Wiggin Academy and the Forbidden Curse

The weather made it clear that winter was near. Mako and her entire class stood outside to meet Professor Gregor for another training session. The whole class was anxious and they didn’t know what was going to happen. Plus being near the forbidden forest once again made them shiver in fear. Last time they had entered such a place, they all had miserably failed- except for some groups who miraculously got lucky they had found their orbs.

“Good, you’re all here,” Professor Gregor appeared and stepped on top of the boulder he favoured.

Mako assessed the forest as everyone paid attention to their Professor. The eerie breeze swayed through the thick trees and the thin layer of clouds blocked any sunlight from coming through.

“You’re all probably wondering what we’re doing back here,” said Professor Gregor. “Well, today, we will be doing another mission in the forest.”

Some kids groaned and others gaped at the teacher like he had two head.

“We can’t go back in there!” shouted Finley nervously.

“I agree,” added Thorne. “We all failed last time and some of us almost got killed.”

Professor Gregor sighed. “All the more reason to get back in there.” Their teacher grumbled something under his breath and took a seat on the boulder. “You kids don’t understand that these missions I give you need to be handled with grit and fire,” he said. “The only way out of these of missions is going into them full force.”

“But what if we lose?” asked Penelope.

“You try again,” he said simply. “You keep trying, no matter how many times you fail. That’s the only way you’ll master your alchemy.”

“But we’re just kids,” said Belladonna.

Professor Gregor laughed. “Never underestimate yourself just because you’re still kids,” he said. “I know all of you can be great. Now, it’s just time for you to believe that.”

“What’s the mission, Professor?” asked Mako.

“I will send all of you into the forest again,” revealed Professor Gregor. “And the objective is that all of you need to get out with your squads from the last mission in sixty minutes.”

The class looked at each other and immediately they paired up with their partners.

“And if we get attacked?” asked Damion.

Professor Gregor looked at the boy. “You fight-” the class silenced- “Fight with everything you got. And show me what I already know about how strong all of you are.” Professor Gregor got off the boulder and opened the lock of the forest gate. “I will let all of you inside one group at a time.”

Mako, Penelope and Aiden stood outside in line as Professor Gregor let each group inside the forest.

“Time for the last squad,” announced Professor Gregor.

Mako wasn’t nervous as she was before. She was ready to face whatever would come her way after Professor Gregor told them to believe in themselves. “The only way out is in,” she repeated before she followed her partners into the forest. The gates locked behind them and there they all stood in the forest again, to face the creatures of doom, and no one to save them but themselves and their own strength.

“We cannot take our time with this mission,” advised Aiden. “We’ll need to run if we want to cross the distance in sixty minutes.”

“That’s going to be really hard,” groaned Penelope. “What if we catch the attention of all the creepy creatures hidden here.”

“We can do it,” Mako smiled.

Mako and Aiden nudged Penelope to lighten up. They didn’t know how far the other squads had gotten, but they needed to be faster than everyone. Mako zipped her sweater and started to run through the forest. Speeding ahead and not worrying over what’s behind her.

“We need to slow down,” shouted Penelope as she dropped to the floor. “I can’t breathe guys. Leave me to die by myself.”

Aiden wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead. “She’s so dramatic,” he said. “Calm down Penelope. We can take a few minutes to catch our breath.”

Mako was so focused on what’s ahead, she finally realized that they were standing on a dirt path with hedges and thick trees around them. She shivered when a cold gust of breeze cooled the sheen of sweat on her body. “We need to move,” she warned but it was too late.

“Why?” complained Penelope.

“Something’s coming!” Mako stood in front of her friends to stand guard when a horrid creature appeared from behind the trees.

“It’s a Cursed Phantom,” said Aiden. His eyes filled with fear.

Mako stared into the Phantom’s black, inky eyes that were ready to hunt. She noticed his massive claws and lanky body built with thin muscles. It was a predator that many avoided for good reasons.

Aiden and Penelope got to their feet and came beside Mako. “What should we do?” asked Mako.

“We won’t be able to outrun him,” said Aiden.

“And he looks ready for a fight,” remarked Penelope.

Mako lifted her chin. “Then we give him a fight.” Black smoke festered in front of Mako’s hands.

They weren’t like before. Mako was ready and so was her squad. But they overestimated their strength, because as strong as they were individually, as a team they got in each other’s way and the Phantom shredded between them. They barely dodged the Phantom’s claws and fangs. Mako, Penelope and Aiden were backed into the corner.

However, they weren’t the only ones watching themselves struggle through this creature. A squad was hiding behind the thick bushes.

“They don’t look so good,” said Finley as he looked to the appointed squad leader, Thorne. “Should we help them?”

“Are you crazy,” hissed Ava. “That thing will kill us.”

“But, Mako and them are getting beat up,” said Finley. “Thorne?”

Thorne sighed. He remembered Professor Gregor’s words before they entered the forest. He wondered silently the key they were missing to complete this stupid mission. As he assessed the squad fighting the Phantom, he judged their weak alchemy abilities and figured that was the reason they failed to defeat the Phantom. But then he wondered why their teacher would let all the squads in at once, and it clicked to Thorne. Professor Gregor wanted them to come together and work as an entire class. Thorne guessed that if the entire class gathered, they would actually have a chance to survive the mission.

“Thorne, what do we do?” Finley asked again.

“Let’s go help our friends,” said Thorne firmly. Thorne got up from the hedges and gave their position away. The Phantom’s dead eyes found them like a predator does prey. Thorne slammed the heel of his foot onto the rocky path and the earth spilt in half. The Phantom toppled over and dropped Mako out of his meaty grasp.

Finley and Ava ran to the other squad to help them. Thorne went up to Mako and saw her clothes were covered in blood and claw marks.

“Can you get up?” Thorne asked Mako.

“Yeah,” said Mako as she coughed. “Thanks Thorne.” Mako got to her feet and faced the Phantom again but this time with reinforcement.

“Listen up everyone,” whispered Thorne. “We need to restrain the ghoul. You four are going to distract him with all the fire power you got. You need to get him to come closer to me, and when he does, I will deliver the death-lock I’ve been practicing.”

“What do I do?” asked Mako.

Thorne looked into her determined glare. “I need you to hit him with the final blow. Can you do that?”

Mako nodded. “You want me to kill him?”

“That would be preferable, yes,” answered Thorne.

Finley paled. “I don’t think I can do this, Thorne.”

“Yes, you can,” reassured Thorne with calmness none of them are used to. “You’re a smart kid, Finley. You can do it.”

“And you have us,” said Aiden as he patted Finley’s back.

“Should we show this Phantom what we’re made of?” asked Ava.

Penelope chuckled. “I think we should!”

Penelope, Ava, Aiden and Finley charged towards the Phantom. In seconds, they surrounded the predator and exactly where Thorne needed him to be the kids brought him. Thorne bended the earth to cage the Phantom’s long legs.

“Mako, now!” shouted Thorne.

Mako summoned black smoke like Professor John taught her. The cyclone grew in her hand and she envisioned the lightning bolt in her head. Once she got the shape, she pulled the cyclone but remembered to keep the middle strong. The Vajra was in her deadly grip. Mako jumped to her feet and ran full force towards the Phantom. She lifted her lightning bolt with both hands and stabbed the Phantom’s heart. She didn’t remove her hands until the Phantom shrieked himself to death. The lightning bolt in her hand vanished and her hands were burnt to a crisp.

Thorne laid his hand on her shoulder. “That was awesome,” he said. “Seems like my squad wasn’t the only one training.”

They all gathered in a circle and couldn’t believe how this mission had turned out.

“I can’t believe we just killed a Phantom,” said Ava proudly.

Finley smiled too even though it sank into him what he had just done. “We did, didn’t we.” Thorne laid a supportive hand on Finley’s shoulder.

“We should get through this forest together,” advised Aiden calmly even though he was all battered and bruised.

“I was thinking the same,” said Mako as she wiped her bloody brow.

Thorne sighed tiredly. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

“We should probably run if we want to make it before the hour,” said Penelope with her twisted ankle that was turning terrible blue and purple.

Professor Gregor looked at his pocket watch and there were only three minutes left on the clock. But two squads were still missing. Suddenly, the chatter of loud kids echoed through the forest.

“We made it!” shouted a pale short boy called Finley.

The earth alchemist, Thorne was helping Mako who had blood trickling down her head and lip. “Hang in there,” he said to Mako.

Aiden and Penelope held each other, which was an odd sight because Gregor knew that those two didn’t get along much. And the young girl Ava held their jackets and bags for them. They were all battered and bruised, but the smiles on their faces proved they worked as a team and got through something quite monumental. Gregor crossed his arms and grinned because he realized that they worked together like he hoped they would.

“You made it,” he announced.

“Please tell us we passed,” groaned Aiden.

“Made it just on time,” Gregor gladly revealed. “Good job, kids.”

The two squads slumped onto the floor in relief.

“You’re a funny kid, Mako,” sighed Thorne.

Mako laughed even though her bloody lip stung terribly. “Thanks for helping us,” she said.

His green eyes were vibrant. “The mission was all about teamwork,” he said. “And the only way I could see us all making it out was by working together.”

“You’re right,” said Professor Gregor. “If all of you had joined forces. Nothing in that forest could have hurt you.”

Even though blood was getting in Mako’s eyes and mouth, she couldn’t feel happier for herself and her team. “What’s our next mission, Professor?” she asked on behalf of her class.

Professor Gregor grinned with all his fangs. “Getting all of you to the hospital wing for starters,” he remarked with a hearty laugh. The kids all joined him and they carried each other to the hospital wing.

“What happened?” John asked Gregor when he saw all the kids getting bandaged and filling up the hospital beds.

“They learned teamwork today,” Gregor said with a smile. “These kids have spirit. I like that in them, especially your student.”

John smirked when his eyes landed on the kids laughing at each other because they looked like mummies. And then, his gaze spotted his student helping the nurse with her own bandages. “We can never teach kids to have spirit, Gregor,” John said. “But they all inhibit courageous hearts that are loyal and true. It’s been a long time since I saw that in so many kids.” John left the infirmary with a smile on his face.