Planet Strara.
Parents in the crowds broke down crying when their kids died. Others glared hatefully at the Grimm's balcony. Richard nudged Ryker. Ryker put down his glass, unleashed his aura, and shapeshifted into his animal form. He opened his mouth and roared.
The glass shattered over the venue, and he broke many people's eardrums. Some squatted and covered their ears. Some stood still, uncaring for the other's plight. Ryker shifted back to his human appearance. He cleared his throat as he prepared to speak.
"Stop your useless glaring. Your children were the ones that chose to attack them. They made their own decisions. You feel guilty for not stopping them; perhaps a few of you encouraged them." He looked at the crowd below him.
"Your children got what they deserved. Who here today will have the face to say they have never taken a life? We have each gone through the awakening and experienced the hell it is. The Regorian Empire is not the only Empire or country participating. Hell, our planet, Strara, isn't the only planet participating. Millions of creatures die in the awakening process."
His voice fell off as he remembered his awakening. "Not even the royal family is safe during the awakening. Your kids made a choice and gambled. This time around, they made the wrong choice. The only thing you can do is mourn them and then have more kids to replace them."
He sat back down and poured a double shot of whiskey. He took the shot and sat quietly. Richard nodded his head, and Patty placed her hands on his. The people below sat down and didn't cause any disruptions.
Markus stood up and stretched. "I am leaving and will return in a week to see the kid's first day. Nothing interesting is going to happen after that demonstration." He bowed toward Caden and then walked out of the venue. The others also left. Caden and the Grimm family stayed.
Spaceship, One week later.
The Revens could be seen having a free-for-all spar. Meredith, Takashi, Talia, and Vincent weren't allowed to use their intents. It was the last free-for-all spar before they arrived at their destination. Garfield created shards of light and weaved his hands. The shards flew and attacked everyone with deadly accuracy. It was as if he was the conductor of a symphony.
Isabell moved while shooting the light shards. She twisted air around her arrows to make them sharper. Meredith shot them down with her rifle while dodging Vincent's advancements. Vincent moved around so that the light shards that targeted him would hit Meredith instead. Meredith had no choice but to shoot them down.
This gave Vincent the opening he needed to close to her. He stopped his swing before her neck. "I give up," Vincent smirked and moved towards Garfield. Garfield wrapped himself in light and turned invisible. Vincent took a deep breath and blew out white cold air.
Garfield hurriedly created a shield made of light. Vincent jumped in the air to chop downward at his head. He abandoned that as he felt the air change. He ignited his feet and moved to the side. An arrow made of air landed on the floor and blew away the cold fog.
Bruno sneaked up behind Isabella and put his blade at her heart and chest. Isabell huffed. "I give up." Bruno removed his swords. "Thank you, princess." Takashi and Talia were locked in a heated spar. Talia was weaving her sword left to right while shooting with her other hand.
Takashi was covered in a layer of earth and shrugged off the bullets. Trent stabbed his spear into the floor, causing it to become slippery. Takashi wasn't prepared and fell. Talia pointed her gun at his head. "You can ignore my bullets from a distance, but not from this range." Takashi moved her hand and joined Meredith and Isabell on the sidelines.
Garfield was in the middle of dodging Vincent's advancements. He created clones made of light to confuse him. Vincent grew tired of chasing him and stomped on the ground. A ring of fire spread and made him fall. Vincent put his axe on his forehead. "You're dead, Gar." Garfield sighed and moved to the side.
Bruno and Talia looked at each other and nodded their heads. They both charged Vincent. Vincent took out his poleaxe to have the reach advantage. Talia and Bruno disappeared when they reached the halfway mark before Vincent.
Vincent twirled his poleaxe. With each twirl and spin, fire trailed in the air. Yellow sparks also made an appearance. They moved around like magnets to Vincent. The flames moved to the right, and the lightning moved to the left.
*BOOM*
A loud explosion happened as Talia shot at Vincent. He learned from Meredith how to cause the explosions on purpose. He called this move the minefield. Anything that entered the minefield would be blown up. Bruno's sword almost stabbed him in his back.
'Damn! Having space affinity is a cheat.' Vincent disabled the minefield and rolled away. As he moved, he swung his poleaxe behind him to keep Bruno at bay. "Crap! Careful, Vincent, if I weren't fast enough, you would've cut my handsome face."
Vincent didn't respond to him as he had to defend against Talia's attacks. Talia had gotten faster and more precise with her attacks. She aimed for all of Vincent's weak points. Vincent wanted to fight with his short axes but decided against it. 'You have to overcome this.'
Vincent did the one thing his masters had beat into him. He let go of his weapon. Talia wasn't expecting him to let go. She swatted the poleaxe in the sky. Vincent delivered a combination of punches and kicks.
Talia wasn't prepared and suffered. Bruno tried to help but was blown away. Vincent created a ball of lightning and fire. He shot at Bruno, causing him to be flung out. He caught the poleaxe and placed the blade near Talia's head.
Talia's nose was bleeding, and she was missing a tooth. She raised her hand in surrender; Vincent helped her up and gave her a pill. Talia swallowed the pill and was as good as new. Bruno stood up. Vincent got back into his stance.
"Woah woah! Easy there, killer, I give up." Vincent relaxed and nodded his head. "Good job. You all have come a long way in a short time." Garfield smiled the widest when he heard Vincent. Takashi ruffled his hair.
"We must remain vigilant. In a few hours, we will arrive at the Genorma solar system. We are a team so we will be transported to the same awakening site. There will be other countries and planets involved. Watch yourselves and be prepared to kill."
"Everyone, please return to the hanger and strap into your seats. We have arrived at the Genormea solar system." Alec's voice sounded somber over the speakers. Vincent clapped his hands and equipped his Grimm clothes and the cloak.
"It's showtime. The Revens are about to make their first appearance." Vincent and the others got ready to leave when Garfield spoke up. "Wait! I have something for all of us." He ran to his side of the room and grabbed eight shiny bronze objects.
"Here, we can't be a group without a symbol." He passed one to each of them. They took it and looked at it in their hands. It was made of solid bronze with six-pointed sides on the outside, with the middle being filled by a sword that looked to be hanging from a strand of thread.
Vincent rubbed his fingers across the medal. "Gar, this is perfect!" Bruno said as he excitedly pinned it onto his shirt. Takashi silently placed it on his gauntlet. Meredith put hers on the end of her rifle. Trent tied it to the staff of his spear. Isabell took a ribbon and wrapped it around her wrist. Talia wrapped it around her sheath. Vincent strung it with a Cosmic thread and placed it around his waist.
Gar wore it around his neck with pride. Vincent patted him on his shoulders. "This is awesome, Gar. Thank you. It completely escaped my mind that we needed a symbol." Garfield scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"Alright, let's show the universe what we are made of." Vincent took the lead and walked to the hangar. As they passed the halls, people moved out of their way. Some groups felt the change in their auras as they walked. One group walked alongside them.
"Your plan almost worked. I killed the five men you sent back to us. I respect all of you, so if we see each other, let's not interfere with the other unless we have to. We are all from the same Empire." A girl spoke to Vincent once they reached the doors that led to the hangar.
"I agree, we should stay out of each other's way." He turned and faced her. "I will not spare your cousin. Rebecca Stanson will die by my hands. If you or anyone gets between me and her, then they will be killing themselves." Vincent didn't give her a chance to respond and went inside.
Talia shook her head as she passed the girl. Garfield gave her a look of pity and empathy. The girl's heart sank, and rage fogged up her mind. She gestured for her team to follow her inside.
Alec stood in front of a podium, waiting. Once everyone had gathered, he made a speech about the dangers and to remember they all hail from the same Empire. "There are over 5,000 of you. I wish I could see all of you return, but sadly that isn't likely. I will wish that you all die a glorious death when the time comes and that it will be quick."
People started disappearing from their spots as they were teleported to the planet that had the highest chance of having the right energy for them. The people with teams were teleported to Genormea itself. The planet was more enormous than planet Strara by 15 times. Vincent gave Gar a fist bump before disappearing.
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