Mx2 : A story set in the world of Mx0 [PG16 probably.] [2 chapters]

[encapturer]

Welcome to Mx2. Just to get this out of the way, this is not a normal Mx0 fanfic. As much as I would like for that manga to continue, the story I want to tell would be awkward if I used canon characters. Instead, I'll use original characters in another magic school. If you're not familiar with Mx0, that's fine. I've tried to explain the mechanics of how things work, but if you have any questions about that, I'll try to work in descriptions.

 

This is a few months old; I got busy with other things when originally writing this. After rereading it I want to continue it, but I don't have a set schedule or anything. In any case, enjoy.

 

[spoiler=Chapter 1]“Alright, so I activate Treasure Hunt to draw two cards...”

 

Jason Anton was preparing to end a game of his favorite pastime, 'Journeys', a collectible card game he has played since it was first released three years ago. Now he enjoys some popularity among those playing the game in the area, consistently placing in the top four in tournaments he enters. His current opponent and sister, Carol, was a good player herself. Her goal of surpassing her brother will not be met today, however, since Jason has his trump card ready.

 

“...And now that I have enough cards, I discard them all to bring Arcane Prodigy into the battle!” Jason yelled, slamming the card onto the table. “He's going to attack Shea, you know.”

 

Carol winces. “I have no choice but to block with Arc...”

 

“You customized your Shieldbearer well” Jason praised his sister. He was really proud of her, since she was one of the few who could deal with his overpowered Arcane Prodigy without overspecializing the deck. It was his sister's turn now, and her customized Valkyrie, Shea, was up.

 

She drew the two cards her Valkyrie allotted, then smiled, as she thew her hand face up onto the table they were playing on. “I lost. I just can't get the cards needed to beat your Prodigy once it hits the board...”

 

“Jason!” The siblings' mother called from the living room. “You better hurry to school! You can't be late on your first day!”

 

“Alright!” Jason yelled, collecting his deck and putting it back into it's case. He was already ready for school, and was just passing time playing. With the deck now in his backpack with his books, he runs down the stairs and out the door.

 

Jason slows down to a walk as he approaches school grounds. That school is Crest Point High, a new school built a few blocks from his home that has already been taking students for four years now. It is almost like a campus, with dormitories for the students to live in. All but the freshmen, who still have to travel to and from school. At the gates, he takes out his pass mailed to him from the school and gets ready to show it to the man apparently standing guard.

 

“Go ahead and enter. Follow the signs to the auditorium,” the guard says while motioning toward one of the buildings. Jason was a little confused at why the guard did not need to see the passes, but his mind quickly focused on the scenery. Before he even noticed, the area changed into something... different. He couldn't quite put his hand on it, but it was the little things; a few trees here and there, the cars driving by on the road outside. Something just felt off.

 

Once in the auditorium, Jason thought about the scenery for a bit, until he was interrupted by a freshman sitting next to him nudging him. “What is it?” he whispered.

 

“Did you check out your pass since you got into the auditorium?” he asks, while showing Jason a strange card. It was a reddish card, with the letters 'RI' on it. Jason takes out his own pass, and sees that his is the same. It was the same size as the pass, sure, but besides that it seems to have completely changed.

 

A middle-aged man, now at the podium in front of the auditorium, began speaking. “Good morning, everyone! Welcome to Crest Point High!” The crowd fell silent as the man continues. “You have all qualified to further your education here, as well as to become a part of a whole new world. I am your principal, Lawrence Caulk, and I present a choice to all of you.” The principal takes out a card not unlike the one that Jason's school pass has become and places it into the podium. Well, Jason figures that's a little strange, but this whole school is messed up. “This is a secret academy, to learn magic, students.” Jason expected a little murmur from the audience, but there was silence. Jason attempts to whisper to the student next to him, only to find that no sound leaves his lips.

 

No sound whatsoever. Not even his own breath could be heard. Jason tried tapping his foot, but... he could not hear that either. Jason, and most of the other students, in fact, wondered if they had all went deaf. But that idea was proven false once they heard the principal speak once again. “I take it you can't hear each other? Or yourselves?” the man chuckled to himself. “This is just one of many spells you can learn here. Of course, once you start, it isn't easy getting out. If you want to transfer to another school, you can do so, and we will prepare the paperwork needed for that. We will also need to erase your memories of this, but do not worry. We have rules we must follow, too, so we can not do any more than that. If you want to transfer, just ask the guard at the gate at any time today. He will help you do so. Otherwise, look for a teacher with a green dot over their head, and await their instructions.”

 

The card reappeared from the podium, and suddenly the whole auditorium is filled with sounds again. Jason notices a few students quickly leaving the auditorium, presumably to get transferred. Jason, of course, would not be leaving; he can't believe he's getting this once in a lifetime chance. Real magic is not supposed to exist, and yet he has experienced something amazing. He stands up and sees a lady in front of the auditorium, and sees some students already walking towards her. He then notices a green light over her head that almost blinds him. Other students are going to other teachers; Jason assumes that this is another spell in play, since he does not see any green lights over the other teacher's heads. Satisfied with this, he heads over to his teacher and spends the rest of the day getting acquainted with the school.

 

There was so much going on, both mundane and magical. Jason met his teachers, disappointed that some of them will be teaching normal things like math. The teachers will be coming to the homeroom to lecture, instead of the students going from classroom to classroom. A bit different, but a change that he can get used to, especially since he met a girl who caught his fancy. A taller, blond girl with a sweet smile sitting a few seats in front of Jason, in fact. She is already somewhat popular... well, as popular as one can get on the first day of school, anyway. Jason figured that he would not have a chance with her, but that did not stop him daydreaming about her. Nothing much happened that day, he just tried to stay out the spotlight until the day was over.

 

Back at home, Jason headed straight to his room and closed the door. He took out what used to be his school pass and examined it. These cards, called plates, were the tools of the magician. Able to manipulate the physical world in wondrous ways... but only inside the school. It would be nice to be able to cast magic outside of the school, but this will suffice. After all, he couldn't really tell anybody, since secrecy was one of the rules of the school. Just thinking about magic led him to think about Journeys, which is pretty much the only thing he had any skill in. He was average in his studies in the past, and never did anything to stand out besides play the card game. Of course, Jason plans to change that in the upcoming years, but even now, he keeps coming back to the cards.

 

After spending the better part of the hour planning customizations, and designing a new deck, he noticed a card was missing from his primary deck. It was none other than Arcane Prodigy, the powerful customized card he won from a tournament a year ago. It was his signature card, and he could not bear to lose it. He checked his deck tin a second time, and noticed two things in it. The first was a folded scrap of paper, which Jason took out and read.

 

'Congratulations! You have the potential to become truly great. Your prize card is no more, but if you really want it back, we can give you another in exchange for your true prize. Your true prize? Just keep the plate given to you and all will be revealed...'

 

The rest of the paper goes on about how to trade in the plate for his Arcane Prodigy again, some restrictions about not being able to disclose any information about what just occurred, and how to get the guide on using the plate.

 

The fact that the paper kept saying 'plate' struck Jason as peculiar, of course, all was made clear once he picked up the second item, a face down card in a plastic protector. Flipping it over, it was exactly what Jason expected, given everything he learned today. It was a magic plate alright. Being the size of a playing card, it was smaller than his Red Iron plate he got for usage in school; with the RI on the plate standing for Red Iron. The new card was darker colored, with the letters Co on it, though Jason has no idea what that stands for. And in the end, he has to wait until an official tournament to come around in three months before he can get the usage instructions for the new plate, but isn't this what he is going to school for? Jason was more excited than he was when he actually won the Arcane Prodigy.

 

After playing a match with Carol with his new, Prodigy-less deck, Jason jumped into his bed. School will definitely be interesting, particularly because of the extra plate he has. It's like he can dual-wield magic wands! Of course, he couldn't tell anyone about it, since you are only supposed to have one plate in school, and he might have his second plate confiscated. And, if everything goes to plan, he can even learn how to use his second plate before the upcoming Journeys Tournament. He was sure to have an exciting school year.

 

 

[spoiler=Chapter 2]

“If I customize the shadow mage like this...”

 

Once again Jason is playing with his cards in the morning, this time reconstructing his main deck. While the loss of Arcane Prodigy was hard for his deck, he played without it before, and he'll continue to play without it. He told his sister he lost the card, who thought someone took it out of jealousy at Jason's school. She seemed a little happy, at least, since she has a better chance at beating him. As for the plate that the Arcane Prodigy has become, Jason decided that it was best to leave it in his room. He learned yesterday that each student has only one card; and he has no intention of breaking any rules so early in the school year.

 

****

 

Jason now understood what was bothering him the day he first came to school. There seemed to be a sort of barrier around the school; that warps and expands the space inside. Yesterday, he learned that there are magic zones, places where the supernatural occurrences happen more frequently. The abandoned schoolhouse that was here before Crest Point had all sorts of rumors going around about it, which actually turned out to be caused by a magic zone. With some work it was easily converted into the school here today.

 

In the classroom, Jason noticed a pair of students playing Journeys in the back of the class. He recognized one of them, a short, tanned boy named Craig. He played against Craig a few times in tournaments, and although he is not too bad, he tends to play using strange decks.

 

“Jason, what'cha think of this combo?” Craig said, waving over to Jason. Jason walked over the table, and instantly saw three different ways Craig could attack. Craig smiled. “Ya see it, right?” Jason nodded, even though he wasn't sure which way Craig would go.

 

“Alright, class, get into your seats so I can take roll.” The homeroom teacher. Mrs. Jones, appeared in the room at her desk suddenly. Everyone, shocked, turned to face her. She was rather tall and slim, with some wrinkles on her face, suggesting that she was somewhat old. Perhaps around 40 or 50, Jason figured. Today she wore the same white suit she wore two weeks ago during inauguration. “What's matter? I just used magic. And today, everyone here will be able to use magic too. So get this room back in order so I can take roll.”

 

According to Mrs. Jones, it seems that magic spells are actually stored in the plate, and they are cast using the plate in various ways. And today, the entire class will split off in groups of five and inscribe their first spells into their plates. With magic finally within his grasp, Jason couldn't help but be excited.

 

The unfortunate part is the fact that this is a group activity. Jason has never done well in groups, and was usually the last to be selected for any group activity. Perhaps that was why he was genuinely surprised to hear his name called out.

 

“Jason, Jason!” It was Craig again. “Why are you just sitting there? Want to work with us?”

 

Craig's group already had four people in it; a boy and two girls. He didn't recognize the other boy and one of the girls, but the other one was Shannon, the girl who caught his eye two days ago on the first day of classes. Jason felt his heart swell, so he quickly regained his composure.

 

“I'm coming.” Jason said, as he walked over to the others.

 

“And that makes five!” the second girl said, grinning. The glasses she wore seemed to almost fall off her face, requiring her to readjust them constantly.

 

“Well, you're Jason? I'm Mark.” He extended his hand to Jason, with an unchanging serious look on his face.

 

“I'm Anna!” The glasses girl did not even give time for Jason to shake Mark's hand. Jason didn't blame her, though. He was sure that everyone in class was excited to use magic for the first time.

 

“And I'm Shannon” she introduced herself with a smile. Jason was glad to get this chance to talk to her. “I wonder what kind of magic we will learn...”

 

“Everyone in a group? Good.” Mrs. Jones said loudly, as to be heard over the chatter in the classroom. “In each desk is a textbook with your name on it. It is yours, but you cannot take it from school, for obvious reasons. There are various spells in the first chapter you can inscribe into your plate. Pick one and inscribe it, and come show me when your group is done.” She walked over to the door. “I will be outside the front entrance of this building” she said as she left.

 

****

 

Everyone picked out a spell that they wanted to inscribe almost instantly. Craig picked out a spell that allows him to teleport to where his plate is if he touched it within the last five seconds. Mark began to inscribe a spell that lowered the weight of an object. They were both extremely focused, unlike Anna, who was still excited over this entire thing, digging through her desk excitedly. When asked about her spell, she said it was going to be a surprise.

 

“Did you pick out a spell yet?” Shannon asked, looking over Jason shoulder into my textbook.

 

“Yeah, I think I'm going with this one” he pointed at an invisibility spell.

 

“Clear Clean... That's a strange name” Shannon mused. Jason shrugged, since it was the effect that he was after. He never cared for the art or other fluff on Journeys cards, and he's applying the same principle here.

 

“Well,” Jason said. “Invisibility is a very powerful ability.”

 

“And what do you think you are going to do with that ability?” Shannon said, grinning. What did she mean by that? Jason only thought of using it when he didn't need to be seen, not thinking of what Shannon may have meant.

 

****

 

After forty minutes had passed, Jason's group were the only ones left in the room. Shannon and Jason were both re-inscribing their spells for the fifth time. Shannon was trying to make sure hers was perfectly inscribed. Jason, on the other hand, was trying to make a usable Clear Clean spell. He never seemed to be able to make himself invisible, making him doubt his ability to cast spells at all.

 

“It's almost time, you two” Anna said. “We need to get outside so we can get our grade.”

 

“Alright. I think this version of Telescopic Sight is the best, anyway.” Shannon put her plate in her pocket and picked up her book. “Are you ready, Jason?” she asked, turning to the troubled boy.

 

“...Yeah.” Jason sighed.

 

“I think this ought'a work for ya...” Craig added, trying to cheer him up.

 

“It's his fault for picking one of the more difficult spells.” Anna said, sighing.

 

“We should hurry...” Mark said, walking out the door, soon followed by everyone else.

 

Outside the classroom, Mark spotted a crowd of students down the hall. He turned away, not at all curious of what was going on. After all, it was free time for all the students who have successfully cast their first spell. Shannon, on the other hand, was interested, and wanted to test out her spell as well.

 

“Telescopic Sight!” Shannon placed the card into her head behind her ear, keeping two fingers pressed against her forehead.

 

“What's going on?” Jason wondered out loud.

 

“She's using her spell” Craig replied, shrugging.

 

Before anyone could tell her to hurry up, she gasped, and ran down the hallway towards the crowd.

 

“Hey!” Jason ran after her, followed by the others. He wondered exactly what Shannon saw that caused her to run off like this.

 

It was clear that there was a brawl going on once they got closer. The onlookers; some of who were from Jason's class, were all watching on as one student beat down on another. A plate was on the floor, which Jason guessed belonged to the boy getting pummeled.

 

“Stop that this instant!” Shannon was already behind the larger, aggressive, boy, who instictively swung his arm at Shannon, as he turned to face her. She was not expecting that to happen, and was knocked cold to the floor.

 

Jason turned around to look for his group members. Mark and Craig seemed to have disappeared somewhere. Anna, however, was fuming.

 

“Why did you do that for?” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

 

“You all have no right to stop me!” the boy countered.

 

Jason figured this might be a good time to go invisible and try to help resolve this situation.

 

“Clear Clean!”

 

Jason smiled; it seemed like the spell worked this time. His hands and feet have turned invisible. Looking up, he noticed that Anna was now the one fighting the bully. Anna brought her card out her pocket as the delinquent prepared to strike.

 

“Compass! Transform!”

 

Her plate in her hand seemed to flicker a bit, as if it was a disrupted image. It soon became a drafting compass, not unlike those in a geometry classroom. The bully was caught off guard, at which time Anna struck with the compass.

 

The bully screamed in pain as Anna dug further, though after a few seconds, she was launched back, with her compass changing back into a plate.

 

“You.... YOU!!” The bully charged at the shaken Anna, determined to make her pay for the injury. Jason ran towards the two, determined to make the most of his invisibility. As he did, the people around began to move apart, as to make a way for his charge. It worried Jason a bit, since it would mean he was no longer hidden.

 

Before reaching his target, a plate went spinning past him in the air. It seemed to be on a course straight to the bully.

 

“Warp Step!” It was Craig's voice!

 

Before Jason could turn around to see where Craig was at, the plate in front of him changed into Craig himself. This must have been the spell that Craig was inscribing. Unfortunately, he was in the air, spinning, like the plate was, and ended up crashing into the bully.

 

A few moments later, the bully stood up, pushing Craig off of him. “Hah, is that all you got? Even with magic you can't beat me.” As he said that, a plate seemed to fall to the floor. It looked different than Craig's so it must have been the bully's. Could it have been some sort of magic that made him this tough? If that was the case, Jason thought he might be able to knock him out in a single strike before any more damage was caused.

 

Rushing forward yet again, the crowd moves out of the way once again. Now Jason was even more worried that his spell didn't work. He still couldn't see his hands... so maybe he botched the spell some other way. No time to think though, since it seems like the bully noticed him.

 

“You... too?” The bully was definitely breathing hard. Even if he could see Jason, there had a chance! All Jason had to do was tackle the bully and make him fall once more. Although, with Jason strength, it would require him to catch the bully off guard. At this point he just hoped that Mark did not abandon the rest of the group and could provide some backup, even though he seemed weak as well. The bully, noticing what Jason was doing, turned to face him, and began to ready his body to take the impact... just a bit too late.

 

Before he finished grounding himself, Jason tackled him, felling the stronger foe. Jason felt... triumphant. Even with his lesser skills he was able to help out. The crowd that began to close in seemed as surprised as Jason was. Jason turned to face the crowd to notice... his own back. Looking down at his hands, he saw that they were still invisible, but what really was amazing was the fact that the other Jason mimicked his actions. Seems like the spell inscription was another kind of success.

 

Craig, who had been laying down next to the other Jason, began to move again. He stood up and faced the other Jason and grinned. “Ya did it.” he said, noticing the unconscious bully.

 

“Wow....” Anna said to herself in amazement, awake throughout the entire ordeal. “Didn't know he had it in him...” she muttered to herself.

 

Craig went to pat the other Jason on the shoulder to congratulate him, but it seemed like he went right through him. Everyone around was surprised, except for Jason, who worked out the details of his spell. Instead of just making himself invisible, like the Clear Clean spell, it created an image of himself a few feet away. Jason chuckled, proud of himself, which just confused everyone around him.

 

“Is everyone alright?!” Mrs. Jones came running up to the scene, with Mark next to her. She motioned everyone else out of the way, and began looking the area over. As she did so, the other Jason disappeared, and the real one appeared once again. The crowd talked amongst themselves, but instead of having them stand around and do nothing, she had them go get the nurse and assist taking the injured students.

 

“I can carry this guy.” Mark slipped his card into the large sophomore and picked him up. “I wonder why he started this fight, though....”

 

****

 

“Class dismissed!”

 

Mrs. Jones quickly gathered her items and left the room, as if she was in a hurry. The other students, however, gathered around Jason's group.

 

“I can't believe you stood up to a 10th grader just after learning magic!” one boy exclaimed.

 

“That's crazy” a girl replied. “Something else must've happened.”

 

“Well, we are that awesome” Anna replied. “The fact that we didn't even have to take the test should be proof enough.”

 

“Huh? You didn't even do anything.” another boy sneered. “I saw that fight, and that kid did all the work.” He pointed at Jason.

 

“Yeah...” Jason replied, smiling. This attention felt great, almost like he won a tournament. He felt Shannon staring at him, though, which made him cringe inside. “Well,” he added, “we all contributed. It wasn't just me.”

 

“Like an awesome combo!” Craig added, still excited that he and his group mates got a perfect score as a result of their magic usage during the fight.

 

“From what I hear... you need to work on your spell, Craig” Mark said plainly.

 

“Yea, yea...” Craig sighed.

 

“I'm just glad that we were able to stop the fighting” Shannon said quietly.

 

“We should make sure we keep up with our studies though, now that we set the bar so high.” Mark said while packing up his belongings.

 

“Yeah...” Jason replied. He was a little worried that his showing today was a fluke, although he hoped that a little work and strategy would help.

 

“What are you talking about?” Anna laughed. “We're the best!”

 

Jason really understood now. As of this moment, his group was the best in the class. Maybe even among the 9th grade class. Although he was not sure if he would be able to keep the title, he would do everything he can to live up to expectations. After all, he wouldn't want to drag down any group Shannon's a member of. His thoughts wandered back to the Co card, and whether or not he could utilize it. But first, he would need to unlock its secrets. The thought of hidden potential got Jason excited, which means he probably won't be playing with Journeys cards tonight....