Chrono Enigma
Chapter 1: Time of beginning
Time...how is it that we can never run from it?
As we look back, we see that it is always there.
watching, observing, and hoping.
An invisible shadow that never seems to fade...
Even as our memory begins to wander off,
"He" will never forget...
Even through worlds apart,
"He" will always remember...
A clear blue sky loomed over, and a certain boy stared at it with enigmatic eyes as he sat on his desk, listening to the words spoken by his teacher, although rather half-minded since the latter half was more or less focused outside the window. He had blue hair, and a mysterious look all about him. Finally, that dual-focus was cut off by the sound of a bell that chimed a peaceful melody.
"We'll stop here for today" The man in front said, "Next week we'll be having a quiz on this. I'm not going to tell you when the quiz will be on that week, so make sure to study up"
In that class, half of the students actually took those words into consideration, while the other half took in that info but let it pass out the other ear. After that was said, the boy looked in front to see a personal floating monitor above his desk. After looking at the date at the upper right corner, which read "march 14, 2341", he got up from his seat and exited the classroom with a bag wrapped on his shoulder and some papers.
As soon as he got out, however, a person rushing at a record speed failed to notice the boy in time and ended up colliding with him at full force.
"Oww...what the?" The person painly said, turning out to be a girl with blond hair, and blue crystal clear eyes. After rubbing her forehead for a quick second, she noticed the papers scattered across the floor, and the blue haired teen picking them up.
"Oh, uh sorry, didn't see ya there" She apologized, assisting the boy before both stood up.
"I'm kinda in a rush so I gotta run. Bye!" She said, continuing off until she was no longer in sight. After organizing his papers a short bit, the boy went off as well. The first thing he noticed once out of the school was once again that blue sky that just seemed relaxing to him in every angle. He didn't really let things pass his mind or worry him, and he was rather accustomed to that way of thinking.
In a few minutes, he was in front of a rather large shop that read, "Akihara motors". Upon entering, his ears met the sound of the all-too-familiar clanking and drilling sounds that was nothing new to him. This store was home to a few mechanics who would come in, do their job, then leave for the day. The boy also seemed to be a mechanic, but he wouldn't leave at the end of the day, because that store also served as his home.
"Yo, Serge, you're suprisingly early today. Leena isn't even here yet!" A man's voice uttered, and the boy turned to his right to see a middle aged man with an average skin tone, long blonde hair, wearing a rather stylish beanie cap, as well as a name patch that read "Doc" on it.
"I guess I am..." The teen known as Serge said with a shrug and a small, quiet smile. After putting on a proper attire, he walked up to his personal work station, filled with different monitors that were small in size, but could show data too complex for the untrained eye. There was also a small platform where a "Glidebike" was. These things were his specialty. They don't come cheap, but he was able to make his own with the proper tools and months of exhausting work.
In the middle of his work, the boy was stopped when another called out his name and handed him a can of soda.
"Working hard?" A girl's gentle voice spoke, who looked more or less the same age as Serge. She had orange hair, and a warm and welcoming look on her face. On her uniform, there was a namepatch that read, "Leena". Her line of work was a bit different than Serge's, in the sense that hers was more intellectual.
"I guess..." Serge replied, not sounding very enthusiastic although his work seemed to say otherwise.
"Hey, don't you think it's weird how fast time flies?" Leena muttered, reminiscing. "I mean, we're sophomores now, right? Everything that happened last year seems like it just happened yesterday"
"I guess..." Serge responded once again, still in complete concentration at his work which made his friend sigh. "You could at least show a little more interest in the topic, you know?"
After a couple of hours, Serge and Leena had finished their work, and the former was about to head home when their boss had called them.
"Hey, you two, could you do me a favor?" Miguel asked, "I'm kinda low on engine liners right now. Could you guys get some for me? I don't think Serge is familiar with the ruby district yet, so I need you to show him. After you buy it there, you could just give it to Serge. The store's on your way home anyway, right?"
"Yeah, it is" Leena nodded. "Alright, let's get going then Serge. I'm sure you heard the announcement about the test, right? Even if we're in different classes, we still get the same word on what's going on, and I plan on getting a good grade.
And just like the earlier topic, time had flown by like wind once again, and the sky had turned a much darker shade of blue, coupled with the lights on all the buildings and floating ads that always made it look like a festival in one way or another.
"Well, I better get going" Leena started, "Even if it's just a friday, I still have a lot of things to take care of. And don't forget to lock the shop up. I don't think doc would want to come in tomorrow and see that you haven't. Really....I can still remember what he did to us last time..."
Doc, being the boss of the place, still had his own home to go to, so he would leave the shop in Serge's care, it being his own home and everything.
However, just as the two were about to part ways, an eerie feeling had struck the two like a sudden dart. And at the snap of a finger, the two had realized that something had gone very wrong.
"Wh-Where'd everyone go?" Leena mumbled to herself, checking her surroundings to see blurry images that she couldn't really make of. Serge was seeing exactly the same thing, but was trying to keep himself composed.
Suddenly, an ominous figure had shown itself to them. It was a sort of large being with spiky blades scattered across its body. Its eyes had a bright yellow color, but most of all, it contained a killer intent.
Leena, who still seemed to be in shock, didn't realize that the monster was aiming at her. Thankfully, Serge had pulled her away before it could take a swing at her with a blade taken from its own body.
Although he could barely dodge it, the boy knew he couldn't do much else. But that was when fate decided to give him a chance...
"Found you!" A familiar and rowdy voice yelled, and soon after a swift figure had struck the being on its shoulder, leaving a wound that made it shriek.
Serge immediately recognized the mystery person, who looked just like the blond girl he'd bumped into earlier in the day, although know she carried a small dagger in each hand.
"You two better stay back a bit!" The teen ordered with a grin. "I'm about to kick this thing to the moon!"
The monster responded by taking two blades of its body and swing both simultaneously at the girl, who jumped high enough to actually land on the large monster's lowered right arm, slicing it off with a quick sweep of a knife in her hand which spurted black liquid out of the hole she'd made. Angering the monster, it retaliated by shooting at her with smaller blades that came off its body.
"That ain't gonna work!" She confidently exclaimed, using her flexible build to dodge each one as she drew closer to the enemy, finally jumping towards it and cutting one eye. The enemy flinched at its temporary loss of vision, and the girl quickly took advantage of that.
As soon as the assailant had recovered, it looked around but its enemy had already vanished, or so it thought, but she was actually right behind it. With a final grin she leaped and drove the two knives through its chest, causing it to disappear into black dust.
"Heh, too easy!" She said, making the two daggers vanish as well. The other two people with her, however, weren't sure if they were afraid, amazed, or both.
But just when everyone thought it was over, three more of the same creature had suddenly shown up, with one of them taking the girl by surprise and sweeping her with one arm. Even though she defended herself, she was still knocked off her feet.
"Serge...Serge..." A soft voice suddenly called out in the deep space of the confused boy's mind. "It's time...time for you...to awake...from your...ignorance..."
At present, the blond girl still tried to hold her own against the new enemies. That last attack seemed to have caused serious damage to her left arm, probably a broken bone from the way she was gripping it.
"Damn...I'm in for a rough sailing if I don't do something" She thought as she evaded their combined assaults. Unfortunately, it was too late for her to realize that all her movements had backed her up to a corner, and all three creatures were about to strike.
"Shoot!" She said to herself as she shielded with her arms and hoped for the best.
It wasn't what she'd thought of, but hope seemed to smile on her in a different way. For some reason, the attackers had stopped, and had focused their sights on something much more threatening.
"S-Serge?!" Leena exclaimed, staring at her friend who started to shine with a white aura. His former brown eyes had turned white that surrounded his black pupil, and he was now holding a similarly colored weapon that looked like it was shrouded in white flames. His very presence made the atmosphere very heavy, and the ground almost felt like it was shaking. But most of all, his face; his face teemed with a dangerous expression that even made the mysterious girl nervous.
"So...I was right..." She mumbled before the three opponents dashed towards the brightened Serge. With just one slash, and no trouble whatsoever, he summoned a crescent wave with his long, two-sided weapon that cut one creature half clean, Soon after igniting his fist in a bright light and punching another with such a powerful magnitude. Finally, he lifted out his hand towards the last of the three and fired a white beam that literally evaporated the bladed creature until there was nothing left.
"I can't believe it..." The injured teen mumbled. "I was expecting something like this...but why can't my hand stop shaking...?"
AN: And that officially ends chapter one of Chrono Enigma. Hope you liked it. I'm actually gonna start drawing concept arts when i have the time. It won't be anything great, so don't expect much ok? lol, well I'll see you next time. There's still a lot of things you're wondering about I think, but ill get to that soon enough. If you have any comments, suggestions, or anything, please don't be shy. I can take it lol.