"Okay...a day off...we should go exploring." Priyan said.

"No way...I got training to do." Rush said as he brutally demolished a sandbag. "Need to consider how to avoid ranged attacks and counter them."

"I'll accompany you." Techno said. "I'd like to run into a few masters and ask some questions."

"Great. I got two. Anyone else?" Priyan asked.

"No...I must rebalance myself." Bala said.

"And I need to create new talismans." Kusaragi said.

"Room for one more, Priyan?" Kazutora asked. "What about you, Ri? You want in on this?"

"S-Sure." Ri said.

"Well, that settles it. We'll see you three later." Kazutora said to the training group.

They soon started to explore the entire temple, with one of the first stops being the massive library.

"This is the library. According to the High Masters, this place holds records of every style as well as a few worlds and the people who used the styles." Priyan said.

"The number of books in this place is massive!" Techno said. "I'd hate to be the librarian who's in charge here."

"Seriously. That's a lot of books to keep track of." Kazutora said.

"It's no problem. The one who manages this place is the Book Style user." Priyan said. "She controls all the books here."

"Book Style? That's...Victoria, right?" Kazutora asked.

"Hm… I haven't heard much about her, I'm afraid." Techno said. "All I can gather is that she has a fondness for books."

"Yeah, you won't find much info on her." Priyan said.

"Only that she was attacked by demons at one point. That's about it." Kazutora said. "Still, this place holds records of all Color Fighters, past and present, huh?"

"That's right." Priyan said.

"In short, it's the perfect place to do research." Techno said. "A place to come back to later."

They soon looked into the private quarters of the other fighters as they passed by before going into a small little chapel.

"This is where they supposedly offer prayer before leaving or entering a dangerous fight." Priyan said.

"I never pegged Color Fighters to be the religious type." Techno said. "Who exactly are they praying to? The Color Gods?"

"Prayer is a good way to ease one's tensions before they move into battle." Priyan said.

"She's right. Sometimes it doesn't really matter who you're praying to. Just as long as someone hears your prayers." Kazutora asked.

"Indeed." Priyan said. "I know I offer a little prayer every time I head into battle."

"Speaking of which, Techno, you said that you lost a few comrades on the way here, right?" Kazutora asked.

"Yes. Three of them." Techno said. "A fallen angel, a dark unicorn, and an android. They were either killed or imprisoned by heroes or their allies."

"Hmm… Well, I'm not usually one for condoning assisting enemies of my schoolmates, but… Maybe a prayer might just be what you need right now. Who knows? Maybe they'll even reach their spirits." Kazutora said.

"A prayer?" Techno said. "Well… I appreciate the suggestion, but I'm not what you call a praying man."

"Haha… Yeah, I figured. It was only a suggestion, though." Kazutora said.

"You seem to be very friendly towards him for some reason, Kazutora. I thought that you'd stay away from someone like him like he's the plague." Ri said.

"Back home, I applied to a lot of sports clubs in my school. So, I knew that I had to be a team player in order to succeed and make progress in club activities and even inter school matches. Part of which even includes trying to rally your teammates' spirits when they're at their lowest points." Kazutora said.

"Wow…" Priyan said.

They continued onto places such as the mess hall, the greenhouse, even the arena.

"Well….that was fun but I have things to do so…" Techno said as they heard a loud wailing. "What the blazes?!"

"Hey, get moving!" Ring said, passing by. "We're being called to the auditorium!"

"What's going on?" Ri said.

"Don't know...this has never happened before." another passing fighter said.

The trainees followed the crowd of fighters to the auditorium and quickly took seats at the many rows in the room.

The main stage had Serena walking onto it.

"Serena...what is she doing there?" Priyan pondered.

"I'm glad everyone is here. Cause...I have some rather hard news that...may be hard to take. Just in the past hour...grandmaster Rain Bow...has died." Serena said, shocking a number of the fighters.

"Died? Aw, man… That is rough…" Kazutora said.

"He's gone?" Ri asked, eyes widened in shock.

"You two don't seem to understand how big a blow this may be." Priyan said.

"Of course I do. I mean… He's supposed to be the head of this place, man." Kazutora said.

"Not just that." Techno spoke up. "Master Rain Bow was like a father to every single Color Fighter in the Multiverse. He even trained Jexi's father, Gold. His death… it marks something big is going to happen. I sense big changes are gonna be hitting this place hard. And it's gonna start now."

"So...what happens now? Who takes his place?" one fighter demanded.

"Sadly...the grandmaster never chose a successor." Serena said.

"Well it should obviously be Lady Illuma! WIth her at the helm, she'll lead the whole multiverse to be free of all evil!" Sahara spoke up.

"You're nuts. Umbra and Blazer are the strongest. Any of them could lead." Cliff said.

"You're both crazy. It's obvious it should be Drake." Barry said.

"Whoa… This is getting nuts. With no successor, everyone is arguing about who the next Grand Master should be…" Kazutora said.

"Of course they will...I do not like where this is going to lead to." Priyan said.

"I do…" Rush said eagerly. "This is now turning into a free for all. Last one standing rules them all."

"Of course YOU'D be the one enjoying this…" Kazutora said. "It's pretty clear that factions are starting to form here."

"Yes...uh...if you'll excuse me…" Techno said as he ran off.

Later…

"I'm unclear on what you want!" DaDan said as the New Universal Villains met in a small room with Techno holding him against the wall.

"What did I say about making big moves?!" Techno said. "We arrive here to hide, and just a short while later, Rain Bow is dead! Dan Yamada, what did you do?!"

"But we didn't do it!" DaDan cried out.

"Kid is tellin' the truth." Boba said. "He didn't do anything, and Frieza and I sure didn't go near the old man to kill him ourselves."

"...Okay." Techno said, letting DaDan down. "My apologies, DaDan. Anyway, this is a big event: The Color Fighters are already forming factions, and conflict is inevitable, if not outright war. This is going to be one of the biggest events in Multiverse history, so there's only one thing to do."

"Uh...hide in secret and join the winning side?" Pete asked.

"No…. we fan the flames." Techno said. "And the best way to do that is from the inside."

"So we're joining the war?" DaDan said. "On whose side?"

"...The Hero Alliance's side." Techno announced

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Stop the presses! You actually want to join up with those guys?!" DaDan asked.

"In case you forgot...we nearly got sent to prison cause of them." Boba Fett said.

"True, but if I'm correct, they're the only ones who'll be on their own side in the war." Techno said. "And Jexi just so happens to have two brothers that are High Masters. So, if we join them and subtly push them to locations where the other factions are…"

"...Then the groups will think Blazer and Umbra have the Hero Alliance with them due to familial bonds, and that'll fan the flames even more!" DaDan finished.

"It's a very astute plan. But there is one small problem." Frieza said. "As we are their enemies, we won't be able to convince them to join this fight."

"True, but as it turns out… One of the leaders is a pupil of a seemingly convincing candidate." Techno said. "There is no doubt that Sayuri has become aware of Rain Bow's passing, and will soon relay the information to her pupil."

"Well, that is a good point. However, that boy clearly has no intention of claiming the position of Grand Master for himself." Frieza said.

"Now all we need to do is…" Techno said as the door opened.

"Hey, there he is." a number of fighters said running in. "It's the leader of the Flux faction!"

"I beg your pardon?" Techno asked."I didn't start a faction."

"I started it." Priyan said entering.

"You what?!" Techno asked.

"Well...you do seem like a smart person and you are good with strategy...so I called out your name and a number of fighters flocked to you almost immediately." Priyan said.

"Great. Just...great." Techno said as he hid his frustration through gritted teeth. "Thank you, Priyan."

"Hey, hold up, Techno." DaDan whispered in his ear. "This could be an even better plan! With this set up, you could lead this faction into battle and maybe, just maybe, become the new Grandmaster!"

"Hmm…" Techno mused. "Well, this could work… I may just be able to unlock my potential along the way. Yes! Flux Faction forever!" he cheered.

As the fighters inside cheered, one outside the room walked away. This fighter was Kusaragi.

"This whole Color War...no way this was just some accident...someone instigated it." he said. "This means...someone wants to destroy the entire system. And since everyone is too busy fighting to think this through...I must take it upon myself...and find them. The true instigator of this war."

Act 1...END