Brave Frontier: Adventures of Naru
Chapter 1 Part 2: Crisis

"First period...Calculus. Ugh. Another semester of learning math." I groaned as I sat in my seat.

I didn't do so well my first semester with Calculus, but if I was going to graduate the highest in my class possibly, I knew I was going to have to do well this semester. On top of that, I'm apparently deemed with the responsibility of saving the world. Oh boy, I have to protect my GPA and the world. How was I gonna do it all? Eventually the pressure got to me, and I asked to be excused from the room to go to the bathroom. When I got to the bathroom, I collapsed onto the floor, my back against the wall, and let out a sigh.

"I don't know how I can keep up with all of this. It's just too much." I say in a depressed state of mind.

Around that time, I pulled out my phone. Without warning, Vargas popped out, wearing school clothes to fit in and make himself seem unsuspicious. I was shocked when I saw him because he managed to hide his wings quite well.

"Everything okay?" Vargas looked down at me. I looked up at him, and shook my head before looking down again.

"You can't beat yourself up now. We have a mission to accomplish. I know a lot of pressure has come upon you, but with help from us [units], you'll push through." Vargas gave me encouraging words.

"But what if we don't succeed?" I replied in a doubtful tone.

"We'll succeed. You have friends on your side, and we'll be with you all the way." Vargas held out his hand to me. I grabbed it and stood up.

"Thanks, Vargas." I say with a light chuckle. "Everything will be okay."

Soon as I said that though, curse my luck, the fire alarms went off. Everyone was ordered to evacuate the school immediately. Vargas and I ran out of the bathroom, and away from the school to see what was going on. At the top of the school building was the immortal Phoenix...except he didn't quite act like himself. He acted as if he were being mind controlled.

"Is that Phoenix? But how did it get out of the game?" I thought, watching. It didn't matter how he got out though. What mattered is that the bird was causing havoc and it was up to him and his friends to stop it.

I pulled out my phone, and called upon Lasswell, Quaid, Rain, and Gabriela. They popped out of the screen, detecting danger and having their weapons ready. Vargas, still in his school boy clothes, pulls out Dandelga. I myself pull out a sword, much similar to the one the Summoners in the next chapter of the story can use.

"Onward, comrades!" I point my sword at the Phoenix. "We must save Phoenix from his state!"

"Charrrge!"

We jumped up to the school building, and I led them. Quaid started out by using Zenith Horizon to make the battle easier for the entire team...except Lasswell, who already could deal mad damage against the Phoenix. Vargas followed up by using Helios Vanguard, and Rain followed after Vargas, using Blazing Storm. Lasswell and Gabriela combined their attacks to create Judgement Tempest. The Phoenix was nearly defeated at that point, but it was up to me to deal the last blow. With a deep breath, I jumped into the air at the Phoenix, and did a little Spin Slash, letting out a shout. The Phoenix, too tired to continue its rampage, collapses. We had won the battle. We all had put away our weapons, and I slowly approached the Phoenix. It seemed like it's mind controlled state had vanished.

"Alright Phoenix. Time to do some talking. Who got you out of the game?" I say with a demanding tone.

"...Dark...force...too...strong…" Phoenix breathed out for air, before exploding and ascending up to the sky.

I jumped back as he exploded, barely getting caught within it. The entire school watched the Phoenix ascend as well. Soon there was cheering. The school saw my comrades and I battle and take down the Phoenix, ultimately saving the school. The cheering was their way of thanking us for it. Rain, Lasswell, Quaid, Gabriela, Vargas, and I jumped from the roof and landed in front of everyone, concealing our weapons. We waved, bowed, and smiled as the people cheered for a few more minutes. Afterwards, everyone returned to their classes...except for me of course.

"Thank you, Rain, Lasswell, Quaid, Gabriela, and Vargas." I smiled and hugged each one individually.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Naru." Vargas admits. "That Phoenix was a lot stronger than he was supposed to be."

"Yeah, you're not wrong there, but I can't help but think a darker, much stronger force is at work here, based off of what it mentioned to me." I rubbed my chin, pacing. "It seems like we're gonna have a lot more battles where the darkness has an influence on a friend or creature."

"Which means we'll need to save our friends, and find out who this force is, or what it could be." Rain punched his hand with his fist.

"Right. For now, you all deserve a break." I rubbed some sweat off of my head. "That Phoenix's flames have me sweating like a dog."

"Agreed. We'll see you later." Rain nodded.

I set my phone down, and the screen lit up. Rain, Lasswell, Quaid, and Gabriela jumped in. When they returned to the game, my screen went dark and I pocketed my phone, then looked over at Vargas.

"We should get back to class now." I suggested.

"Yeah, agreed." Vargas nodded.

Together, we returned to Calculus class. The rest of the day went by normally after that. When nighttime came, I had Vargas sleep on the bottom bunk while I slept on the top bunk.

"Today was crazy...I never expected what happened earlier to happen…" I recall events from earlier.

"None of us did. Not even your schoolmates." Vargas shook his head. "It's never a good thing."

"No kidding. Any ideas as to what dark force is at work here?" I questioned Vargas, rubbing my head.

"If I could throw out a guess, it would be Karna Masta." Vargas closed his eyes.

"Him again huh…? Only this time, he's gained a newfound power." I closed my eyes as well and sigh.

"Don't worry. We'll beat him. Me, you, Rain, everyone." Vargas confidently states.

"You're right, but we can't do it alone." I say, going into my deep thinking state.

"Who do you think would help us?" Vargas wondered what was on my mind.

"I know just who. He's a good friend of mine." I chuckle lightly.

"Who is he?" Vargas asked, really curious.

"You'll find out tomorrow." I tell Vargas, and afterwards I fell asleep.

Vargas soon fell asleep too. The night was peaceful, and went undisturbed for the most part, except the scent of darkness filling the air of Russia…

-To be Continued in Part 3-