Post by Rikugun Gensui on Jan 27, 2014 21:47:59 GMT -6
Epilogue
The year is 2120. The world has been devastated by a meteor that crashed to earth ten years ago. This meteor contained a virus that infected the entire population of Japan, causing the denizens to be mutated into monsters with psychic powers. With these powers, the mutants infected over three-fourths of the world's remaining population. 1 year ago the remaining scientists from around the world gathered in America, the only area in the world that was able to keep the infection at bay.
Immigrants from around the globe came to America seeking refuge from the infection. Seven years later archeologists discovered a deserted ruin with a gate that connected to a mystical realm where magical beasts and creatures only known through legends, roamed free. With this gate, scientists were able to develop a machine that would integrate a pattern on the user's body that allowed them to control a magical beast. Regrettably, the machine only worked on children between the ages of 5 and 18.
Because of the restrictions, the government built an institute where children between the required ages were gathered and tested to see if they were compatible. The kids that were gathered were either orphans, problem children, or kids whose parents signed them up. Unfortunately, only seven children passed the criteria to be able to house a spirit and control their power. These children's names where; Jun Takahashi, Kai Blackgate, Timothy Warren, Jin Kugayashi, Rika O'hallin, Angie Nightingale, and Eliza Cage. Their purpose, use their newly developed powers to find away to rid the world of the mutants for good. This is their story.
Chapter 1
Jun woke with a start. He gazed around the room desperately; making sure what he saw was just a dream. He looked down at his half burnt sheets and sighed.
"Not again," He mumbled to himself. "That's the third time this week."
He got up and yawned, then went to the bathroom to wash his face. Jun stood in front of the mirror and inspected his reflection. He was tall for sixteen, 6 foot 5 to be exact. He had pale white hair with a black stripe over his right ear, and light blue eyes. His skin was almost bleached and his nose was slightly pointed.
Jun splashed water on his face then lightly brushed the scar on the bridge of his nose.
"This will probably never go away." He thought.
He had gotten that scar when a training accident went wrong, a piece of glass had broken off of a window and flown across the room slicing his nose. He grabbed a towel and dried off his face, then headed for the breakfast hall.
Jun was an orphan. From the moment he was born he had been living in an orphanage somewhere around Hokkaido in Japan. When he was six, the meteor landed in Tokyo bay. The next day the entire population of Tokyo had been mutated and turned into the ravenous beasts that devastated the earth for the next ten years. Within twenty four hours everywhere except for Hokkaido had been contaminated. Jun and all the other residents were pushed onto a boat, and shipped to America. A mouth after arriving in New York, every kid between the ages of 5 and 18 were transferred to a laboratory in Washington D.C. to act as test subjects for the project known as the Beast Synchronization Exam or B.S.E. for short. Unfortunately Jun was the only child from the orphanage that passed the test. He was synchronized to his beast, Cerberus: the beast of flames and destruction, and taken to an institute that had just been finished in order to teach the children how to control their powers. Jun stayed there year after year. After some time other kids started to show up, but most left not long after. And now here he is today, still at the institute advancing his powers to be able to combat the mutants that were destroying the world around them.
As Jun was turning the corner to get to the breakfast room, something small came ramming into his side. He slid across the floor and banged his head on the wall.
"Watch where you're going stupid!" squealed a miniscule voice. Jun rubbed his throbbing head. "Um, you're the one who ran into me."
Jun opened his eyes and there stood Eliza Cage, also know as Liz. She was a 17 year old trouble maker, who couldn't seem to get enough of messing with Jun. She had long brown hair, and light green eyes. She was around 5 foot 4, and had a face that made her look like a child with anger management problems.
"Well whatever," she scoffed. "Just stay out of my way and this won't happen again."
Liz stormed off, leaving Jun with a bump on his head and a bad taste in his mouth. Jun sighed. He had just woken up and the day had already started off bad.
Jun walked into the dining hall and went over to the café.
"I'll have a plate of pancakes and a side of bacon please," he told the maitre'd.
The women smiled at him and handed him his order. He smiled back then walked over to the dining area.
Almost everyone was already eating. Everyone except for Liz, who ran off in the opposite direction after bulldozing over Jun. Jun walked through the row of tables, saying good morning to the other kids who were admitted to institute as he went. He finally stopped at a table with a guy that was reading a book while wolfing down a plate of eggs. As he sat down the boy looked up and surveyed Jun's plate.
"That's a very ordinary array of dishes you have there." He mumbled.
"I don't need to be told that by you Jin," Jun chuckled. "You're the most ordinary out of all of us here."
Jin smiled meekly back at him. "Touché. Can't argue with you on that one."
Jin was one year younger than Jun. He had blackish red hair and brown eyes. He wore glasses that changed tints depending on the light, and was around 6 foot 2. Jin had been Jun's best friend ever since he entered the institute five years ago. Jin was a very emotionless person; except for when he was with Jun. he had been abandoned at birth and never felt the need to make friends. When he first came to the institute he didn't speak at all, he would just burry himself in books day in and day out. Finally Jun decided to talk to the non-social Jin after much self-debate.
"Hey there, "he said in his most courteous voice."I see you like to read. Can I read with you?"
After a long period of silence Jin nodded his head and Jun beamed with happiness.
"Which one should I read he said?" he said impatiently. "I love anything with action."
Jin sat still for a second then reached across the room and grabbed a black book with a gold spine.
"Here," he mumbled. "This one should suit your tastes."
He handed Jun the book then went back to reading. Jun sat down next to him and cracked open his own book and began to read. They read for hours on end. Jun would go day after day to Jin's room to read a new book, or continue reading a book he had already started.
After that Jun and Jin where inseparable. They did everything together; from eating breakfast and playing games, to during chores and extra training. If you saw Jun then you better believe Jin wasn't too far behind.
While Jun and Jin were eating, Angie came and sat next to Jun.
"Hey Jun," Angie said smiling. "I see you and Jin are just as friendly as ever."
Jun stopped eating for a second and looked at Angie. She had short blond hair and baby blue eyes that seemed to sparkle whenever she smiled. She was the same age as Jun and was about 5 foot 10.
"Hey Angie," Jun replied returning her smile. "You know how it is; this is just another day in the life of Jun and Jin, comedy central's greatest act."
Angie giggled a little bit and Jin cracked a tiny smile from behind his book without knowing.
"Whoa, is that a smile I see Jin?" Jun taunted. "I knew you had one somewhere, you just needed to find away to get it out, and who better than your friendly neighborhood Pyromaniac."
After that comment Angie burst out laughing, even Jin let out a little chuckle. Angie was the last person to be admitted to the institute. She wasn't an orphan like Jun and Jin, but the reason she joined was in order to support her mother after her dad died. While they were laughing Liz came back into the dining hall. She took one look at Jun's table and sighed.
"Oh great," she groaned. "Looks like the monkey parades at it again. Dang, I just got rid of my headache too."
Tim got up and walked over to Liz.
"Don't worry," he said. "Not all of us here are crazy, just a select few."
Liz smiled. She had always liked Tim. To her he seemed to be the most average and level-headed person out of the whole group. Tim was a well-built 17 years old with black hair and brown eyes. He had light brown skin and a face that told you "if you mess with me you're going to get it". His real name was Timothy but everyone just called him Tim.
"Let's go sit with the other sane people," Tim suggested. "That ought to help clear your mind."
As he and Liz sat down to finish eating, a tall mysterious man around his late twenties early thirties came in a surveyed the Dining room. He was wearing an all white suit and a white fedora with a black ring going around the crown. He had pitch black hair with a ponytail that went down his back. He wore white gloves and black leather dress shoes. Pinned to his suit pocket was a silver name tag with the words "DIRECTOR OF PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT" carved into it in bold letters.
The director smiled mischievously then pulled a megaphone from behind his back and set the volume to maximum output. He smacked it against the wall causing feedback to sound through the room. Because of the material used to construct the dining hall, the sound rebounded off the walls and was amplified, causing the feedback to blast throughout the entire building.
"AHH!" the group groaned.
Jun's eyes flashed across the area and stopped on the Director.
"TURN IT OFF!" He cried. "YOU'RE BLOWING MY EARDRUMS!"
Even though Jun was yelling at the top of his lungs, the Director continued to act like he was completely oblivious to his pleas. When Jun saw that the Director was ignoring him he became profoundly irritated. His eyes flashed red, and the megaphone bursts into cloud of bright crimson flames. The fire devoured the megaphone completely, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes on the floor, and the profuse smell of melted plastic.
"It seems even the idiotic fool can do some things right." Liz smirked.
The Director smiled and turned around. As he was leaving he said, "Since you're all awake now, hurry up and finish eating so we can start the training regiment for today".
Jun was dumbfounded.
"You mean to tell us that you did all that just to make sure we were awake?"
The director stopped but did not reply. Then he continued to walk down the hall till he was no longer in sight.
"That is so like him," Angie said with a giggle. "He's just like a little kid at heart."
Jun had no idea how to reply.
He just shook his head and went back to eating. "There's never a dull moment," he thought to himself. "One can only guess what training's got in store for us." And with that he finished his breakfast, put the dishes by the dish washer, and went to change into his training gear.
"It's about to get hectic." Jun said as he Jin and Angie were heading to their rooms. Angie smiled.
"You better believe it." She snickered while jogging a few steps ahead of them. "There's never a normal day at the institute for psychic development."
Chapter Two
Jun was the first one to enter the training room. It was a spherical room with a platform suspended in the center. Along the perimeter of the room was a walkway with guardrails that circled the walkway, and a ladder that went up to the platform on either side. Jun was wearing his usual white T-shirt with the words "Show Me What You Got" written in big grey bold letters with a warzone drawn in the back. He was also wearing a pair of grey and black camo cargo pants, and a pair of fire retardant gloves that were cut off at the knuckle. He leaned back against the wall and created a fireball in his hands while he waited for the others to show.
The next person to show up was Liz. She was wearing a plain light blue shirt and a pair of khaki pants. Her hair was standing up at the top, but she didn't seem to notice.
"It's no surprise you're the first one here," she yawned. "You fit your title as a human beast."
Jun stared at her coldly.
"You're the only one that sees me as one Liz. And besides, at least I'm civilized enough to know to comb my hair before I get up in the morning."
At first Liz thought he was just making a stupid retort. But when she put her hand on her head, she noticed the hair that was sticking straight up and blushed with embarrassment. She turned around and rushed out of the room, not even bothering to insult him before she left. Jun laughed. He had finally got back at Liz for the morning's incident.
"One Jun, Liz zero." Said a voice from the shadows. Jun jumped back in surprise. A kid in all black attire came rising out of the ground.
"Kai Blackgate, controller of Shadows." Jun said with an uneasy expression. "Just because you can use shadows to teleport doesn't mean it's alright to pop up behind people unannounced."
Kai stared at Jun with piercing gaze.
"Lighten up Jun, don't be such a downer. I'm only trying to have some fun."
"Yeah? Well you're the only person I know whose version of fun is scaring the crap out of people."
Kai smiled then rose the rest of the way out of the ground. He was wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses with pitch black lenses. He had pale blond hair and was wearing gloves that covered his wrist. He was around six feet tall, but looked taller because of the boots he was wearing. Even though Kai was only 15, most people thought he was older because of his demeanor. He also had on a pair of thick black headphones.
The next person to enter the training room was Rika O'hallin. She was 5 foot 11 and had flowing bright red hair. She had green eyes and freckles all over her face. She was wearing a pink sweat suit that had white lines going down the sleeves and the zipper.
"Good morning Rika." Jun called out.
Rika turned and saw Jun and Kai standing about halfway around the curve underneath the platform's overhang.
"Good morning guys, where's everybody else?" She asked.
Jun shrugged and shook his head.
"Who knows, they're taking a long time that's for sure."
"I could go check on them." Kai suggested with a mischievous smile.
"NO!" Jun and Rika yelled at the same time. "The last thing we need is you going around popping into everyone's room and scaring the living daylight out of them." Rika told him with a stern look.
"I've got to agree with her on that one." Jun commented. "They'll get here sooner or later; we just have to be patient."
Sure enough, after about ten more minutes of waiting the remaining people started coming in one after another. First it was Jin he walked in with his face in a book as usual, and sat down at the bench by the wall. He was wearing an orange polo over a black long sleeve pressure shirt, and brown cargo pants. Next were Tim and Liz. Liz was still wearing what she had in when she first entered the training room except for a brown pouch strapped to her waist, and Tim was wearing a grey muscle shirt and black basketball shorts. Him and Liz went and stood on the opposite curve of Jun, Kai, and Rika.
Finally Angie came in wearing a yellow tank top and grey sweatpants. She looked around then saw Jun and the others and decided to stand by them.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." She apologized. "I had a bit of hair that wouldn't lie down no matter how much I combed it; so I decided to clip it down, but by then I was already the last one in the dorm."
Jun couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny Jun?" Angie asked, wondering if it was actually that funny.
"I'm not laughing at you," Jun said as he tried to stifle the laughter. "I just had a huge sense of déjà vu." He said while stealing a glance at Liz.
Around ten minutes after everyone had entered the training room, a voice rang out on the intercom.
"Your attentions please, at this moment will all trainees proceed to the ladder at the front entrance of the training room."
Jun shuddered with excitement. Finally they were going to get to try out the new simulator.
The first one in line was Jin. He had sat his book down, and was now waiting in front of the ladder while pulling on a pair of white gloves with a blue crystal shape on printed on the backhand side. Next to get in line was Liz who was standing next to Tim and fiddling with her pouch. Tim stood beside Liz with his arms crossed, staring straight up at the control room mounted to the ceiling. While Jun was talking to Angie, Rika had gone in front of them and was standing behind Liz and Tim. Kai shrank back into the shadows made by the overhang, and reappeared behind the ladder. He glided to the spot behind Rika and stood as still as a statue.
"I guess it's our turn now." Angie said to Jun.
"Ladies first." Jun said while bowing.
Angie giggled then hopped into place behind Kai.
"Why thank you kind sir." She said smiling and giving a small curtsy. Her and Jun started laughing and were interrupted by the intercom.
"Ehm, would the first person in line please climb the ladder on to the platform."
Jin looked up and said, "That's my cue," Then started up the ladder. Once he had climbed up to the platform the intercom spoke again.
"Please come to the center of the platform."
Jin walked up to the center and immediately the room went dark.
"Would the people on the walkway please turn your attention to the ceiling above you."
Jun looked up and is eyes grew wide. The ceiling had split apart and a screen around the size of a Jumbotron came down through the hole. On the screen was Jin standing in the middle off the platform.
Suddenly there was a flash of light, and a grey box with the word "NAME" was flashing in bold white letters.
"Please state your name." said the man on the intercom. Jin looked around, sighed, the cleared his throat.
"Jin Kugayashi!" Jin yelled in a stern voice. For a second nothing happened, then the screen blinked and Jin's name appeared on the screen. There was another flash of light, and then the room started to whir. The lights came back on and surrounding Jin were cardboard figurines holding air soft guns. Jin showed a hint of confusion then it was gone.
"What am I supposed to do?" he called out in the direction of the control room. The intercom beeped and the Director's voice came out of the speakers.
"I'm glad you asked." It said. "The purpose of this exercise is to help you learn to freeze your surroundings in an instant."
Jin looked around at his opponents, then back up at the control room.
"That seems easy enough, but let me guess there's a catch isn't there?" Jin asked with a skeptical expression. The voice on the intercom laughed.
"As expected of you Jin, We can't hide anything from you. Yes, there is a catch. While the objective of this training session is to help you develop your freezing powers; it will also help you with your agility. You will need to freeze the bullets that are flying at you, they're just rubber darts by the way, and dodge them at the same time. If one of them touches you it's game over."
For the first time in a while Jin smiled for real. He was practically shaking with anticipation. He hadn't been this excited since his tenth birthday.
"Here it comes," Jun said with a smirk. Angie looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Here what comes?" she asked. "Why is Jin shaking like that?"
Jun looked down at Angie and smiled.
"Remember when Jin got lost in the woods on his tenth birthday, and everyone was looking for him everywhere?"
Angie nodded.
"Well, while I was searching by the cave near the south end of the woods I saw Jin being cornered by a bear. I was going to go help him, but when he started to circle the bear; I got a good look at his face. From one look I could tell that the one in danger wasn't Jin, but the bear instead. Jin was standing there smiling like he had just won the lottery."
Jun looked up at the screen, recalling the face Jin had on that day 6 years ago.
"And right now, he has that same smile. The last thing we need to worry about is him. If I were you I'd worry about the equipment instead."
Jin stood completely still with his eyes closed in the middle of the platform. Intercom came on again and the voice rang out.
"Alright, get ready Jin. It's time to get this show on the road."
Jin took of his glasses and opened his eyes. They had turned the color of sapphires, and where shining in the light. A buzzer rang and a countdown began.
"5…4…3…2…1… START!"
A bell sounded and the barrage began.