Wiggin Academy and the Forbidden Curse

Professor Wiggin was pacing in front of the east wing hallway, his eyes assessed the wing with suspicion but it seemed ordinary to Aiden and Penelope.

“Good afternoon, Professor,” said Mako.

The stoic teacher jolted. “Huh, oh yeah,” Professor Wiggin mumbled as he shrugged them off without much thought, but they weren’t so easy to push away.

Mako followed his eyes that were busy measuring the eerily familiar passageway, it had multiple large arched windows and an open gate that lead straight to the border, she recognized the slivers of light on the stone floor and the dead goblets lined up on the side- that held only burnt wood. Mako never came this way before, so how did she know about this hallway.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” Aiden asked bluntly.

“I saw this hall in my dream,” she admitted casually.

Professor Wiggin and the other two were gaping at her.

Aiden laced his arms together like Professor Wiggin. “You just keep getting weirder and weirder,” remarked Aiden.

“Thanks for the compliment,” said Mako sarcastically.

“You’re saying that you saw this in a dream,” Professor Wiggin stated. “When?”

“Just a couple of days ago,” she answered him. “Why?”

“What did you see?” Professor Wiggin asked hurriedly.

“Nothing just-” Mako drifted off her words when she recalled that particular dream. She remembered it almost clearly because it was the first time she dreamed of the school. “I was standing in this hall when someone ran past me towards the border.”

Professor Wiggin jaw tightened. “Did you see anything else?”

“Just a pair of loafers,” she added. “Is something wrong, Professor?”

He snapped out of his thoughts. “No,” he answered. “Just amazed that you get visions as well.”

“Visions,” the three kids repeated at the same time.

“Training will be after dusk,” he said. “Wait at the boulder and don’t be late.” Professor Wiggin marched off leaving the kids amazed by his words.

“Why are his training sessions always so late,” Aiden grumbled.

“Maybe he has important things to do,” said Penelope as they all climbed down to the second floor near the bell tower turret. “Let’s not forget he’s a Wiggin too.”

Make turned the corner wall. “What did he mean by visions?”

Aiden waved his hand. “I wouldn’t be surprised,” he said. “You are a black smoke user,” he said that like it was supposed to mean something to her predicament.

“I guess,” mumbled Mako.

They curved towards the staircase that lead to the grand hall, when a young man with a white lab coat was climbing up past them.

“Neo,” Mako greeted him first.

Neo’s blank eyes brightened. “Mako,” he greeted. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good,” she answered. Her eyes trailed towards a tray of flasks he carried so closely to his body, like it was the most precious thing to him.

“Is that blood?” asked Penelope.

“Er- yes,” he answered. “Every student gets blood work done so their training is more supervised, did you not know?”

They looked at each other blankly.

“No,” answered Mako.

“That’s a bit excessive,” observed Aiden. “This has never been done before.”

“It’s a new policy,” said Neo. “I’m just an intern remember. I don’t make the rules,” he walked past them. “Wait, that reminds me. Did you three give the test?”

“No,” they all answered him.

“I’m not doing it,” said Penelope. “I hate needles.”

“Come on,” said Neo. “It’s not that bad. And besides you don’t want Professor Gregor hunting you down for not following the rules, do you?”

They all imagined the vicious wolf professor before they reluctantly followed Neo to the infirmary. One by one, they all served their arms and Neo skillfully extracted blood from Aiden and Penelope; she ripped Aiden’s favourite shirt from holding onto it too tight.

“Alright, you’re done,” said Neo as he cleaned up Penelope and bandaged her arm.

Penelope jumped to her feet and wobbled a bit. “That wasn’t so bad,” she admitted smugly when they all remembered her shrieking cries.

“Are you kidding,” retorted Aiden as he displayed the hole in his shirt.

“Mako, you’re up,” said Neo.

“Hold on,” intervened Aiden. “I thought you already had Mako’s blood.”

Neo froze and his eyes blanked. “What are you talking about?”

“When she came in after getting attacked in the forest,” reminded Aiden.

“Did I give blood then too?” asked Mako.

“Two pines of it,” informed Aiden.

Neo let out a weary sigh, “Well, if you guys think I’m doing my job wrong then-”

“No,” protested Penelope. “That’s not what Aiden meant, right Aiden?”

Aiden, Penelope and Mako shared a look of suspicion or guilt, they did not know.

“Yes,” agreed Aiden. “Sorry, I was just asking.”

Mako sat in front of Neo and gave the same amount of blood that was required from every student.

Mako, Aiden and Penelope patiently waited on top of the boulder again. They sat and watched as the sun’s last ray of light outlined the rolling hill and courtyard in front of them.

Penelope yawned.

“I’m freezing,” groaned Aiden. “How long is he going to take this time?”

Mako yawned right after Penelope. “Professor Wiggin should be here soon,” she said because even she didn’t know about their teacher’s odd habit of showing up late.

Aiden suddenly positioned his hands in front of them, a small ball of fire flickered alive and gave them hope, but it quickly expunged and died. “That’s weird,” he said.

“Great, you can’t even make a little fire ball,” remarked Penelope as she shivered like a leaf even with a puffy jacket on, a matching hat and knitted gloves- that both Aiden and Mako were envious of.

Aiden scoffed and tried again. This time he succeeded. A red ball burst with a pop startling them. “My alchemy has never done that before,” he sufficed with arrogance.

“Stop gloating,” remarked Penelope as she stepped closer to the small bundle of warmth. “It’s just a ball of fire, nothing to it.”

Aiden pulled his fire away from her. “Then don’t use it,” he said. “And besides you’re the one that looks like she’s about to climb the Himalayas.”

Mako chuckled and snuffled.

Penelope reached for the fire again. “What the hell is a Himalayas?” She asked.

“It’s a mountain range,” a voice startled them. It was none other than Professor Wiggin’s.

“What took you so long?” asked Mako.

Professor Wiggin approached with a frown. “I got lost,” he didn’t even try to lie to them. “Come on, I’m going to show you something special today.”

Mako forgot all about the cold and ran alongside her teacher.

They went to their usual spot in the dark eerie forest alone, but none of them were scared since Professor Wiggin was with them.

“What I’m about to teach you was only mastered by three people,” said Professor Wiggin. “The sage warrior Parshuram taught it to me and another student.”

“I’ve never heard of this Sage before,” said Aiden.

“Not many have,” said Professor Wiggin, and he ended it there, like it was forbidden to speak more of this ancient Sage. Professor Wiggin took a couple steps back and so did the kids, they didn’t know what he was about to do, but they knew it was going to be big.

Mako observed carefully as Professor Wiggin took deep breaths, and suddenly, her body shook; and it wasn’t because of the cold. The stormy energy that emerged from the night air coursed through her veins and her power roared alive. She didn’t understand what was happening, but she knew it was because of Professor Wiggin. The trick he was about to show used a great amount of alchemy chakra, and she was feeling every bit of it.

Professor Wiggin held his hand out in front of him and a dark black cyclone festered, it grew in size, and then, Professor Wiggin gripped it tight and yanked it apart, the cyclone transformed into a lightning bolt. Mako watched in awe, the black smoke had a form unlike anything she had seen before. Although the bolt was black, it had tiny sparks of violet lightning that glistened brighter than diamonds.

Without any warning or heads up, Professor Wiggin speared the bolt straight across the yard and cut through a mighty tree- that stood sturdy on its roots.

“Wow,” laughed Aiden

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” exclaimed Penelope. “What was that?”

“It’s the ancient weapon, Vajra,” said Professor Wiggin.

“I didn’t know Black Smoke alchemists could summon lightening,” astonished Mako.

“We can’t,” said Professor Wiggin. “But our chakra level is so heightened and precise that the electrical energy of your chakra takes a physical form of lightning.”

Mako jumped to her feet. “Let’s do this.” She replayed the demonstration Professor Wiggin preformed earlier in her head. And then tried it herself. Mako squared her feet to stay firm and locked to the durable ground, she positioned her hand in front of her and summoned a flare of black smoke, which didn’t seem right. Mako utilized her other hand and tried to knead the flare to form a ball, the flare danced for a bit.

“Stop,” said Professor Wiggin abruptly.

Mako dropped her hands and the flare died.

Professor Wiggin examined her for a moment. “What happened to the chakra point in your arm?”

Mako eyes went straight down to the bandaged arm. “Oh, this-”

“Did you get hurt?” He asked.

“No,” answered Mako. “Neo said that every student is giving blood samples for training.”

Professor Wiggin’s brow’s furrowed. “Neo, that nurse intern?”

“Yes,” answered Aiden. “He said it was a new policy and all the kids that train with Professor Gregor were required to do it.”

“You kids don’t train with Professor Gregor, you train with me,” said Professor Wiggin. “You don’t listen to anyone’s rules except mine. Is that clear.”

“Yes, Professor,” the kids answered together.

Professor Wiggin grabbed Mako’s arm and pulled the bandage off, he ran his thumb over the small puncture wound, he applied a pinch of pressure and then removed his thumb.

“It’s gone,” said Mako.

“Keep training,” he instructed. “You two-” he pointed at Aiden and Penelope- “come here.” Professor Wiggin healed them too.

Mako had no clue what the time was, only that her feet were numb and her hands had stopped listening to her command. She dropped on the cold ground and stared up into the endless night sky.

“I can’t do it,” declared Mako.

“Of course, you can’t,” shouted Professor Wiggin from across the yard. “Only one person got it in one shot.”

“Was it you?” asked Penelope.

“No,” mumbled Professor Wiggin. “It took me a couple of days, only because I didn’t feel like working too hard.”

“Right,” mocked Aiden.

“Can’t you give me some pointers?” asked Mako.

“I can…” said the Professor.

Mako waited. “Well!”

“Oh,” he stood up. “The Vajra isn’t about brute strength, in fact, it’s the exact opposite.”

“What does that mean?” asked Mako.

“You need to learn to guide your chakra, Mako,” said Professor Wiggin. “Don’t control it or fight it.”

Mako rolled back on the ground because his advice didn’t help her at all, she didn’t understand what he meant. Mako didn’t know even know how to control her chakra much less guide it.

“Did anyone here that?” Penelope suddenly shouted a question.

They all grew quiet and waited for something to happen but nothing did.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mako.

“I swear I heard something walk by,” said Penelope.

Professor Wiggin stiffened, the others didn’t notice, but Mako did. “Stay here,” he commanded, but they didn’t listen.

Although Mako could barely walk, she managed to teeter alongside Professor Wiggin. She would have thought that the noise Penelope heard was some wild animal, but from the looks of it, Professor Wiggin was suspiciously grim.

“He seems worried,” observed Penelope.

“Why wouldn’t he be,” said Aiden. “The border was broken into a couple of weeks ago remember. All the teachers are on high alert.”

Mako followed Professor Wiggin and noticed how easily his massive form was hidden beneath the shadows of the night, not even an owl would be able to spot him.

They approached the outer ring of the border, but they all knew they couldn’t pass it without the headmaster’s permission.

“What the hell is that smell?” asked Aiden as he blocked his nose.

“Blood,” said Professor Wiggin. “And it’s fresh.”

“Is there a dead animal somewhere?” asked Penelope with a paled expression.

Professor Wiggin scowled. “Let’s head back.”

Mako turned to follow them, when she spotted a quick gold glint flash across the empty space between two trees.