Chapter 2

The Morning Sun

"No single doubt have survived, after being afraid there is only two ways to go, either you move on, or run away. sadly either way doesn't make us lose the fear. only death." Aeon.

A dream, another one. Only after noticing the sun in my eyes, I discovered that the time flows, I raise my hand trying to reach the ceiling, waiting for the unexpected to happen, it kind-a does, the ceiling falls on my face, not the best way to wake up. it's only a moment after that the mind remembers my location, I was on the bottom bed in room of the Sunrise Facilities, the place where we are staying. After all that happened yesterday when a man with no remorse at all, recruited us after seen what happened in the bar. This man is the leader of the Rising Sun Group, which consist of 13 people who wants to get into the spotlight just like everyone else. Geonardo, the Leader of the group is already an eSper, though his ideas of why creating a group of underdogs is non-answered, it does benefit us to have him as a leader. Now moving back to my dreaded situation, I was bothered by the fact that my breath was being taking away by the collapsing bed on top of me. I proceeded to free myself off this agony.

-Serets!~ Wake up!... You are suffocating me...

No response. SERETS!...

C'mon Man I am dying here...

ZZZzzz... - No response, good lord I am going to die, and I haven't even get into the Netsphere.

The need for some oxygen is making me anxious, Serets is too heavy, no way to carry him and my hands are not in position to lift the mattress anyway, moreover my legs are being cramped by the bed too. Is one of those situations that seen not probable, like out of a comedy movie. After 30 Seconds or so and no signs of help by Serets, I am panicking, even if this look like a joke, I may die if I am not careful enough. The clock is ticking and the time does not forgives. Out of ideas, I... Farted. Took no more than a few seconds for me to hear the following statement.

God! what the hell!?, Knos what are you doing!? it smells like dead dog! The Heck did you eat? are you trying to kill me? - he shouts.

You made me do it, not my fault. I replied. and come on, is not that bad. just as lifting the bed, he gave me a foul look with disgust, and a little chuckle was returned to him. however, very little did I know that this action had many other consequences. The door opens with a similar face entering to the promise land, a land that is fuelled with the odor of a little gas, gas that was used to save a life but yet its purpose doesn't help me in this case.

Guys what was that nice are y...o..u...tw...o...- the body of Rose soon falls into the ground, a minute of silence was given. I had no idea that this gas was a potential killer.

At the lobby, we let Rose for recovery in the couch as we are presented to the group as the latest attraction. as soon as everyone is reunited and Rose regains her consciousness, Geonardo gives us a word.

As many of you know, Here they are, our newest members. just to be clear, we are not, a permanent group, our only goal is to train and become an eSper, and for that I have the tools-. cough- Anyhow, my name is Geonardo, Let me officially welcome you guys to Sunrise.

My name is Rose nice to meet you all!

A faint aura of desire is being observed by my very eyes, is not a mystery that Rose has been always popular to other guys, well, she is pretty no doubt.

The name is Serets, I hope to train and become the best hammer user in the Netsphere. Serets said in a Cheerful voice.

Awkward. the silence after that introduction was, awkward, Feels bad to be him. with a little shame he step back and now is my turn to say something. Most people always try to look friendly, others try to share their goals, and others try to strike some mystery to keep the others at bay, in my case, honesty is the best weapon. Just say what you want, the other details will soon be revealed.

My name is Knos, and my objective is to become the champion of the S4 League tournament.

A sudden laugh was followed by my words, of course that's the goal of everyone here, I take back what I said, never tell the true, screw that, I made a mistake and said something that was a little childish, now nobody will take me seriously, however there was someone at the back that did not laugh only chuckle, a girl with a short black hair. After the shameful introduction the leader put some order in the room.

-As I said before- Geonardo started to talk.

-Our goal is to get you guys into the Netsphere, and by that we all must learned what it is to be in there, and the meaning behind it.

Huh? the meaning behind it? the Netsphere was the area of origin of the Data users, Becoming an eSper, is the only thing that I had in mind at the time, but what it means to be an eSper?

-Being an eSper means to be able control a data amplifier. it's a little device that can connect our brain cells with the S4 tower's super computer. this device will soon be inserted in your skin as you enter to the Netsphere. that means if you get recruited by a clan, you will receive a letter that will give you some orientation in how you can obtain this chip. however there is another way to obtain the powers of this chip, and that way is to be in a "Stadium" can anyone tell me what a "Stadium" means? Geonardo asked.

A voice in the back answered the question. -a "Stadium" is a controlled Area is connected with the S4-SC, allowing this area to amplify the power of anyone that is within this area. It was the Short Black hair girl.

-Wait a second- I asked -the Kratas Sector is not a Stadium. how did the other eSpers used their powers if they weren't inside a controlled area in the bar?

Geonardo Answered me. -simple, They already had their chips installed, that means, they can use their power anywhere, however, the farther you are of the S4-SC, the less power you are able to use;- Then after a couple seconds of silence Geonardo raises his head.- now to be a full eSper one must master a data weapon, for example. Geonardo reaches his pocket and gets out a small cube, he soon crushes it and a blue sword is appearing in front of my very eyes, some light appears out of the sword along with some numbers, and finally it takes a solid form.

Here it is, this is called a Plasma Sword. this is a data weapon, as you can see, this is made out of data, technically speaking, this weapon shouldn't exist in this world however thanks to the connection of the chip that has been inserted on me with the power of the S4-SC, I can materialized it, and it becomes a real physical weapon. however if for any reason I let it go too far of my hand, it will return as a data cube.

He throws the sword to me. It was just some centimeters out of his hand, and the weapon started to dissolved into the small little cube that he had. I was ready to get hit by the sword/data cube but just as the range of the cube and Geonardo was increasing to more than 1 meter, the cube came back to him and attached to his pocket.

-As you all can see the weapon cannot go too far from your reach or it will become a data cube, however every data cube can have different ranges or methods, for example, a bomb, can be thrown and will not dissolve into a data cube until it explodes, and the Cutlass can be thrown for many meters and still not dissolve into a data cube, but for now let's just keep in mind that letting go your weapon is not a good tactic in the battlefield unless you are not going to use it anymore. Geonardo kept talking about how the data cube works, and the time went by. - Well that's enough class for today, go and take a rest guys tomorrow the real deal will start.- just as he finished, he left the room.

With nothing more to do, the group starts to divide in 3 sections each one greeting the new members, us, and introducing themselves. I was being observant of this short hair girl, but she never came to greet me. I grew impatient of it, however there was no way for me to reach her, soon the day went by, and we went different ways. I was not tired so I went to take a short walk to know the facilities. The Sunrise building is close to a controlled area, as I remember on the map, there is a little spot called Neden, normally this place is the center of the of the Katras Sector, and is where most of the people go to train or have some public matches, someday this place will be a battleground to me, so I decided to walk by it and take a good look at it. It was getting dark so my time was short, is not a good idea to be alone in this place at this hour, Geonardo gave us that little tip. As I walk the moonlight started to show and the possibilities of getting in trouble is rising as the time fly by, yet I wasn't scared, mostly intrigued of this new world that has been presented to me. The air was thick and the feeling of loneliness is dissipating, I know there are people here, but just as myself I try not to be found or finding anything. I reached the Controlled Area, that looks like a digital panel, like a wall that has been set up from heavens, a pale blue light that is telling me that once I pass this nothing would be the same. I entered.

I took a look at the big warehouse building just right next to a symmetrical space, a perturbing way to rise an structure, Though logical since this area should not give any kind of advantage for any team. I admire every single meter that has been set, every corner, every little detail that has been built. Two small bridges connect to the building in the middle and a little house with this barrier set up, probably this is the place where the team plan their tactics and reborn anew. I don't understand the concept of being reborn, I don't even get the idea of getting shot and not dying, there are many mysteries that eludes me. I started to climb the little house on the corner just to have a better idea of what is surrounding it. I grab a ledge and proceed to jump into the roof.

Wait a second... I don't feel tired at all. I spoke to myself.

is like my stamina is not decreasing not even a little. I wasn't expecting something so surreal, my jumps are a little higher than normal, and my vision is quite perfect too, is like I am another human being, I have a complete idea of my surroundings, this is what is to be, an eSper.

Pretty cool eh?. - a voice startled me from behind. just as I try to locate the source, it felt like air was dissipating. yet there is no one behind me.

over here.- is that...

Geonardo?-

subtlety, he let a small chuckle. - got me. he answers.

A body felt from heaven and landed just right next to me. what it was amazing is the height of the jump, is like five stories tall, and yet he landed with such precision and no sign of pain.

how? I mean how can you jump like that and landing with no problem?- I asked.

Looks like you are feeling it already and have no idea of what's going on. Am I Right?

I nodded.

This is a controlled area, it's a place where you can be an eSper and not noticing at all. even without practice, you already know that one doesn't get tired, and furthermore your physical abilities are increased. For example, try to lift this crate.

The wooden box looked heavy, a normal human would never lift something like that without proper equipment.

but...

Try it. - he affirms.

I couldn't believe what my eyes were watching. my muscles weren't twitching as I lifted the crate.

Wow...

Ok- he sighed. That's enough for a day, there is a heavy training for tomorrow, and of course it would be your first fight.

I turned my back, just to realize that I was alone again, he disappeared, he wasn't here anymore. a chuckle was my expression, followed by a smile. I looked into the sky and see the moon right next to my goal. The S4 Tower, the tip of the tower, the summit of everything that I desired is right there,my objective is so close yet so far. My head soon turned around and gave myself a little air time, landing in my two feet knowing that this new me shall be back tomorrow. I left not looking back. just as the moon takes over me, I walked away.

One day. I shall be there. I promise.

And the day was over.

This scene was watched over by a silhouette, giving no aura whatsoever, it just calmly disappears into the night. waiting for a tomorrow, waiting for a morning sun to start all over.

I reached to the Sunrise Facilities. Everything was quiet, Everyone knew that tomorrow was a day of many hardships, and there was no going back. I saw the door that will hold my life for a while, I knocked and entered only to find a dark mellow moon over the window, Serets was asleep already and Rose is in another room. is time to sleep, to rest. As soon as my head hit the pillow I fell into my deep sleep only to wait for what is coming for me.

I was six in the morning, a small beep killed my snooze, a sun that it was still numb and not shiny was over the horizon. Serets was grabbing his gear, a small protector over his head, I geared up with my clothes, and soon we will marching to hell, only then I did realize that today is a whole new different experience to be lived. I nodded in deep silence as I reached the door, I looked back and hurried up Serets, he waved and told me to go first, I shut the door and went for the lobby.

Almost everyone was there already, Rose was next to the Black haired beauty, their clothes seemed a lot different today, the special clothing was for a better maneuvering moves, with quite the elasticity for a proper balance. Geonardo was sitting on the front chair right next to a digital board. Sooner than late, Serets came down all ready. Everyone of us was subtle, in voice and movement.

I see that every one of you is ready, as I said yesterday, our group first training will be today, however the basics are not to be forgiven. Let's head to our Stadium, let's go. - Geonardo takes a short breath and open the door that was locked. As he opened we saw a huge stairwell going even lower than the basement, it was a large halfway at the end of it, and soon another metallic door was in front of us. behind it, there is a small arena, it has a square form with two sides. divided by a little wall in-between, far from the middle there is a green panel surrounded by 4 iron pillars. It was a cool atmosphere, and the smell of metal was on the air, it was heavy. Outside of the arena there are three panels, which soon are occupied by Geonardo. Everyone was taking a good look of the surroundings, as if every meter must be introduced properly to them. A couple of minutes after this, Geonardo started the power unit on the panel and the lights of the arena started to glow.

Alright people- Geonardo Shouted. This is our training field, here you guys will learn how to use a data weapon, and of course how to move around the field. probably some of you have already figured out that your body is different...

He is right, is just like yesterday, I feel lighter, stronger too. This must be a...

welcome to your first own Controlled Area, or just call it, your very own stadium. Training Field is the name of it, not a spectacular name but it fits its use. In this place you guys are officially an eSper. Get used to your body now, we will start the training in five minutes, so hurry up.

Everyone was moving around with extreme ease, some people could jump real high, and in Serets case, some people grew stronger at inexplicable speed. I felt lighter, like I could run for hours without any rest whatsoever, however, I kept my composure and just ran around without stopping at all until Geonardo told us to do so.

Gather around here people, you see that panel over there. if the Lasers on it are blue, you guys can go inside of it, if they are red, do not try to.

Some people were already going for the red lasers, Stupid people doesn't know how to take orders. but they went through with ease, I kept shut and went to the blue panel.

As you all can see, there are two sides - a familiar voice was heard over the speakers, it was Geonardo.

that means you people are divided in two teams, Alpha and Beta. if you see anything in Red, that means it's an enemy, if is an object then it belongs to the other team. just a little demonstration. Serets! go through the red lasers.

I can't believe how unlucky Serets is, for him to be chosen into an experiment is just bad luck. As soon his trembling body went inside the red lasers, which for me it was blue, he dissipated, a green mist was expanding consummating his body into dust. Some data numbers appeared in our sight, around him, a shaking scream of fear was heard from him. I try to figured out what was happening, the calm expression on Geonardo ticked me off, but I sat silent waiting for an explanation. Just as the second went by, a known voice was heard on the other side of the arena, it was Serets.

Once you are in a Stadium, your body, your mind, your very own being becomes data. so if anything happens to it, you will reborn anew into a secured zone, that zone is right inside the lasers. Now, try to look at your team, can you see anything different?

After that being said, I try to focus my eyes in my partners, if my vision is vague, nothing seems out of the ordinary, however, if I keep my eyes in someone in specific, a simple illusion shows above them, giving me their names, and a little green bar on top of their heads.

if you see a little green bar, it shows your friend data health, in simple words, it means the Life of your teammate, if is full, that means your partner is healthy and good to fight, is if low, well you can get the idea now can't you?- Geonardo finish his explanation and soon gave a buzzer, shutting down the lasers.

Alright everyone, time to get a real gun.-

Some noises are growing on the center of the arena, a dozen of little boxes are spawning out of air, those must be some data cubes, containing some armament for us.

go to the center now, grab a data cube and stick it in any part of your body. remember, once you stick the data cube in that body part, it will remain there until the controlled area dissipates.

We are all on the middle, I put the cube on my right leg, just a little below of the waist. after I heard a beep, the cube is on my leg, and it turns transparent.

Alright, Now crush it!

A little shock was given on my right hand, the fingertips when numb for a second, and like Serets disappearing, from my hand, a light green aura was giving birth to some random numbers, with ease the numbers started to form a substance, and finally took the form of a white small pistol, my first weapon is on my hand, a Handgun.

I was, surprise for the weight of it, it was like a feather on my palm. Not heavy, yet with enough consistence to be handle with ease. It was my first time holding a data weapon. I was excited, and soon my idea of becoming an eSper was finally achieved, I can now become a S4 Champion. But happiness is never complete. my handgun, my very first weapon was just a mere pistol to what I started to see. A huge Cannon appeared on Rose's hand, looked heavy and really powerful, and for Serets, a big blue hammer was resting in his shoulders. not only them, but everyone seemed to have a different yet more powerful weapon than mine. A Heavy Machine Gun on the black haired girl. Bull$#! .

Hey Geonardo! why my weapon is a simple handgun? are you kidding me!?

Chill out Knos, that weapon that you have, got its purposes, advantages and disadvantages. Also, The cubes that you guys got are unique for each one of you. Consider those Data Cubes your own. Furthermore, I Did not select those weapons, they are random, so if any of you think that I gave you a bad weapon, then I am sorry, but I didn't, you can blame the fumbi for that.

The what? I asked myself.

Moving on- Geonardo started to explain - I want you guys to get familiar with your weapon, soon enough you will use them in a real match. There are many kind of matches in the Netsphere. However the one that has been declared the to be the pinnacle of the S4 is the Touchdown Match. A Touchdown Match is when both team tries to compete carrying a yellow ball into a goal, which is the green panel surrounded by four Iron Pillars. The popularity of this game is, beyond any competition.

However- Geonardo says- we will start with a simple Deathmatch. it consist of eliminating the other team using your weapons, you guys can use any tactics, since is an all out match. anyhow, get ready.

My five minutes consisted on pulling the trigger, and reloading. It was depressing since my weapon was very simple and looked like it doesn't do a good amount of damage. is frustrating that my first weapon is such a weak one, also not only the feeling of inferiority in strength made me mad, the sight of my eyes were infuriating, since I watched how this very powerful weapons had many special abilities, Rose's Cannon could charge up and deliver a powerful explosion to its targets. Serets Blue Hammer could create a powerful wave that expands in a circle area, and not to mention the powerful HMG (Heavy Machine Gun) that could hold lots of bullets, and discharge them at a regular sequence.

Get into your bases- Geonardo announced this. I was preparing for my utter defeat, but somehow my feelings were overcome by the wish to win. I will not lose, I will not stop here, I shall bring this victory, my first victory. The time has come, this match could determine my abilities, and I will do the best to keep my high expectations. A buzz sounded, giving us five seconds to start the match, my small white handgun wall called once my hand crushed the tiny Data Cube, it began to reappear, this time a little faster, my thoughts were focused in just one thing, to win. the round has officially started, my team deployed into two squads, we took the left path and took cover right on the left flank, a first shot was given, and though it did not hit on a target, it felt like reality, this was really happening, a sudden turn of my two teammates made me look to the left area, there was still no sight of a single uncover enemy, I began to move really fast to the next cover. Just as my feet were luring me to the next ideal spot, a bullet went right next to me, this bullet gave to me the smell of metal, the path of it went directly below my shoulder, it did not land on me, however in desperation a quick turn to the right obligated me to dash into the ground to find some cover. Mere seconds have already passed yet it felt like a year for me just to move to the next area. a desire of moving on walked right into my thoughts, I looked around and saw the other squad pinned down in heavy fire, probably that HMG was the reason of that, I turned to my front and let my eyes met with the origin of this shutout, it was the Short-dark haired girl with that heavy gun, she was crouching with the gun in her right leg and both hands occupied the handler, I assumed a crouching stance and let my first shot on her right shoulder, it landed. The girl fell backwards a little and soon regained her posture, her target was changed to me. At this very moment, I saw in top of my sight some numbers, it appeared to be the score, we were losing 5-0, can't believe that already all my team members had fallen already. I moved out of the bullet trajectory in order to take point on the left side of the cover, at that moment my eyes met with a blue solid metal, A hammer, Serets' hammer was already on target. The pain that I felt was, inexplicable, I was bombed right to the floor, I observed on the bottom middle of my vision, some blue bar, this have to be my data Health, or as I call it, my Health Points (HP), not good, it was down below 20%, that hammer really took a big chunk of my health. I tried to regain my posture and shot Serets in the head, it landed, but he didn't die. I took one second to realize that my shot took around 30% of his HP. This gun is not strong enough, I can't kill him as I was at the moment, however even if I get to hit him again I could knock him back some more, giving more breathing room for another shot, I fired, and missed. Not enough time, a second painful shock engulfed my body, however this time was a close explosion on my right that gave me death, it must had been Rose's Cannon.

A sudden light illuminated me, like waking up from a dream my body was rebuilding and getting back in one piece, being reborn or spawning was such a dreadful feeling, it's something that is not common, I wasn't mentally prepare nor I did have the time to be. However even dead I could see my partners, like a ghost, I was stalking them for some seconds, giving me some time to plan my next course of action. No point, we are doing 8-2 already, they were crushing us, Beta team had such a nice tactic they got, the heavy machine gun to keep all of us at bay, while the hammer seek us out and crushing us without problems, and the cannon was the support for that hammer, simply eliminating any rest of resistance that we had left. There was no way to block any of this. 27-14, our lost was imminent since this was just a 40 points match, I can't shake the feeling of not being capable of turning the tides, if only I had the hammer, or that cannon I could use the same tactic and break their formation, my team main guns were only rapid fire ones, nobody in my team had a special ability, there was nothing that Alpha Team could do, except.

Hey Serets, we got this-

we sure do Rose, we just need to keep this formation and soon they will not have any kind of resistance, good plan by the way Rose.-

Thanks~!

A shot was right on the Black haired girl, she fell down with no resistance at all and began to dissipated into the air. Rose was shocked of this since her main job was to support any incoming enemy that could break the formation, however she could not see any target nor enemy.

Serets! there is someone on the right flank take him.

Alright- Serets responded and soon began to rush to the cover from where the shot came from, a huge jump while carrying the heavy hammer let his force multiply on air, assuring that anything that get caught by the hammer or the after-wave could hurt enough the enemy and of course pushing him out of the defense stance, giving Rose a chance to finish off anyone that survives the attack. A crack appeared on the floor and wall after the hammer landed, however nobody was on sight and of course nobody got hurt by the hammer nor the wave. this info was given to Rose and soon it affected the formation since the hammer wasn't doing its job. Rose quickly instructed Serets to go back to formation, however in the process of this action, a couple shots landed on Rose's back, and just before she turned over, a last hit on her head made her disappear. This gave the Beta Team a new problem since they were stuck in a singular and very closed formation they were getting outflanked by Alpha. However this was not the case, since It looked like all Alpha was on the same cover they had used since the beginning of the match, when finally the reason of why this sudden turn have appeared, I was giving them a hard time with my speed, letting single yet very accurate shots on Beta, at this point the match was beginning to turned, 33-24.

Great this is working!- I Shouted.

After my tactic was put on use, the tables are beginning to turn, since they can't focus on just one spot they had to spread out, however my team had only rapid shot guns, meaning that if they try to spread to cover more area and not letting me move around they soon will be caught by the overwhelming shooting rate of my team. However even after everything that I did, there was just a little window of opportunity for my team to win, that HMG is giving them a really bad time, if only I took care of it once more, we could have enough breathing room to kill the remnant of their team.

37-35, my HP is pretty low, however Serets is dead at the moment, and Rose is taking heavy fire, so she can't hit me, is only matter of time until Serets comes back to the ground, and the hammer at this time could easily break our poor defenses, I must kill that HMG.

It took no more than a second to ready my feet, as soon as I saw an opening I rushed as fast as I could and went for the HMG. But, in the end, she saw me through, there was no time to retreat, and sadly there was no other choice than continuing my route, I saw everything, time moved slower, I could see the bullets being shot at me, I took a deep breath and keep running, I could do it, her HP was low, if only I could land a headshot on her then my team could simply swipe them. A Light, I saw a Trajectory, and finally pulled the trigger.

40-38 was the final score, we lost, however I do remember pulling the trigger, and seeing my bullet going through her skull. After my first game, and of course my first lose there was only one kind of emotion running in my body, Happiness. The adrenaline, the fast-paced match, the love that I have for this sport has reborn anew, but not as an spectator, but as an eSper. I lifted my hand as my body started to shake, the Buzz gave us the signal that we are no longer in a controlled area, I soon fell back to the floor, without any kind of energy left, I had put my body in some serious condition, I needed to rest, there was no other thing to do, just lay down, Geonardo was standing right next to me, right below a lamp in the ceiling, while the light was covering his face.

Great job Knos...- he told me, while leaving a familiar gesture, and finally noticing a subtle smile on his face. After that he left for the others.

I grabbed my hair, while still having a serious fatigue I didn't feel tired anymore, the only thing in my mind was not the fact that I lost, not even the idea of having a small handgun as my first weapon, but only the joy of being able to do what I dreamed of. To be an eSper, to participated in a real match. I finally went numb, but just as my body was preparing to shut down, I gave myself a laugh.

I did it.

Chapter 2 The End