "Who'd you think I meant, the other team?"