*It was the break of dawn in the kingdom of Brister as Gael slowly got out of bed. Yawning and stretching, he quickly fell to the floor to perform his early morning routine. He would do a hundred push-ups, followed by a hundred sit-ups, a hundred jumping jacks and does the plank stretch for ten minutes straight. Once his morning workout is done he hops into the shower for fifteen minutes and gets dressed wearing his signature white t-shirt with a black blazer, black pants and black shoes. After he gets done dressing he hears a knock at the front door*
(Blue Dragon knight): Gael Tristian, they’re waiting outside for you.
*Gael opens the front door and begins to walk out where he’s escorted by two Blue Dragon knights. It had been a week and a half since his trial and he was used to the escort by now, but still didn’t like it. During that time, he would always be picked up by Raika and Sanada and go on missions with them. Since Gael was prohibited from leaving the kingdom it stopped some of the more dangerous missions they could perform. On days when they didn’t have any major assignments, Gael found himself in the basement of the Black Tortoise building with Jin getting trained physically by Raika, Jade, and Sanada. This physical abuse did allow Jin and Gael to grow a little closer with each other. Since they were both around the same age they felt comfortable talking to one another and cut loose as they didn’t have to be all stiff as when addressing their seniors. On top of that they helped motivate each other. While Gael was the better fighter, Jin was better at using his powers and thus pushed each other to improve in the areas they lacked. Jin wanted to improve as he didn’t want to look bad in front of the new guy and Gael didn’t want to fall behind and prove to himself and any doubters that he deserved to be here and would catch up to everybody. Once Gael made it outside, he saw that the sky was once again bright and clear. Once he saw Sanada and Raika not too far from him he smiled and ran to them. He was also surprised to see Jin there as well*
(Gael): Sis! Bro! Jin! Morning!
(Sanada): A pleasant morning to you too, Gael.
(Raika): Anybody giving you trouble?
(Gael): *Chuckles* You always ask that, sis. I’m fine, they’ve been good to me. So, what are we doing today?
(Jin): Oh you’re in luck. We got an awesome case today.
*The four knights walk to a black hummer. Raika drives with Sanada in the passenger’s seat and Jin and Gael sit in the back. Raika drives off down the road*
(Raika): Alright, Jin. Show him the bag.
*Jin reaches down below, pulls out a black duffle bag, and hands it to Gael. Gael opens the bag and is shocked to see stacks of credits. He had never seen so many credits before in his life*
(Gael): Show me the credits!
(Jin): That was my reaction.
(Gael): Who won the lottery?
(Raika): Pretty cool, right? We’re gonna burn it.
(Gael): What!?
(Jin): That was also my reaction.
(Gael): Sis, there are stacks of credits here. You can’t possibly-
(Sanada): It’s fake. They’re called cheat bills. High quality ones too. They’re so good that not even banks can tell the difference. These bills have been circulating throughout the kingdom recently. Right now no one has noticed, but if it keeps up it’ll start to affect the kingdom’s economy. Worst case scenario, the economy collapses.
(Gael): Woah. So, who’s behind the counterfeiting?
(Raika): We’ve traced the counterfeiting back to the group, Dawn Nexus.
(Gael): Dawn Nexus? That’s some kind of game?
(Jin): It’s a street gang composed of thugs and hackers. But I was told they only did small crimes.
(Raika): They do. Usually the group gets muscled out by some of the bigger gangs in the kingdom, but every now and then they try to make a name for themselves to compete with the top dogs. This is another one of their attempts.
(Sanada): Thanks to Amarti’s sting operation a few months ago, a lot of the big mob bosses were arrested. With their bosses gone and pressure from the White Tiger Order their gangs soon collapsed and left a hole.
(Gael): I get it. Dawn Nexus is trying to take over their territory and claim the spot of the number one gang in the city. Classic maneuver, that’s how Blood Moon clawed their way into other kingdoms.
(Raika): The good news is we know they’re behind it. The bad news, we have no idea where they’re located which is where you two come in. Word has it Dawn Nexus is recruiting and you two just happen to fit the profile they’re looking for.
(Gael): Oh~, I get it now. You want us to infiltrate the group and find the counterfeiting machine.
(Raika): Now you’re getting it. Once you guys have found their base, we’ll rush in with the rest of Shadow Eye and take the place down. But first, we need to make sure you look the part.
***
*After an hour or so later, Jin and Gael could be seen walking down the sidewalk in street clothes. Jin wore cargo black jeans, a black beanie, and a white jersey with the numbers 893 in red lettering. Gael was wearing blue jeans with a chain hanging out of the right pocket, a plain white shirt, a black leathered jacket, and black shades*
(Jin): Well, we got the look.
(Gael): I do. You look like you’re trying too hard to fit in.
(Jin): And you look like you’re not trying hard enough. We’re joining hacktivists not a biker gang.
(Gael): Man, what are you talking about? I’m going with the don’t mess with me look. You look like a classic high school boy trying to be cool and failing at it.
(Hibana): You both look ridiculous.
*Jin and Gael stop walking and look off to the side to see Hibana sitting on some steps with a laptop. She was wearing some green cargo pants along with a long-sleeved collarless red shirt, red headphones around her neck and glasses*
(Jin): Hibana? What are you doing here?
(Hibana): I’ve been asked to help show you where the meeting is at and assist you in your mission. You may say thank you now.
(Gael): Who’s this crazy elf?
(Jin): Oh that’s right, you two haven’t met yet. Hibana this is Gael. Gael this is Hibana. She’s another member of Shadow Eye who works as an information gatherer. She also helped us in your case.
(Gael): Oh really? Well in that case, thanks for your assistance.
(Hibana): You’re welcome, puppy. Now come on, let’s get this show on the road.
*Hibana gets up from the stairs and begins to walk down the sidewalk with Jin and Gael following behind her*
(Jin): You know I gotta say, I’m surprised to see you out and about. Dust said you usually spend your days locked inside playing games, watching shows, and lazing around.
(Hibana): Trust me, I wouldn’t normally be doing this right now. But, since you guys are dealing with Dawn Nexus, I can’t overlook this mission.
(Gael): I take it you got some personal grudge against them?
(Hibana): What do I look like, your classic manga protagonist out for revenge? I’m just cleaning up a mess I started.
(Jin): A mess you started? Were you a member of Dawn Nexus?
(Hibana): I’m the founder of the group.
(Jin and Gael): What!
(Hibana): Not so loud you dolts. I was the one who founded the group, but it wasn’t always like this. In the past, it was just me and all I did was go around exposing corporate scandals and illegal activities anonymously to the knights. Then someone stole the name and used it to hijack some company’s site. Before I knew it Dawn Nexus was being used by multiple users to lie, cheat, and steal from others. It would have been a pain trying to track them all down, so I just let them be and let the knights take care of it. I see now that was a big mistake on my part. If I wouldn’t have been so lazy and just nipped this in the bud when I had the chance this mess wouldn’t have happened.
*Jin and Gael were silent as they took in everything they just heard*
(Jin): Hey, don’t blame yourself.
(Gael): Yeah, it’s not your fault, you couldn’t have predicted this was going to happen. They could have took anyone’s name and the results would have been the same. You know, it’s like a. . .gecko effect.
(Hibana): I think the term you’re looking for is butterfly effect.
(Gael): Yeah that.
*Hibana and Jin chuckle at Gael who blushes in embarrassment at his mistake*
(Hibana): Thanks. This makes me feel a little better. It’s been a while since I’ve talked like this to other people. It feels. . .nice. Well, we’re here.
*Hibana stops in front of an alleyway and begins walking down it to a door off to the right with Jin and Gael following after her*
(Gael): This is the place? Doesn’t look like much.
(Hibana): That’s because it’s in this building. When you read the file for the case did you see all the pictures of the graffiti with numbers?
(Jin): Yeah. They were just ones and zeros.
(Hibana): That was binary code. In the past this was how computers sent instructions to each other, now they use sorcerer codes. The binary codes were instructions telling everyone where to meet up at for the trial and this abandoned building was the spot.
*Hibana and the others stopped at the door to an old, abandoned building. The building had a coded lock on it. Hibana inputs the correct numbers to unlock the door and the three enter the building. They walked down some dimly lit stairs until they finally came to a wooden door. Hibana knocked on the door and eyes could be seen through the peephole on the door*
(Dawn Nexus member): Password.
(Hibana): 01001110 01100101 01111000 01110101 01110011 (Nexus).
*The peephole closes and the door opens allowing Hibana, Jin and Gael to enter the room. Once inside they saw the room was filled with others just like them trying to get recruited standing against the wall and on the other side of the room was a bunch of Dawn Nexus members wearing hoodies that covered their faces. They either wore black pants or skirts with leggings or no leggings. Only one Dawn Nexus member didn’t cover their face and that member was a young woman with frilly light blue hair tied in twin pig tails, light blue eyes and glasses*
(Dawn Nexus girl): Ahh~, potential recruits. Come in and stand over there with the others. We’re just about to begin.
*Hibana, Jin, and Gael do what they’re told and stand by the wall with the others*
(Dawn Nexus girl): First off, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Crystal, leader of Dawn Nexus. I would like to applaud all of you for figuring out the code and finding this location. You have now cleared the first of three tests to join our group and we’ll be starting test two. Tell me, what’s the most important thing to do in an interview? Sell yourself. It is important to convince us the interviewer that you are one of a kind and without your skills this organization will crumble. So let’s get started with you at the end.
*Crystal points to Jin which shocks him a little*
(Crystal): Show me what you got. Convince me why you should join.
*Jin stood there silent unsure of what to do*
(Crystal): Come on, it can be anything.
(Jin): Anything?
(Crystal): Anything!
*Jin thinks for a second*
(Jin): Okay.
*Jin grabs the chain hanging out of Gael’s pocket and crumbles it up into his left hand to make a fist. Concentrating, Jin manipulates the chain to take the form of a weapon. As Jin gathered magic particles to change the chain everyone watched with confusion and intrigue. After a flash of light came from Jin’s fist, he opened it up to reveal a dagger surprising everyone. Jin throws the dagger to the other side of the room to hit a dart board and scored a triple 21*
(Crystal): *Whistles* Nice shot.
(Jin): I was aiming for the bullseye. Now if you want something more impressive like say a sword, axe, spear, gun or any other weapon I’ll need more metal.
(Crystal): Don’t worry, that can be arranged. How about you elf girl? What are you offering?
*Hibana sits down and opens up her labtop where she hits a few keys before the lights go out. Everyone begins to panic a little before they come back on again*
(Hibana): Sorry about that, I was just testing this building’s security system.
(Dawn Nexus man): You hacked into the building’s system? That’s impossible, we set it up ourselves.
(Hibana): Looks like you guys need to update your programs.
*Crystal smiles*
(Crystal): Ohh~, I like you. Who’s up next?
*Gael steps forward*
(Gael): Question, which one of you Dawn Nexus guys is the toughest one here?
*A Dawn Nexus member sitting in a wooden chair gets up and takes off their hood to reveal that they are a male gorilla demihuman with grey hair and black eyes*
(Dawn Nexus gorilla): Me.
*As soon as Gael heard that he rushed to the demihuman to deliver a throat jab, followed by a palm strike to the stomach causing the demihuman to bend over. Gael continued attacking by taking the wooden chair and smashing it across his back. The demihuman fell to the ground in pain*
(Gael): Aura spike!
*Gael delivered a devastating punch to the tailbone of the demihuman which sent a shockwave of pain through his body. He stayed on the ground writhing in pain unable to move*
(Gael): Not anymore.
*Gael goes to stand back in line with the other recruits. Crystal stood there smiling as she was impressed with what she saw so far. Jin’s metal manipulation could help them form new weapons, Hibana’s hacking skills were some of the best Crystal had seen in a long time, and Gael’s fighting prowess and mercilessness would be essential in combat. All of these great thoughts were coursing through her mind*
Author’s Notes: Another down. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. This arc will be following our young knights as they traverse through high-tech street gang. What challenges await them? You’ll have to tune in next week to find out. Look forward to the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.