The elevator door opens and a gigantic circular auditorium is shown. Above is one giant circular light, enough to dim the area like a movie theater. All around the rooms perimeter is 25 elevators. Students are exiting and finding seats to sit around the circular stage. Conversations are going on everywhere. 210 students are attended.
There are 3 people sitting down awaiting the students.
One is General Gray. He is wearing a similar version of the students uniform but it is black and teal. He has an eyepatch on one of his eyes behind his sunglasses.
The second man is the Dr. but he is now in a wheelchair.
The last man has shoulder length dark blonde hair, deep blue eyes, blue glasses to match his eyes, a thin blonde beard, and the same outfit as Gray but has a golden cape.
Katsu and his friends exit the elevator and walk to the left. They converge with other exiting students. Teachers in uniforms, like the students but they are white and black. One teacher is waving students down the aisle.
TEACHER: "Take every seat! Please take every seat. This way start the next row."
Katsu and his friends find their seats and sit down. Katsu stares at the stage.
KATSU: "I can't believe it's already been 3 years…"
Shelly looks over to him. She looks sad.
SHELLY: "Katsu… please promise me that if we aren't made partners-"
KATSU(cuts her off): "Don't die."
[Katsu is looking at Shelly with a concerned stare.]
KATSU: "I'm sorry to cut you off Shelly…but if we're making promises, you promise me first that you won't die."
Shelly's face turns comedically red and she looks away. Aiden and Jay watch her aware of the awkward teenage girl. Katsu in confusion looks at her turned head. She looks back at him, her face is back to normal. She gives him a smile.
SHELLY: "I promise."
Katsu smiles back, he opens his mouth but before he can say it the arena darkens and the center stage is fully lit. Everyone goes quiet as the man in the far right chair stands up. It is General Gray. He walks up to the podium and microphone then clears his throat. He looks at the crowd with a similar hard and stern look.
GRAY: "To start off. I would like to thank each and every one of you. If you don't already know, I am General Gray. Over the past three years you have devoted your body, your mind, and your soul to helping restore humanity after the alien invasion that happened 3 years ago. Three years since snow started falling and accumulate around the globe as well as the dragon like alien, Leviathan, crash landed on this planet. As if one uninvited guest wasn't bad enough, it brought beasts we've come to know as "Icemen" and they've began exterminating the human race."
Katsu remembers his parents death and his fist tightly grips his black pants. Shelly notices and puts her hand on his.
Katsu looks and calms down, Shelly takes her hand away, she goes to put it back, but decides not to. Neither notice Aiden watching, side eyed.
GRAY: "Some of you have been fortunate enough to have never encountered these creatures…yet. This emergency academic program has trained your bodies to the maximum as well as taught you the most basic rules of survival in 'Hell' outside these 3 Sister Mountains. And for that I thank you. As you all know, today starts your final chapter before becoming soldiers for Humanity's Final Flame. You will be put on teams of four. Three students and one mentor. As this is the first year of fully trained graduates we will have a limit to how many of you may pass…"
Everybody goes into an uproar.
GRAY: "QUIET ROOKIES!!!!"
Everyone goes silent
GRAY: "If you do not pass and would like to continue your training in the HFF academy for next years qualifiers, you will be allowed but if you no longer want to be part, you will be given a police or civilian job within Mount Decima. Your commanders have watched all 210 of you very closely these few years. They have all assigned your teams together in balance of skill, intelligence, will power, and most importantly how much they think you seriously want to save humanity. That is why 195 of you will stay in the academy. While the other 15 will graduate, and move to the next level of Final Flame training.
Shelly gets a worried look on her face. She looks at Katsu who is fixated on the stage. She thinks to herself.
SHELLY: *If we don't end up on the same team and one of us fails, we'll never see each other again…then it'll be harder to keep both my promises*
[Beeping and blinking is seen throughout the arena. It is everyone's watches. Shelly quickly looks at hers. The watch screen is scrolling through numbers at a fast pace]
GRAY: "As you have been told to bring the watches left at your dorm room door. You will now be given your team number on those watches."
SHELLY: *So that's all these are for? *
Katsu's watch goes black and 40 is shown he looks over to Shelly's quickly. Hers is still going it then goes black, tension builds, 40 is shown. They both look at each other and exhale. Cheers and disappointment is heard throughout the arena.
KATSU: "Haha see I told you. Hey Aiden what about you?(thinking)*Thank God I'll know somebody*
Aiden is staring at his watch and looks sad. He shows them. 32 is shown.
AIDEN(mocking): "See I told you."
Katsu gets disappointed.
KATSU: "What about you Jay?"
Jay shakes his head and shows his watch, "20". Katsu and Shelly get sad. Everyone goes quiet again.
GRAY: "Now that you all have your squad numbers. There are tags on certain rooms on the 5th floor of this building. There, you will meet your mentor and your new teammates. Learn to treat these people like family, to some of you, they might become the closest thing to family you have left. Now, I would like to introduce you all to the "Highest Echelon of HFF", MR. Ryan Briggs!"
[The tall handsome man in a gold cape stands up, smiles, and waves to the cheering crowd. Katsu gets really excited.]
KATSU: "The Highest Echelon of Humanities Final Flame. The best killer of Icemen. I can't wait to put on that gold cape someday."
Shelly blushes and smiles at his confidence.
SHELLY: "I KNOW you can beat more Icemen and save more people from 'Hell' than him someday."
KATSU: "Well I'm going to have to. Unless someone tougher beats his numbers before me. But Ryan Briggs is a hero to some people in the Sister Mountains."
[Briggs sits down and everyone goes quiet.]
GRAY: "He was to give the weapons and survival gear breakdown but due to a sore throat, I will speak on Mr. Briggs behalf. First, a letter in his own words: To all the young men and women of this brave first class. Your first step towards being the saviors of humanity is just upon you. Your priority as saviors from 'Hell' is to rescue humans and destroy Icemen. If you do not want to be part of something as tragic, maybe more than human on human war, you will not be judged or ostracized. As someone who sees those monsters everyday, I understand."
[Everybody looks around nobody gets up and nobody leaves. Gray waits for a moment then looks at Briggs. Briggs nods his head a white screen drops from the ceiling and Gray continues.]
GRAY: "Now that you all have been shown your team numbers. Tomorrow before your squads go out on its first excursion, you will receive your very own dual wielded SunSwords sheathed within their HeatHolsters."
A picture of the red hot swords and their "toaster-like" sheaths appear on the projected screen above Gray.
GRAY: "You can decide on single or dual wield depending on your comfort. These swords are designed to retain heat up to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and are effective against Icemen for 5 min max. Less weight comes with the single set up but after 5 minutes or after it's gone through enough cold bodies, you're left weapon less. On the other hand, the availability of switching between the two blades gives you no time limit OR 5 minutes of dual wielding fury but 20 extra pounds attached to your hips. The holsters are designed to heat the swords to these incredible temperatures without harm to the wearer. Also, when heating, the holsters store a lot of compressed and hot air. This hot air can be expelled from the back of your holsters for a small boost in jump length or sliding speed. You have been previously fitted before-hand so size should not be an issue. With the weapons, you will find your all terrain BoardBoots.
A picture of a boot with a retractable "mini-snowboard" appears on the screen.
GRAY: "Since the arrival of the Icemen it has snowed lightly nonstop. Earth's temperature does not effect this snow but it's accumulation max, even in South America and Africa is 4-5 inches. So these are a highly useful tool for quick escapes or attacks. These boots can transform through button control on the butt of the SunSwords, but I want to remind you all that our enemy is not from this planet.
A picture of two Icemen, one large and one small, is shown.
GRAY: "They are solid 'almost' like diamond and their bites and claws will give you spreading 'frostbite' that spreads their icy complexion onto you. Your swords can slice through human skin like butter. So if you find yourself bitten. Cutting the body part off is the only way to save yourself."
Graphic video is shown of a soldiers arm spreading ice from a bite and another soldier saving his friend in time. Shelly looks at teary eyed Katsu, shaking with anger again. The video continues as Gray narrates as the soldiers are shown surrounded by Icemen:
GRAY: "The incredible heat will cauterize your limb so you will not bleed out. One last thing. Your holsters have a self-destruct button under aan emergency panel. If you find yourself in a situation that you feel you need the "easy way out" press this button 3 times and within 5 seconds, it will explode like a big grenade. You'll feel no pain through being eaten alive and you'll cause enemy casualties."
The video ends and the light dim back on.
GRAY: "That is all for the weapon break down. You will learn more techniques over these next few weeks as well as from your battle trained mentors. Next is the head doctor of our HumanXIceman studies."
Everyone claps as Gray steps down from the podium with the microphone. The Dr. rolls up and takes the microphone from Gray, who stands next to the Dr. The crowd ends the clapping.
DR.: "Good Morning everyone! It's a wonderful day to be alive isn't it? Well then let us get right to it then shall we? General if you may?"
Gray is shown lifting his eyepatch. He has an Iceman eye.
The students in the crowd can be heard in awe. A lot of screams, "wow"s, and "what the-"s are heard.
Within the crowd, a tall, platinum haired, light skinned female student with large curly pigtails, large eyelashes, and a lip ring is quiet with her eyes closed and head down. Her fellow students chatter in whipers around her at the Generals bizaarre heterochromia.
FEMALE STUDENT 1: "Ohh my god its so creepy and weird."
FEMALE STUDENT 2: "i don't know...I think it's kinda hot."
MALE STUDENT 1: "It just doesn't look right."
The platinum haired girl is wearing a unique and customized mid cut version of their school uniform so her feminine, but strong, abdominals can be seen. She lifts her head and opens her eyes, she too has an Iceman eye but one purple eye. A familiar, and beautfiul purple eye.
Grays right eye is a normal hazel eye but his left eye was a complete different design all together. A black diamond pupil with purple diamonds above and below the pupil and a moving cloudy pink iris.
DR.: "Now as some of you may have known for the past few years we have acquired knowledge that humans can actually 'replace' their own eye with the eye of an Iceman that they defeat, with no negative side effects, but yet, extremely positive ones. In the form of 'abilities', 'powers' or whatever you prefer to call these phenomenon.
What we use to imagine as fiction has now become reality because of these stolen alien eyes.
Like if you told philosophers in ancient greece that one day, humans could fly in the air higher than the clouds.
It's because you've 'seen' their impossible that makes it possible.
These powers are, but not all: Extremely fast and thorough injury recovery, heightened senses, increased quick twitch durability/strength and thermal sensors.
It seems that these eyes can, like humans, "evolve" the more the user fights.
We do not yet understand the way the genetics of humans and Iceman can mutate to create 'abilities' but since we've acquired this information, more of you brave soldiers have been returning home and more civilians trapped in 'Hell' have been freed and brought here."
PLATINUM HAIR(puts her head down and closes eyes, quietly): "HHmph. Can we just go beat some shit up already?"
DR.: "Now don't get the wrong idea rookies. Not everyone can have an eye unless they have earned them by killing the previous host. We have no idea how the eye itself knows the person who did it, but if it detects the person trying to put it in was not the assailant, the person will be incased in a crystal ice that is almost the same as the Icemen. So be warned, don't try to find a dead Iceman and take it's eye, don't take the easy way out of things. (He smiles) Unless it's death of course! It's a joke you see. Safe travels young soldiers.
He hands the mic back to Gray and wheels back next to Briggs. Briggs gives him a handshake and sits down. Gray puts his eyepatch back down.
GRAY: "Thank you and may your God watch over you… You are excused, and may now head directly to your assigned rooms on the 5th floor. Dismissed!"
Everybody gets up, some sit to talk and some head to an elevator. Katsu, Shelly, Aiden, and Jay are shown getting into an elevator the door closes.