Author Comment: I want to thank FollowerOfAnhamirak for beta-reading this chapter and correcting some of my mistakes.

Chapter 1: First Generation

It was morning and Kaz, a pale skinned boy with spiky red hair and brown eyes wearing a green shirt while gazing at his waistcoat left on the side, sighed as he adjusted his pink-tinted glasses. It was barely nine in the morning and he was a little pissed off. His grades had been steadily dropping for a while now and it had finally reached the point where his mother was forced to intervene, leading to her confiscating his scanner and cards yet again. Letting out another loud sigh Kaz laid down on his bed and crossed his arms as he studied in his bedroom.

Everywhere he could see Chaotic paraphernalia covered every surface of his room, though most of it was Underworlder stuff. Aside from that he had a few posters of his favourite music groups covering whatever free space was on the wall.

No matter how bad his mood was, he had to admit that he'd brought this upon himself. His mother had warned him what would happen if his grades continued dropping. "It's your fault Kaz. She's been patient enough. You just had to go and fail math and get in trouble." He told himself, trying to calm down.

Resolving to try and get out of this as soon as possible he stood up and went over to his desk, sitting down and pulling out his math textbook, focusing on the equations.

With everything that had been happening in Perim, he had let himself get distracted and subsequently his grades had fallen as result. That and he had ended up spending too much of his time making up some fun stories about Perim based on his actual experiences. After talking with Peyton, he decided to write about, resulting in his newfound hobby. It had been a fun distraction, but one he had indulged a little too deep in.

After an hour of studying he lifted his head as he heard someone knocking at the door, "You can come mom." Called out Kaz without taking his eyes from the book.

His mother opened the door and strode, carrying a plate of food in one hand, "I'm happy you're putting effort in your studies," she said as she sat down the plate beside him. His mother was an average height pale skinned woman with short red hair and green eyes, wearing a white blouse with a red skirt, "and glad you are in a better mood."

"Sorry mom… I know it's my fault." Kaz sighed as he finished his page and put the book aside, "Thanks for the food.".

"You're usually more focused on your studies and suddenly, you just stopped," Miss Kalinkas said as she stood at the door.

"Yeah. I got too much fun making stories online." Kaz admitted before dropping his head on his desk.

Her mother sighed and bit her lip in thought, "I might have noticed it sooner. I wouldn't have to punish you if I had." His mother was an awesome woman, working as she did to support the both of them, but she always felt guilty when something ended up slipping through the crack. Suddenly, a great feeling of guilt filled Kaz. He never wanted to be the reason his mother felt bad whenever something happened, especially when it was his fault.

"You have a very busy job mom," he replied, waving her off. He gazed at the figurine of Chaor for a few seconds. Living with only by themselves his mother had to put in a lot of extra hours at her job so they could live comfortably. Kaz was well aware that he got into Chaotic because of that. " I should have managed my time better." Turning to grab the fork Kaz said "Thanks for the food. I was getting hungry."

"No problem. Don't over study either. You won't learn anything if you're tired. Pass the test tomorrow and I'll give you back your scanner." She told him, smiling slightly as she let her son get back to his studies.

Deciding to take a short break Kaz turned back to the plate and began eating the spaghetti with gusto. His grades may have slipped but he wasn't that bad at math. As long as he managed to cover the material, he should be able to pass the test tomorrow. As he finished the last of the food, he put the plate aside and went back to studying. "Don't worry mom, I'll pass it." Muttered Kaz under his breath as he continued studying where he left off.

After another hour, Kaz closed his book and laid down his head. He was bored out of his mind and wished he could go back to Chaotic. Earlier he'd heard the phone ring earlier and knew Tom had called to check up on him. His mother had answered instead of him and told Tom she would pass on the message on to him. He should probably call him back at some point.

Mentally making sure he'd finished Kaz stood up and wondered what he should do now. He couldn't play Chaotic and there wasn't anything interesting to read. Wracking his mind for anything to do, an idea suddenly came to him.

"The attic. " Kaz whispered to himself and walked out of his room.

For as long as he could remember he'd never actually visited the attic, his mother always telling him to keep out of it. He had never disobeyed her before when he was younger, but now he was in High School and though Chaotic had pushed his curiosity about the attic aside he couldn't help but wonder what was up there. After deliberating for bit, he made up his mind, "This is stupid,"Kaz grumbled to himself as he let his childish curiosity take over, "but better put this behind once and for all." He also wasn't a kid anymore. It wasn't dangerous for him anymore.

He walked through the corridor and opened the stairs leading to the attic. This little adventure could never be compared to Perim but it was something to do. Chuckling lightly Kaz told himself "This would have been my biggest adventure, if I went when I was six." As he pushed his nostalgia aside and went into the attic.

The room was dark, too dark even for him. Rushing back down he grabbed a flashlight down and trotted back upstairs, flashlight on. Shining it all over, Kaz absently moved the light around as he explored. It was surprising how clean everything was up here. He would have expected everything to be covered in dust and cobwebs. Instead everything was neat and organized and it was not what he was expecting. "Mom must have taken the time to clean everything. I should probably help her more." Kaz decided as he looked around.

They were many large boxes put side by side, clearly labeled with markers about what it contained. "Let's see," Kaz said as he pointed at each of them and said what was written, "my son's picture's… Okay. Now I know where my baby pictures are if I bring a girlfriend." Saving the important detail for later as he checked to see that they were indeed there. "Next, family pictures, memories of… dad." Kaz sighed. He had little memories of his father. All he remembered was that he was a good man and that he loved him. He'd have to check those another time. "My childhood and Chaotic." That one made him stop, "Chaotic?" He went to the box and looked at it, "Mom never said anything about being a fan."

Kneeling down Kaz delicately opened the box. Inside were a plethora of objects related to Chaotic. Reaching in he took out one and saw that it was a deck of Chaotic cards. "That's… strange." Kaz muttered to himself as he went over the deck. The texture of the cards felt different compared to his own deck. It was as if they weren't made of the same material. Looking the cards over he realized it was a mostly Underworld deck.

As he began looking at the cards he recognised some of the battlegear, mugics and locations. However, when he saw the creatures only a few were familiar. Those he did recognize looked younger. He even found one of Khybon but had his four hands, "But he lost some of them." Said Kaz to himself as he went over the deck.

Kaz continued searching until he found the one depicted the rule of the Underworld. "Crimson, The Ruler Of The Skulls." Read kaz out loud, studying the card intently. The ruler looked like Chaor but with a fiercer, crueler look with crimson eyes and an armor and necklace made of bones from what looked suspiciously like members of the other tribes. Shuddering a little at the image he read the little description under it. "I shall crush the tribes until only I remain." Underworlders tended to be harder than the other tribes as a rule but this was brutal even for them. He continued looking over the card until his mother's voice startled him.

"Kaz Kalinkas!" his mother suddenly said behind him, her tone stating she was clearly annoyed.

Kaz jumped and almost dropped the cards.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, her face stern.

"I… I wanted to see what was in the attic mom," said Kaz holding up arms and showing her the cards, "they aren't mine I swear."

Miss Kalinkas walked to her son and looked at them, "Oh," she said nostalgically, her face softening as she grabbed them, "My old deck. I remember those."

"You were a Chaotic Player mom? But Chaotic came out like 4 years ago," Kaz replied, confused. She had never brought it up whenever he talked about it.

His mother chuckled, gesturing at the deck, "Yes. That was the second generation of the Chaotic. I played with the first generation until I finished High School. It was then that it was discontinued. It didn't sell well for that long," she said as she looked over the cards, "and then four years ago, the game came back with its new generation. In fact, one of my friends had the Crown Prince Theb-Saar who is now the king in the next generation."

"You played a lot then?" Asked Kaz, curious to hear about her past.

"Yes," she said, putting them back into the small box where he had taken them from, "I was the girl of my group. Most players were boys but I didn't mind. Neither did they. That's how I made so many friends in high school. I was the Underworlder player. The least popular tribe, known for being extremely violent. Crimson was the ruler and…" She took out a book that explained the lore, "He was known as having the dream to exterminate the other tribes, so only he shall rule over Perim. His reign was defined by his constant raids and attacks on the other tribes. It's all written in there."

"Did you have scanners to play online?" Asked Kaz

"No. We only had cards." She replied, putting everything back in the box, "You know. The game also caused me a few troubles when I was younger." A sad smile came in her face, "I had my deck confiscated a few times because I didn't study enough and failed classes. I used to pass time and-," she took out a small book and gave it to her son, "-made some comics about life in the Underworld. I base it on the book and each creature I have."

Kaz opened it and went over the panels of the comic book, inspecting the drawings. "You are really good!" Exclaimed Kaz

"I wanted to work for the company that made Chaotic but it was discontinued. I wanted to design creatures… That dream never came. Instead, I got something more precious. You… and your father." His mother let out a large smile at the mention of his father.

Kaz chuckled as he thought about how much they were alike. He grabbed the book and asked, "Can I read it after I study more?"

She chuckled, "Of course. I didn't punish you from reading these. Just study well."

"Thanks mom."

"I hope you appreciate it." She said, pointing at her comic book before they climbed down the attic.

Kaz just checked the first page and read, "The Vanishing Boy. Nice title."

"It's based on an adventure one of my friends told me and I was inspired to make it. A boy who tried to return from school under a storm, before he vanished to Perim." His mother summarized.

Returning to his room Kaz had a small smile. He now understood why his mother was happy to buy him his first deck when the game came out. She was a fan and had wanted him to appreciate the game also though she had never directly brought it up. It seemed his mother was much more awesome than he originally thought.

The Next Day

Happily porting into the Port Court Kaz searched for his friends and found them sitting at a table nearby. It seemed Tom, Sarah and Peyton were already there and waiting for the good news. He joined them at the table and sat on a chair. He adjusted his yellow jacket and went towards them, "Guys! I managed to pass the test." Shouted Kaz as he walked over to them.

Tom, a tan skinned boy with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a grey t-shirt with a target symbol on it with a black top shirt under it and blue jeans said, "Great news Kaz."

Peyton, a large teenager with brown shady hair and green eyes wearing a green and gray jacket over his yellow T-shirt and dark gray shorts waved at him and exclaimed, "Congrats Kaz! You're back with us!"

"That's what you get for skipping studies," Sarah told him while holding back a small smile, "It was a little quieter without you." She was a pale skinned. slim teenage girl with long blond hair and teal eyes wearing a black T-shirt over a white top and red jeans.

"And there's so much I want to tell you! You won't believe what I found out yesterday when I was going through my attic." Kaz began.

Curious, Tom asked, "So what did you find? You told me you were curious about it a few years ago. You talked about it so often I still haven't forgotten about it."

"This." Said Kaz as he searched his bag and took the book his mom had given him and said, "That's something my mother made when she was younger. She's really good at it."

Surprised, his friends checked it out.

"Wow! Your mom is really cool Kaz." Sarah commented as she looked over the book.

"Who're the dudes here?" Peyton said as he pointed at the creatures.

"I asked mom about it and she told me those were Underworlders." Kaz replied, sitting in between Peyton and Tom.

"What? Your mom isn't a Chaotic Player Kaz. I would remember that." Said Tom as Kaz put a card in front of them now, "Who's that creature? I've never seen that Underworlder before."

Grabbing the card to study it Peyton said, "That is really radical bro. You found a super rarissimo card like that." snapping his fingers.

"She told me it was one of her best cards when she was young like us. That" said Kaz, pointing at the card, "was her best Creature. Crimson, ruler of the Underworld."

"Chaor is the ruler. You should know about it, he's your hero," Sarah she examined the card.

Shaking his head, Kaz explained, "That's from the first card game generation. Probably Chaor's father when she had her deck." As soon as he said that Kaz was bombarded with questions. He explained the rest while answering their questions as his friends looked at the comic book.

"Mrs. Kalinkas is really cool, dude! Look at Crimson on this page. Really evil and scary dude. Really to boil the human down, just to be stopped by… A Khybon with four hands." Peyton checked once again. He looked at the younger Khybon, "He kinda had some majesty with his arms but less fighty, ya know."

"I really want to show this to Chaor." Kaz said, eager at the idea.

"Bad idea. What if it's wrong and you insult him? He will chase you down." Sarah warned him.

Realizing that Kaz chuckled nervously, "Right. What then? What if that Crimson is really his father?"

"Ask someone about his family. Not Chaor. He will turn you to dust if he really hates his daddio Kaz." Peyton suggested, "Ask your mind if it's a bad idea. He will agree with me."

"Yeah." Kaz sighed and thought about it, "And I won't bring those too. I just wanted to show you. I'll think how I can find that out."

They talked a little more about it, until Kaz completely put the bad idea of asking Chaor about Crimson aside.

"Still, I never knew there was a first generation of Chaotic Players." Tom commented as he checked his scanner.

"Maybe our parents were Chaotic Players until it was discontinued." Said Sarah, eyes narrowed as she thought about it.

"Why did they stop making those? I really want to see what Theb-Saar parents were like. Or imagine a younger version of Marquis Darini." Peyton began.

"Yeah. We went to the past but really far away. I bet if your mom got Najarin, he would still look the same." Sarah commented.

The group gazed at her quietly, wondering if it would really be the case.

"I just heard a few things about Maxxor's father. Maybe the card is around the net. Well… if it's his father." Added Tom, clearly interested as well.

"Why did Chaotic turn, like, not cool?" Brought up Peyton.

They thought about it and Kaz said, "There weren't any scanners. It wasn't an online game like us."

"And that means they never met the real deal. Awesome creatures of Perim like us," Peyton said. waving his hands in wonder.

"It isn't Pokémon. That series is still cool after decades," Sarah said, crossing her hands.

Tom checked his scanner and stood up, "My match is beginning soon." He said standing up to leave and for his match, "It was really fun to hear that."

"See ya Tom!" said Kaz, waving him good-bye.

The three continued to talk about the mysteries of the previous generation of the card game and decided they would search for some of the old cards online. Even if it wasn't usable anymore, just having those would be awesome.

AC: This is the end of this chapter. The story Kaz mother made: The Vanishing Boy, is relevant to the world building.

Yup, in this story, there is a first generation for Chaotic Card until they stopped making it, kinda what happened in our world but with a different result.

Next Chapter: Falling Behind.

Next chapter will focus on the Danian's situation.