Cybersystem Chronicles
By Zelloss (Dreamer)
Cybersystem Interactive RPG is located at :
Author's Note: Recognize this? Perhaps. If you read New Generation, you'll know that this used to be called 'The Protector' and that it was the fourth book. Well, now 'The Last Shadow' has taken it's place, because these Chronicles are going to detial things that happen in Cybersystem, from the past before Cybersystem began, to the storylines of users...
WARNING: Violence Level - Low
Storyline 1 - Darkness Begins Storyline By - Dreamer Grausherra Author - Dreamer Grausherra
Chapter 1 - Awakening
"Heavy Weight! Activate!"
I felt a rather large weight appear in my hand. I tossed it skillfully upwards, high above the ground.
My opponent, cloaked nearly entirely in emerald green, waited on the ground underneath the weight. At first glance, a normal person would have thought I threw it too high to cause impact, but that's where the normal person was wrong.
The weight expanded to several times it's size, faces appearing on each end. It stopped in mid-air and crashed straight down. The emerald- cloaked opponent dived forward. The weight began to swing sideways rapidly, crashing into data cubes and the like. It then swung the other way, destroying more data as it did. Then it swung back. And forth. And back.
"Killer Sensor! Activate!" I shouted. A strange, floating eyeball appeared in front of me. I could only see it's yellow back, for the eye was pointed forwards. A misty light came forward from it.
Before I waited for my opponent to attack, I took the opportunity as he rolled out of the way of the light. "Deathmatch, Activate!"
The ground in front of me shattered and cracked everywhere. Our large, tiled arena nearly fell apart under our feet.
My opponent finally took the chance to attack. He jumped sideways, the ground collapsing where he had been. "Sonic Wave, Activate!" he shouted, as a large pick-axe appeared in his hand. He brought it crashing down to the ground. A large white shockwave tore across the shattered ground towards me, shattering tiles and turning them into empty pits as it went.
"Airshoes! Activate!" I shouted, and my feet got lighter. I floated off the ground, just enough to let the shockwave pass. "Deathmatch Powered, activate!"
Tiles slowly fell away. The Heavy Weight slowly stopped swinging, and dissapeared. The cracked tiles fell away, leaving empty barren holes. The only place left was where my opponent was standing, on a small pillar on a grid of pure emptyness.
I grinned, knowing the match was almost over. I'd always give my opponents what I called 'Last words', a final chance to win.
"Repair, Activation!" my foe cackled. The empty space turned a hazy white, then a solid white, reforming into ground. I remained floating.
"Not bad..." I taunted. "Deathmatch Final, Activate!"
The ground turned from solid to hazy, and to a gaseous purple. I smelled poisonous smoke rising from the ground. I would be effected, slightly, but he would be effected moreso.
"Cheater..." he cursed up at me, and yelled in shock. The white light from my earlier Killer Sensor had turned towards him, and turned from white to an electrically-charged beam of yellow. His whole body shook. When the beam stopped and the demonic eye disappeared, he remained temporarily stunned.
"Time's up!" I taunted to him, using one last attack. "Life Bit, Summon!"
A form appeared in front of me. It was a white six-legged crab-like creature, that rose up to chest height. It's fanged mouth opened to release a long pink beam that tore into my opponent.
He dissapeared.
I grinned. Too easy. I reached up to grab a black headband and tugged it off. The real world came into view.
I was really inside of a large stadium, and people cheered all around me. My opponent was lying, stunned, on the ground across from me. He was no longer an emerald-cloaked menace, but a young child.
I grinned, as people chanted around me. "Sir-ius! Sir-ius! Sir- ius!"
That's me. Sirius Skie. I'm a Netbattler. Except these days, Netbattler has a whole new meaning!
Since the age you probably know, netbattling was done using battle chips and navis. Well, that's changed.
There is no such thing as a Navi anymore. Or Battle Chips. The headband I took off allows you to see the 'cyberworld', a reality mirroring our own. There, the impossible can happen.
The data you win, be it by defeating your foes, or by finding it, is yours to turn into weapons. Weapons for battle.
Weapons for a competition like this.
My bedraggled opponent slowly got up and walked over to me, extending an arm. The kid was about eight or nine, probably. He had shoulder-length brown hair and a pale face, accented by hazel eyes and a smiling mouth. He was somewhat petit, mabye a foot or two smaller then I was.
I took his hand and shook it. "You're doing fine, kiddo."
The kid looked at me starry-eyed. "Thank you, master Sirius" he complimented me, and handed me my prize. A small silver coin with an unusual design on it. A spiked orb. A Yo-yo weapon. I pocketed it.
Now then, about me. I'm Sirius Skie, as I've told you already. World-level Netbattler caught, this time, in a competition of children. My hair is a light blue, as was that of my father, Vincent Skie. I'm somewhat tall, about five or six feet, and have an age of fourteen. A noticable feature about myself is the silvery-blue eyes I have.
I'm rather skinny, but I'm well-muscled, with all the excersize I get. My long arms each have different wristbands, one the left, a thin black one. On the right, a thick white one. Today, I've got a silver shirt with a golden chinese-style dragon emblazoned on it, and long brown pants.
I turned from the kid and walked into a small hallway, away from the hustle and cheer of the crowd. I wiped my forehead of a bit of sweat. The kid was decent, that was for sure. Not some weaklings like I had faced.
Perhaps it was the fact he stopped my favorite technique that made me mad. I shrugged it off.
I felt to the front of my shirt, where there was a silver chain. On it hung several different symbols and medals, signs of my sheer prowess and ability at Netbattling. Most of them happened to be awards I had won.
It was nearly the end of this particular competition. One more weakling, then a real challenge.
See, like most heroes and good-guys, there's always a competetor, a rival, who proves to be a great challenge. For me, that rival is Jezin.
I turned and reached the 'waiting room' of the arena, where the competetors awaited. I nearly glared over at Jezin. He was returning the glare, and I took my seat. Generally, I was cheery. Nobody messed up my strategies though.
Not even some little kid.
I sat back and watched the television as it displayed the two remaining quarter-final matches. I knew Jezin would manage to make it from his spot in the semi-finals, to the finals match, which would be against me.
Time passed, and I found myself called to the semi-final round. I turned back the way I had come, and Jezin followed me.
While as Jezin waited at the entrance to the arena, I entered. The crowd began to cheer and whoop again, and I reveled in it. I looked at my foe.
My opponent this time was a young man, probably in his twenties or thirties. As far as I could remember, his name was Alaren. Alaren. What a wierd name.
"Ready, netbattlers?" the referee asked. It was hard to tell there was a referee, he barely was seen. Both me and Alaren nodded and put on our headbands.
The world shifted quickly. Instead of the perfectly normal walls one would expect, I saw a large, digitalized stadium. A variety of figures appeared on the stands, where the crowd had once been. Before, they were simple faces. Now, they were all different, definatly different.
My body had changed, too. Instead of my normal outfit, I now had a crimson helmet over the back of my head and my forehead, covering most of my blue hair. A black visor covered my right eye, making the right side of my vision darker.
My body form didn't change, instead, it was what I wore. My upper body was covered in a crimson shirt and black vest. Around my neck was strung a large black cape that extended behind me to my feet. I also had blackened gloves covering my hands.
Tied around my waist was a velvet sash, and long black pants that extended to the bottom. People always told me how strong it made me look.
Alaren changed drastically, too. His body was draped in a medieval knight's suit of armor, with an empty sheath to the side. A helmet covered the upper part of his head, covering up the headband. His silver armor was accented by a blue cape behind it.
I saw the referee, who looked human, perhaps the only one. "Begin!" he shouted.
Alaren, despite his armor, was fast and took the first move. "Long Sword, Draw!" he shouted, pulling a suddenly-appearing and rather lengthy sword from his sheath. He dashed towards me.
I backed up a step, mocked shock momentarily, then grinned. As he brought the sword down on my head, I grabbed it with my gloved hands. "Counter Sword, Support" I grinned.
A surge of electricity shot down the sword, shattering it, then it entered Alaren, stunning him momentarily. I took the opportunity.
"Impact Punch, Activate!" I pulled my hand back. It became covered in a golden metal, and I shot it forward. It slammed into Alaren and sent him sprawling backwards. He was weakened. I grinned.
"Deathmatch Powered!" I smiled as the ground shook away. The two pieces of ground left were ours. I jumped up and used another attack. "Airshoes!"
Tiny wings sprouted from my shoes, but they kept me floating above the ground. I saw Alaren grin.
"You're too predictable!" he challenged. "Come over here and fight me!"
I floated over, and stopped just outside my panel. There was several things I could do now. There was, of course, several things he could do. I did follow the rules of 'Last Words' though, just for fun.
I floated just off the edge, and Alaren's grin widened. "Geyser, Activate!"
I jumped back onto my platform just as huge explosions of water shot up from all the holes in the ground, leaving the air wet.
"You lose..." I grinned, as I finished my favorite victory strategy. "Let's Go, Snake!"
As I floated up, hundreds of purple snakes arose from the holes in the ground, and turned towards Alaren. Fear lit up his eyes.
"No you don't! GEYSER!" he activated another attack. Water rushed up and wetted the snakes, making them short-circuit and stop.
"Nobody..." I felt my eye twitch. "Nobody does that to my precious snakes!" I challenged. "Chess Knight, Summon!"
A large stone knight, from a game of chess, appeared in front of me. After a moment, it jumped towards Alaren.
"Hammer, Activate!" he shouted frantically, grabbing a huge stone hammer that he swung into the Knight. It shattered and it's pieces fell down the holes.
"Damn... it... all..." I cursed. I was getting mad now.
Nobody stood up to me when I was mad.
I floated off the edge of the platform. I slowly floated towards my prey.
"Geyser!" he shouted. I grinned.
"Counter Aquatics, Support!" I yelled, moving my hands, palm-open towards him. The geysers exploded around me, then swirled about and their water moved into my hands.
The pressure of the water was growing to be immense. I had had enough with his Geyser attacks. I let the water explode into another geyser.
The blast shot across Alaren's platform, sending him flying towards a hole. His digital form disappearing suddenly. I had won.
I pulled off the headband and dropped to my feet. The once-silent crowd exploded in cheers.
I walked back to the entrance, after Alaren ran over and handed me a reward, the Long Sword coin from earlier.
I flipped it up and caught it, and then turned back to the entrance I had used. I walked to the arch, turned, and looked at Jezin, who was still standing there.
"Beat that" I challenged.
Jezin was about my age. He's got messy, dark purple hair, a pale complexion that always seemed to be unpleasant, and scary purple eyes. He also had, today, a greyish torn shirt, and a pair of blue jeans. The scariest part, perhaps, was that he carried real-world weapons, a pair of black-handled daggers in his sheaths.
He looked over at me with a grin, and seemed to accept. I leaned against the wall across from him, waiting for his turn.
It came. He walked out onto the field, and I pulled my Headband back on and took a seated position to watch from my sheltered area.
Jezin's form shifted. While as mine was that of fighter, his was that of a thief. He wore a torn black shirt that reached down just past his waist, with matching black pants. His skin seemed to darken, well, what little skin could be seen. His shoes became softened, and a large black cape extended from behind him. He looked like a shadow.
His opponent was a rather old man. The man had taken a gentlemanly approach, with a black tuxedo/buisness suit and black pants that made him look very out-of-place, but obviously he was a good fighter to be able to make it this far.
Sure, it was only a country-wide, but making it to the quarter-finals in a tuxedo definatly meant that the suit hid skills.
The match began. Jezin grinned, and I knew that he had used one of his famous maneouvers, the Shadow Covering. His body dissapeared, leaving only a bare shadow on the ground.
His opponent, Katsuya, looked around madly. He seemed to be looking for any sign, but instead seemed to turn tail and run.
I was lucky. The black visor covering my right eye was made to lock- on to digital signals, whether the human eye could see them or not. Katsuya jumped on top of a Data Cube, and turned towards it.
"Magnum Cannon, Activate!" he shouted, raising his arm. A large red cannon formed in it. It was obviously quite light, because Katsuya managed to hold it up easily.
With a quick shot towards the ground, the Magnum Cannon, blasted the panel in front of him. There was a momentary pause.
The panels in front of where the Magnum Cannon had hit began to flip up rapidly, flying into the air then shooting down and leaving behind only holes. I could sense Jezin evading the attack easily, as his Shadow Covering wore off. He was totally out of sight of Katsuya though.
With a flick of his wrist, Jezin ordered the next move. "Kunai Ace, Deuce, Triplex!" he grinned. From what seemed to be a hidden sheath, a small, metal spike shot forward towards Katsuya. Then a pair of them. Then three.
Katsuya turned barely in time to see them. The first one scraped across his chest as he turned away, then the second set had one slice into his arm. The trio of them had one leave a mark across his leg. Katsuya stumbled.
Before Katsuya even had a chance to continue, Jezin activated his next maneouver. "Samurai Shoes, Flood! Support!"
A rush of water came from just in front of me, filling the arena. Jezin's shoes seemed to float on the water, keeping him from being affected. Katsuya, however, was wounded and under the water.
Katsuya pulled himself up after a moment. He seemed to be a bit surprised, then made his next move. "Ice Cubes, Support!"
Several solid cubes of ice fell down into the water around him, raising the water level for a moment before they settled, half-floating above the water. Katsuya pulled himself onto them. He slipped for a moment, then caught his grip.
Jezin remained just above water level, far from Katsuya. "Wave! Activate!"
In front of him, the water level rose sharply, coming to the height of Jezin's head and sweeping forward.Katsuya braced himself for the attack, but was still washed backwards off the cube.
I noticed, and obviously so did Katsuya, that the ice cubes were shrinking. It was simple physics. They'd melt eventually. Katsuya took another chance, getting back up on them. Jezin was already prepared for his next attack.
"Muddy Wave, Activate!" he shouted out.
The water churned and changed into a brownish color as mud was mixed into the water. The water level rose again, this time going over Jezin's head, and shooting forward.
Katsuya knew he needed to do something. "Great Aura! Support!" he shouted.
There were shouts from the crowd. Great Aura. That wasn't a common chip. Katsuya's body gained just the slightest tint of green. The mud washed off easily, slipping to the cube and then down into the water, where it remained. Jezin wasn't even fazed by it.
"Great Aura won't protect you for long..." he grinned. "Sprout Lava! Support!"
The ground cracked open. The water flooded in, leaving behind only mud. Then something came from it. A huge rush of magma flooded the area, melting the ice cubes. Katsuya slipped into the lava. The lava suddenly settled, and the square of the grid Katsuya was on was clear, but the lava had done it's damage. Katsuya's Ice Cubes were gone, and the Great Aura was gone with it.
Jezin dropped to float just above the lava. "Lava Wave! Activate!"
Katsuya watched in horror as the lava itself rose under Jezin's command, and rushed forward to meet him. It barely touched him before the arena was wiped clean and the referee declared a victory.
I noticed that Jezin remained standing, focused on a distant point. He hadn't removed his Headband. I ran up behind him, knowing we'd fight next anyway.
"He's here..." Jezin muttered, as I came up behind him. "Sirius, he's here..."
I kept my Headband on, somewhat curious. Jezin remained staring forward. A man emerged at the opposite end. I tore off my headband to see who it was.
Nobody. There was nobody there. I put it back on.
The man was still there. He was slightly scary. He looked human enough, with an unclosed black vest that showed his scarred chest and muscles. He was also wearing long, brown leather breeches, and a black Headband underneath his hair.
His head is what scared me the most. His hair seemed to be wild and untamed, a lightish blue color like my own. It was mostly his eyes. Deep purple.
I pulled my headband off. Nobody there. I put it back on. There he was. My right eye's visor wasn't picking up a human signal.
A human signal. So was he inhuman? Or an illusion?
"Sirius, Jezin..." a demonic voice shot from the man's mouth. "Your final match will not be against each other, but against me!"
I noticed the referee had dissapeared from the field, and my visor picked up a force field that had extended around our battlefield, keeping us in and others out.
The crowd shouted. Didn't they know this wasn't scheduled? Who was this man?
"Begin!" the man grinned.
The man waited across from us. He had started the battle, but seemed to be waiting for us. Well, that would be his mistake, then me and Jezin would finish our match.
"Airshoes!" I grinned, allowing myself to float up. Beside me, Jezin used his own Samurai Feet to prepare for anything our foe might just do.
"Very well then!" my foe grinned. "Volcano Buster!"
The left hand of the man shifted, becoming what seemed to be the top of a volcano. Red energy flowed into the red crater at the top.
Me and Jezin went seperate ways, I to the right, and he to the left. Jezin raised his arm. "Snowflake Shot!"
I took aim myself, yelling "Spring Fist!" as I did. My fist was plated in gold, then something like it shot forward towards the black-robed man.
A small round disk of ice shot from Jezin's hand towards our opponent.
The man grinned and turned towards me. Red energy stopped coming in and he fired. A huge burst of lava shot through the fist, melting it, and came straight through towards me. I jumped quickly out of it's way, as it exploded against the force field.
My opponent then turned towards Jezin, and grinned. "Salamander!" he shouted. His body erupted into flames, then those flames condensed into a ball in front of him. The flame shot at high-speeds towards Jezin.
It tore through the snowflake, melting it, and Jezin didn't quite get away in time. His left arm was burnt.
Jezin looked past him at me. "Who are you?" he asked our mystery foe.
"My name is Dynast." the booming voice seemed to smile.
"Dynast?" I wondered for a couple moments. Why did that seem so familiar?
"Freeze Bomb!" Dynast shouted, as I thought. A white orb sailed down towards me. I had never seen an attack like that before, so I dove out of the way, rolling closer to Jezin.
The orb exploded, creating a chilly mist that covered the field. I felt myself shiver from the cold. The temperature must have seriously dropped.
"No way..." I heard Jezin mutter. "A Freeze Bomb... No way..."
I ignored him for the moment, as I prepared my own attack. "Killer Sensor!" I shouted. The large demonic eye dropped down in front of me.
Dynast looked at the searchlight as it moved towards him. "Counter Electrics, Support!" he grinned, as the white light became yellow. It bounced off him and shot through the Killer Sensor, towards me. I was too shocked to get away.
Electricity charged through my body. I shouted in pain. It usually didn't hurt this bad. What was wrong?
I breathed deep as the charge stopped. "Recover Star, activate" I muttered to myself. I waited for the moment before the recovery system kicked in.
"Reverse Medicine!" Dynast looked at me and grinned. I felt the recovery system kicked in, but it wasn't the way it was supposed to. Sharp pains shot through my body, as the once-healing was turned into sheer pain, disabling me.
I fell down, nearly defeated. Jezin, I noticed, was already back fighting. "Kunai Ace, Deuce, Triplex!"
Six near-knives shot towards Dynast, and he turned towards Jezin. "Iron Shield, Support!" he grinned. The knives simply bounced off a large shield that appeared, then fell to the ground and disappeared. Dynast undid the shield.
I tried to get up, but discovered I'd need more time. I had to hope Jezin would fight well.
"Snowflake Gamma!" Jezin shouted, as a larger snowflake shot towards Dynast. Dynast simply grinned as it came closer, then activated a maneouver of his own.
"Black Hole, Activate!" he shouted. The snowflake was pulled into the center of a small orb that appeared, and dissapeared forever. Dynast then snapped his fingers and made it dissapear.
"Snowflake Zeta!" Jezin shouted furiously, shooting a good chest- width snowflake at Dynast.
"Counter Damage!" Dynast grinned, as the attack hit him. He jumped up high in the sky, and a trio of shurkiens embedded themselves in Jezin's arm. I could see just a bit of blood stemminmg from the wounds. Jezin fell down, obviously in more pain then I had expected.
Blood wasn't normal here. Nobody bled in cyberspace.
"Now then..." Dynast grinned, as he stepped towards me. I tried to get up, but I couldn't. "Your great-grandfather said that you would be compatable... another Pure Blood..."
Jezin looked up at Dynast, confused. "Who are you...?"
"I'm darkness itself..." Dynast grinned. "The vessel of travel for the shadows."
I made myself rise to my knees. "Don't hurt him..." I breathed out. Dynast stared at me. "Don't you dare touch him..."
"Shame, really" Dynast seemed to mock me as he stepped towards me. "You're the grandson of the true heir, and yet it's him that is pure blooded... I sense the blood of Eyodians running through you though..."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"You're the grandson of Zann Grausherra, the true second human Dark Blood. Yet you're not purely Dark Blood. On the other hand..." Dynast grinned and motioned to Jezin. "He'll do just fine!"
Dynast turned away from me and walked towards Jezin. I forced myself to do one last attack.
"Dream Bit, Summon!" I shouted a final challenge. The crab-like virus reappeared, once again pure white. A large pink beam shot from it's mouth towards Dynast.
Dynast turned and grinned. "Life Aura, Support" he grinned. The attack bounced off of him, as his body was tinted white. "You wanna see a really virus summon? Night Bit!"
A strange, and somewhat larger, black-coated Dream Bit virus appeared. Rays of darkness shot forward from it, traveling along the ground like vines. I tried to back up.
The vines quickly reached me and wrapped themselves around me. I screamed in pain. It seemed as if there were thorns, and I felt cuts and tears go throughout my body as I was attacked by the shadows themselves.
One pierced into my forehead, drawing blood and making me weak. I couldn't move, as long as the Nightmare Bit's attack continued.
Jezin tried to stand up. His arm had been nearly covered in crimson, as the shurkiens drew blood from his arm. He moaned in pain as he rose to his feet.
I wished I could warn him. "Jezin... no..." I tried to talk, but I didn't have the energy.
"Dynast... don't you hurt him..." Jezin threatened. "Chess Pawn, Summon!"
A four-foot-high pawn appeared between Dynast and Jezin. It brandished a huge sword, then swung it at Dynast.
Dynast turned and grabbed the sword. "Counter Sword!"
The sword shattered, leaving the chesspiece in pieces. Dynast grabbed the hilt of his own sword.
"Darkness!" he grinned, and drew the blade. It was a huge sword of darkness, one that seemed to make me want to run and hide. I tried to shout out to Jezin, but the Nightmare Bit's attack still wrapped around me. I felt myself getting steadily weaker, almost ready to faint.
Dynast brought the sword up over Jezin. "You, of Dark Blood, become the next vessal. Blackfang will live!" he shouted, jamming the sword into Jezin's chest.
I brought every inch of my energy together to break from the bonds, although only my upper half managed to. I shouted out, in pain, in fury, and in sadness.
Dynast retracted the blade, stained now with blood, as Jezin fell down to the ground.
There was a large hole through his chest, as I could see. Blood mixed with stains of darkness spread onto the ground.
"Jezin..." I whimpered. "No..."
Then I saw Jezin stand back up. The hole in his body repaired itself, sealing with a patch of darkness. I couldn't move.
Jezin's eyes were a pitch black, like nothing I had ever seen before.
Author's Note: Recognize this? Perhaps. If you read New Generation, you'll know that this used to be called 'The Protector' and that it was the fourth book. Well, now 'The Last Shadow' has taken it's place, because these Chronicles are going to detial things that happen in Cybersystem, from the past before Cybersystem began, to the storylines of users...
WARNING: Violence Level - Low
Storyline 1 - Darkness Begins Storyline By - Dreamer Grausherra Author - Dreamer Grausherra
Chapter 1 - Awakening
"Heavy Weight! Activate!"
I felt a rather large weight appear in my hand. I tossed it skillfully upwards, high above the ground.
My opponent, cloaked nearly entirely in emerald green, waited on the ground underneath the weight. At first glance, a normal person would have thought I threw it too high to cause impact, but that's where the normal person was wrong.
The weight expanded to several times it's size, faces appearing on each end. It stopped in mid-air and crashed straight down. The emerald- cloaked opponent dived forward. The weight began to swing sideways rapidly, crashing into data cubes and the like. It then swung the other way, destroying more data as it did. Then it swung back. And forth. And back.
"Killer Sensor! Activate!" I shouted. A strange, floating eyeball appeared in front of me. I could only see it's yellow back, for the eye was pointed forwards. A misty light came forward from it.
Before I waited for my opponent to attack, I took the opportunity as he rolled out of the way of the light. "Deathmatch, Activate!"
The ground in front of me shattered and cracked everywhere. Our large, tiled arena nearly fell apart under our feet.
My opponent finally took the chance to attack. He jumped sideways, the ground collapsing where he had been. "Sonic Wave, Activate!" he shouted, as a large pick-axe appeared in his hand. He brought it crashing down to the ground. A large white shockwave tore across the shattered ground towards me, shattering tiles and turning them into empty pits as it went.
"Airshoes! Activate!" I shouted, and my feet got lighter. I floated off the ground, just enough to let the shockwave pass. "Deathmatch Powered, activate!"
Tiles slowly fell away. The Heavy Weight slowly stopped swinging, and dissapeared. The cracked tiles fell away, leaving empty barren holes. The only place left was where my opponent was standing, on a small pillar on a grid of pure emptyness.
I grinned, knowing the match was almost over. I'd always give my opponents what I called 'Last words', a final chance to win.
"Repair, Activation!" my foe cackled. The empty space turned a hazy white, then a solid white, reforming into ground. I remained floating.
"Not bad..." I taunted. "Deathmatch Final, Activate!"
The ground turned from solid to hazy, and to a gaseous purple. I smelled poisonous smoke rising from the ground. I would be effected, slightly, but he would be effected moreso.
"Cheater..." he cursed up at me, and yelled in shock. The white light from my earlier Killer Sensor had turned towards him, and turned from white to an electrically-charged beam of yellow. His whole body shook. When the beam stopped and the demonic eye disappeared, he remained temporarily stunned.
"Time's up!" I taunted to him, using one last attack. "Life Bit, Summon!"
A form appeared in front of me. It was a white six-legged crab-like creature, that rose up to chest height. It's fanged mouth opened to release a long pink beam that tore into my opponent.
He dissapeared.
I grinned. Too easy. I reached up to grab a black headband and tugged it off. The real world came into view.
I was really inside of a large stadium, and people cheered all around me. My opponent was lying, stunned, on the ground across from me. He was no longer an emerald-cloaked menace, but a young child.
I grinned, as people chanted around me. "Sir-ius! Sir-ius! Sir- ius!"
That's me. Sirius Skie. I'm a Netbattler. Except these days, Netbattler has a whole new meaning!
Since the age you probably know, netbattling was done using battle chips and navis. Well, that's changed.
There is no such thing as a Navi anymore. Or Battle Chips. The headband I took off allows you to see the 'cyberworld', a reality mirroring our own. There, the impossible can happen.
The data you win, be it by defeating your foes, or by finding it, is yours to turn into weapons. Weapons for battle.
Weapons for a competition like this.
My bedraggled opponent slowly got up and walked over to me, extending an arm. The kid was about eight or nine, probably. He had shoulder-length brown hair and a pale face, accented by hazel eyes and a smiling mouth. He was somewhat petit, mabye a foot or two smaller then I was.
I took his hand and shook it. "You're doing fine, kiddo."
The kid looked at me starry-eyed. "Thank you, master Sirius" he complimented me, and handed me my prize. A small silver coin with an unusual design on it. A spiked orb. A Yo-yo weapon. I pocketed it.
Now then, about me. I'm Sirius Skie, as I've told you already. World-level Netbattler caught, this time, in a competition of children. My hair is a light blue, as was that of my father, Vincent Skie. I'm somewhat tall, about five or six feet, and have an age of fourteen. A noticable feature about myself is the silvery-blue eyes I have.
I'm rather skinny, but I'm well-muscled, with all the excersize I get. My long arms each have different wristbands, one the left, a thin black one. On the right, a thick white one. Today, I've got a silver shirt with a golden chinese-style dragon emblazoned on it, and long brown pants.
I turned from the kid and walked into a small hallway, away from the hustle and cheer of the crowd. I wiped my forehead of a bit of sweat. The kid was decent, that was for sure. Not some weaklings like I had faced.
Perhaps it was the fact he stopped my favorite technique that made me mad. I shrugged it off.
I felt to the front of my shirt, where there was a silver chain. On it hung several different symbols and medals, signs of my sheer prowess and ability at Netbattling. Most of them happened to be awards I had won.
It was nearly the end of this particular competition. One more weakling, then a real challenge.
See, like most heroes and good-guys, there's always a competetor, a rival, who proves to be a great challenge. For me, that rival is Jezin.
I turned and reached the 'waiting room' of the arena, where the competetors awaited. I nearly glared over at Jezin. He was returning the glare, and I took my seat. Generally, I was cheery. Nobody messed up my strategies though.
Not even some little kid.
I sat back and watched the television as it displayed the two remaining quarter-final matches. I knew Jezin would manage to make it from his spot in the semi-finals, to the finals match, which would be against me.
Time passed, and I found myself called to the semi-final round. I turned back the way I had come, and Jezin followed me.
While as Jezin waited at the entrance to the arena, I entered. The crowd began to cheer and whoop again, and I reveled in it. I looked at my foe.
My opponent this time was a young man, probably in his twenties or thirties. As far as I could remember, his name was Alaren. Alaren. What a wierd name.
"Ready, netbattlers?" the referee asked. It was hard to tell there was a referee, he barely was seen. Both me and Alaren nodded and put on our headbands.
The world shifted quickly. Instead of the perfectly normal walls one would expect, I saw a large, digitalized stadium. A variety of figures appeared on the stands, where the crowd had once been. Before, they were simple faces. Now, they were all different, definatly different.
My body had changed, too. Instead of my normal outfit, I now had a crimson helmet over the back of my head and my forehead, covering most of my blue hair. A black visor covered my right eye, making the right side of my vision darker.
My body form didn't change, instead, it was what I wore. My upper body was covered in a crimson shirt and black vest. Around my neck was strung a large black cape that extended behind me to my feet. I also had blackened gloves covering my hands.
Tied around my waist was a velvet sash, and long black pants that extended to the bottom. People always told me how strong it made me look.
Alaren changed drastically, too. His body was draped in a medieval knight's suit of armor, with an empty sheath to the side. A helmet covered the upper part of his head, covering up the headband. His silver armor was accented by a blue cape behind it.
I saw the referee, who looked human, perhaps the only one. "Begin!" he shouted.
Alaren, despite his armor, was fast and took the first move. "Long Sword, Draw!" he shouted, pulling a suddenly-appearing and rather lengthy sword from his sheath. He dashed towards me.
I backed up a step, mocked shock momentarily, then grinned. As he brought the sword down on my head, I grabbed it with my gloved hands. "Counter Sword, Support" I grinned.
A surge of electricity shot down the sword, shattering it, then it entered Alaren, stunning him momentarily. I took the opportunity.
"Impact Punch, Activate!" I pulled my hand back. It became covered in a golden metal, and I shot it forward. It slammed into Alaren and sent him sprawling backwards. He was weakened. I grinned.
"Deathmatch Powered!" I smiled as the ground shook away. The two pieces of ground left were ours. I jumped up and used another attack. "Airshoes!"
Tiny wings sprouted from my shoes, but they kept me floating above the ground. I saw Alaren grin.
"You're too predictable!" he challenged. "Come over here and fight me!"
I floated over, and stopped just outside my panel. There was several things I could do now. There was, of course, several things he could do. I did follow the rules of 'Last Words' though, just for fun.
I floated just off the edge, and Alaren's grin widened. "Geyser, Activate!"
I jumped back onto my platform just as huge explosions of water shot up from all the holes in the ground, leaving the air wet.
"You lose..." I grinned, as I finished my favorite victory strategy. "Let's Go, Snake!"
As I floated up, hundreds of purple snakes arose from the holes in the ground, and turned towards Alaren. Fear lit up his eyes.
"No you don't! GEYSER!" he activated another attack. Water rushed up and wetted the snakes, making them short-circuit and stop.
"Nobody..." I felt my eye twitch. "Nobody does that to my precious snakes!" I challenged. "Chess Knight, Summon!"
A large stone knight, from a game of chess, appeared in front of me. After a moment, it jumped towards Alaren.
"Hammer, Activate!" he shouted frantically, grabbing a huge stone hammer that he swung into the Knight. It shattered and it's pieces fell down the holes.
"Damn... it... all..." I cursed. I was getting mad now.
Nobody stood up to me when I was mad.
I floated off the edge of the platform. I slowly floated towards my prey.
"Geyser!" he shouted. I grinned.
"Counter Aquatics, Support!" I yelled, moving my hands, palm-open towards him. The geysers exploded around me, then swirled about and their water moved into my hands.
The pressure of the water was growing to be immense. I had had enough with his Geyser attacks. I let the water explode into another geyser.
The blast shot across Alaren's platform, sending him flying towards a hole. His digital form disappearing suddenly. I had won.
I pulled off the headband and dropped to my feet. The once-silent crowd exploded in cheers.
I walked back to the entrance, after Alaren ran over and handed me a reward, the Long Sword coin from earlier.
I flipped it up and caught it, and then turned back to the entrance I had used. I walked to the arch, turned, and looked at Jezin, who was still standing there.
"Beat that" I challenged.
Jezin was about my age. He's got messy, dark purple hair, a pale complexion that always seemed to be unpleasant, and scary purple eyes. He also had, today, a greyish torn shirt, and a pair of blue jeans. The scariest part, perhaps, was that he carried real-world weapons, a pair of black-handled daggers in his sheaths.
He looked over at me with a grin, and seemed to accept. I leaned against the wall across from him, waiting for his turn.
It came. He walked out onto the field, and I pulled my Headband back on and took a seated position to watch from my sheltered area.
Jezin's form shifted. While as mine was that of fighter, his was that of a thief. He wore a torn black shirt that reached down just past his waist, with matching black pants. His skin seemed to darken, well, what little skin could be seen. His shoes became softened, and a large black cape extended from behind him. He looked like a shadow.
His opponent was a rather old man. The man had taken a gentlemanly approach, with a black tuxedo/buisness suit and black pants that made him look very out-of-place, but obviously he was a good fighter to be able to make it this far.
Sure, it was only a country-wide, but making it to the quarter-finals in a tuxedo definatly meant that the suit hid skills.
The match began. Jezin grinned, and I knew that he had used one of his famous maneouvers, the Shadow Covering. His body dissapeared, leaving only a bare shadow on the ground.
His opponent, Katsuya, looked around madly. He seemed to be looking for any sign, but instead seemed to turn tail and run.
I was lucky. The black visor covering my right eye was made to lock- on to digital signals, whether the human eye could see them or not. Katsuya jumped on top of a Data Cube, and turned towards it.
"Magnum Cannon, Activate!" he shouted, raising his arm. A large red cannon formed in it. It was obviously quite light, because Katsuya managed to hold it up easily.
With a quick shot towards the ground, the Magnum Cannon, blasted the panel in front of him. There was a momentary pause.
The panels in front of where the Magnum Cannon had hit began to flip up rapidly, flying into the air then shooting down and leaving behind only holes. I could sense Jezin evading the attack easily, as his Shadow Covering wore off. He was totally out of sight of Katsuya though.
With a flick of his wrist, Jezin ordered the next move. "Kunai Ace, Deuce, Triplex!" he grinned. From what seemed to be a hidden sheath, a small, metal spike shot forward towards Katsuya. Then a pair of them. Then three.
Katsuya turned barely in time to see them. The first one scraped across his chest as he turned away, then the second set had one slice into his arm. The trio of them had one leave a mark across his leg. Katsuya stumbled.
Before Katsuya even had a chance to continue, Jezin activated his next maneouver. "Samurai Shoes, Flood! Support!"
A rush of water came from just in front of me, filling the arena. Jezin's shoes seemed to float on the water, keeping him from being affected. Katsuya, however, was wounded and under the water.
Katsuya pulled himself up after a moment. He seemed to be a bit surprised, then made his next move. "Ice Cubes, Support!"
Several solid cubes of ice fell down into the water around him, raising the water level for a moment before they settled, half-floating above the water. Katsuya pulled himself onto them. He slipped for a moment, then caught his grip.
Jezin remained just above water level, far from Katsuya. "Wave! Activate!"
In front of him, the water level rose sharply, coming to the height of Jezin's head and sweeping forward.Katsuya braced himself for the attack, but was still washed backwards off the cube.
I noticed, and obviously so did Katsuya, that the ice cubes were shrinking. It was simple physics. They'd melt eventually. Katsuya took another chance, getting back up on them. Jezin was already prepared for his next attack.
"Muddy Wave, Activate!" he shouted out.
The water churned and changed into a brownish color as mud was mixed into the water. The water level rose again, this time going over Jezin's head, and shooting forward.
Katsuya knew he needed to do something. "Great Aura! Support!" he shouted.
There were shouts from the crowd. Great Aura. That wasn't a common chip. Katsuya's body gained just the slightest tint of green. The mud washed off easily, slipping to the cube and then down into the water, where it remained. Jezin wasn't even fazed by it.
"Great Aura won't protect you for long..." he grinned. "Sprout Lava! Support!"
The ground cracked open. The water flooded in, leaving behind only mud. Then something came from it. A huge rush of magma flooded the area, melting the ice cubes. Katsuya slipped into the lava. The lava suddenly settled, and the square of the grid Katsuya was on was clear, but the lava had done it's damage. Katsuya's Ice Cubes were gone, and the Great Aura was gone with it.
Jezin dropped to float just above the lava. "Lava Wave! Activate!"
Katsuya watched in horror as the lava itself rose under Jezin's command, and rushed forward to meet him. It barely touched him before the arena was wiped clean and the referee declared a victory.
I noticed that Jezin remained standing, focused on a distant point. He hadn't removed his Headband. I ran up behind him, knowing we'd fight next anyway.
"He's here..." Jezin muttered, as I came up behind him. "Sirius, he's here..."
I kept my Headband on, somewhat curious. Jezin remained staring forward. A man emerged at the opposite end. I tore off my headband to see who it was.
Nobody. There was nobody there. I put it back on.
The man was still there. He was slightly scary. He looked human enough, with an unclosed black vest that showed his scarred chest and muscles. He was also wearing long, brown leather breeches, and a black Headband underneath his hair.
His head is what scared me the most. His hair seemed to be wild and untamed, a lightish blue color like my own. It was mostly his eyes. Deep purple.
I pulled my headband off. Nobody there. I put it back on. There he was. My right eye's visor wasn't picking up a human signal.
A human signal. So was he inhuman? Or an illusion?
"Sirius, Jezin..." a demonic voice shot from the man's mouth. "Your final match will not be against each other, but against me!"
I noticed the referee had dissapeared from the field, and my visor picked up a force field that had extended around our battlefield, keeping us in and others out.
The crowd shouted. Didn't they know this wasn't scheduled? Who was this man?
"Begin!" the man grinned.
The man waited across from us. He had started the battle, but seemed to be waiting for us. Well, that would be his mistake, then me and Jezin would finish our match.
"Airshoes!" I grinned, allowing myself to float up. Beside me, Jezin used his own Samurai Feet to prepare for anything our foe might just do.
"Very well then!" my foe grinned. "Volcano Buster!"
The left hand of the man shifted, becoming what seemed to be the top of a volcano. Red energy flowed into the red crater at the top.
Me and Jezin went seperate ways, I to the right, and he to the left. Jezin raised his arm. "Snowflake Shot!"
I took aim myself, yelling "Spring Fist!" as I did. My fist was plated in gold, then something like it shot forward towards the black-robed man.
A small round disk of ice shot from Jezin's hand towards our opponent.
The man grinned and turned towards me. Red energy stopped coming in and he fired. A huge burst of lava shot through the fist, melting it, and came straight through towards me. I jumped quickly out of it's way, as it exploded against the force field.
My opponent then turned towards Jezin, and grinned. "Salamander!" he shouted. His body erupted into flames, then those flames condensed into a ball in front of him. The flame shot at high-speeds towards Jezin.
It tore through the snowflake, melting it, and Jezin didn't quite get away in time. His left arm was burnt.
Jezin looked past him at me. "Who are you?" he asked our mystery foe.
"My name is Dynast." the booming voice seemed to smile.
"Dynast?" I wondered for a couple moments. Why did that seem so familiar?
"Freeze Bomb!" Dynast shouted, as I thought. A white orb sailed down towards me. I had never seen an attack like that before, so I dove out of the way, rolling closer to Jezin.
The orb exploded, creating a chilly mist that covered the field. I felt myself shiver from the cold. The temperature must have seriously dropped.
"No way..." I heard Jezin mutter. "A Freeze Bomb... No way..."
I ignored him for the moment, as I prepared my own attack. "Killer Sensor!" I shouted. The large demonic eye dropped down in front of me.
Dynast looked at the searchlight as it moved towards him. "Counter Electrics, Support!" he grinned, as the white light became yellow. It bounced off him and shot through the Killer Sensor, towards me. I was too shocked to get away.
Electricity charged through my body. I shouted in pain. It usually didn't hurt this bad. What was wrong?
I breathed deep as the charge stopped. "Recover Star, activate" I muttered to myself. I waited for the moment before the recovery system kicked in.
"Reverse Medicine!" Dynast looked at me and grinned. I felt the recovery system kicked in, but it wasn't the way it was supposed to. Sharp pains shot through my body, as the once-healing was turned into sheer pain, disabling me.
I fell down, nearly defeated. Jezin, I noticed, was already back fighting. "Kunai Ace, Deuce, Triplex!"
Six near-knives shot towards Dynast, and he turned towards Jezin. "Iron Shield, Support!" he grinned. The knives simply bounced off a large shield that appeared, then fell to the ground and disappeared. Dynast undid the shield.
I tried to get up, but discovered I'd need more time. I had to hope Jezin would fight well.
"Snowflake Gamma!" Jezin shouted, as a larger snowflake shot towards Dynast. Dynast simply grinned as it came closer, then activated a maneouver of his own.
"Black Hole, Activate!" he shouted. The snowflake was pulled into the center of a small orb that appeared, and dissapeared forever. Dynast then snapped his fingers and made it dissapear.
"Snowflake Zeta!" Jezin shouted furiously, shooting a good chest- width snowflake at Dynast.
"Counter Damage!" Dynast grinned, as the attack hit him. He jumped up high in the sky, and a trio of shurkiens embedded themselves in Jezin's arm. I could see just a bit of blood stemminmg from the wounds. Jezin fell down, obviously in more pain then I had expected.
Blood wasn't normal here. Nobody bled in cyberspace.
"Now then..." Dynast grinned, as he stepped towards me. I tried to get up, but I couldn't. "Your great-grandfather said that you would be compatable... another Pure Blood..."
Jezin looked up at Dynast, confused. "Who are you...?"
"I'm darkness itself..." Dynast grinned. "The vessel of travel for the shadows."
I made myself rise to my knees. "Don't hurt him..." I breathed out. Dynast stared at me. "Don't you dare touch him..."
"Shame, really" Dynast seemed to mock me as he stepped towards me. "You're the grandson of the true heir, and yet it's him that is pure blooded... I sense the blood of Eyodians running through you though..."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded.
"You're the grandson of Zann Grausherra, the true second human Dark Blood. Yet you're not purely Dark Blood. On the other hand..." Dynast grinned and motioned to Jezin. "He'll do just fine!"
Dynast turned away from me and walked towards Jezin. I forced myself to do one last attack.
"Dream Bit, Summon!" I shouted a final challenge. The crab-like virus reappeared, once again pure white. A large pink beam shot from it's mouth towards Dynast.
Dynast turned and grinned. "Life Aura, Support" he grinned. The attack bounced off of him, as his body was tinted white. "You wanna see a really virus summon? Night Bit!"
A strange, and somewhat larger, black-coated Dream Bit virus appeared. Rays of darkness shot forward from it, traveling along the ground like vines. I tried to back up.
The vines quickly reached me and wrapped themselves around me. I screamed in pain. It seemed as if there were thorns, and I felt cuts and tears go throughout my body as I was attacked by the shadows themselves.
One pierced into my forehead, drawing blood and making me weak. I couldn't move, as long as the Nightmare Bit's attack continued.
Jezin tried to stand up. His arm had been nearly covered in crimson, as the shurkiens drew blood from his arm. He moaned in pain as he rose to his feet.
I wished I could warn him. "Jezin... no..." I tried to talk, but I didn't have the energy.
"Dynast... don't you hurt him..." Jezin threatened. "Chess Pawn, Summon!"
A four-foot-high pawn appeared between Dynast and Jezin. It brandished a huge sword, then swung it at Dynast.
Dynast turned and grabbed the sword. "Counter Sword!"
The sword shattered, leaving the chesspiece in pieces. Dynast grabbed the hilt of his own sword.
"Darkness!" he grinned, and drew the blade. It was a huge sword of darkness, one that seemed to make me want to run and hide. I tried to shout out to Jezin, but the Nightmare Bit's attack still wrapped around me. I felt myself getting steadily weaker, almost ready to faint.
Dynast brought the sword up over Jezin. "You, of Dark Blood, become the next vessal. Blackfang will live!" he shouted, jamming the sword into Jezin's chest.
I brought every inch of my energy together to break from the bonds, although only my upper half managed to. I shouted out, in pain, in fury, and in sadness.
Dynast retracted the blade, stained now with blood, as Jezin fell down to the ground.
There was a large hole through his chest, as I could see. Blood mixed with stains of darkness spread onto the ground.
"Jezin..." I whimpered. "No..."
Then I saw Jezin stand back up. The hole in his body repaired itself, sealing with a patch of darkness. I couldn't move.
Jezin's eyes were a pitch black, like nothing I had ever seen before.