"Enjoying your new life?" A familiar voice said.
Once again, Lars found himself in the room of white, sitting across from the old man at the table.
"I am!" Lars said. "I'm getting stronger! And in this life… I actually have friends! It hasn't been easy, but its way better than my previous life!" Lars said.
"Good," The man said. "I'm glad to have you back Axel."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Lars asked. "You know my name is Lars, Axel is the boy in the Shifters world, I'm just in his body"
"Is that what you think?" The old man grinned. "You truly believe that Axel's body is not yours?"
"Well… how can it be? I just came to this world! Axel is the one who has lived here all these years… how can his body belong to me?"
"Let me ask you this question." The old man said. "When you were born did you remember where you came from?" He asked.
"No… I didn't come from anywhere when I was born…." Lars said.
"But what if you did remember? Would that mean the body that you came into wasn't yours?"
Lars grabbed his head as a powerful shock hit his brain.
"I, the father, grant you this light my child" A soothing voice said in his head.
"What is all of this!" Lars yelled, getting agitated. "What is this light? Why did you choose me to come here? What are all these memories?"
"Not yet," The old man said. "Before you can understand that, you must first make a decision." The old man said
"What decision?" Lars asked.
"Do you want to know the truth? Or do you want to find your own truth?"
"Axel!"
Lars woke up in the middle of his history class. His teacher Ms. Bene, hovered over him yelling at him, again.
"Sorry Ms. Bené" he said apologetically.
"Apology not accepted I'll see you in detention today Axel" She said seemingly satisfied.
"That is…unless you can tell me what the island we live on was originally called in the pre shift era".
"This island?" Lars asked.
Stretching his neck, Lars looked up at the digital hologram that was shaped like a globe. The world looked completely different then it did in 2021. There were no longer 7 continents, but 3 with the rest of the world completely underwater. The land masses were also warped showing areas of extremely high elevation and also areas marked with volcanoes and snow that had never been there before. There were even some areas completely marked off in red as "uncharted lands" the he couldn't understand. In the bottom corner of the globe. a green marker appeared pointing to the island they were currently on.
"This map is very confusing…" Lars said. "Do you have a map of what our island looked like before?"
"You know we don't have access to that!" His teacher "That is a pre-shift area document! Most of those maps were lost! This is your last chance!" His teacher said, "This country according to lost transcripts was called the land of the rising sun in the pre-shift era…"
"Japan!" Lars exclaimed "We're in Japan!"
A flurry of confused faces looked at Lars unsure of how he had gotten the right answer.
"That's… correct" his teacher said. "Were you paying attention while sleeping?" She asked
"He, don't underestimate me!" Lars declared.
"Well class that's correct, before the shift of 2030 there were 7 continents all with their set of countries, Japan was an island on the continent of Asia, according to some technology that we found here, this island was once just a small part of the mainland and was called Okinawa"
"Okinawa" Lars said. "That used to be a military base!" He said.
"Wow! I'm amazed" Ms. Bene said. "Good job in fact it was!"
"He wow Ax! Your a real whiz now!" Reggie remarked.
"What happened to the planet?" Lars asked. "What was this great shift?"
"No one really knows…" His teacher said. "All we know is a blast of ether hit the earth and created us Shifters, and following that, the First and Second Apophian wars started.
"Ugh!" Lars grunted. Once again a shock hit his brain.
In his mind he saw the blurred image of a man and a woman.
"Why? Why must it be my child?" The woman said.
"The light," the man answered. "It is the only thing that can defeat Apophis."
"What will happen to him!" The woman asked.
"He will lose his consciousness as a Shifter, he will merge with the consciousness of others, even those of other worlds"
"Axel, are you ok?" His teacher asked seeing him in pain.
"Apophian wars?" Lars asked. "Tell me what they are!"
"He did it again," Lance said. "Just like the day he ran into the bathroom. What's going on inside his mind?"
"Ding! DIng," The bell rang.
"Well that was last period! Have a good day everyone!" His teacher said waving.
"Apophis…" Lars said walking out of the class "For some reason… that name terrifies me" He walked to the back of the school sitting by himself by the schools field.
"Axel," Lance said, confronting him. "What's going on inside of that mind of yours."
"I… I can't explain it," Lars answered.
"Then fight me," Lance said. "If you can't tell me! Then show me!"
A fire burned in Lance's eyes as he and Lars locked eyes. Alone on the school field there was a chemistry between them that if present, could almost be felt.
"YOOOO Baby Blue!" A voice called from behind him.
Within seconds, B came from behind him wrapping him in a headlock.
"Is it true Yo are you really fighting Jeff after school today?" Reggie asked coming out of the dugout.
"Axel! You two get away from my friend!" 6 yelled running onto the field.
"Well is it true? Speak up Baby blue!" B asked still holding him in a lock.
"I… I can't breathe!" Lars yelled, his scream muffled by B's armpit.
"Oh?" B said letting him go.
Lars fell to the floor nearly passing out.
"So your going to fight Jeff today?" Lance said. "You, a Shifter who couldn't even take a punch two days ago? Am I the only one who thinks this is weird?"
"He's just a late bloomer!" Reggie said patting Lars on the back. "He just needed some time!"
"I have to agree with Lance." 6 said. "His case is extremely weird."
"Well who the hell asked you! You have a number for a name! You're like ten times weirder than Axel!" Reggie laughed.
"He's right? Just who the hell are you anyway?" Lance asked.
"Why Are your friends so mean!!!!" 6 cried, as blue tears came out of his face.
"Hmmm who the hell are you?" B said grunting at Lance. "Last time I checked you thought Baby Blue was a loser! Why are you hanging you with him now?"
"I'm not hanging out!" Lance declared "I'm fulfilling a promise!"
"My ass! Hahah your friends with the new Ax now aren't you!" Reggie said laughing.
"The new Ax..." Lars thought "What was Axel like?"
"I'm leaving" Lance said storming off.
"Really? Your not going to stay for Ax's fight with Jeff? Even if your not friends… I mean you'd be the loser if you missed something like that" Reggie said raising his eyebrows.
"Tsk! I'm only tagging along to see the fight" Lance said returning "Don't get any ideas about friendships or anything stupid like-"
"A NEW FRIENDDD!!!" 6 said hugging Lance "Now I have two friends!" 6 said yelling.
"HAHAH yeah welcome to the team Lance!" B said, putting him in a headlock.
"Get off me!" Lance yelled, sandwiched between them.
"Big bro!" Lars heard from behind him. Miriya ran up to him hugging his leg. "You have friends now?" She asked earnestly looking at the people behind him.
"We are not his-" Reggie covered Lance's mouth.
"That's right!" Reggie said. "And that makes us your friends too! Right guys?"
"Yeh!" (6)
"Damn straight!" (B)
"Immm nott- mmfmm" (Lance)
"Thank you!" Miriya said crying.
"She's so cuuuute!" 6 said crying blue tears out of his eyes.
"I miss RJ!" Miriya cried.
"Don't worry," Lars said. "Me and my friends are going to get RJ back! Right guys!"
"Yeh!" All of them answered. Except Lance, who was yelling out swears, muffled by Reggie's metallic hand.
Meanwhile in the badlands, Jeff patiently awaited Lars.
"Pb..." Jeff said standing in a forest surrounded by other cadets. "I won't let that punk get away with this!"