27-Aug 5th, 9 am, Friday, The Hub, Training Room-
The Training Room transformed into farmland. Pilot, Reinstar, and Javo stood in front of the transformed teens who were ready to start training. The sword-wielding warrior nodded to them. "You are well rested, now it is time to return to learning. I am aware your academics are coming up soon, but that does not mean you can slack off. There is a reason why we gave you the Dummy Dolls, not just to be in two places at once, but to make sure you are not in trouble with those who are unaware of who you are, right?"
"Right!" They shouted in unison.
"I am allowing three or four days of training during your time at academia. You don't want to be too tired to learn or train." He crossed his arms. "Activate Training Gear."
Appearing before them were dark gray constructs of their current weapons.
"These are practice weapons." He watched as the group took them. "So you won't hurt yourselves too badly." He nonchalantly stared at the spiky redhead. "Ryu."
The yellow warrior chuckled. "Uh, I won't?"
"You get too excited over dangerous things. Remember, curiosity is a double-edged sword."
"Yes, sir." He nodded calmly.
"Now then, Jake, Tanya, you two have swords, but your fighting styles may differ. Though I have a sword, I know very little fencing techniques. If the others don't know, then the Training Room is the tool you will need to improve your weapon skills."
The shinobi nodded. "We looked at the best trainers of both worlds and added them to the memory unit."
Materializing between them was a gray mannequin armed with tonfas. It twirled them around before moving into a defensive stance.
"Instead of beasts, you will get artificial weapon dummies." Javo spoke. "The parameters are adjusted to ensure you don't get beaten too badly."
"Neat." Lumina readied herself against the mana construct.
"Hold on." The leader said. "Not yet." A practice sword materialized in his hand. "Jake, try and slice me."
The fire warrior chuckled weakly. "I'm going to end up on my back."
"But think about the experience points!" the lightning warrior smirked. "Then you can transfer those points to increase your sword stats. 0 to 100!"
"You will be alright." reassured the light warrior. "Try and get one good hit."
Blaze snorted as he ran up with the practice sword in hand and swung it. However, the canokian blocked the weapon with his own. The teen twirled around for a horizontal cut, only to be blocked by the man.
"Remember this: your weapon is an extension of yourself." The leader of Sword raced forward and swiped the sword at the opponent's incoming blade. The decisive strike knocked the blade out of the boy's. Blaze watched the blade fall to the ground before turning to his training partner. He froze when the artificial blade met his throat. Even though it would not cause harm, it still felt uncomfortable.
"Don't take your eyes off your opponent if you are disarmed; be ready for a situation where you will be without a weapon." He shifted to the rest. "Don't hold your weapon too hard nor too loose. We will teach you how. Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Then training starts."
-Living Quarters, second floor, 3 hours later-
"I do wonder." Ryu said as he gazed at the door with a picture of a red bar. "What is in here?"
"It's locked." said Christina as she walked up. "Don't think about it."
"I know, but this is like a mystery of mysteries." He rubbed his chin as the gears in his brain turned. "What is in the hidden door, and will it be revealed?"
"Keep thinking because it's going to stay closed."
"You don't have permission." spoke the bird woman while walking up to them.
"Yeah, it's not like Pilot would allow it." said the redhead.
"Not quite." The bird woman stared at the bar. "But it is for medical purposes."
"Ah, so that's where you keep your maddening super experiments."
"Sure." the woman humored him with a smile before walking away. "Your friends are planning something."
The water girl gazed up at the door. "I am curious."
"Yeah." he shrugged. "We'll leave that mystery up in the air like that feather and the identities of the other Radiant."
"You know we are allowed access to their profiles, right?"
"We are?"
"Yes." She jabbed a finger on his head. "Ever since we stopped that woman. Let me guess, you zoned out during the discussion. They also wrote our profiles to send to the head of Guardian."
"Oh... are the others cool?"
"Go look them up." She walked away. "It's really important to know who they are in case we meet them."
"Alright, time for some research!"
-Aug 6, 12 pm, Saturday. Orlando House-
Tina stood before the home of the electric jokester. While the boy was not home, she was told his little brother had arrived home last night from camp. With nothing else to do, she decided to visit the brother and maybe form a friendship. It was fun being with the others, but when they were out fighting threats, it did get lonely. The canokian were cool, but... when the time came for venturing to Galvania, she may not be allowed to go. All she would do is go to school and live a boring life.
"Maybe I can try to convince them to take me to the kingdom. That's safe right?"
She shrugged off the idea for later, then knocked on the door. After a few moments, a boy opened the door. He scratched his flat, redhead hair while staring at her. He placed his hands in his pockets and started slouching.
"Hello?"
"You're Kite, Ryu's brother."
"Yeah?" Then he raised his eyes slightly. "Ah, Ryu said you would show up. I'm having some friends over later to LARP. You want to join?"
"What is LARP?"
He smiled slightly. "Live Action Role Play. We act like we are fighting in ancient times. Knights and Dragons."
"Hm... okay, it won't hurt to join."
-Hotspot-
"Ah, I miss this so much! Cabin food is okay, but food in civilization is better!" said a teenage boy with a small brown mohawk who chewed down on a burger
"Yep! Nothing beats this!" A biracial boy with curly hair said as he munched on a burger.
"..." A boy with shaggy blonde hair and a fedora took a bite of his burger while looking at his phone.
After they returned from camp, Ryu invited his two friends over to meet Jake and Sam. Unknown to him, the duo brought along another kid whom he had seen sparingly at school.
"Well then... Jake, Sam, that's Lance." He pointed to the guy with the mohawk. "Jamie." He pointed at the curly-haired boy. "And Kyle, we never hung out before, though." He pointed to the fedora-wearing boy.
Lance nodded. "The Camp is where we became bros, we are now... Silent Kyle, Jousting Lance, and Madman Jamie."
"And you made nicknames." said the faded-cut youth. "
Kyle leaned in to whisper to the curly-haired boy. "Huh, I see. Jake."
"Yes?"
"If you give Kyle the info, he can send all the people from that video a lifetime subscription to a cult. By the way, not cool."
"Uncool!" Lance pointed at him. "Need to avoid women like that, and false amigos are no good."
The spiky raven shook his head while a bit worried. "No, you don't have to. I'm not into revenge."
The quiet boy whispered into Jamie's ear. "Ah, he was testing you; you're alright. However, he did send him an email with a virus."
The soccer lover's eyes widened, and his face went pale. "Wh-Why? But you will get in trouble."
The silent boy held a nonchalant stare then gave a thumbs up in a cool way. The mohawk teen nodded thoughtfully. "You only live once."
Sam and Ryu laughed while Jake facepalmed."
"Anyway," Lance grinned at them. "The three of us are creating a podcast, something you weren't interested in Ryu."
"There are a lot of them, dude."
"We know, but ours will just be talking about the unknown, the supernatural, like Bigfoot, Lockness, Death Melody, Solar Flare Blackouts, mole men, Krampus."
"Solar Flare Blackouts, I know." Jake perked up. "But Death Melody?"
"Death Melody." Lance shivered. "People have been hearing it all around the world. You hear that melody, then you are moments away from dying."
"Or in a coma... or with a zombie-like look." Jamie pondered. "Hearing the melody is no good." He slammed his hand on the table. "Our podcast is called 'Unknown to Us' by J.K.L., what do you think?"
"Sounds cool." Ryu smiled.
"We'll be busy on it, but then on certain occasions, we can have a mega collab with 'Guyverman Reacts.'" He grinned toward the faded-cut teen. "If you want to."
"Hmm." Sam rubbed his chin. "It would be an interesting business venture. A contract will have to be made up, though."
"It's a deal." Lance smiled before frowning. "Ryu, we may be busy, but we can find time to hangout."
"It's cool." Ryu grinned.
The mohawk boy nodded, then snapped his fingers. "Oh, and there is one other thing."
-Angelo Household-
"Lance and I are dating." A girl with short red hair in a messy bob hairstyle.
Christina promptly slammed her head on the table. "I knew you two would become a couple. I dreaded for two years after someone dared you to kiss him."
"That's not nice, Chrissy." smiled Amy. "Lance is just another guy with an interesting outlook."
"Seeing you like this makes me think this Lance is... unique." Tanya spoke.
"Yep." spoke a girl with short purple hair with bangs covering her left.
As soon as their friends returned to town, Amy invited Rei and Naomi to her house.
"Get used to it. We argued about something I forgot about, then made out." Her face grew in a dark shade of red. "We almost went far."
"I don't want to hear it." sighed the violet-eyed girl.
The caramel-eyed girl leaned in playfully. "Tell me more."
"Tanya!"
"Other than that, nothing else except for us zoning out. Lance thinks aliens did the Solar Flares to study us. Between that and the Death Melody, I'm sure he has a lot for his podcast."
"Death Melody?" questioned the brunette, who looked worried.
"Just some bizarre conspiracy or whatever." The redhead leaned in. "Enough about that nonsense. Lily called me to sign a document. Christina, I'm sure you investigated, but why did you sign it?"
"I forced her to contact her grandma, it was legit. Before I signed it, I got Tanya to get her father to craft a 'Terms of Agreement'."
"Father loves the fresh smell of the law on paper." smirked the braided girl. "The look on her face when I presented it to her was priceless."
"In the terms, the antagonizing cannot be soul-crushing or cause any property damage." said the gossip girl. "The hijinks have to be tamed, and name-calling will not drift into forbidden territory."
"Not to insult our moms." The brunette spoke. "We don't have friends nor trust them. Just not be mean to us every day." she frowned. "Robert is a different story, but it seems Jake is on his radar."
"Hmm..." Rei's sapphire eyes stared ahead. "Well, as long as Robert has a different target. This Jake can probably take care of himself. I guess I will sign it."
"Me too." replied Naomi.
Rei nodded. "Now then, I'm thinking of making a band. I'm on the keyboard, and Naomi is on the guitar. We need two or three more people to make this band rise. Singer, bass, drums. I could use your help with some things."
"Sounds awesome!" said the light girl. "I can help design your logo, and Chrissy will be your manager."
"Not a manager." The water girl shook her head. "But I can launch a rumor to watch out for your band to get people interested."
"Tanny?" The brunette faced the braided-haired girl.
"Hmm." The braided girl nodded. "I might know someone, she recently reached out to me. Also, I could teach you a few dance moves."
"Awesome!" smirked the keyboard player. "At some point, I'm going to get Lance to use his podcast to advertise us... if he gets it off the ground and gets fans."
"He has something people want to talk about." said the light girl. "Adding in the mysteries of our lives could bring in all the fans." A thought came. "Oh, you can have one of your songs be a theme song for their podcast and make a song about a particular mystery. Oh an-."
"Easy girl." The violet-eyed teen turned to the brunette. "Don't ramble off."
"I'm excited!" giggled the green-eyed girl. "New things are happening."
"Too bad Diana moved away," Naomi spoke. "Any of you spoken to her?"
"No, she deleted her social media accounts." sighed Amy. "I'm sure she will reach out."
Christina nodded. "I still need to apologize to her."
"I can still punch Kai, right?" Rei growled.
"No," The brunette shook her head. "A punch to his face won't solve anything."
"Fine, so... what else have you been up to?"
"Just normal days." replied the brunette.
-Evening, The Hub, Meeting Room-
Pilot rubbed his chin. "The Death Melody. Sounds similar to Jin's report."
Jake grimaced. "Yeah, I thought you all would need to know, plus you might want to listen to his podcast."
"Your friends are wasting time chasing things that might not exist." scoffed the leader. "Your academia is starting soon; shouldn't they prepare?"
"Some... people just want to waste time before school starts?"
"Knowledge is power, Jake." Pilot crossed his arms. "That's a lesson I have taught you all."
"I know."
"Other than that, is there anything else?"
The spiky-haired teen's eyes softened, then looked away. "Well...I had these thoughts about them for a while. Friends or a team of strangers. We all got together because the crystals came to us. I was worried that we would stop hanging out after defeating the Mistress and only get together when a threat emerged, but that did not happen. We still do stuff outside of fights. Sometimes, I think we wouldn't be friends if this happened."
"You don't know that." The red-haired man's eyes soften a little. "Even if you had not moved to Parkerville and if the crystals did not come to you, there could have been a small chance for you all to meet."
"Yeah... despite that, I was afraid we would just be teammates."
"You are teammates and friends. Not everyone who becomes part of a team, whether military, recreational, or professional, becomes friends. I know some that I work well with that I don't like and will never go to a tavern with. There are others I will share a drink with and join in recreational activities. Javo and I went to a bar 3 days ago, Reinstar and I discussed history and food, and Luka and I discussed literature."
"Huh, I never pegged you to be the literature type."
"Reading is an essential brat. I also build miniature ships in glass."
The information surprised the boy. "Never thought that about you. I always thought you were a weapons nut."
The leader scoffed at him. "I'm much more than you think." He sighed. "I behave the way I am because I want each of you to know how serious I am about your training. We are preparing you against foes that are crafty and dangerous. As the team leader, you need to help keep up morale.
"And what about the others? I don't think being their leader is alright because they have more experience."
He turned around and typed on the console to activate the monitor. He typed it up and brought up twelve folders with the names of each of the Radiant. "Blair, Jack, and Lina are not the type to want to lead." A picture of a young canokian woman with sharp yellow eyes and dark green hair tied into a spiky ponytail that looked similar to a peacock."
"Her name is Zeena Willowbark, the leader of the trio in Galvania. They are currently undergoing a mission, so you won't see them often unless they come seeking you."
The spiky-haired raven analyzed the young woman's face. "She is pretty."
"She and the other two are six or seven years older than your group and the others overseas." His eyebrows narrowed. "One thing, never underestimate someone based on their looks. A guy who looks strong may have a weak constitution, and a beautiful woman who looks helpless may have bloodlust, right?"
"Yep."
"I brought her up for two reasons. One, you and her will work together to lead the team. The other is trust. She trusts the other two just like the others trust you. Enough for them to want to bond with you outside of combat. If they did not want to be your friends, then they would not invite you to mind-numbing activities."
He nodded. "Thank you for reassuring me. I did not want to tell mom and others for different reasons."
"Your mom won't understand this life, and you don't want to offend the others." He said. "You can always come to me, I am your teacher after all."
"Yep." The teen smiled at him.
-Aug 10, Smoothie Shop-
Tanya and Sam were at the counter ordering smoothies.
"You believe this place is better than all smoothie stores?"
"No." She shrugged. "But I do enjoy the fruit punch smoothie they have here."
"I believe you, sis." He looked at the menu. "Why did Amy drag us to that Flea Market across the street?"
"She's looking for fabric for crafting. She recently made a backpack for father."
"Huh, you learn something new." He nodded. "Maybe I can ask her to craft a belt?"
The bell by the door rang in the shop.
"She would if you ask her."
"Nah, don't want to break her hobby by asking her to make stuff all the time."
"Huh, you are here?"
The braided girl froze at the voice, then took a deep breath before quickly turning to see an annoyed Rita Gonzales standing before her. The faded-cut youth glanced at Gonzales, then at his friend.
"Hello." responded Tanya.
Rita scoffed. "You know what to do."
"She does not have to do anything." Sam frowned deeply.
"I'm not asking you. Ugh, I don't even feel as irritated as I normally do. Since that blackout, I felt all my anger disappear, but seeing you has slowly brought back all the things I am annoyed at." She smiled cruelly. "Leave, so my mood will improve."
Tanya stared at the girl who was once her friend. Up to this point, her anxiety came like a waterfall every time they saw each other. Every time, she froze in place and ran away while the girl and the entourage laughed. However, recent events have molded her to realize things about herself, and there are more terrible things than the girl in front of her. She took a deep breath.
"No."
The tanned girl was startled while the young boxer smirked. The mean girl frowned at the girl. "Excuse me?"
"I said no. I will not be intimidated by you, and if I leave." She flicked her hair back. "It means I have places to be." She finished with a raised eyebrow, and her head slightly tilted up in a confident manner.
"Your smoothies are ready."
"Like now." Tanya turned on her heels, grabbed the drink holder with four smoothies, and walked out with her head held high. Sam followed after with another drink holder containing smoothies. The mean girl scowled deeply, then turned around while glaring at the worker.
As the duo walked outside, Tanya breathed a sigh of relief, feeling her anxiety lessen. "That's progress."
"You taunted her with that hair flick, then walked out like a boss. You turned it right back on the spoiled princess."
"Indeed." She smiled. "Thank you for being there."
"Nah, that was you. She tried to pull her usual attitude on you, but you stood your ground and said 'No, you leave'."
"Mm hm," She picked up her smoothie with pride. "Let's go."
-Aug 14, Petalburg Park, 10 pm-
It was the Petalburg End of Summer Festival. Various games were set up, along with food stalls. Jake, his mom, sister, and grandpa were seen walking through the park.
"Ha, nothing says end of summer as launching fireworks." said the old man. "A soothing beverage and a cold desert. Ah, the days of youth."
"Yes," smiled the mom. "Including spending a summer evening with friends while out on the fairgrounds."
"Relieving the past is healthy right?" the daughter whispered to the brother.
"Sparingly." he shrugged. "Grandpa, does this remind you of the story you told me about you and your friends hiding the koi fish?"
"That and trying to impress a girl." he smirked. "I will never forget the craziness of trying to win her affection."
"And you failed."
"Of course!" He chuckled. "Jacob, Tina, if your friends are here. Go off and find them, also remember. If there is an opportunity to impress, do it. You never know what you are missing."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "That's random."
"But." He had a warm smile. "It might pop up during a significant moment in your life."
The sister laughed before leaving. "Kite and his friend are around here. I'll see you later."
The boy nodded as he watched her leave, then left a moment later. His grandpa was fun to be around, always having statements that were weird and sometimes helpful. As he walked, he felt his phone ding, he looked at it to see a link to a live podcast by J.K.L. He clicked the link, put in his earbuds, and started listening.
"Supernatural lovers," said Lance. "This is the podcast of the century. J.K.L. presents! 'Unknown to us!'. First thing we will talk about! Death Melody! The song that plays before you succumb."
Jake nodded as he listened to the podcast.
"Reports around the world have listened to the haunting phenomenon. Some have lost their will to move on, others fall into a coma, and the rest... death. Is this... a myth or fact? As far as I know, if you hear the melody, you may be unaffected, but the person next to you will fall."
"They say," said Jamie. "It sounds like someone playing the flute, the song... well, think about the Pied Piper nursery rhyme. The one who lures rats and small children away. That tale might be based on something that is... heartbreaking."
Jake felt a push from behind. He turned around to find a smirking Robert and his two friends.
"Hi."
"Jake." He chuckled. "Buddy."
"Nope." shrugged the spiky raven. "What do you want? If it's Amy, that is... just sad, dude."
Robert scowled for a second before smiling. "No, I don't care about her anymore. All my ire on her is gone," A solemn expression came upon him. "The blackout changed that, so I'm done teasing her."
"Okay, cool, so are we neutral?"
"No, I still dislike you," He held up a phone to Jake. "Is this you?"
Jake's eyes widen at the breakup video he was in, then his mood is solemn before sighing. "Yeah, it's me."
"Pathetic, you let that happen? The way you are with me, I thought you had more backbone."
"I learned from that." The spiky-haired teen placed his hands in his pockets. "That dating as we are is overrated, we are acting like adults when we should be having fun." He leaned in. "I healed from that... mostly."
"Overrated?" The jock shook his head. "Sounds like you haven't moved on."
"Like when Amy rejected you?" He sighed. "You took it too far."
"Shut up, I said I was done with her. I just sent it to her and a few people this video." He scowled. "The entire school will now."
"My friends know about it. I showed it to them a month ago." Jake took his hands out of his pockets. "Even if people see it, some might be sympathetic."
Robert scowled. "Or others will see it as pathetic."
"Let's see what happens? Does not matter to me either way."
"Stupid hedgehog-haired bastard." He scoffed. "You're no fun."
"Whatever."
The jock roughly brushed past with his two friends trailing behind. The spiky raven shook his head as the jock increased the distance between them.
"Are you okay?"
He turned to his left to see Amy with a worried expression.
"I'm fine."
"He sent me a link to the video with the message 'loser'." She rolled her eyes. "I was about to reply 'no' until I saw you all. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, he's just... a Mocko Jocko."
She tilted her, looking slightly confused. "So he's... a jock that.."
"Mocks, just a Mocking Jock."
"Oh..." She giggled. "That's kind of funny."
"Ryu would say it differently."
"Yeah, but you said it first. It's more of an insult to his image."
"I'm sure he imagines himself somewhere with a bigger pedestal. I think he's over you. Removing all that rage was perhaps a good thing."
"I asked Luka. She will still monitor for the next three months, but so far everybody is fine."
"I hope so,"
"Forget about him and your old problems." She placed her hands on her hips, acting like she was ready to solve a crime. "This is the now!" She pointed at him. "Rub off that far-off look and give me a close-up look."
The boy snorted and leaned in with a smug look. "Like this?"
The girl leaned back while giggling. "That's too close."
"But you wanted a closeup."
She pushed his face away. "Yeah, yeah. Come on." She turned to her left. "The fireworks are starting soon."
"Alright."
Amy led Jake to where the rest of the Radiant and their friends were, in one of the pavilions where J.K.L. was running their live podcast. They joked, ate food, and had fun until the fireworks lit the sky. Jake smiled at the rockets sparkling in the night sky, enjoying the day with the gang. He never imagined his life turning out like this when he first arrived: gaining powers, fighting supernatural threats, and forming friendships. His life had changed for the better despite other threats out there.
"We'll ride the storm." He whispered.
-Aug 20, The Hub, Meeting Room-
The leader of Sword stared at the Head of Guardian on the monitor.
"Normally, you send a memo to Luka. What happened?"
"There is an urgent matter that requires your presence. It won't be a short mission. It might take a month or two due to how you will be traveling and where you will be going."
"Will I be alone?"
"No, you will not. One of them will be your protege."
Pilot narrowed his eyes. "What is the mission?"
"Where you will be going, you may run into Jarlon."
"Why him." He grimaced. "We are not on speaking terms."
"Because we and him have learned the 'his' location, the one who caused the rift in your old team."
The redhead clenched his teeth, and his eyes hardened, barely controlling anger as he stared, glowering at the imagined person he wished to slay. He slammed his aura-coated fist on the table, cracking it. "I'm heading over there now."
"Pilot," Zeracakja's voice was firm and had an edge. "I did not tell you this, so you will rush in like a fool."
"Fine, I will tame myself." He calmed down. "When do I need to come?"
"Tomorrow at your earliest."
Pilot nodded. "Then it settled. I'll let everyone know."