"Look, all I'm saying is that it can't really be called a 'coffee' shop if they sell hot chocolate and other stuff too"
"Lucas, you're being ridiculous right now. What, next you're gonna be telling me that they shouldn't be selling donuts and bagels either?"
"You're right, those should be in a bakery not a coffee shop"
"You! I wasn't agreeing with you, dummy!"
Caitlin giggled and punched Lucas' shoulder playfully. For the past few minutes as they walked, they'd been pointlessly arguing back and forth like this. Well, of course Lucas knew it was quite a dumb conversation but if it made his friend laugh a little, he didn't mind it at all.
Because of all the fighting that happened in the future, Lucas hardly ever saw Caitlin smile or even laugh after the awakening. Years of battle had slowly changed her, ridding her of most of her cheerfulness. Now, Lucas wanted to make up for all those moments at any chance he could get.
"Oh look, there's the Dome", Caitlin suddenly pointed off into the distance where a colossal oval shaped structure stood just on the outskirts of the city.
The Dome.
This was one of the training facilities that the system had erected all over the world in order to personally prepare members of the Five Chosen Families. Currently, there were five Domes on earth, one for each of the five continents and the Chosen families that lived there. They were made out of a strange hard black material that nobody seemed to recognize and we're the size of at least four football stadiums.
"You think we're late?" Lucas asked jokingly.
"I'll kill you if we are", Caitlin chided as they approached the door. Unlike regular doors, this one was triangular, transparent and swirled strangely. Without hesitation however, Caitlin stepped up to a small panel besides the door and laid her hand on it.
DING!
[System: DNA of the subject, Caitlin Kaldwell, from the Kaldwell family has been detected. Please proceed]
With a nod, Caitlin then walked straight through the transparent door with no resistance at all. Now it was Lucas' turn but unlike Caitlin he hesitated for a moment.
'What if my race change affected my DNA?' Lucas thought all of a sudden as he stared at the panel nervously 'Will it still let me in?'
Lucas held his breathe as he stepped forward as well and placed his hand on the panel. It might have just been him, but he could have sworn that the system took a little while longer to scan his data than it had for Caitlin.
DING!
[System: DNA of the subject, Lucas Wilson, from the Wilson family has been detected. Please Proceed]
"Phew…", Lucas couldn't help but exhale in relief. Luckily, it didn't seem there would be any problems. Walking through the transparent door, Lucas found himself on wide elevated platform and it wasn't just him and Caitlin alone anymore.
All the domes on earth were linked in some sort of way, allowing all of the families to train together without worrying about the distance. However, the system had made it so that it was impossible to use the Domes to travel from one side of the world to the other. Where you came in from was exactly where you left from as well.
Spread out all around on the platform were some of the other members from the other families. Well, all of the younger generation anyway. It had been agreed upon beforehand that all the adults would have their own practice in the evenings and the youngsters would have the mornings.
'Looks like we were the last ones to arrive' Lucas noted as his eyes swept across the room.
The ones standing closest to him and Caitlin were two identical looking girls, dressed in matching light green jumpsuits. They both had dyed moss-colored green hair and excited expressions on their faces. It was quite obvious to everyone that they were identical twins, with the only thing distinguishing them being the way they styled their hair. One wore her hair in a ponytail on the left side of her head, while her sister's ponytail was on her right side.
"The Becker sisters seem quite…cheerful as always", Caitlin commented as they waved frantically at her.
"Yeah, unlike your grumpy uptight big brother", said Lucas as he gestured with his chin towards the far side of the room where one guy stood on his own with a blank expression on his face, his arms crossed impatiently.
He was tall, with dark brown hair and eyes just like Caitlin. He wore a simple black tank top that displayed his bulging figure, with a pair of camo pants and heavy combat boots. He didn't seem interested in interacting with anybody else and had his eyes closed.
Caitlin bore a complicated expression on her face as she said, "Andre…has never really been much of a people person. You know how he is Lucas"
She didn't sound very eager to continue the conversation, which Lucas didn't blame her for at all. Because of her terrible physical capabilities, Caitlin was practically invisible to most of the members of her family. Where as on the other hand, Andre had an incredible body constitution and was extremely blessed when it came to physical combat.
Caitlin was the shunned black sheep while her big brother was the Kaldwell family's precious gem. Even though Caitlin was always trying to better herself, nobody in her family ever even paid her any attention except for her grandfather. It was one of the reasons she had chosen to leave them and stay in the same city as Lucas.
"Cait, I'm sorry for…you know", Lucas apologized, only just now realizing how insensitive his earlier comment had been.
However, Caitlin shook her head dismissively, "It's alright. I know you didn't mean anything by it anyway. Oh look, there's Lucian"
Lucas turned to where she had pointed and spotted Lucian, who was flirting shamelessly with both chatting Becker sisters. Lucas could feel his blood already boiling just looking at Lucian's stupid face. He couldn't stop thinking about how satisfying it would be to beat his face to a pulp, but he held himself back.
'I have special plans for you and the rest of the Steins family, Lucian, so I can't have my revenge just yet' thought Lucas with a small smile and a dark glint in his eyes 'After all, it wouldn't be fun just beating you up. No…I swear I'm going to destroy you!'
"Well, I hope everyone is doing well" a voice suddenly shook Lucas out of his thoughts.
The one who had spoken was the only son of the Vargas family. He was tall, only a few centimeters shorter than Andre, with ginger-colored hair and eyes. He wore a tight orange tee with a pair of shorts and black trainers.
"Oh yes-"
"-thanks for asking!"
The Becker sisters were the first to respond cheerfully, even finishing each other's sentences.
"My morning has been alright so far as well", said Lucian with a polite smile on his face. However, inside he was seething because he had been interrupted while he was flirting.
'Does this idiot not know when to speak and when not to?' he thought in annoyance, but he didn't dare voice out those thoughts.
Andre simply grunted in response while Caitlin responded that she was fine as well. As for Lucas, he simply stared at the ginger haired guy, completely lost in his own thoughts.
'Warren Vargas' Lucas thought 'The current strongest amongst the younger generation…'
In the future, he too had played an important role in protecting humanity. Warren had been the first amongst the younger generation to establish a guild through his own efforts and he had even captured a vampire aircraft during the war. Although Andre was undoubtedly the strongest when it came to pure raw strength, Warren completely dominated when it came to battle IQ, speed and hand to hand combat.
For some odd reason, Lucas couldn't help but want to challenge him to a fight right there and then.
Warren, noticing his stare, asked him, "Is something bothering you, Lucas?"
"Wha-Oh! It's nothing", Lucas answered quickly, turning his head elsewhere.
He frowned as he thought to himself 'What was that strange feeling I just got?'
However, before he could even get the chance to delve further into the odd sensation, a system screen popped up in front of all of them.
DING!
[System: All members from the Five Chosen Families are now present. Training shall now commence…spawning Avatar]
FLASH!
A blinding light then filled the room, forcing everyone to turn their heads away. When the light finally faded, a single humanoid figure stood before them. It had smooth glossy black skin and resembled what a mannequin from a store would look like if they could walk and talk.
"Let us begin", said the Avatar in a monotone voice.
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A/N: Conflict imminent...stay tuned!