Solar Dojo, Luminata City - November 15, 2035
🎵: LAMF - Neon Highway
Two months passed and everything proceeded as normal at the Solar Dojo. Sol continued to train his Light Power and became better at his craft. That explodey ball that he used in battle against Master Solar was one thing he spent much time polishing. He learned that he could control the intensity of the explosion based on the amount of energy he put into it. Good thing he did as there were a few mishaps in getting to this conclusion. He still wasn't sure what to name this move besides the obvious, "Light Bomb".
As high school continued, Sol became less dedicated to his studies as it wasn't only Luna occupying his mind anymore. Knowing that situations like that of the Quartz were happening in the city, he couldn't do anything about it. He has the heart of a hero and his heart aches. Thankfully, Rain wouldn't let him slip in grades, so he remained close to assist him with his homework. In class, however, he was on his own… until Asia came around.
Noticing that Sol was distracted all the time, she actually felt bad for him and offered to assist as well. She began passing answers to him on quizzes and exams, allowing him to still get by with decent grades. Sol still couldn't understand why she was doing this. Once Rain found out, even he was baffled as to why. Sol pulled her aside at lunch one day to ask her just that. She was surprisingly straightforward with her answer.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to do something nice since you're going through a major loss right now. I also feel bad after what happened last year. I just hope I wasn't giving you the idea that I liked you or anything.", Asia clarified.
"Nah, not at all", Sol responded, clearing his throat. "And you don't have to apologize for last year. It's in the past. I appreciate what you're doing."
"Great! How are you doing by the way?"
"A bit troubled. I found out some terrible stuff and I want to help, but…" He eyes Asia's confused expression. "Nevermind… I'll see you around."
Part of him wanted to believe that she was coming around and developing some interest, but that isn't how life works. Whatever the case, she was honest with him for once and the effort to make amends was enough. Asia can be considered a friend.
The situation at the Quartz hasn't seemed to have gotten better. Sol relentlessly combed the internet to find any news on what is happening there, but alas not. Not even a report on the overrun police precinct. No deaths. No hostages. This is unreal. Does the NYTEMARE have some sort of pull in the city that allows them to just get away with it? That goes with mentioning that he beat some of them up. He never followed through and took down the gang. What if they wanted revenge? For all he knows, they could be trying to find him among the residents of the Quartz and hurting more people as a result.
Sol is sickened by the idea that he could be the cause of someone being hurt, tortured, or worse, killed. He trusts Master Solar's judgment and wants to be truly ready, but it's an awful thought. Outside of training, he buries himself in distractions to keep it out of his mind. In just those 2 months, he started reading One Piece for the first time and already finished the entire series.
Sol immediately drops out of bed in haste. What the hell was that? It sounded like an explosion, but where could it have come from? Did something happen in the city? No, it was far closer than that. He looks out the window to see a patch of smoke blowing from the other side of the dojo grounds. Something's happened… or somebody's attacking.
Rain bursts into Sol's room, "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah, over there.", Sol answered, pointing to the smoke. "I'm willing to bet we're under attack."
"Me too. We should get down there and help."
"Let's defend our home, brother." Both boys fist bump.
Sol and Rain dressed in their training robes before rushing out of the dormitory. As soon as they do, they are startled by the sound of shooting. Both of their hearts sink, it is an attack, and if whoever it is kills anyone here… They couldn't even fathom it. The sound of shooting is clearly coming from the central courtyard, so that's where they head towards.
As soon as they reach it, they are witness to the masters and a few students being pinned down by relentless gunfire. The attackers barely let up for even a second. One of the students clutches his shoulder as he had taken a hit before they all dove behind cover. Sol peeks around the corner to see who they're and he is shocked… Tribal masks and cyber goth helmets… neon paint. But instead of blunt weapons, they are armed with heavy firepower.
"Who are these guys?" Rain yelled.
"OVER HERE!! Let's flank these fools!", yelled an approaching voice.
Rain and Sol nod at each other before they hide out of sight from where the voices are coming from. Two goons emerge from the corner behind them, ready to fire at the struggling party from a different angle. Both boys emerge from their cover to sneak attack them before they even get a chance. They beat them down hard and disarm their weapons.
"The NYTEMARE.", Sol replied with a stern look.
"That gang you told me about from the Quartz. What the hell are they doing here?"
"I don't know. Maybe they figured me out." Sol looks down at the mask, feeling like this is all his fault.
"Whatever the case is… we have to stop them, but we can't just run out there.", Rain urged him.
"They wanted to hit our friends from a different angle. Why don't we return the favor? Thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
"Yup, let's do it!"
Sol and Rain run their way up the roof of the building nearest the attacking party. The former is upset about the trouble he brought back home, but he has all the intent of fixing it. If he sits down and mopes, it'll only get worse. On the roof, the two look down at their enemy.
"Ready?"
"As ready as you are."
The two leap from their position and aerial take down two of the shooters. The rest turn their attention to their new opposition, nearly about to kill them. Sol is quicker and lights them up with a few bolts each.
"Uhh… draw!" he called out, jokingly.
Over behind cover, Master Lang is startled by the sudden stoppage. He and the rest watch as Sol and Rain have dispatched the attackers. The two kick away their weapons ensuring no surprises. They receive much praise from the ones they saved.
"Well done, both of you.", Lang said. "We are unsure who these intruders are or what they want, but-"
Rain interjects, "They're called the NYTEMARE, a gang from the Quartz. Sol faced them before, right bro?"
"Yeah, I don't know how, but they might've found me out and traced me back here.", Sol added.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm almost positive."
Understood, we have one hurt. I would like to avoid any more. The masters and I will secure the grounds. You two, escort the students to safety.", Lang ordered.
"Where's Master Solar?", Sol asked.
"He went towards the sound of the explosion. It was over by the lighthouse."
"The Vault… I have to go help."
"I gave you an order, Sol. Don't disobey me now."
"With all due respect, Master Lang, I will. This is on me and I have to fix this. Rain can handle the students, right bro?" Sol responded before nodding to his brother. He rushes towards the vault.
"SOL, WAIT! WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY THERE ARE!" Lang protested.
"Sorry, Master Lang, but trust him. He's got this!", Rain assured him.
Sol moves quickly through the village-sized dojo, having little issue with any other NYTEMARE goon in his way. Unfortunately… for them, he's no longer limited by the darkness of the Quartz. This time, they're out of their element. However, Sol is still curious about how they even managed to find him in the first place. He was masked the entire time and he was never directly detected to his knowledge. It's plausible that it took the 2 months to figure him out, but those two factors make this not add up at all.
If the explosion was at the vault, then that begs more questions. What are they looking for? How did they even know about it? Something's definitely up here. It might not even involve him after all and this second encounter could be a great coincidence.
Sol follows the smoke to the lighthouse, which had its doors blown open. He walks through to see the extent of the damage. The smoke hurt his eyes and he had to cover his nose and mouth to protect himself. The structure itself has minor damage, it was obviously built very strongly for this purpose. Curiously enough, the stairs down to the vault are opened, which is something that an explosion couldn't have caused. Someone activated the puzzle. This is baffling to Sol, but nonetheless, he proceeds down to the vault once again.
Descending the many steps, he starts to hear the sounds of fighting. The large room echoed the sounds of lowly thugs being taken down by a master… THE master. Master Solar took down four NYTEMARE goons before one of them held a gun to the head of Master Hasashi.
"Uh uh, grandpa. That's enough of that. Now if you don't want your old buddy's brains painted on the wall, I suggest you get your ass on the ground."
Master Solar stays standing with his hands up and his eyes trained on the gunner, "You already made a big mistake coming here, son. Let's not make more."
"What are you doing? Didn't you hear what I said? I'm the one with the gun here, now GE-"
The gunner is hit by a light bolt coming from each of Solar's raised hands.
Solar stares at the downed thug in disappointment before turning to the hurt Hasashi, "You alri-"
Two shots are fired into his leg, collapsing him to the ground. He writhes in pain right next to his injured ally. The gunshots echo back to the stairway, urging Sol to move faster. All of the NYTEMARE goons get back up and leave the two masters to go over to the shrine.
"No, stop! Get away from there!", cried Solar.
"SHUT UP, OLD MAN!! You might live a little longer if you do.", one of the goons yelled back. He turns back towards the leader of the group, "What's the word, boss? Should we go back and kill 'em?"
"Forget 'em. We have a job to do."
The group walks up to the Zone Shrine. While the leader focuses on the statue, the others are curious about the many parts of the shrine.
"Stand back, morons.", the leader yelled at his group. He mutters to himself, "Okay, so what was it that those guidos said to do here? Oh, right." He claps his hands together and then lowers his ring and pinky fingers. With the rest of his fingers raised, he separates his hands and places those fingers on the two dots of the Yin-Yang symbol. Both begin to glow black and white respectively and they proceed to switch places on the symbol. The statue dissipates out of this physical realm like a soul becoming a ghost.
Sol arrives at this exact moment to watch as the Torii gate opens up a portal. It was just as Master Solar had warned.
"The Dark World.", he whispered to himself.
His eyes land on his two masters, both hurt on the ground. He has to get over there and help them, but he's frozen in place by the surreal nature of this portal to another world. What will happen next? Is this group of NYTEMARE goons traveling through or is someone… or something coming here?
It's only a matter of seconds before his questions are answered. Another group of men comes out from the portal. They look like soldiers, but even more daunting, they are Gray Men just like the man with the gauntlets.
"Good evening, gentlemen.", greeted the leader of the Gray Man group.
This one is dressed much more decorated than the others, who resemble simple grunts. He just has to be a commanding officer. It isn't just in his elegant attire, but his whole demeanor and vocabulary.
"Yeah, what's up.", responded the leader of the NYTEMARE group. "Welcome to the Positive Zone. Uh, we hope that we did exactly what you wanted. Now, the guido told us that we would receive payment once the job was done. Was that with you or…?"
The Gray Man leader chuckles, "Right, yes. Your services were very much appreciated."
He reaches into his belt to grab what looks like his wallet. Instead, he quickly draws his sidearm, and BANG!! A shot is fired cleanly through the eyehole of the mask. The leader of the NYTEMARE group stands still for a moment. Everyone in the room including Sol and the masters is completely frozen in shock.
B-boss?", a NYTEMARE goon asked nervously.
There's no answer for him… only a stream of red dripping from the bottom of his boss' mask. He stood no longer as the soul left the body already and before everyone present, the leader of the NYTEMARE group fell quickly to the ground... dead.
"Finish the job, lads."
The other goons are in a trance as they couldn't have expected this. As they turn back to their attackers, a flurry of gunfire is unloaded. Sol watches in horror as the loser gang he fought in the Quartz is ruthlessly gunned down in front of him. He had never seen anyone die before, let alone in cold blood like this. Masters Solar and Hasashi are both older and much more experienced, but even for them, this is utter brutality.
After taking care of the NYTEMARE group, the Gray Man leader looks around and takes this new world in, "Now this place is something! Let's hope these morons did their job and cleared out the pla-" He notices the two men lying injured on the ground, "You lot don't look like a couple of street thugs. I'm willing to wager you belong to this place."
"Who are you and what is your game here?", Master Solar questioned with a defiant look.
"No games here. I'm just following my orders." He raises his gun at both of them, "And you're also in my way…"
Before he could fire, the leader was hit square in the head with a light bolt. Sol nails the other two with precise shots of his own.
"You have much more in your way… BRUV", Sol fiercely claimed.
"SOL!", Solar and Hasashi yelled in unison.
🎵: Absolute Valentine - Bad News
The soldiers were able to tank the bolts thanks to their helmets, so they all got back up quickly to face their attacker. The leader pulls his knife and violently swings at the young fighter. Sol dodges the swipes but is nearly hurt by both grunts also attacking with their knives. He kicks the leader back with a hard foot to the chest before pulling one of the grunts in front of the other and promptly kicking them both back.
"Come on, guys! Three against one is hardly fair… for you!" Sol boldly quipped.
Solar and Hasashi watch in awe as this young man fights off three opponents. Sol moves like the wind to defend his masters. He focuses his efforts on the grunts as they should be the easier ones to take down. He keeps the leader at bay with a swift combo of punches, kicks, and light bolts. Those efforts pay off as he knocks out the two grunts, leaving just one.
"Impressive. So if you're here, then I assume the NYTEMARE didn't take this stronghold?", the Gray Man asked.
"They raided the wrong place. So did you! As pathetic as they were though, you shouldn't have killed them."
"You look and sound young, so let me let you in on a little secret: I don't give a shite!" He swings at Sol with his knife but is caught and flipped to the ground.
Sol disarms him painfully, "Aw, mum must've forgotten to tell you not to play with knives." With one knee to the face, he is victorious against his mysterious opponents.
He turns back to his masters, who are rather visibly impressed with his showing. He leans over to help them up, but all three are suddenly drawn to an unsettling sound. A beastly growl emerges from the still-open portal, taking them all by surprise.
"Uh, you said we don't know what's on the other side. We really didn't know, huh?", Sol nervously joked.
A figure larger than they could ever imagine emerges from the portal. It nearly breaks the torii gate as it comes through, but the strangest thing is that it doesn't even have a face. No, rather, it looks like a finger… two fingers. What is this thing? It reaches towards the spot where Sol defeated the soldiers.
"What on planet Earth is that?", Solar yelled.
Sol jumps back towards his masters to protect them. He shoots numerous bolts at the beast, which does absolutely nothing. It swings back and forth, hitting the supports.
"Sake, if it keeps hitting the supports, the roof and maybe the dojo itself could come down on top of us", Hasashi urged.
"I know, I'm trying to think!"
Sol tried to think quickly himself, but this was far from anything he expected to face. One thing catches the eye of both he and Solar, however. Some of the artifacts in the vault were large ancient-looking weapons. One in particular is a behemoth of an ax, double-sided… like a medieval knight would use. They both smile and nod at each other.
Sol jumps to his feet and makes his move. He slides under the incoming finger before using the other as a spring. He kicks off the nearby support to place himself directly over the fingers. He raises his hands in the air as he starts to descend. Master Solar raises his two fingers in a familiar fashion and instantly, that ax appeared in Sol's hands.
"HAAAAHHHHHH!!" Sol yelled as he swung the ax down at the fingers.
The old ax broke on impact, but it did some damage as it pierced the skin. Roars of pain are heard from the other side of the portal, making it even clearer. Sol, still on top, is launched back in the air. The fingers retract back into the portal, but not before taking the other unwelcome visitors with it.
Sol does his superhero landing, catching his breath instead of saying anything. He turns to his still-downed masters, holding the now broken ax.
"Sorry about the ax, Master. I know you love your collector's weapons."
"Never mind that. I have a task for you.", Sake asserted.
"Sake, wait. It could be too dangerous.", Hasashi protested.
"Not for him." He turns to Sol with a smile, "Go through, Sol. Retrieve the Spectre Gem."
"A Spectre Gem? What is that?", Sol asked.
"You will know it when you see it. Take the Specteract with you, it will let you know when you're close and you can store the gem inside." He points to the Tesseract he saw when he first entered the vault.
Sol goes over to its display and grabs it. The cube within a cube glowed in his hands. It felt right at home there with him. He places it in his pocket and rushes towards the portal. Before he walks through the portal, he wonders how he'd even get back.
"How-
"The gem will activate the shrine. It's what us old heads called a 'cheat code.' Now, get going and… Good luck, son!"
Sol smiles, "I'll be back, pop!"
Negative 5 - Amethyst Rain
The Dark World - November 15, 2035 (If time is even the same here)
🎵: Floydshayvious - One Last Run
Sol steps out of the portal and one issue he hoped he wouldn't have needed to deal with anytime soon reared its ugly head. Once again, he was fully drained of his light power and once again, felt like utter shit. It seems even worse now because he still had a bit of energy at the Quartz. Over there, he was at about ten to fifteen percent. Here, one percent.
The loss of his power seems minuscule compared to another glaring fact. The soldiers he faced are lying unconscious in front of the portal as gray as they've ever been, but it doesn't stop at them. The walls of this structure, the ground beneath, every object in the immediate vicinity, the sky visible through the lack of ceiling… all of it is gray, or to be more definitive, colorless. The only thing Sol sees that has any semblance of color is himself. Much like all the gray men in his, he remains unchanged by the crossover into this world. Once again, he's out of his element.
The roar of the unknown beast he fought only minutes ago rings like a morning alarm. Thankfully, it sounds a great distance away, so he doesn't need to worry about that for now. The only thing to focus on is finding whatever this Spectre gem is.
"Okay, that thing is finally gone. Let's check on the general!", said an approaching voice.
A group of soldiers rush in to get to the downed ones lying in front of the portal. Sol rushes to get behind some nearby crates as he's once again, unable to fight. The group rushes to the aid of their fallen squadmates.
"General! General Spyral, are you okay, sir?"
"General? I bodied a general? Awesome!" Sol thought to himself.
The dazed General and his men are helped to their feet, "Agh, my head. Turns out the Positive Zone is better equipped than we thought."
"What happened, sir?"
One of the grunts speaks up, "We all got battered by some kid."
"That's enough out of you, soldier!" Spyral intervened. "Agh, I need a minute before I can report this. We have a problem."
"Let's get them to the Infirmary. Close that portal and stand guard, we don't want whoever they dealt with to come through"
"Too late now, jerk-offs.", Sol whispered.
One of the soldiers does as he's told and approaches the portal which here is made up of an archway instead of a torii gate. He runs his hand along the side to deactivate the portal. There must be some sort of switch in that spot. The Yin Yang statue manifests back into existence, but it's quite distinct from the one back home. Rather than a raven perched on the Yin Yang symbol, it's a dog running with it hanging from its mouth. Pretty adorable for such a dark place. Speaking of dark places…
"Okay, so… I'm trapped here forever until I find that Spectre gem. Good one, Master." Sol takes a breath, but even that is too hard to fully do, "Better get to it. Hmmm, maybe if I follow them…"
Sol sneakily tails the General's group, hoping that he can get some information out of it. He sneaks using the crates scattered about what he assumes is their vault. Avoiding the patrols inside, he catches up to the group as they move. They walk out into an open courtyard just past the entrance to the place. The walls are so incredibly tall, that it looks like the kind of place he'd visit on a field trip for history class. This isn't the dojo anymore, it's a whole military fort. There are soldiers scattered around this courtyard, which might deter any nervous intruder, but Sol knows how to manage.
"Bollocks, this has to be the most embarrassing defeat since the Colosseum. How could this happen?" cried Spyral in frustration.
"It's alright, sir. At least, you're back here safely."
"Colosseum? What are these guys… Gladiators?", Sol thought.
The group enters the nearest building, but the doors are unfortunately being guarded.
"Welcome back to Fort Lunar, General! Are you okay, sir?" said the door guard.
"SHUT UP, YOU"
Sol isn't able to get through, but fortunately, someone opens a nearby window. The smell is tantalizing, it better be the kitchen. He climbs up through the window to find one cook hastily prepping food. And Sol thought the General seemed frustrated, he better not get caught by this guy and make his life harder.
"Damn it! I'll have to deal with that later.", the cook muttered in frustration.
Sol is preoccupied with keeping an eye on the group through the kitchen service window. Another cook is just outside the window, serving food to the soldiers at mealtime. Looks like he found himself in the mess hall, at breakfast time. Isn't that great?
Sol is so focused on the group and getting by the cook that he fails to notice an upcoming mishap. He slips on an oil spill just on the other side of the kitchen prep table. He goes for a short ride on the floor, clutching his hands over his mouth in a panic. He then looks back at the cook, praying that he didn't hear a thing.
"Bloody military, I better get a goddamn Medal of Honor for serving this lot of slobs."
Sol gets up, trying not to slip again, and reaches for the door. He peeks through the door and sees the group exiting the place. He quickly breaks for the nearest window to exit the way he came in. The door flapping open and close alerts the cook inside, but good thing Sol is already out.
Muffled inside, the cook called out, "Gordon, is that you? Please help me out he- HOW DID THIS OIL SPILL SPREAD?!?"
The group makes it over to the Infirmary just a few feet away from the mess hall. Sol is just behind, waiting for any kind of useful information, but this group says nothing. The infirmary stands beside a yard of tents, which stand a short distance away from the landing zone of a few VTOL gunships. He wouldn't want those coming after him. As the group heads inside the building, trouble emerges as a light is shone in his direction.
"HEY, what is that?!", yelled a patrol.
Sol turns back, rushing towards the tents and trying to hide himself within the chaotic layout. The guard runs over and tries to give chase on that shadowy figure he thinks he saw, but after circling around, gives up.
"Hmm, must've been the win-" The guard is grabbed and pulled into one of the tents.
Sol emerges from the same tent.
"That was a close one.", he whispered to himself. "I'm not gonna get anywhere just walking around here. Need a vantage point… Get a good look, but where?"
Looking around, he spots a tower of decent height, possibly around the size of the lighthouse. That would do the job nicely. He sneaks through the yard of tents, a gray maze with patrols on the lookout for him. He makes sure to keep track of the lights within the tents and the flashlights to track the enemy. If only these lights would give him some kind of pick-me-up, but that would just be too good to be true.
Sol reaches the tower and sees nothing, but stairs leading to the top. Not like the long winding path to the vault, the path to the top is very easy especially helpful in this state. At the top, Sol hears some chatter on the radio. Only one soldier occupies the tight-spaced room on the tower. He simply looks on through the scope of his sniper rifle, signifying that this must be a lookout. Perfect for what Sol intends to do here. He carefully approaches the soldier as the chatter continues.
"BANG!" The lookout laughs, "I would've got you, birdie." "Man, nothing interesting happens here, does it.", he muttered to himself.
The coast is still clear for Sol after that scare. Thankfully, his little blunder by the infirmary didn't raise any alarms. The lookout is too fixated on his scope, so this one is no challenge at all. Sol clutches the barrel and pulls back the weapon, striking the lookout in the face with his own scope. He falls to the floor knocked out.
"Oh look, something interesting!", Sol mocked.
With the sniper rifle in his hands, he opts to use it for surveying the area, but before he does so, the view blows him out of his clothes. The Solar Dojo overlooks Luminata City from across Lumi Bay to the Southwest. This military fort… also overlooks a city… Luminata City, no… A dark, dystopian-like imitation of Luminata City. He couldn't believe it. Is this dark world really like in the video game? A dark counterpart to the world he's known all his life?
"A parallel world… Everything is colorless. The city looks like Luminata's evil twin, does that mean…", Sol thought to himself. "This fort… is the dark Solar Dojo."
As he analyzes the fort's parallel nature to his home, he notices something peculiar in its design. From the top of the yard of tents, small white lights weakly glow into the dark night. This isn't anything out of the ordinary. What is, however, is the fact that these same lights are only on a few of the tents as opposed to all. Then, they continue on to the ground and other structures in what looks like… a path.
It's possible they could be runway lights for the VTOLs, but the placement suggests otherwise. Perhaps, they might be his best bet at locating the Spectre gem. It's a long shot, but he doesn't have any solid leads to work with otherwise.
"Odd. Did these soldiers place these lights? Hope I'm not heading into a trap.", Sol thought.
He removes the sniper's scope and uses it to spot any potential dangers in his path. There isn't too much to worry about besides another set of soldiers to sneak around, but he'll have to get near that large building across the way. Zooming closer at the sign, he reads "Fort Lunar Communications Station".
"Fort Lunar? Like the opposite of Solar Dojo? Who writes these things? he laughed.
Sol uses the lookout's rappel gear to get back down to the ground quickly. He sneaks past some more guards heading towards the Comms Station. As he nears the landing zone, a jeep pulls up with some extra soldiers. One of them is in pilot gear, getting ready to fly.
"MOVE! MOVE! We have to get the General to the tower!"
Sol sneaks past them to get to the station. From there, he can spot some more of these lights forming a straight trail further into the fort, a less populated area from what he can tell. At this point, the idea of them being runway lights is farfetched. They must be some kind of beacon, but who placed them where they are and why?
He follows the beacons closely while out of sight. They lead him to a hangar at the rear of the fort. Okay, they really could be runway lights after all… or maybe not. The Specteract begins to vibrate in his pocket like his phone when he's out late free running. He pulls it out to see it flashing bright into the dark hangar. Considering he had to bring it with him for this task, the Spectre gem has to be here. The only other noticeable thing is one more beacon off to the side. He walks slowly, feeling his way through until he finds the spot… it's some kind of fuse box. This could be a risky move but he's gonna have to try.
"Here goes nothing."
Sol pulls the lever and quickly, "Here goes nothing" appeared to be a poor choice of words. The entire hangar springs to life as every light turns on. A short distance away, some soldiers are startled by sudden activity at the hangar.
"Uhh, command? Was there work scheduled to be done in Hangar Butter at this time?" called one of the soldiers.
"Negative, Sergeant. Next scheduled maintenance is at 0600.", replied the command.
"Thought so! You three, go check it out."
After just over a minute, enough time to alert anyone in the vicinity, the lights turn back off, leaving just a purple light in the far corner. That is pretty uncharacteristic in this world, so he may have come across something big here. However, he's distracted by something big alright. That glaring large vehicle that is sitting in the middle of the hangar… it's not just any vehicle… It's shaped like a scorpion.
"What the hell is this?" Sol thought.
His thoughts are immediately interrupted by the sounds of soldiers approaching. No time! He has to move quickly. Using his free running skills, he achingly climbs to the light fixture emanating the colorful glow. He removes the light cover to see the source first hand. When Master Solar said "Spectre gem", he wasn't kidding. It's a glowing purple gem. From the top of his head, Sol knows that the most popular purple gem is the Amethyst. He quickly examines it, feeling a slight burst of energy.
"Yep, that's a 'Spectre gem' alright. Gotta move!" he urged himself.
The room is lit only by the gem, but he's able to make out an exit hatch through the roof. He quickly jumps towards the catwalk, which is excruciatingly rough while he's so drained, but he has no time to catch his breath. He rushes towards the ladder and climbs up to the hatch just as the soldiers rush in. The sound of the escape hatch slamming shut, as Sol hastily escaped, echoes through the dark hangar. There's an intruder.
The entire fort goes on alert after the soldiers report the occurrence. It might just be much more difficult to get back to the Zone Shrine with the guards now on high alert. Sol holds the gem tight, still feeling the slight surge of energy. He jumps to the other rooftop then contemplates what to do.
"Hmm, could this work? Could probably kill me, but so will they… Ah, screw it!", he thought.
Sol clutches the gem and raises his other hand. He takes the deepest breath he could take before lifting two fingers and placing his thumb in between. He teleports away from the hangars back to the Zone Shrine. However, It wasn't a smooth landing as he immediately collapsed from pure exhaustion. The Spectre gem fell from his loose grip and bounced away.
Master Solar's words ring loudly, "Light Speed Teleportation is a tricky move for all of us. Like I said, it is probably our most powerful ability, quite exhausting."
Solar Dojo, Luminata City - October 1, 2035 [Flashback]
"It has its limitations that keep us from abusing it and well… being too lazy. For us to be able to teleport anywhere, we must have been there already. This way we can vividly picture the exact location to land. It takes proper concentration as an erratic mind could twist your imagination and send either you to the wrong place or the wrong subject wherever you're going. You also have to get a good grasp on your stamina because much like the rest of your arsenal, it will drain your energy… immensely. Depending on how far you go, whoever or whatever you teleport, and however many you teleport, it will have a different effect on you."
"Wow, that is so insane to think about, but it makes sense, teleporting is such a broken ability we can have.", Sol replied. Could we theoretically improve our physical fitness to make its use less taxing?"
"Yes, much like you would in order to run faster and/or longer, you can train yourself. Although, age still plays a factor as you saw with me."
"Wow, that is unbelievable. And that finger thing you do before you teleport?"
"It's a hand sign… and it allows me to allocate energy towards the ability without over-exerting myself. It might not be as simple for you, but that's why you will experiment."
"Okay, okay. Let me give it a shot."
[Present Day]
Sol is on the ground, unable to stand, and barely able to move. He was so close. Almost home… but he's completely out of steam. He looks up to see the gem just out of reach. Just past it is the shrine… the dog statue staring at him blankly, almost tauntingly. Home is just inches away. Once he's back, he'll breathe easily again with his people. He crawls forward, reaching for the gem while battling through the strain. It wasn't in his nature to give up. His defeat at the hands of Master Solar was merely an obstacle that bettered him in his journey. The journey that will not end here in the dark world.
"CAN'T. STOP. W-WON'T STOP"
With just a push, he clutches the purple gem in his hand once more, feeling the same slight surge of energy. He raises his hand holding the gem towards the shrine, hoping this is the right way of opening the portal. The statue that was taunting him earlier brings the best news as it activates and dissipates, leaving nothing between him and the portal.
"What in the Emperor's name?! I found the intruder. STOP, YOU!!", yelled one of the guards of the shrine warehouse.
Thanks to the boost of the gem, Sol can push himself back to his feet. This guard is joined by a few other soldiers almost immediately. They all start shooting at the young man. Sol runs as fast as he can, dodging gunfire before diving desperately through the portal.
Back to the light world… Back to the Solar Dojo… Back home.
Chapter 5 (continued)
The Light World - November 15, 2035
🎵: Saffari - Pacific
Sol lands violently on the floor of the dojo vault but is uninjured. He can feel all of his energy coming back, just as he strived for. Enjoying his ability to fully breathe again, he was startled by bullets whizzing past him from the soldiers he left behind.
"HE'S HERE, CLOSE IT NOW!!", yelled a familiar voice.
One of the students deactivates the portal, saving everyone in the room from any further risk. Sol looks up to see a guard barricade made with a group pointing spears at the portal. Master Forge walks over from the other side to help him up.
"Welcome back to the Positive Zone, Sol.", he said as he pulled him to his feet. "I assume you found it"
Sol raises the gem, astonishing everyone in the room.
"Well, how else would I get back to the light world or… Positive Zone, you said?"
"It's better that Solar explains it all to you. He's being patched up in the infirmary. Go to him, kid, and… outstanding job."
Sol rushes out of the vault back to the rest of the dojo. The place is once again at peace. All of the masters have taken control and the students are safe. Sol returns to the central courtyard where all of the remaining NYTEMARE goons have been rounded up and captured. The ones killed in the vault have been placed in body bags. Masters Lang and Suzuki are overheard speaking about the police being on their way to take care of them.
Sol enters the infirmary at the edge of the courtyard. Inside, he finds Master Hasashi and the student hit during the ambush both just finishing getting patched up. Master Solar is lying in a bed next to Rain, who has patched him up himself.
"Ah, Sol, welcome back.", he said immediately after noticing him.
Rain turns around and is glad to see his best friend back, "Sol, holy crap! I was worried, bro. Did you find it?"
Sol places the Spectre gem and then, the Specteract on the bed next to Solar.
"This was one hell of a test, I'll give you that.", Sol claimed confidently.
Solar laughs, "One that I had no doubt you could complete." He reaches his hand out for Sol to help him up. "Now, I'm sure you have many questions. Allow me to answer them"
Solar takes the purple gem and holds it in front of both, "This is the Amethyst gem, just one of ten Spectre gems."
"TEN?!?" Sol and Rain both ask in shock.
"Yes, and all of them have been hidden just like this one. They are far too dangerous if they fall in the wrong hands." He places it inside the Specteract to further amazement from both boys. He says as he places it in his pocket, "There's more to speak about. Let's move to my quarters."
Sol and Rain both assist Solar through the dojo. There are so many things on the former's mind based on everything he saw. He can't help but want to talk about it.
"This dark world. It's unbelievable, I was completely drained just like in the Quartz. Not to mention, it's all colorless. I was in this military fort called 'Fort Lunar'. I saw a city in the distance that was like a dark Luminata. What's exactly the deal with that place? Does it take place in a different time? Am I gonna lose my color eventually? Oh, and that goes without mentioning the giant creature we fought!"
"I'm sure you picked up an idea of what that place is.", Solar responded to calm him.
"Yeah, Master Forge called this the Positive Zone. I assume that means that place is the Negative Zone?", Sol questioned.
"Correct! As a matter of fact, beyond the lack of color and dark aura that affects Light Superhumans, the Negative Zone is no different from us. It follows the same time, same climates, and histories aren't too different."
"Dark aura. I see.", Sol said.
"So, it's like a parallel dimension?", Rain asked.
"No, not exactly. It exists on the same Earth as us but in a different plane of reality. The proper term is "Zone of Reality"
Sol and Rain both repeat that phrase as they try to make it click.
"That city you saw is just a taste of the mirror image of the Luminata States, the Noirata Empire."
"Empire?", Sol asked.
"Wasn't the imperialism age long over after the First World War?" Rain added.
"Apparently, not. I don't know why they came here, but those men we dealt with were Imperial Soldiers. I won't even begin to theorize what that thing that also attacked was." Solar speaks directly to Sol, "I am certain that the 'Gray Man' you encountered back in June is also an imperial soldier."
Sol thinks about that night and his encounter. It all makes sense that he would be involved, which means that Luna could've been kidnapped by the Noirata Empire. But, why?
"So, this… Empire. They have Luna.", Sol deduced.
Solar remains silent with a stern demeanor, "It's possible. For what purpose? I do not know."
"There were also those mafiosos with the 'Gray Man' in the alley. Maybe they have her."
"What would the mafia even want with Luna? And do we even know what family they belong to?", Rain asked.
"We don't, but it could also be a likely scenario. Only one way to find out.", Solar responded.
The two boys give him a look of puzzlement, but he just smiles as they keep moving towards his quarters. Once they finally reach it, Solar feels better walking himself the rest of the way. In his bedroom, he goes over to a box he has stored in his closet. Sol and Rain were expecting tea time, but he approached with a white cloth.
"The only way to solve this crisis is to investigate… and I am looking at the right man… a certain knight to take on the task," Solar said.
"This is… a graduation sash. You don't mean-"
"I do! You have grown so much these last few months, exponentially since our confrontation. Your actions tonight in protecting the dojo only strengthened that idea and I knew that you were capable of venturing into the Negative Zone to retrieve the gem." Sake places his hand on the shoulder of his son, "I am so proud of you."
"Thank you, Papa-san.", Sol responded before the two hugged.
"Congratulations, brother.", Rain said to him before they hugged.
"Thank you, brother."
Sol holds up his sash, marveling at its design. It is then that he remembers a notable detail about its color scheme.
"Wait, white… this is the rookie sash!"
"Yes, it is.", Sake acknowledged with a cheeky smile.
Sol raises an eyebrow at this but knows this doesn't take away from his capabilities. He just hypes himself up as this is now his time.
"Noirata Empire, you don't know what's coming."
"Errr, Sol. You're ready, but not for the Noirata Empire. We're only working with conjecture here.", Sake reminded him. "You did well against grunts-"
"And a general. The leader of that group turned out to be a general."
"Okay, a general… but don't get ahead of yourself. They are the furthest from a joke. Their leader… He is a whole other kind of animal."
"Hmm, Empire… so, is this guy some kind of evil emperor warrior dictator?", Sol asked excitedly.
"You're building him up like a supervillain, aren't you?" Rain asked, shaking his head.
"Don't have to. Already sounds like a supervillain to me."
"Don't, Sol. I know very little about him, but considering he took over the former Noirata Kingdom practically overnight, he's not to be messed with.", Solar warned.
"Besides, we don't even know if this Luna situation leads back to him.", Rain added.
"Precisely, Rain. We have to work with what we already know and find a realistic place to start from."
Sol blanks out for a moment on where he could start. This is all so surreal, between his trip to the Negative Zone and Master Solar's blessing. He knows plenty, but none at all at the same time.
"Come on, think about it. You know exactly where to start.", Sake nudged.
"The NYTEMARE! They opened the portal to the Negative Zone, they mentioned payment for a job before they were killed.", Sol recalled.
"Specifically, told by a 'guido', which sounds to me like a mobster. Don't you agree?" Solar added.
Sol nods in agreement, "So, I'm headed back to the Quartz."
"Looks like you get to help those people properly this time. I originally was supposed to go with you, but I'm hardly in the right condition, so I will stand by to watch your back."
"I wish I could be out there with you too, but without my light powers having come out, I wouldn't be much of an asset.", Rain claimed.
"Don't say that, you absolutely would.", Sol corrected him.
"It's alright. I will stand by to watch your back too. In fact, I've been working on some gadgets to help you out."
You see! You are the best asset. I will feel even stronger with you looking after me. Both of you.", Sol assured.
Solar reached for something else inside the box. He pulls out a piece of parchment and holds it up. He then grabs the Specteract from his pocket as well.
"As I previously mentioned, the Amethyst gem is just one out of ten Spectre gems. Now that we have this, you should be able to go through the Quartz without issue. If your path leads us to the Negative Zone, you will need all of the gems to repel the dark aura from draining you. Here."
He hands Sol the parchment in his hand. It's just a map one would simply find at a subway station, dated all the way back to 2015. It has many areas crudely circled with a red marker like some goober's bootleg treasure map.
Sol could guess what this is, "You marked the locations of the Spectre Gems on a city map?"
"Not the gems themselves, but the locations of other Zone Shrines in the city which lead to another test to locate them."
"You could have just given me a digital version?"
"I am not going to create data that could be stolen, Sol. What part of 'these gems are far too dangerous in the wrong hands' did you not understand?"
Sol sees his point and holds onto the map, "The sacred subway map it is."
Solar bows to Sol and Rain follows suit.
"Good luck! This journey will not be a simple one. Get some rest, tonight will be a big night."
Sol bows, "Yes, sir." He rises back up, "I will not disappoint you."
Moments later, Sol climbs up to the top of the lighthouse. Its architecture is reminiscent of feudal Azunoshi. It does go along well with the rest of the dojo.
He stands at the top, facing the great city across the bay. A city of lights, one that he never imagined hid such darkness. An urban utopia no more, that needs him… just as someone else needs him.
"Luna, I will find you… and bring you home."
————————————— END OF PART I ————————————