A/N: As I continue to edit and revise my stories I will, when possible, replace the old, sloppy chapters with the new and freshly edited ones as soon as they are to my standards. You will see this note, along with possible variations of it, above all the chapters I have edited. Once all chapters are completely edited I will remove all author notes pertaining to the revision of the story.
"Geez, Ky," Boomer exclaimed. "I didn't think that this monastery thing would be this big."
"I told you it was a big monastery!" Ky smiled.
"Yeah," Mookee squeaked in agreement. "The monastery is quite huge. Don't worry. Pretty soon you'll have this place memorized like the back of your hand!"
"Shucks," Boomer laughed. "It is huge, not as big as the farm back home, so I don't have to worry about getting lost. But it's still pretty big."
"So now that you've seen the monastery," Mookee smiled, leading the boys around, "it's time I've showed you the places where you'll be training."
First, Mookee led them to the Training Area. The boys were at awe at the magnificent sight. Then, Mookee led them across the wooden bridge that led to the Training Arena. "Here we are," Mookee exclaimed when they reached the arena.
When the boys first looked at the Training Arena, they gasped. It was a large circular, dojo-like building with a grey stone floor and yellow bricked walls. The overhanging roof left a large circular hole in the middle to allow natural light in. The stone door was circular and carved into the shape of the seal of Redakai Council. Their awe grew larger when they were led inside. The inside revealed that there was a stone pathway around the perimeter of the arena. Various stone carvings of different designs were placed flush against the walls.
Then the boys noticed Maya practicing her martial arts skills. She turned around and stopped practicing. She frowned. She had hoped that she could train in peace. Not only was her training disrupted, she was upset to find that Mookee was accompanied by two stranger. She glared at Mookee, and then eyed the two boys skeptically. "Mookee, who are these people and why are they here?" She asked.
"Hey!" Mookee squeaked. "This is Ky Stax and Boomer." He gestured to each boy respectively.
"Yeah. Okay," she said dismissively. "But why are they here?" She knew the answer, but asked anyway. She wanted them to know that she didn't care that they were going to be staying here.
"Master Boaddai is going to be training us to be Kairu warriors." Ky answered proudly. He smiled widely. He couldn't wait to be a Kairu master like his father one day.
"Why didn't you or Master B. tell me that they would be arriving today?" She asked irritably, completely ignoring Ky. She had knew that two new students would be coming this week, but she wasn't aware that they would be arriving today. She hadn't liked that Boaddai was taking on new students.
"All right, you know who we are," Ky frowned, "so I think me and boomer should know who you are." He was expecting a warmer welcome. Nobody has ever treated him so coldly before.
"Ky and Boomer," Mookee addressed the boys, "that's Maya. She's been training here with Master Boaddai for a few years now."
"Howdy, Maya!" Boomer exclaimed politely. "Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, sure," she replied rather uninterestedly. She was curt with them and wasn't at all friendly.
There was a small pause. The tension was growing rapidly by every second. Mookee wasn't sure how he could defuse the tension, he was never really good at that. Nox was. He knew that Nox would've handled this situation far better than he could.
Ky stood there, meeting Maya's skeptical, bitter gaze with his own harsh glare. Despite the awkwardness and general animosity of the scene, Boomer knew he had to do something. He knew Ky's instinct was to push back when met with opposition, and that wasn't going to help the situation.
"If you've been training for a few years now, you must be good, then!" Boomer began, determined to be as polite as possible. "We saw you practicing a little," he added.
"Yeah… thanks," she said halfheartedly. She would've appreciated the complement if she wasn't feeling so empty.
"You're welcome," Boomer replied.
There was another pause, not as awkward and tense as the last, but still held some discomfort to it. Ky and Maya stared into each other's eyes with a dislike that made Boomer feel awkward just standing there. He wasn't sure what else he could do to defuse the tension. Just as the silence was becoming almost unbearable, Boaddai and Connor happened upon the scene.
"Ah, Maya," Boaddai smiled. "I see you have met my new students."
Maya looked up at Boaddai and frowned. "Yeah, I have," she said with a hint of disdain in her voice.
"As you are aware, Ky Stax and Boomer will be training with you from now on," Boaddai said.
"So this is the famous Maya I've heard all about?" Connor smiled warmly. "It's nice to meet you, Maya," he bowed.
"Nice to meet you too," Maya said, returning the gesture rather curtly.
Sensing Maya's reluctance, he let the girl be. He then checked his watch and frowned. "If I don't get going now, I'll be late. Boaddai, it's been a pleasure. I wish we had more time to talk. Perhaps we can meet up again soon?" he asked Boaddai.
"Absolutely," Boaddai nodded.
Then Connor turned to Ky and Boomer. "You two better behave while you're here!" He said with mock sternness and a smile on his face.
"We will!" Ky and Boomer said in unison.
"Well, see you two trouble makers later," he laughed.
"Bye dad!" Ky ran up to his father, hugging him around the waist.
Connor smiled and ruffled Ky's hair. "Goodbye, son."
"Dad!" Ky whined. "Not the hair…" He pulled away from his father and tried to fix his messy hair.
Connor let out a hardy laugh, "As you wish, son!" He then turned to Boomer, "See you around, Boomer. Make sure this one," Connor gestured to Ky, "stays out of trouble."
Boomer immediately sprung into a ridged military posture and saluted Connor, "Sir, Yes, Sir!"
Connor and Boaddai bowed to each other. They gave another exchange of farewells. Then he turned to Maya. "It was nice to meet you, Maya."
"Yeah," she grumbled.
Connor nodded in an understanding manner. He knew it must be been tough to deal with so many terrible things at such a young age. He then teleported to the Redakai Councils headquarters with a flash of bright-blue light.
"Ky and Boomer," Boaddai called. "Today you two may explore the monastery and become well-acquainted with the grounds. Tomorrow we will begin your training."
"Okay, Master Boaddai," the boys nodded.
With that, Boaddai left. Maya scowled and headed for the library, stating that she'd rather be alone. Ky and Boomer shrugged at Maya's indifference. They then began talking to Mookee and exploring various parts of the monastery together. When the sky had become a beautiful display of orange and dark blue, the boys retreated to their new bedroom.
The next day was bright and sunny. Ky and Boomer sat in the middle of the Training Area with Boaddai. The boys were about to be given their first official training session with a Redakai Master.
"Today, my students, I will be giving you an overview of X-Readers and Kairu energy," Boaddai began. He gave each boy their own training X-Reader. Each X-reader was white with a grey trim.
"Wow! My very own X-Reader!" Ky exclaimed.
"Neat," Boomer agreed.
"The X-Reader you hold in your hand now," Boaddai stated, "is only a training X-Reader. It can only hold a limited amount of preinstalled X-Drives." This was met with a soft groan of disappointment from the boys. Boaddai frowned. "They are not meant to be used in real battle," he explained. "Their purpose is to help you learn how a standard grade X-Reader functions."
"When are we going to get our own real X-Readers?" Boomer asked.
"You both will receive a standard X-Reader when you are older and well-trained," Boaddai answered. "Until then, it's best to focus on the basics."
"All righty."
"While an X-Reader is not meant to store large quantities of Kairu, it is one of the very few ways to safely transport unrefined Kairu energy," Boaddai began to explain. "Unrefined Kairu typically seeks out other unrefined Kairu with similar qualities. If there is enough Kairu in an area that has bonded together, it will seek out an object, which we call a relic, to store itself in. This relic helps stabilize the energy by providing it with a host. This creates what is known as a Kairu deposit. In your future quests, it is not uncommon for you to come across a Kairu deposit.
"Once you have collected the Kairu," he went on, "your X-Reader it will store and analyze the energy type. After the energy has been analyzed, it will then be stored in your X-Reader."
"When does the Kairu become an X-Drive?" Ky asked, his eyes beaming with.
"I'm getting to that, Ky. So, please, be quiet," Boaddai shushed. "As I was saying, an X-Drive is formed when an X-Reader has stored enough Kairu energy. The energy is intertwined together to create a card-like unit known as an X-Drive." He paused to allow the information to sink into the boys. He noted the look of exuberance on their faces. He smiled, and then continued, "An X-Drive can either be an attack or a monster."
"Master Boaddai?" Boomer asked softly.
"Yes, Boomer?"
"Is there a difference in type of Kairu that make the attack cards and the monster cards?"
"I'm glad you asked that," Boaddai grinned. "Yes, there is a difference. Not all Kairu is structured the same way. It is difficult to distinguish what type of Kairu specifically creates attack cards and monster cards because it varies each time."
"Oh, okay," Boomer nodded. "I think I get it now."
"Now, your X-Reader allows you to canalize each X-Drive's energy signature," Boaddai continued. "This makes it much easier to transform into powerful creatures and use powerful attacks than if you were not using an X-Reader."
I wish we'd get to the fun part of training… Ky thought to himself. This is getting kinda boring.
"There are three types of categories for attack X-Drives," Boaddai stated. "Red, which are strength attacks. Blue, which are known as energy attacks. Green, which are also known as speed attacks." He looked at Ky, "Ky, your father has been going over the basics with you, am I correct?"
"Yeah!" Ky said energetically. "He's taught me a lot."
"Excellent," Boaddai smiled. "Can you tell me what makes red, blue, and green attacks different?"
"I sure can," he nodded. "Red attacks are really strong, but can also drain you of a lot of your energy. Blue attacks are good for tactical battle. They take up less energy than red attacks and can be just as strong or much weaker. Green attacks are the weakest when it comes to strength, but they can be used quickly to push an enemy back since they use up the least amount of energy and are super quick."
"Very good!" Boaddai praised. "Now, when it comes to monsters, each monster has its own special trait as well as weakness. Normal monsters are typically evenly balanced when it comes to defense against the three attack types. Red monsters often have exceptional defense against red attacks as well offense, but lacks protection from blue and green attacks. The same goes for blue, and green monsters. Attacks that are the same as a monsters category are usually rendered ineffective in battle."
Boaddai then began to instruct Ky and Boomer how to use their X-Readers. He watched with pride as the boys quickly became acquainted with their new X-Readers. Once each boy had a good grasp on how to use an X-Reader, Boaddai then began to teach them how to channel the Kairu into attacks. He then decided that they were ready to begin sparring with each other. He slightly watched the boys spar and offered advice and guidance when he saw fit.
Maya was omitted from training since she already knew the basics. So she resolved to spend her day off in the library reading silently. Reading gave Maya an odd sense of relief. In a way, it transported her into a world of tranquility where she was free to forget about all the wrong in the world.
Yet, this time reading didn't seemed to help. Her lonely sorrow demanded to be felt. She let out a small sigh. Normally she would hang out with Nox when Boaddai was busy. It was moments like these that made her aware of how much she missed Nox.
She couldn't help but think back to when she first met Nox. She was around five at the time when the albino girl showed up. Despite her efforts to properly pronounce Nox's name correctly, she couldn't, and eventually decided to call the albino by 'N' instead. It hadn't taken long for the two to bond. She had been so happy to have someone to share her interests and time with. That bond eventually grew into something so special and so strong that it seemed that they could never be separated. That all changed when Lokar took Nox.
She couldn't believe that it had been almost three months since Nox's abduction. She had been so lonely. She didn't understand why Boaddai seemed to be trying to erase Nox's imprint on the monastery. It only hurt more when she heard that Boaddai was taking on new students. She couldn't help but feel as though Boaddai was trying to replace Nox.
It hadn't been long before her eyes welled up with tears and started to fall on to the pages of the book. She had been siting there, crying, for a while before anything disturbed her.
"Maya?" Boaddai called.
Maya gave a small jolt of surprise. She looked up to see Boaddai standing in the doorway. "I didn't hear you come in, Master B.…" she mumbled. She hadn't realized that he had finished his lesson with Ky and Boomer. She had been too distracted from her tears and attempting to read the blurry scribbles to notice.
"You know, little warrior," Boaddai said, walking over to the girl, "it's rather hard to read when your eyes are blurry from tears."
"Yeah, it is," she agreed.
Boaddai sat down next to her. He had hoped, though he knew it was a long shot, that Maya would take a liking to Ky and Boomer as quickly as she did to Nox. "You don't seem to be happy about Ky and Boomer," he stated. In fact, she had been rude to the boys as well as Connor. He watched her tense up. "Maya?"
She shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. It was like her throat had swelled up with sadness.
"Maya, what's wrong?" he asked with a hint of worry.
"Everything…" she said shakily. "Everything is so wrong."
Boaddai studied the girl carefully. He knew that she hadn't been eating right or sleeping properly ever since the fiasco at the tournament. It pained him to see the girl so distressful. It hurt even more since there was little he could do about that.
"Why are you trying to replace N?" she questioned bitterly. She looked up at him. Her eyes were burning with anger and pain. She was unable to read his expression so she looked away. "Nobody can replace N…"
"Maya," he began, "I'm not-"
Maya interrupted, "It's my fault N got kidnapped, isn't it?"
"No," he said sternly. "No, it isn't."
"Yes it is!" She sniffed, her tears falling faster. "It is… When Lokar tried to get me N stopped him. He hurt her. He hurt N but she didn't stop trying." She took a deep, trying to stop herself from crying. "It's my fault Lokar took N." She frowned, "And then… then you have Ky and Boomer come here… like they can take her place."
Boaddai wanted to interrupt Maya, but he knew better. The little girl needed to vent.
"Nobody can replace N!" She couldn't help the mix of guilt, anger, pain, and fear from building up and colliding together inside of her.
"Maya, I'm not trying to replace Nox," he explained. He went to wrap an arm around her to comfort her, but Maya pushed him away. He was hurt at her actions. Yet, he knew that she was hurt as well.
"It's like no one even remembers her," she snapped. "It's been over a month. Why hasn't the Redakai Council done something yet?"
Her words hit Boaddai like a bag of bricks. He knew that it seemed like they were getting nowhere with the investigation. "Believe me, Maya," he spoke gently, "no one has forgotten about Nox." He went to wrap his arm around her again, which Maya accepted this time. He slid the book closer to him and then closed it. "It's not your fault that Nox got captured," he said. "The only one to blame for Nox's kidnapping is Lokar himself. Nox did what she did because she cares about you. A lot. She stood up to Lokar because she wanted to protect you." He felt Maya nuzzling her head into his chest. "Once we apprehend him, he will face the consequences of his actions."
"But it's been more than a month," she sniffled.
"I know," Boaddai agreed. "Sometimes these situations take a long time to be sorted out."
Maya gripped Boaddai's robes tightly. "It's not fair."
"No, it's not," he nodded. "Sometimes the universe isn't fair."
"Why?"
"As a Redakai with years of experience under my belt," he began, "I still haven't figured that one out." They sat together in silence for a while. After some time of silent comforting, he said, "Ky and Boomer are good kids, Maya. They'll make good friends. They are no substitute for Nox, but will make great friends." He gently stroked her head. "Nox wouldn't want you to be lonely."
Maya seemed to find some sort of comfort with Boaddai's words. She eventually stopped crying.
After a long while, Boaddai led Maya to her room because it had gotten dark.
That night, Maya slept better than she had in months. Her dreams weren't free of nightmares, however. Yet, they weren't as bad as usual.
The next few days passed without much trouble. Maya was eventually able to warm up to Ky and Boomer, though it did take some time. Finally, Maya was to join the boys training sessions. Training with the boys became calmer with every passing day. Their friendships grew.
Maya, of course, never forgot about Nox. On sleepless nights, she would often think about Nox and wonder if she was still alive.