Chapter 7: Faction 1: The General

"There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights."

Bram Stoker, "Dracula"

-Present Day: Faction 1-

The boy lifted the sword over his head, his blonde hair matted to his forehead from the sweat. He swung his sword down against the dummy he was sparring, landing a blow against its shoulder. Perfect hit, he thought to himself, smiling at his killing hit. Though he was younger than most in the Northside, Takerua Takaishi has grown to become the leading man of the rebellion against the crown.

He flexed his hand, gripping the hilt of his hard harder as he swung the sword in the dummy's side. Takerua had always believed in ending evil and the second he woke up in faction 1, it was all he felt. Through the grapevine, Takeura caught word of a rebellion against Myotismon rising in the other factions, mainly faction 3. He still had yet to travel through the worlds, for he wasn't sure exactly how it was done, but he did what he was able to do. Believe the rumors and do what he could to ready his faction. We already lost one rebel, Izzy's face flashing through his mind, I'm still not sure if they killed him, or if he got away and left to live in the hills. He shook his head, trying to change his train of thought back to practicing his form.

Footsteps sounded behind him. He turned fast, coming face to face with Celina, his messenger. Celina mainly walked the streets of Central, spreading rumors of the Crown being evil and picking up men she assumed would be good additions to his team. "Takeura," Celina said with a bow, "the jumper. He has arrived with news from faction 3."

Takeura smiled, he enjoyed talking to the Jumpers, hoping they would teach him their tricks one day. "Thank you, Celina. Could you send him out here to me? I want to finish my training for the day." He smiled at her, his blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Celina nodded, turning on her heels to let the Jumper know.

Before readying himself for his next move, Takeura took a moment to let his eyes slide over the landscape of the Northside. There was no marble here, no glamor to make people follow him. He was thankful for the men who had seen past the glam and money of the Crown. The young boy worked hard for the past five years to get to this one place.

Five years ago: Faction 1 -

The boy's blue eyes shot open, his chest rising quickly. He gasped for air, crawling to his feet. Where was he? He remembered being huddled with his friends, saying their goodbyes before… The mist… The darkness… Maybe… No he was probably dead, right? And this was the afterlife? He panicked, pinching himself and letting out a hiss from the pain of his skin being clenched. Guess this I really what happened, he thought, finally observing his surroundings. A chill ran down his spine, leaving his stomach unsettled. This place is bad… All bad. I wonder where the others ended up.

A burning sensation from the white swirls climbing up the side of his neck just below his eyes made Takeura rub his face. He sighed, letting his feet begin to carry him forward towards the small town he spotted.

He walked for hours, the memories of what had just happened to his other world still fresh in his mind. He was confused and lost. What had Myotismon done? And his brother and Kari, were they both okay? He pulled his thin jacket closer to his body, noticing as he got closer to the gleaming city the feeling in his stomach got worse. Weird.

The second Takeura entered the city, he was extremely confused. He looked for a sign to tell him his location. "Central". Okay, he was in the Central of something much bigger. People past him, whispering about the great Myotismon and the cousins who blessed their lands and bank accounts, feeing their families and letting them live lavish minds. The great Myotismon? These people must have been hit on the head pretty hard. He eyes them suspiciously, feeling something tug at the memories of the events leading up to him entering this world.

Takeura fought for his mind back, a headache shooting up his neck. Wh-What's happening? He fell to his knees, clenching his head to hold onto the images of the faces of his friends. "Are you okay, kid?" A woman's voice asked. Takeura opened an eye to look at the source. A blonde woman clad in a dark green skirt with a black top was grabbing his hand softly. "I-I'm not too sure." He whispered. "I can help you, promise" Her smile was warm and welcoming and Takeura didn't hesitate, letting his fingers fold into her palm.

The woman led Takeura out of the city, a sign reading Northside let him know where he was. She approached a brown building, nodding at doorman. "Celina," the doorman said, "you know it's not always one's best intention to pick up stragglers?" The doorman eyed Takeura. The woman rolled her eyes, "Brant. This boy, he's different. I can see it." She led Takeura to a chair, handing him a paper and a pencil. "Now, please do your best to remember everything before you work up here." Takeura nodded, writing down his memories up to the mist.

"That's all I remember…" He passed the paper to Celina, "I'm Takeura by the way." Celina gasped, sticking her hand out to shake his. "I am so sorry. I was so caught up by your aura that I must have forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Celina. And this," she motioned to the man standing by the door, "is Brant. He's nicer than he looks. I promise." She smiled warmly at Takeura, her crisp blue eyes beginning to scan the words he had written. "My aura?" Takeura questioned.

"Hm? Oh yes. I have the sight." She went back to reading, thinking that Takeura understood what she meant. She sighed, rubbing her temples. "I am so sorry. Sight is what seekers have. We are able to see the purity in people. The lightness or the darkness. For some it is too late, their hearts have already been tainted with Myotismon's thoughts and wants. But for others, like you, the darkness does not dare come close to." Her blue eyes gleamed, "and you, you are special, Takeura. The light that I see coming from you is brighter than the marble streets of Central."

Takeura couldn't help but blush. He smiled at Celina, interested in why this was all important. "So, is there like a war going on? Or…" his words trailed off for he didn't know what to ask. Celina shook her head, smiling. "No, not yet. But something gives me the feeling that you're just what we need to start a rebellion."

A confused look flashed across his face, "A rebellion…?" Celina smiled, this one devious. "Oh, against Myotismon." Takeura gasped, mirroring her smile. "I'm in."

3 years ago -

Takeura smiled at his recruits, the men practicing their sparring. Celina had convinced him to become a general, a leader of the army that would lead the faction 1 rebellion. She began to slowly introduce him to the others involved, Jumpers mostly. He was surprised the first day she had introduced him to a Jumper. Not from the idea that Jumpers could travel, but that the Jumper was none other than Taichi Kamiya.

Tai remembered Takeura right away, voicing his concerns about the others and how they might have not been able to fight the darkness, erasing the memories before the Reckoning. Tai did remember a bit, but not all of it, enough to recognize Takeura and Kari. He informed Takeura that Kari had found Joe and had slowly jogged his memory about their old friend. Takeura sighed, saying that that seems to be the problem with Izzy, his old friend that Celina had brought to be a recruit when the rebellion first began.

Around this time, rumors began to arise that the cousins had a new weapon, a blonde man with blue eyes who could control ice and water. Though he didn't want to admit, Takeura knew this man was his older brother, Yamato. With everyday of training, Takeura trained with the knowledge that he might have to face Yamato one day.

End of Flashback -

Takeura sighed, hearing someone approach him. The boy turned, expecting to come face to face with Tai. He gasped, the man who stood before him had red hair and dark eyes. "… Izzy?!" He sighed, happiness and excitement filled his heart. "I… I thought you died on that mission. Where have you been?"

Izzy smiled, reaching out to hug the boy, his general. "I… I found Mimi. And your brother, the cousins have him." Takeura nodded, not surprised. "Yeah, I thought so. But Mimi? Is she here?" Izzy shook his head.

"Well, it turns out I'm actually a jumper. That night I didn't return I had actually Jumped Mimi and I straight to faction 2. Out of fright, I'm guessing." Takeura stared at the man, dumbfounded. Izzy? A jumper? He doesn't even have the memories. Though he was confused, Takeura smiled at him. "So, this means one thing" Takeura's smile widened, "you can take me with you."

Izzy looked to the ground, "Well, I'm not too sure about that. I still can't figure out how Mimi was able to come with me…" Takeura sighed, "It's okay. I'll ask Taichi if he knows anything about it."

Izzy gave Takeura a confused look. "Taichi? Who? I didn't know there was a Jumper named Taichi?" Looking at the ground, the blonde haired boy gave his soldier a reassuring smile. "You'll like him. He's… He's a pretty cool guy." Izzy nodded and shrugged, taking Takeura's word.

"Alright, so you're the Jumper sent to me. What news do you have?" Izzy smiled, pulling out a journal and passing it to the general.

*Author's Note*

We finally got to see what has been up with T.K. Thank you to those who have stuck with this! I really appreciate the kind words that have been left. Happy readings! :)