The Masters: RE: The New Cast (The Crisis in Time Series Book 1)

by Matthew Weldon

  “Damn, I was hoping to use a few myself,” Vlayru added.

  After processing the story, I then asked, “Well, who is the one who almost brought destruction?”

  Ayla, with a serious face, answered, “His name is the Dark Vanquisher. His power also gives him control over the Shadow Dwellers who come from the Shadow Realm. It has been said to have been created at the same time as Vanquisher received his dark power. Don’t worry; the ‘Good Cast’ put Vanquisher back in the Purgatory Realm before he ‘disappeared’. He can’t get out for a long time.”

  “Any more questions, honey?” my mother asked.

  “No, I get everything now,” I told them.

  Everyone got up and exited the house except for my mother and I. We spent the rest of day spending time with each other. We were both sitting on the couch. We were watching a movie. It was a comedy movie, but my mind was wondering, so I wasn’t really paying attention. All this talk of the past and my father made me wonder about my grandparents and how I never saw them.

  “Mother, whatever happened to my grandparents?” I asked her.

  She looked at me for a moment then responded, “Well, like I told you last time, they all died long before you were even born.”

  “On both sides of the family, right?” I asked back.

  My Mother nodded “Yes. Your father’s parents were in the Aquis Republic’s military and died during a mission when he was still a baby. My parents and I were circus performers. I left to be part of the Central Union military and they didn’t take it so well. They didn’t want me to go and tried to stop me from going. That only made me want to leave even more. Sometime after I left, my mother died while performing a stunt and my father disappeared and no one has seen him since. I’m under the assumption he’s either dead or lives under a rock somewhere. Metaphorically speaking.”

  I looked back to the movie and replied “Oh…”

  My mind trailed off and continued wonder about my heritage.

  The next day, my mother knocked on the door followed by entering my room. She walked over to me and woke me up by lightly shaking my shoulder.

  “Wake up Katana, today’s the day! I have something for you,” Said, cheerfully.

  I sat up in my bed, stretched, and then rubbed my eyes and yawned.

  “What is it?” I replied, still groggy.

  My Mother sat on the bed and said, “I want you to have these. These are clothes that act as armor called flex armor and cloth armor. They were your father’s old armor before upgrading to better armor. It is actually the prototype versions of the flex armor, chained pants armor, and a cape that he and the ‘Good Cast’ liked to wear on one of his shoulders. It was funny, but I also thought it was fitting.”

  I widened my eyes and started to study the armor.

  “Whoa, really? This is great. Thank you, mother,” I said to her with a big smile.

  She smiled back, “You’re welcome. I’ll see you downstairs.”

  She stood back up and exited the room.

  The top flex armor was a gray, tight, long sleeve shirt and felt stretchy. There was also shoulder pauldrons, a short black cape with blue trim, and baggy black pants with blue trim and chains. It all looked used, but it also looked like my Mother had made some repairs to them. I took the chains off of the pants since I didn’t really want them. I put them in my drawer for safe keeping.

  After a quick shower, I put the clothes on. I put the cape around my waist instead of my shoulders. I pulled out a black and blue scarf from my dresser and put it around my neck. I fixed my messy hair. I put my bangs over my forehead and the rest of my hair went straight down. I then put on some boots. I walked over and looked at my large mirror. I really liked my finished look.

  I look around my room. It was going to be last time I’d be in here, at least for a while. After I was ready, I ran downstairs with my stuff packed and ready to go. I ran outside where everyone was there. Vlayru was wearing a cool outfit. He had a brown open robe, which had a symbol on the back, a white shirt, black baggy pants, and white shoes. He was still wearing his blindfold. I wondered why he was wearing it. The adults were staring at me, smirking.

  Ignoring them, I ran up to Vlayru and asked, “Hey Vlayru, nice outfit. What is with the black blindfold?”

  “It’s part of my light training. I must wear this 24/7. I use my light powers to see rather than an outside light source, such as the sun or a room light,” Vlayru explained.

  I looked at him weird, then said, “Oh. That’s pretty weird, but okay then.”

  He then complimented, “You have a nice outfit, yourself. Looks a bit old though.”

  “We won’t be going with you on your journey,” My mother interrupted.

  “Why won’t you?” I asked, looking a little upset.

  Ayla spoke, “This is something you will need to do on your own. Maybe if you’re lucky, you can find more people to join you on your pilgrimage. Plus, we called for another gathering of the nation’s leader and we need to be there.”

  My mother then added, “In the meantime, while we wait, we need to find some of our other friends and let them know that things are starting to stir. Oh, and before I forget, take these.”

  She gave me a small bag filled with a lot of Nero, so we can buy things that we need, and a case. I took the bag, opened the case, and saw red colored capsules.

  My mother then told me, “Those are red pills. Take them if you ever get hurt and need to heal.”

  “If you need help, just call my name. The first place you should look is in the Thunderlands, to the north. I was picking up on some leads there just the other day. I heard that someone was causing trouble and had electricity surging around his body. You both understand?” Vlaykre told them.

  We both answered, “Yes.”

  I closed the case and put it away.

  “There is something I’ve been wanting to give you, Tana,” Vlaykre said to me.

  He pulled out a sword and unsheathed it.

  “This was the ‘Good Cast’s’ that he left behind. It should prove useful to you,” He said.

  I took the sword and studied it. The blade was black with had a silver edge, a metal hand guard, and a large pommel below the grip. put it in the sheath, and strapped it onto my back.

  “I have something for you too, Vlayru,” Ryuu said, handing him a metal staff.

  It had metal cylinder pieces on either end of it and a grip in the middle.

  Ryuu continued by saying, “This staff is the first staff that I used before I switched to my duel swords. Take care of it, son.”

  “Do you best in any fight, Vlayru,” Alya told him with a smirk.

  Vlayru smirked and nodded. Ayla grabbed him and hugged him tightly. My Mother did the same thing to me and I hugged her back.

  “Take care of yourself, Katana,” She sobbed.

  I could hear her crying. I smiled and hugged her back. I felt tears run down my face.

  “I will, Mother,” I said back, softly.

  “So, is there a car we can take?” Vlayru asked.

  Hana replied, “You guys aren’t old enough to drive yet. Plus, the walk keeps you in shape.”

  “Yeah, you’re going to need it,” Vlaykre added.

  Vlayru sighed a little. We said our last goodbyes and headed down the road. It was just us now.

  Chapter 4 – The Enemy

  We got a few hours down the road. The road, which was a dirt road, went through the Mist Swap. I remembered this swap front when I was kid exploring the forest. I never got past this point though. It was hard to see in the distance since this is where the mist starts.

  “This is weird. I never thought I would actually do something like this,” I said slowing down.

  I looked around, stopped, and looked back behind me. Vlaykru stopped and looked at me.

  He then said, “Don’t look back, Tana. We need to move forward and looking back won’t help.”

  I continued to look behind me. all I saw were trees where the roa
d disappears into them. I sighed and turned. Suddenly, I heard something whiz through the air and hit something. I froze for a moment, then slowly looked over at the Vlayru and saw a blade stuck in his chest. My eyes widen in terror.

  I barely spoke, “Vlayru?!”

  Vlayru was immediately coughing up blood as more blood dripped from where the blade was. I saw a chain attached to the blade. I followed it and saw a man, dressed in all black, looking at us with an evil smile. The man yanked back on the chain hard causing the blade to get pulled out of Vlayru’s chest. It flew back to the man and into his hand. Vlayru dropped to the ground face down and a pool of blood began to spread out from his body. He walked slowly towards me still smiling. I froze and I didn’t know what to do.

  ‘How did I not sense him standing there? That’s what I get for dropping my guard,’ I said in my head.

  The man got close and raised his hand up above his hand and quickly swung down stabbing me in the chest. I felt a pain I couldn’t describe. I started to get cold and lost conscience.

  Spex fell to his knees and began to feel weak.

  “No…Tana…this isn’t good at all. Tana can’t die. Who was that guy anyway? He looks familiar,” Spex said, panting.

  He fought to stand up and then spoke, “I need to stop him.”

  Spex closed his eyes, used his powers, and disappeared into a purple aura. He opened his eyes to see the aura disappear quickly. He was in the same swap as Tana and Vlayru. He looked off into the distance as he saw Tana and Vlayru walking down the nearby road. He crouched down behind some tall grass and peaked out to see what was going on. Tana started to walk slow. Spex looked around and felt an evil presence nearby.

  Tana stopped and turned to look the direction they came from. Vlayru stopped and examined Tana. Spex the felt a presence move towards them from the trees. He saw the man in the black and Spex used a technique to stop time. He ran over to the man, grabbed him, dragged him back over to where the man was hiding and pushed the man up against a tree. Time continued to flow.

  Very quietly, Spex ordered, “Tell me why you are targeting them, now!”

  The man was dressed in a black overcoat, a black shirt, black tie, and a black vest. He also had black slacks, suede shoes, and had long black and gray hair. Looking at his face he had pale skin, a scar across one eye, both eyes were red, and his mouth was wide. He started to look familiar.

  “You must be the time brat I was told about. He said I wouldn’t have to deal with you, but I guess he lied to me,” The man said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Spex began to feel rage and tighten up on his hold on the man.

  “Who are you working for?” Spex said sternly.

  The man smiled big, “Sorry there, Spexy. I can’t reveal all my secrets.”

  He began to laugh and put on a top hat on his head and black aura began to surround the man. Spex wound up his fist and tried to swing a punch at him. He ended up hitting the tree instead.

  “Ow, damn it,” Spex said in pain, fighting to stay quiet.

  He took a knee and grabbed his fist. He thought to himself about that man.

  He then began to think of who he was, “Wasn’t that...”

  “Is somebody there?” Spex heard in a girl’s voice, coming from the road.

  He peeked around the tree and saw both Tana and Vlaykru looking in his direction, but they couldn’t see him.

  Spex stopped peeking, and thought to him himself, “I can’t let them see me. they aren’t supposed to meet me yet.”

  He used his powers and disappeared in his aura again, then appeared back in his house. He started to feel better than he did before.

  “Tana is the dear friend.” Spex said to himself, “Without her, I I wouldn’t be alive right now. Which is why I need to do what I can to protect her. That said, I still don’t feel right. There is something else going on here. I need to continue watching and look out for that guy. Why can’t I remember who he is though? I remember Tana saying that he dreamed of seeing a guy with a top hat. Is it the same guy?”

  He turned back to the hologram and continued to watch.

  “I don’t see anyone, Tana,” Vlayru said, looking around.

  “I could have sworn there was someone there,” I responded, walking closer to where I think someone was.

  Vlaykre sighed, “Tana, let’s just go.”

  I stopped and looked for a moment longer. I couldn’t see anyone.

  “Already then, let’s go. Apparently, you have a hot date or something,” I said in a snarky tone, walking back to the road.

  “How would I have a hot date?” Vlayru said back in an offended tone.

  “I don’t know, you tell me,” I said back, laughing.

  A few days of traveling toward the Thunderlands went by. It really was different staying in different taverns, inns, as well staying in woods for the night. I’ve been so used to sleeping in a bed my whole life. I never went camping. Vlayru didn’t seem to mind it too much. We just had gotten past the Central Union and Thunderlands border, while in the Bolt Plains. It started to rain, so we went in a nearby cave and set up a fire. We both hit the sack due to how tired we were.

  In the middle of the night, I was woken up by my element sense. It’s something we were both taught in our training. Vlaykre told me that my cast power made my senses better than even someone with trained sensing abilities, which was probably why I felt someone or something was back in the swap and Vlayru didn’t. I looked around me, but I didn’t see anyone. Vlayru was still asleep, which means he probably didn’t sense the presence that I was sensing. It stopped raining, but there was a lot of lightning and thunder still. My mother had told me once that this kind of weather was normal in this area. I went over to where I was feeling the presence.

  I got really close and started to feel multiple presences. It ended up being a group of people in black hooded robes and heading in the direction of Central City, which is in the Central Union. I got closer to them and ducked behind a boulder, and peaked around it. They all stopped and one of them turned around. The person looked right at me. They were all were all wearing black cloaks. They looked just like one that the guy was wearing who was with shadow dwellers that attacked us. The others stopped and looked at him then in the direction he was looking.

  “Come on out. I know exactly where you are. Don’t make me hurt you,” he threatened.

  ‘I recognize that voice. It must be the same person from before. How can he sense my power, though? He must be highly trained,’ I thought to myself.

  I stood up, walked out in the open, and unsheathed my sword. I couldn’t make out what they looked like because their hoods covered half their faces. The one that threatened me appeared to be the leader of this group.

  “I sensed your power. The amount of power I feel radiating from you Is…remarkable,” The leader said.

  One of the others step forward and said, “I’ll take her, my lord. You guys go on ahead.”

  “Are you sure, Radikus?” The leader said.

  Radikus pulled out a long sword. The others turned and continued in the same direction they were going earlier. The man lunged fast at me. I saw lightning arch across different parts of his body. I blocked it. I looked at his face and saw that he had sunglasses on and a blonde goatee. Then, all of a sudden, he was running towards me from my right. I held up my sword to block, but then got hit I got hit in the back. He was so fast. I figured this must be the power of lightning.

  “Do you have Master Lightning’s powers?” I questioned him, trying to ignore the pain.

  “What was your first guess?” He replied, “Your element power is nothing compared to mine. You’re going to lose.”

  I got up and readied myself and lunged at him, my water powers flowing out of me to strengthen my attack. Just as I was right in front of him, he sidestepped me and hit me with a lightning attack. It hurt extremely bad. My water powers were making it worse too. Just then, he was above me, descending toward me with his electrically charged
sword. I blocked it with my Water Shield which stopped the attack. It made him bounce off and land on the ground. The lightning he used arc around the bubble and shocked me.

  I fell to one knee but caught myself with one of my hand on the ground. I fought the pain and saw Radikus thinking of his next move. I quickly took the shield down. With my hand already on the ground, I shot a Hydro Geyser Blast up from under him. It’s a technique that shoots a thick beam of water up from the ground. He blocked it with his hands that were covered with arcs lightning. I jumped up and slashed at his opening. I landed and stumbled over onto the ground. I really needed to work on my landings. I looked up and he was gone just, then I looked to the right and saw him charging at me with another lightning attack.

  Just then, Vlayru ran in and shot his Light Beam attack at him. It made him fly backward. The Light Beam attack was a narrow beam of light that shoots out from the index finger. I heard Radius yell in pain as he fell to the ground. I used the opportunity to my advantage. I used Water Blast, which is just like the Hydro Geyser Blast, but it comes directly from the palm of my hand. It’ll shoot straight out in any direction I point my hand at.

  My attack subsided, we didn’t see him anywhere. We looked around for a moment. Suddenly, he shot up into the air from the trees and used a massive lightning attack. It struck the ground, expanding outwards within a large radius. It hit us both, sending us backward into the air and I landed on my back into a bush. I laid in the bush for a minute. I was really sore and I had a hard time moving. I didn’t see where Vlayru landed.

  “Those idiots didn’t know what was coming to them,” I head Radikus say, then chuckled.

  He started to continue toward the Central City to try and catch up with the rest of his group. I looked over Vlayru jumped out from where ever he was and used Light Beam one more time. I suddenly got enough adrenaline to jump out of the bush and charge up a Water Blast that I directed towards Radikus. He dodged the Light Beam, but then got hit by my Water Blast. I then lunged forward towards him, reached out, and put my hand on his arm. I tried to throw him to ground. I suddenly felt something absorb into me and let go, surprised and confused. I landed nearby and saw that Radikus was lifeless on the ground. I examined him and concluded that I may have killed him. Just then, I looked over my shoulder, as I felt someone put their hand on the same shoulder. I looked saw a man, who was glowing yellow, looking back at me.