Chapter 1

Coro Elysium

Coro Elysium had just celebrated her 18th birthday. As she sat in the desk of her high school chair with her other classmates, Deryn, her teacher and neighbor, started to talk about the accident that occurred 18 years ago with Exile and about how the powers of an Exile mysteriously spread to other children who were not born from Exilean parents.

As Deryn continued talking about the accident and who the captains were however, Coro excitedly watched the clock above the door for it to tick to the next hour of her classes. For, she would be going to gym to see her dad and mom, along with practicing her swordsmanship and it was the last hour of the day.

Ten minutes later, Coro sat in the gym facing her father, Zoro, and mother, Tashigi, with her pair of twin swords, given to her by her father on her birthday, strapped to her back.

"Alright listen up!", Zoro yelled at the chattering students, "We have a change in plans, today we are going to see what powers you are good at. Line up, single file, and approach us when we call your name."

Slowly, the line students battled against Zoro until it was Coro's turn.

"Coro Elysium!" her mom yelled.

As Coro stepped forward, she watched her father step off the court and put his swords back in their sheaths.

'Why aren't either of them stepping into the arena? We always train at home.' Coro thought as she took out her swords.

"Coro, since we train you at home, we can't give you this test. So, we have someone very special for you to battle with the permission of Alex Sharp." Zoro told her as he sat in a chair and the door to the gym opened.

In the door strode Alex Sharp, her history teacher and neighbor, who she had battled on many occasions with while training. However, when she had battled with him he had used only a rapier but, as he walked over to the arena, Coro saw he had a pair of twin swords strapped to his back.

"Mr. Sharp?" Coro asked as the man stepped into the ring and drew out the two swords.

"Nope." Alex said in a way that sent a chill up her spine.

'Maybe Alex was only fighting with a rapier on purpose, or the other possibility is Alex must be letting someone control his body.' Coro thought in conclusion.

"Now… Let's see how you fight." the man said.

Coro put her swords in front of her and concentrated, waiting for the man to attack. She did not have to wait long, as the man suddenly lunged forward and slashed at her. Coro was just able to fend off the attack as the man started attacking her relentlessly, putting her on the defensive and pushing her back. Suddenly, the man leaped high into the air and started to fall. Coro saw that he was intending to knock her back out of the arena and finish the match.

"Oh no you don't!" Coro said as she whipped both her swords up into an "X" above her head. Unbeknownst to Coro, her mark started to glow gold under her shirt but the other students could see it clearly. As they caught sight of it as the sparing paused for a moment, they all gasped in disbelievement as they saw the two gold shining gears, and the small one started to slowly turn. Then, Coro did something that astonished the students further, as the man battling with Coro brought one of his swords down on her arm, as the blade hit it bent around her arm like it had hit something harder than itself. When the students focused back on the battle Coro, with inhuman speed, charged forward, jumped high into the air, and brought both blades down squarely on her opponent's upraised swords. The force behind the attack was strong enough that her opponent fell to one knee and a large spherical indent was forced into the floor. This stunned the students. But as they whispered among themselves, the battle suddenly ended when Coro landed from her attack and her opponent kicked her feet out from underneath her.

"I will say, I have never fought against my own swords before… and I certainly have never faced a better opponent." the man in control of Alex's body commented as he brought one of his swords up under Coro's neck in a sign of triumph before looking in dismay at the sword with the bent edge and saying, "I have also seemed to have ruined one of you good swords Zoro."

Stunned, Coro took in the new information. Tashigi had told her when she got the swords that they used to belong to one of the old crew members, but Coro had never expected to battle against the same person. However, before she could ask the man who he was, her friends from the line of students rushed over to her, yelling and shouting.

"Show us your mark quickly!" Harrow sharp ordered her excitedly.

"Why?" Coro asked puzzled as to what had happened.

"We'll explain later. Show us!" another told her.

"Fine." Coro said and pulled her shirt up her back, revealing her mark.

"Coro… how come you have a big gear unlike the rest of us?" Harrow asked as he saw her mark for the first time.

"Don't know, it's always been there. But it doesn't move." Coro explained as she pulled her shirt back down before asking them, "Why did you want to see it?"

"We saw it turn gold through your shirt and it started to turn like your powers were activated! At one point in the battle you bent that sword's edge with your arm, you had inhuman speed... and strength!" Harrow practically shouted at her.

"Ok! head over to the cement blocks and we'll move on to the next test." Tashigi yelled at the milling students.

"We'll find out more at the next test, that could have been just the swordsmanship power." Coro said to them before turning and walking over to the large cement blocks in the corner of the room.

"Okay! These blocks of cement weigh close to one ton. If you can lift it you have the power of inhuman strength." Tashigi explained to them before calling out people's names. As usual, Coro's name was last. As she stepped forward and grasped the block she concentrated on lifting the heavy block. Again, her mark began to glow goldenly and began to turn. Even though everyone else saw the spectacle, Coro didn't notice as she slowly lifted the cement off the ground and found it getting lighter with each inch off the ground. By the time she had it at her head high it felt to her like it weighed like styrofoam.

"Can you lift it in only one hand?" Zoro asked as he walked over to the group. Coro slowly placed the corner in her palm and lifted it one handed into the air above her head. Students stared in astonishment as Coro was the only one of them who could lift it in one hand, the others having dropped it when they tried.

"Coro...your mark is moving." Harrow said quietly as she set the block down.

"Let's see what other powers you're...proficient in." the man in control of Alex's body said as he walked over.

They quickly hurried through the next tests, this time putting Coro first, and found that she could use all but cold metal shaping and moving stuff with her eyes, "I had trouble with cold metal shaping at first too." the person controlling Alex's body commented.

"That you just have to practice on your own." Tashigi told Coro after the tests were done before turning to face the students and telling them, "Results will be posted on my door at the end of class, until then you have recess."

As Coro walked outside the gym and onto the massive branch of the Ice tree the school and ghetto was on, Harrow walked up to her and asked quietly, "Hey, me and some of the other students are going to the "hole and slide" tonight. I was wondering if you would like to join us?"

"I'll stop by after I talk to my parents about why I can use most of the powers." Coro said as she sat down on a bench near the back of the gym.

"Ok. See you tonight." Harrow told her as the bell rang and he walked away to see his results.

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