Chapter 2

Blaze. You are the legendary blader. You must train; for even now you aren't nearly strong enough to take on the evil that lurks deep within the world you call home. You must defeat the darkness Blaze. For you are this world's only hope.

Blaze awoke from a sleep filled night & peered out the window over his bed. The sun had came out & the water glistened like diamonds. He stretched as he stood up with a yawn. "Blaze! Its almost noon! You were supposed to start training half an hour ago! Let's go!"

"Wha- what?" Blaze looked over at the clock. 12:33. He'd accidentally slept in. Quickly, he out on his shoes and ran to the training grounds with his friend Gabe. "I can't believe you let you me be late for training, Gabe!"

"Yeah? Well, I can't believe I had to remind you."

"Whatever."

-At the training grounds-

"Today we will begin training your elemental powers, Blaze. Gabe. Knowing you have none, means you have the day off. Unless you'd like to practice on the dummies over there." The man pointed to the makeshift targets set up for combat training. Their master, Pol, had taken it upon himself to train Blaze and Gabe.

"I couldn't take a day off master. If I did, that's a day stronger Blaze will be than I am. I can't allow my best friend such an advantage. I'll be practicing on the dummies if anyone needs me." Gabe bowed and began his rigorous training while Blaze practiced his fire technique.

"Blaze. Try to shoot flames through your Soulblade. With a soul of your caliber, it should be almost instinct. Now, show me what you can do."

Blaze nodded & summoned his Soulblade, Firesoul. It was a very unique blade. The hilt was orange with a ruby embedded in it. The blade was red & always emitted a small amount of heat . A crossguard designed to resemble flames had been delicately designed. The flamed guard was blue with a purple hue. Blaze focused & prepared to unleash his fiery spirit through the blade of his sword.

With Firesoul aimed high in the sky, the young boy gave it his all. His all was apparently not enough as only a faint spark that died out long before it hit the ground had come from the tip of the blade. "Aw man. What a disappointment. Sorry master. I guess I'm too weak for elemental powers right now." Blaze's face flooded with disgrace & disappointment & Firesoul disappeared as quickly as it'd been summoned moments before. Master Pol pit his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"That's why I'm going to teach you how to use that power Blaze. Don't worry. You'll be able to control the flames inside you before you know it. Just keep practicing & you'll get it."

Blaze smiled at his master's kind words of encouragement. "Master. I have something I'd like to tell you. But you can't tell anyone else. Especially Gabe."

Pol looked at his young pupil with curiosity. " I understand. You can tell me anything. I won't speak a word of it. I swear."

-After training-

The night sky was filled with stars & the air was nice & cool. Blaze, Gabe, and Adaline were all out on the shore admiring the view. "Hey. Blaze. Earlier, while we training, I noticed you'd stopped to tell the master something. Care to fill us in?" Gabe was eager to know what juicy secrets might've been exchanged between the two.

Blaze's heart skipped a beat. He'd hoped Gabe was busy practicing when he and the master had spoken. Adaline could tell Blaze was uncomfortable with the subject and made an attempt to change topics. "The sky is even more beautiful than usual tonight. We should stay here as long as we can to let the image stay in our mind for years to come."

Gabe leaned up & looked over at Adaline. "Where'd that come from?"

"My head of course. I just don't want to miss any time I can send with you two. You never know how long you have left. Its best if you make the moments you have count so that when your time comes, you have no regrets." She leaned up and looked down at Blaze, who had somehow dozed off & then to Gabe. She laughed.

"Oh wow. Now you've gone and bored the guy to sleep Adaline. You always say the weirdest stuff."

"Sorry. How has your training been going lately?"

"I've been practicing my moves quite a lot. I'll be able to beat sleepyhead over here in no time." He laughed and nudged his sleeping friend. Blaze jumped up and looked around. He was having a hard time figuring out where he was and was starting to freak out.

"You okay?" Adaline asked as she grabbed his arm. Blaze looked at her and after realizing where he was, laid back down with his arms behind his head. Gabe looked at his watch and told the others it was getting late. They all decided to call it a night and each went their separate ways until the morning sun called them all back for the new day ahead of them.

Little did they know, a lingering darkness was spying on them and silently planning its attack through the shadows...

The next day was a slow start. Blaze woke up early at 11:22. He went our to the training grounds to meet up with Gabe and Master Pol. Gabe always got a headstart on training in the morning before Blaze woke up. But today was different. Looking around, Blaze didn't see his friend anywhere on the training grounds.

"Master, where's Gabe at? He's always here at this time."

Pol turned to his young pupil with a disturbed & worried look. Blaze knew something was wrong. "He- he's gone Blaze. Last night... the darkness took him while we slept. We may never see him again."

"But... but how do you know for sure? There's no way he was taken by the darkness! I can't believe that master."

"Blaze... Your friend, he's gone. You have to accept it. I'm sorry. Gabe is lost in the darkness. And I don't think there's a chance to bring him back. Its best if you just forget & move on."

"No. No... I won't just forget my best friend. I have to bring him back. I can't let the darkness take him away!" Blaze summoned his Soulblade & slashed the air, which opened a portal. Running through it he disappeared & the portal vanished. Pol's head slumped down as he watched Blaze disappear.

"Blaze..." Was all he could say.

Both of his pupils had disappeared, possibly forever. Pol gave Adaline the news & comforted her.

-The Dark Corridors of Vaxion-

Blaze had opened a portal to the only place he knew was filled with darkness- The Dark Corridors of Vaxion. Blaze had never been there before but he'd heard stories of the place. It was a place where all beings of darkness gathered. The air reeked of death & the dark characters that he passed all kept a close eye on the boy.

They mumbled under their breath small words of disgust & all wondered why a boy that fought for the light would visit such a dark & unwelcoming place. "Hey you. Guardian of the light. What're you doing in a place like this? You lost or something?" One of the beings finally asked. Blaze stopped walking and turned to the one who'd spoken to him.

The man was about his height. With spikes growing out of his head instead of hair and eyes that seemed to stare through anything he looked at. He was dressed in red tattered clothing and had a scar that covered his chest that could be seen through the holes in his aged garments.

Blaze summoned his Soulblade and put it to the man's throat. If he hadn't received the attention of everyone before, he'd certainly gotten it now. "Have you seen a brown haired boy about my age come through here?"

"Calm down man. Jeez. I don't know what you're talking about, I just work here. You're the only boy I've seen pass through here in, well, ever."

Blaze lowered his blade & made an announcement to the entire crowd who'd gathered around. "If any one of you have seen a boy with brown hair I suggest you tell me where I can find him. I won't hesitate to kill every last one of you."

"Big words for a boy who can barely wield his Soulblade. I suggest you get out of here if you know what's best for you." Blaze turned to the ominous voice. It was a man with white glove, a coat of pure black and eyes of pure evil. "I'm Slade, leader of all darkness. I know not of where you're friend is. So leave before my men decide to kill you." Everyone bowed before their leader.

"My friend... was taken away by the darkness. Someone must know of his whereabouts. I know I'm not welcomed here, but I'm not looking for trouble." Firesoul disappeared from his grasp. "Please. I just want my friend back. If anyone here can help, it'd be much appreciated."

"Get out. Now. This is your last chance before I strike you down myself. And trust me, it won't be quick and painless." Slade threatened.

"Whether you help me or not, I will find my friend. And if you get in my way Slade, I won't hesitate to destroy you." Blaze summoned Firesoul and opened a new portal that he quickly jumped through.

"Master Slade, what was that about? Who was that boy?"

"Don't worry about him is a nobody. A worthless boy who will never be of importance. Forget about him."

"Yes master." Geoffrey bowed. His hair was as black as darkness itself. Slade smirked.

"Geoffrey, you must prepare yourself for the uprising. It will soon be upon us."

"As you wish master." Geoffrey summoned his Soulblade, Night's Edge, & opened a dark portal back to the Vaxion trading grounds. Slade smirked as he watched his young pupil disappear into the dark abyss.

I don't really care for this chapter but I thought it was still necessary to put in the story. This is an alternate universe story if you didn't pick that up by now. I post whenever I feel like it so its not a set time period between chapters. The more motivation I have the faster u post. Stay tubed next post when Blaze and Geoffrey encounter each other. Will they fight? Will they have a spot if tea and talk about politics? Who knows.