Initial Notes:
Author's Note: [N/A: Text]
Co-author's Note: [N/CA: Text in Dwarven Language]
(English is not my first language, so there may be some translation errors, hugs directly from Brazil! Thank you for reading this story!)
Brazil | Present Day, Year of 2500 | The Beginning
The city of Salvador, now the capital of Brazil, gleams brightly at night with its skyscrapers and radiant lights.
New and old car models drove through the streets of the metropolis, showcasing a neon aesthetic, just like the buildings and houses.
The main entertainment venue of the city, also known as the Eye of Cronus, was the largest shopping mall on Earth.
The "Eye of Cronus" stood out for its futuristic architecture, influenced by Oscar Niemeyer. The curved and smooth forms of the facade were highlighted by wide, spiraled glass windows, reflecting the sunlight.
(N/A: Which is no longer prohibited, as cars are now made from different materials)
{N/CA: That doesn't make sense, the problem with that is it blinds drivers}
(N/A: Shut up!)
The main entrance featured an automatic hologram door. Inside, over 25,000 stores filled the corridors, creating a magical and bustling atmosphere.
The Entertainment Center was a tribute to Niemeyer's bold vision of modern architecture and the limitless imagination of the future. It was a place where visitors could explore countless possibilities, embark on shopping adventures, and dive into a world of innovation and interplanetary commerce. It was a landmark not only of design but also of the evolution of time and humanity.
And within this incredible milestone in human history, a snack bar at the entrance of the establishment was where a young man, apparently 18 years old, made his routine visit.
He wandered in absentmindedly while stretching and yawning.
The young man wore an unbuttoned red-and-white plaid shirt, a gray sleeveless T-shirt underneath, and a necklace with a shark tooth.
His skin was brown, and he had a thin goatee on his chin. His hair was short dreadlocks styled in a side mohawk with a small silver tint, which was natural.
The most unusual detail… On his forehead, a strange transparent hexagonal gem with red hues inside.
He wore jeans, a brown leather belt with a beetle engraved on the silver buckle in the middle, and black Jordana sneakers with no socks.
He glanced at the counter and was disappointed to see Sávio hadn't come in today... well, at least he could bother the mercurian girl who always made him laugh (for the wrong reasons).
He approached the counter and locked eyes with a woman with gray skin, black sclerae, and long snow-white hair cascading down her back in a waterfall of strands, with silver pupils.
When she saw the young man approaching, she sighed tiredly and continued with her work, wiping a cup with more force than usual.
The young man smiled; it was so easy to irritate her, and he loved it. Pure entertainment, really.
He approached and stood face-to-face with the clerk, who was strongly ignoring him, so he decided to keep staring until she no longer ignored him.
This went on for seven straight minutes, until the girl got tired and looked at him with a hint of anger.
"Is my face that beautiful that you stare at me so much, Sirius?" – Asked the young woman from the planet Mercury, already tired from so much work... and so much ignoring him.
He smirked with his usual lazy tone, but this time with a playful touch, and said:
"Maybe not the face... but irritating you? Absolutely." – He said in his usual lazy voice, though with a slightly cheerful tone this time.
The mercurian sighed but gave a small smile, despite everything, the boy was still her best friend.
"You're annoying, did you know that?" – She said, returning the smirk.
"Who?" – He asked, pretending to be confused.
"Asks? That one's old, man, really, it got old over 6 centuries ago." – She said while filling a soda cup for him, taking advantage of the boss's absence today.
"You know I'm paying for this, right?" – He asked, looking at the Hawk Soda cup in his hand.
"Come on, are you really going to be a good samaritan even on New Year's? You know I can cover, right?" – She said, handing over the drink and showing him her wallet.
"And then you wonder why they kicked you out of the Academy..." – He said, smiling as he paid the exact amount for the soda, making the girl scoff.
"They didn't kick me out, I left because I wanted to." – She said, starting to prepare to close the establishment. - "And besides, I don't know why you want to go there."
The teenager smiled as he took a sip of his soda and then gave a pointed look at the mercurian, who already knew exactly what he was about to say, so she assumed a stern expression.
"If you bring up the laxative in the food to smuggle toilet paper again, I'll kick your balls." – She said, looking at him now more seriously than usual, sending a chill down his spine.
"Hey hey! Relax, your old friend won't bring it up… Hehe..." – He said, clearly scared and hesitant to provoke the girl.
That hesitation quickly faded, replaced by calm, and after that, a happy expression returned as he continued drinking his 'Divine Nectar,' also known as Hawk Soda. There was nothing in the world of beverages that could compare to this taste.
Sirius finished his soda in less than a minute and stared at her. Recovering his usual lazy expression, he sighed, placed the cup on the counter, and spoke more seriously, though a little tired.
"Merkana, I want to join the academy... because maybe" – He watched the clerk wash another cup. – "I'll discover what I am."
The girl, now identified as Merkana, let the cup slip from her hand toward the sink, not enough to break, but enough to crack it. She turned to Sirius with a frustrated face… he was still thinking about this, after everything?
"Look… Sirius, we've talked about this." – She said, now concerned.
"Kana, we both know for a long time that I'm not purely human, and as much as I love my father, he never tells me anything!" – The young man said, frustration evident in his voice.
He grabbed a stool and sat down, lowering his head and resting it between his arms, using them as a pillow.
"I've always wanted to help others and… I know I already do it as You Know What, but... I need this, Kana! Not only will I be helping the whole planet as a hero, but out there, in space, I can know what I-" – He didn't finish because the mercurian grabbed him by the hair and pulled his face toward hers.
"You're not going!" – She said, now truly angry. They had talked about this so many times, and he was still fixated on that idea. – "Sirius, you have everything, EVERYTHING! You don't need to know who or what you are... and trust me... if you ever find out." – She glanced at the gem on his forehead. – "You'll regret it."
Sirius huffed in dissatisfaction, but he understood his friend's reaction, yet he still had something to say.
"And also, there's that other reason." – He smiled, genuinely and without sarcasm. – "I don't want others to go through that."
Merkana sighed, it seemed like he would never change. She just hoped her best friend wouldn't die like... like what happened to them.
"Space is dangerous, Sirius... it's not like evacuating people during a Kaiju invasion, stopping an armed robber, or helping an old lady cross the street." – She looked at him with cold eyes, as if she had experienced too much out there. – "Don't be naive, Sirius Renovas... real heroes always die." – Merkana finished her speech and then thought of something.
(And besides... you're not going to risk it! Not when I haven't even asked you to be my boyfriend yet!) – Merkana thought.
Sirius became more serious now… but it wouldn't be his best friend's opinion that would stop him, not ever!
"I will not die-" – He didn't finish speaking because the door of the establishment was busted open.
A man with a round white pistol and wearing a black mask to cover his face stormed into the establishment, pointing his weapons at everyone… and realizing there were only two people.
"This is a robbery, so stay quiet! On the floor!" – He said with a dragged voice, trying to sound threatening but failing, his hand clearly shaking. It was definitely his first robbery.
Sirius looked at the mercurian, trying to signal something like "on my mark," to which she understood and nodded with a wink of her right eye.
The man knelt, hands on his head, while the mercurian began unlocking the cash register without the robber even telling her.
"That's how I like it, hurry up, give me everything you've got, ashtray!" – The offensive remark, again said in a dragged voice about her race, clearly irritated the mercurian, but she controlled her emotions, knowing it wasn't worth risking things over an insult.
Sirius watched him walk toward the register, but he was focused on something else... he concentrated on the gem on his forehead, and suddenly his field of vision extended to over 500 meters!
Not only did he extend his field of vision to such a level, but he also gained much greater peripheral vision and could now see through things.
Thanks to that, he realized the building was surrounded, and this robbery was happening in almost every store possible, they clearly planned this for months.
Now knowing this, they have a few seconds before the thief leaves the store with the money… and they use them well.
Merkana extends her hand and freezes the thief, like telekinesis preventing the villain from moving.
Sirius takes the opportunity, and also the fact that he is already on the ground, to trip him with a leg sweep.
The thief feels a bone break in his back, and his head is now the only part not paralyzed, as the alien only extended the paralysis to his torso, arms, and legs.
Sirius moves toward the villain and steps on his chest, giving him a deadly look with his brown pupils.
"Who is your boss?" - He asks in the deepest voice his throat can muster, which makes the Mercurian burst into laughter at such an attempt.
"K...K... K KRALA! KRALA! KRALA!" - He starts saying incomprehensible sounds, confusing the seemingly hybrid, but widening the eyes of the Mercurian.
She begins to feel her control over the paralysis start to loosen, as if something were forcefully breaking it.
"Sirius, get out of there!" - A
he shouts, but suddenly Sirius feels something like an electrical repulsion, throwing him against the store's wall with full force, burning his clothes and leaving him injured. The boy felt his skin burning as it hurt part to part, and blood ran from his mouth; if he were fully human, he would already be dead.
The hypnosis breaks, and the Mercurian hides under the counter to avoid being hit by the explosion of lightning launched by that thing, which didn't seem human at all.
The humanoid creature's body was yellow, with a distorted triangular face that had downward-facing pyramid-shaped eyes. Its pupils were two lightning bolts.
Its mouth was toothless, resembling the beak of an Alligator Snapping Turtle. It had a medium build, wore a blue bib that extended like a jacket on its torso, had triangular feet, and its nails were like electric wires.
---
Monster!
Class: Common Minion.
Name: Voltajin
Power: Small-scale electricity manipulation. Can shoot electrical bursts, but lacks control!
---
Merkana looks at that monster from under the counter, and her expression turns serious. Even though she's out of the academy and not training anymore, she knew she had to handle this until the real professionals arrived.
Sirius was in bad shape, very bad, but she knew exactly how to heal him.
Jumping from behind the counter, she kicks the monster toward the store's chairs. It barely moves, but that was a distraction for her to grab a silver pocket watch used for hypnosis, which was in the counter drawer.
Pressing a button on the device, it attaches to her arm through a chain, imitating a wristwatch, and the ticking begins.
At that moment, a purple light comes from the timepiece, and soon after, its hands start spinning wildly.
The girl uses her index fingers from both hands to draw a purple energy rectangle in the air. Inside the rectangle, the numbers of a digital clock appear and change rapidly, and then she crosses her arms into an X.
"TRANSMUTATE!" - She commands, and the rectangle moves toward her head, beginning her transformation.
The heroine's suit is metallic purple, with golden details resembling circuits spread across her body. The joints have double gears, one on each side, like movable points of a doll. The helmet features a digital visor that displays the time in yellow LED.
On her left arm, she wears an old pocket watch with visible gears, which serves as her transmutation device. The gloves have watch dials on the backs of her hands, and the fingers end in golden tips, like clock pointers. The boots have golden spirals on the sides, and the belt, styled like a watch strap, has a buckle resembling a pocket watch dial. Every detail of the suit reflects the theme of time, reinforcing the heroine's power and function.
"Purple Centurion, Hyptie!" - She declares, striking a pose, with one leg slightly forward, arms open and bent with palms together.
---
Heroine!
Name: Hyptie.
Age: 20 Earth years.
Projection: Lullaby Enchantment (Inanimate Class: Clock-Type!)
Power of the Projection: Lullaby Enchantment allows Merkana to hypnotize and control objects, people, and even natural elements temporarily. She can manipulate targets, influence minds, and even direct attacks, all through her mastery of hypnosis! It may seem silly, but it's definitely a power to be taken seriously!
Standard Package: As a clock-based object projection, she can accelerate or freeze objects (and herself) in time. She always knows what time it is, very useful for not being late!
---
Raising her right hand, the Mercury woman hypnotizes the top of a table to strike the minion's head with full force, killing it… which surprises her a little. Sure, they're cannon fodder… but that weak?
She watches as it turns into foam before her eyes, but doesn't mind. Sirius was more important than that.
Running toward her friend, she checks if he's okay, somewhat desperate after that electric explosion.
She focuses, breathes, and everything around her seems to disappear while a sense of calm takes over her. She needed to be like this to do this.
And with a touch, she does what she does best: heals. Hypnotizing the cells of her companion's body to work faster, thus regenerating the injury caused by the lightning.
At that moment, Sirius wakes up and looks at Merkana, observing her suit with a hint of wonder.
"Are you okay?" - She asks, helping him get up.
"Okay is a strong word... um, I thought I told you that Minions aren't human." - He says, confused.
"And they're really not. They can only mimic the way we speak and look." - She says seriously while holding him up, until he manages to steady himself.
The hybrid nods in understanding, and the two quickly leave the establishment, noticing the mall is infested with those same Minions, fortunately without any Kaijin or anything like that, at least not in this part of the mall.
"Right or left?" - The hybrid asks with a challenging smile.
She was about to complain, but then sighs, whatever? It didn't really matter right now. She really wanted to do this alone and not involve him, but she knew very well that he was coming no matter what.
"Right."- She says with a fake smile beneath her mask. - (Don't die! I haven't even seen you shirtless yet!!)
The two go in opposite directions, separating as the melody of chaos takes over the place. It would obviously be hard… but it didn't matter.
.
.
.
Sirius Battle | South Wing | Current Times
Sirius runs through the mall until he reaches the chaos happening and finds more of the electric minions near a giant fountain close to the center of the "Eye of Cronus.". The young man arrives at the scene via a walkway on the south side of the fountain between two small shopping centers.
Observing what they were doing, Sirius sees a middle-aged couple being tormented by 5 of the "electric guys."
Activating the gem on his forehead again, the young man tries to assess the location for any weapons or advantages the environment might offer.
[N/A: Let's refer to the 4 "corridors" on the fountain's sides as: A, B, C, and D. They correspond to the North, East, West, and South sides, respectively.]
What did each pair of corridors have again? A and B had food, and C and D had electronics and tools?
Confirming his thoughts, with the power of the gem, Sirius looks inside each store for a few seconds and spots some objects of interest, including: an aluminum baseball bat, a bottle of Hawk Soda (not that he was a fan), and mint candies called Piperitos, which, along with the soda, create a homemade "bomb".
Fighting electric beings with liquids wasn't the best idea, but he didn't have many options for a full-on fight, so tricks would be his best card here.
Running toward the five, Sirius grabs a nearly empty trash can along the way and throws it toward them to draw their attention away from the couple and put onto himself.
The trash inside the can scattered, and the movement definitely caught the minions' attention. They turned toward Sirius, losing focus on the couple, who took the opportunity to run away.
[N/CA: Come on, at least in 500 years in the future people wouldn't be dumb enough to stay near danger, right? Right?]
Seeing the "prey" escape, the electric creatures grew angry and started chasing Sirius.
The young man quickly turns his back and starts running in a somewhat comical manner, with stiff arms, palms open, and fingers stretched together. As he ran, he thought: "First part of the plan... RUN!"
[N/A: NIGERUNDAYOOOOOOOOO!]
Sirius ran not out of cowardice, but to lure the monsters into Corridor C. More specifically, to a sports store.
Before he could enter, he was stopped when a blue lightning bolt was launched toward him, attempting to predict his future position, forcing him to stop in his tracks.
Turning around, he watched the five walking toward him like an army, one of them with his arm extended toward him.
The young man quickly crashes through the store door with a rush, startling the elderly man who ran the establishment.
"It's for a good cause!" - Sirius simply says, grabbing the aluminum baseball bat he had spotted with the gem, along with a tennis ball. - "Hide somewhere, sir."
The old man follows the request, and soon after, a bolt of lightning strikes the store, grazing Sirius' clothes.
The "natural" phenomenon hits the wall but doesn't start a fire, leaving only a circular "burn mark," which Sirius finds odd.
(Does this mean their lightning... is weaker than real lightning?) – Sirius thinks, but brushes it off for now. Activating the gem's vision, he scans the location and sees the five closing in. – (Please, work!)
He calculates where to throw the tennis ball, his plan being to use it like a ricochet bullet that would hit all of them and stun them for a brief moment, giving him time for a direct approach to their legs.
After running 290 calculations in less than a minute, he comes to a conclusion.
Focusing while the aberrations approached, he felt his concentration sharpen. Calm, tranquility, breath, and... in a few seconds, it was as if the world had disappeared, and only the focus on the upcoming "battle" mattered.
He threw the ball into the air and moved his arms in a precise shot. The ball ricocheted off the bat like a bullet being fired, though it obviously didn't break the sound barrier, but it was a strong throw.
The throw ricocheted exactly as Sirius hoped, briefly stunning his enemies.
Moving his legs as fast as he could, Sirius ran toward the five and then slid to the ground.
Using his bat, he knocked each one of them down with the clumsiness of a rookie, but he still managed to do it. He had enough time! He thought and quickly stood up, heading toward another nearby store.
Leaving Corridor C and entering the beginning of D, he found a tool store, one he had seen earlier with his gem.
Kicking the door down and ignoring the scream of a startled employee, he rushed to grab what he needed.
Magnets! Even though he didn't fully understand the topic yet, he knew that strong magnetic fields could interfere with electricity, so "super" magnets were perfect for the situation.
Running through the store, he reached the section he wanted and grabbed a few, planning to use the bat to throw them at the minions and eventually have two on the bat with opposing polarities to mess with their electric fields. He grabbed about 10 magnets, then ran to the tape section and grabbed some silver tape.
Going back to the employee, he realized he hadn't paid for the baseball bat he was using, so considering he had taken the magnets and the tape, he quickly paid for his purchases.
"Thank you!" - Sirius says, as he runs out of the store, quickly hiding when he sees the monsters looking for him.
Renovas rolls across the ground and leans against a wall to hide, activating his gem again, which begins to wear him out, causing pain and irritation where it rests on his forehead.
Suppressing a groan from the overuse so far, he regrets not knowing how to use this thing better. It was a miracle he managed to use the gem to cover the entire section because the area it covers, as far as he has learned, is completely random!
He really needed to get into the academy, what kind of secrets do the students there have access to while he's here, almost a complete novice in this world?
Well, lamenting can come later, the battle comes first! Honestly, he was excited. All this adrenaline was thrilling him, almost like a primal instinct inside him.
Observing with his gem, for what could be the last time, in case he wanted to avoid bleeding and headaches for the next week, Sirius locates exactly where each of them is.
It would be better to eliminate them one by one, without them noticing. "In pure stealth," as he used to say while playing stealth games.
Spotting a soda can by his side, tossed out in the trash, he picks it up and throws it toward a blind spot in the group, distracting them. Sirius takes this opportunity to sneak up behind them and strike one of the monsters in the head with the bat.
They had separated, but before one could react, it was too late to do anything about the attack.
With a precise hit to the head, like a stab, the magnetic field of the monster became a complete mess, producing a sizzling sound, and then it disappeared from Sirius view, as it was destroyed.
Before the next monster could react to its fallen comrade, Sirius he spun around quickly and slammed his bat into the creature's neck.. Thanks to the magnet, the creature's electric field was weakened, and soon after, Renovas drove his bat into where the creature's heart should have been.
In the blink of an eye, the monster disappeared from Sirius' sight and from existence, leaving behind a corpse with no body to bury and no place to go.
Looking at the bat, Sirius realizes that one of the magnets was completely destroyed after the second minion's death, so he grabs another magnet from his bag and places it on the bat.
Now only seven remained, but before he could do anything else, a lightning bolt hit him in the back, sending him flying several meters away.
He fell face-first into the ground as the electricity coursed through him. Not only did the bolt hit him, but the throw also sent him spinning, and he was almost certain his nose was broken.
His back burned like hell at that moment, and it felt as if he had jumped into a fire while naked, like a sadistic form of cremation, only concentrated on a single point.
Slowly rising, his spine screaming for mercy from the pain, while a sharp, acrid smell of burning and ozone filled the air, Sirius looked back toward where he had been and saw the remaining three minions marching toward him.
His bag of magnets was there, but he had nothing to defend himself with since his bat was gone, and he couldn't afford the time to search for it.
He was trapped! He needed to fight back with some cheap trick or he would die here before even entering the academy.
Though they were clearly made of electricity, and without the magnets, the monsters could be touched for a short time.
Sirius realized this after the tennis ball he threw at them stunned them. Knowing that, he needed to figure out how to make the most of this time.
With Sirius lying on the ground and defenseless, he quickly assessed his options. Without the magnets or the bat, he knew he didn't have much chance to fight the adversary directly. Desperate, he tried to appeal to his opponent's empathy by raising his hands in a sign of surrender.
"Uhm… look, I'm a cat!" - Sirius answered, his voice echoing in the tense silence of the room - "Ahn… Meow! Meow!"
However, his pleas fell on deaf ears... For the Voltajin let out a cruel, hungry, and unconscious Chinese-like laugh, and then spun in a whirlwind to reveal feudal lord costumes. They all then charged toward him, determined to end the fight once and for all and even devour him in a barbecue. With his heart racing uncontrollably, Sirius rolled to the side, desperately searching for some form of defense or an opportunity to escape.
"Wait, are you Chinese?!" - Sirius dodged, rolling on the ground. - "Ahn, so... what sound does a Panda make?!" - He then stopped in his place. - "Wait…"
The Minions stopped in their tracks, confused about why they had heard that.
"What sound does a Panda make...?" - Sirius asked, and all the Minions reacted in a caricatured way.
One of the Minions dressed as a teacher and began reading a book, while another dressed as a clown and held up a sign that said "Pandas don't exist," among other bizarre scenes.
"Hmm… I think I'll go out to research this, see you later, friends!" - Sirius said, waving goodbye and walking away calmly.
"Krala!!" - They jumped excitedly while bidding him farewell.
But soon after, they all looked at each other, nodded, took off their clothes, and ran toward Sirius, who, upon noticing, quickened his pace.
Wonderful! Not only had his question gone unanswered, but he was also betrayed by those he had just called friends. It was obvious this wouldn't work. It only wasted his time, but he'd finish it as quickly as possible—he needed to end it as soon as possible.
[N/CA: Congratulations... We've been blocked in China :')]
With his heart pounding in his chest and a sense of vulnerability in every fiber of his being, Sirius assumed a combat stance, aware that he was about to face a challenging battle. His muscles were tense, and his breathing was irregular as he prepared for the impending confrontation.
The Minions charged toward him with terrifying speed, their yellow bodies glowing with a sinister energy. Sirius swallowed hard, knowing he only had a few seconds to act before the Minions fully materialized. He focused his mind, preparing for what was to come.
With a quick movement, the first Minion materialized in front of him. Sirius tried to dodge, but his physical weakness left him too slow. He took the impact of a powerful blow, feeling the pain ripple through his body, burns spreading across his skin.
With determination, he gathered his last reserves of energy and retaliated, landing a weak but precise punch that hit the Minion squarely.
As the seconds passed, Sirius fought with all his might against the Minions that materialized around him. Each blow he threw was a battle against his own weakness, his muscles aching, yet he kept going, refusing to give up.
His mind burned with determination and a thirst for survival, his will to live another day in this world overcoming all his physical limitations.
(I'm too lazy to die!!) - He thought as he fought - (No one forces me to work! Death takes too much effort!!!)
The Voltajin were fast and agile, disappearing and reappearing at rapid intervals. Sirius barely had time to react before another attack was launched at him. However, he refused to give in to despair. With every hit he took, his determination only grew, fueling his will to resist and fight until the end.
With superhuman effort, Sirius found a gap in his opponents' defenses and seized the opportunity. He leaped forward, throwing weak but precise punches at the nearest Minions in points that would be lethal to humans.
His movements were slow and clumsy, but he kept fighting, refusing to let his weakness stop him from winning.
Finally, after an intense and exhausting battle, Sirius emerged victorious, surrounded by lightning that crackled around his body, remnants of the Minions that would now wear his skin. His body was marked by bruises, cuts, and burns, and his breathing was heavy and irregular, but he had defeated his foes.
With a sigh of relief, he allowed himself a brief moment of rest before preparing for the challenges that still lay ahead.
Falling to the ground on his back, weakness taking over his body as he breathed heavily, Sirius collapsed in exhaustion and frustration.
He looked at his battle-worn, calloused hands, trembling, trembling violently, feeling incredibly fragile… so weak, so pathetic… so powerless.
That powerlessness hurt inside, a reminder that he was nothing compared to those at the top of the world.
"I didn't need to use the homemade bomb, but still… urgh, what a weakling." - He said to himself.
And before he could continue lamenting... he heard a loud crash in the direction Merkana had gone. This couldn't be good, so, quickly getting up, not allowing himself to rest any longer, he started heading that way, praying his friend was okay.
. ...- --- .-.. ..- ..́ / -- --- ..- - —
To Be Continued…
(Holy shit, 55 views already?! You guys are really the real deal, aren't you crazy? Okay then, 20 Power Stones for a new chapter today!)