Chapter 25: Class for Assassins

Four months passed since Ryder accepted Skibo as their fifth member of the Seven Shadows. The Council of Anubis's academy was now located on the planet Koth, a planet in the upper right part of the galaxy. The large meteor belt between that planet and the multitude of others served as a good defense that also threw off power scanners.

Over the past few months, Ryder and Katie had developed a relationship that was frowned upon within the community that they are in. People were not there to develop love interests. First and foremost, they were soldiers in the midst of war. They were not allowed to be with people of the opposite gender after curfew; which was now ten thirty.

"Do you think we'll see them again?" asked Katie. She was laying on top of the Rouge Shadow next to Ryder looking out into the sky. The surface of the neighbor planet, Loki, was close enough that it seemed reachable by jumping.

"I hope so, Katie" he said. Ryder rolled over and faced her. "I should've never gotten involved with the Council of Anubis. All they do is use us. I thought that I'd be able to get information from them, but it seems like they always somehow weasel something out of me instead."

Katie faced him. Even though her messy hair was pulled up, a strand of hair fell in front of her face. Ryder pushed the hair behind her ear. She smiled and blushed.

"Once we get our seventh member," she said. "We'll be able to get away from here. For good."

She leaned in close to Ryder and put her hand on the side of his face. Ryder put his hand on her waist and pulled her close to himself and kissed her.

After a few seconds, they separated. "Whatever happens, just don't trust the Council," she said.

Ryder moved back in and kissed her one more time then said, "I won't. I have a plan on how to deal with them."

Sounds of metal hitting metal and ship engines being turned on came from the opening to the hanger.

Ryder sat up looking past the green field at the Council of Anubis's academy. "We need to head back. I have a class coming up." He stood up and walked towards the ladder.

Katie sat up and said, "Go easy on them today. They haven't gone through all that you have. They aren't as eager to fight."

Ryder turned to her and said, "It's to help them escape the Council. I have to make them strong enough to fight out of here. To fight if the Council sends someone after them." Ryder took a deep breath.

"I wish I didn't have to do this either, but it's for the best." Using the Force, Ryder pulled his white shirt to him then climbed down the ladder into the ship.

Katie sat up and sighed. "Always trying to help everyone but himself." She reached for her green top and put it on. Katie stood up and followed Ryder down into the ship.

The Rouge Shadow's engines turned on, and the ship lifted off the green field. The black ship took off towards the reddish, orange horizon towards the academy. The ship yard sat right outside a large hanger that was made for starship repairs. On its side was the entrance to a large complex that contained the student's lodging, gymnasium, training rooms, cafeteria, and classrooms. On the other side of the academy stood the training grounds. There was a field larger than twenty, square football fields, a street composed of houses, businesses, alleys, and a few tall buildings, and lastly, a large area of raised, earth pillars that looked like rocks stacked on top of each other.

The Rouge Shadow had its own landing spot next to the other starships. It landed and the loading ramp extended down to the ground. Ryder and Katie exited and walked down the ramp heading towards the side door of the academy.

Along the way, Blake, the landing area manager, met Ryder and Katie half way. "Where were you two just now," he demanded.

"I thought I saw some chakra signatures land near the fields," Ryder said.

"Interesting how no one else seemed to notice them," Blake clapped back.

Ryder flexed his three-tome Sharingan and explained, "No one else has these."

The answer seemed to satisfy and anger Blake because he walked away towards the other pilots scoffing at Ryder and Katie.

"We can't let him find out," said Katie with a worried face. "They'll send me on a suicide mission. You're too valuable"

Ryder smiled. "Don't worry. We'll have our sixth and seventh member soon. I have to go teach my class. Don't do anything too reckless while I'm gone." He waved goodbye and ran towards the door.

Katie sighed a deep breath then went to work on broken down ships.

The Council had met with Ryder about two weeks ago and told him that he was going to begin teaching for the academy. Since he excelled in stealth and the Force, they assigned him to teach their Jedi and the advance assassination classes. However, since awakening his sharingan, they decided to let him teach ninjas and about chakra as well since teaching is the best way to learn.

Ryder had told his students to meet him at the street training ground for their first day of class. He was appointed as the Jedi teacher, the instructor for advanced assassination classes, and the teacher on chakra control. His Jedi and ninja abilities made him sneaky and a powerful opponent.

The street training ground began with a large opening to the street. Ryder walked up to the front of the opening and saw twelve students aging from sixteen to at least twenty kneeling in a semi-circle.

Ryder walked up to his new students and said, "Listen up!"

The students turned around and faced their newest instructor.

"I'm Ryder Jace. A Jedi and a ninja. Also, your new assassination instructor. I recognize a few faces from my Jedi classes, but you knowing me won't get you far in this class."

Up front was three Jedi that were Ryder's Jedi classes.

"This class will teach you how to kill your target without being detected or noticed, and you will learn how to remain undetected after the assassination. The Council put you in this class because of your scores on academic and physical tests along with the little experience you have on missions. If there's one thing I know, it's that experience is everything when you're face to face with an enemy on the battlefield. You can learn all the techniques you want, but experience is the only thing that will keep you from getting cold feet. That's why each of you will hone your skills and talents here. Against one another and most importantly me." Ryder paused and glared at his students.

Ryder unzipped his black short-sleeve shirt to reveal his upper chest. Above his right peck was a three-inch scar.

"On one of my first missions, I was shot with a long-distance lightning attack that could have killed me."

He zipped up his shirt and continued, "I showed you that to let you know that there will be times when you fail, but that's when you bounce back stronger than before. It's that experience that teaches you what you should have done in that situation." Ryder paced back and forth looking at his students.

Many of them showed resolve and confidence that this was the class for them. A few were uncertain. Ryder could tell because they kept glancing at the others to see if they were wavering. They would also stare at the ground; a common sign of a lack in confidence.

Ryder continued. "I'm aware of the basics of each of your powers, and I know how to improve certain aspects of those powers. If you find yourself struggling, come and talk to me. I'll giving you a training regimen or book to study. I'm here to make you better, so take advantage of this opportunity. At the beginning, there will be a little fear. You will be a little shaky. Everyone experiences that. But, let me help you overcome those obstacles, so that you won't be scared when you're in a real fighting situation."

Ryder walked to the front and turned to the street. "This is your first exercise. One of you will be walking down the middle of the street trying to detect the assassin which will also be one of y'all. If the assassin shows that he even exists; the target has two options. First, he can run to the end of the street which is the safe zone. Second, he can then attack the assassin. In regards to running to the end, I will know if you actually sensed him, so don't go running because you got nervous. If the assassin succeeds in masking his presence, then the target fails. However, if this is the case, the assassin is then required to try and stealthily attack his target. This drill will help you conceal your presence and help you to react quickly in critical situations. Anyone that isn't taking part in the exercise will be walking around as citizens. They aren't allowed to talk to the target, but you can talk to each other and go in and out of the buildings and alleys. Are there any questions?" he asked.

A student named George raised his hand. "What is it?" asked Ryder.

"What happens if we fail," George asked?

"I'll let you know what to work on and then you try again in another week," explained Ryder. George sat down, and Ryder asked, "Anyone else?"

No one raised their hand, so Ryder said, "Alright. First up is: the assassin, George, and the target, Ryan."

The two stood up and walked to the front of the street.

"I'm going to put everyone except the assassin in a genjutsu so that he can hide." Ryder activated his Sharingan and cast everyone but George under a genjutsu. "

You can go and hide now. Yell when you're ready." George nodded and took off out into the streets.

Inside the genjutsu, the scenery was the exact same except everything had a red hue. There was even a giant red moon above them. The students were just talking to each other while Ryder was standing still forming a hand seal.

Outside the genjutsu, Ryder was tracking George's movements through the allies and buildings that lined the street. After a few minutes, George yelled to signal that he was ready, so Ryder released the genjutsu on everyone except the target, Ryan. The bystanders scattered throughout the street. When they finished, Ryder lifted the genjutsu off Ryan.

"George is hidden out in the street. If you make it to the other gate without getting 'killed,' you pass," explained Ryder.

Ryan nodded his head and began walking through the street. His lightsaber was by his side as he walked trying to sense George with the Force. Ryan was one of the three Jedi that was in Ryder's Jedi classes. The assassin, George, was a fire ninja.

Ryan walked down the middle of the street peering down the dark allies and into the windows of the buildings. Classmates past by him one by one.

He made it past the halfway point before Ryan noticed something strange. Ryan could have sworn that he had just walked by his best friend, Ross, not even thirty seconds ago, but now there were four of him up ahead scattered along the street.

"What the fuck is happening?" he asked to himself. Ryan checked the flow of the Force and noticed that it had completely stopped. "Shit, this is a genjutsu." He exerted a Force repulse that brought him back to reality, but the after effects made him sluggish.

The first thing he saw was George mid-air about to kick him in the head, so he ignited his training lightsaber and let George get impaled by it. Once the lightsaber touched George, he puffed into a cloud of smoke. Suddenly, George appeared by Ryan's side with a kunai at his neck and a hand with two fingers extended that was covered in fire at his back.

Ryder appeared in front of the two and announced, "That ends it!"

Ryan put up his kunai and extinguished the flames around his hand. Ryan turned off his lightsaber and put is back on his belt.

"That was a good first match. George, that was a good strategy. Having a faint for your bluff is a strategy used commonly in battle. Ryan, you did well, but you can't become complacent when you see a human that looks like your opponent. Always be expecting a clone. I'll also teach y'all more and more about genjutsus."

Ryan sat down pissed off at himself while George walked over to his friends proudly.

"Next up, Hunter and Andrew. Everyone but Hunter go out into the street and get ready." Ryder put Hunter under a genjutsu while the others left for the street.

Hunter looked seven-teen or eight-teen, had blonde hair, was about six-feet tall with an athletic body build, and had his wrists and forearms wrapped in white wraps. He was wearing a pair of black and red Adidas Crazy Explosive PrimeKnit 2017, navy blue sweatpants that stopped right past his knees, and a white tank top. Around his neck was a tattered, white scarf that moved with the wind.

Outside the genjutsu, Andrew gave the ready call, and so Ryder released the genjutsu on Hunter.

He seemed too calm for this exercise.

Hunter walked through the entrance and began his walk to the other end. His hands were in his pockets as he walked down the street with his eyes closes.

After watching him for a few minutes, Andrew became fed up with Hunter's cockiness. Using his extreme speed and the parasite on his hand, Andrew bolted from his alley and attacked in the blink of an eye.

Dust suddenly flew into the air from the speed. Once it settled, it showed Andrew frozen in place ten yards from Hunter. His eyes were black and had his hand stretched towards Andrew. The black scarf had stretched down and around Hunter's arm. The end of the scarf had formed a sharp point a few inches from Andrew's face.

"Well, good job Hunter. That was excellent," Ryder said complimenting Hunter as he approached the two. The scarf shrunk back to normal size, and his eyes went back to their original blue color. "Since that was over within a few minutes, Hunter, I want you to be the assassin this time, and since it's obvious that you have a talent for assassinations, I'll be the target."

Hunter's eyes widened with excitement. "Whatever you say, teacher. Use your Sharingan too if you want. You'll need it," he said with a smile.

Ryder laughed and said, "Now that would just be too unfair." He turned and left for the entrance of the street.

The other students scattered along the street while Hunter hid. Some were set up in the alleys and others were simply walking down the road. Hunter was on top of one of the roofs behind a chimney about a quarter of the way down the road. He flashed Ross a thumbs up, and Ross yelled out, "Ready!"

Ryder opened his eyes and stepped on the street. George had made clones of himself that were walking around the stores and sidewalks.

'I need to find a way to sense where he is,' thought Ryder.

"Just let me know when you want me to help out," said Anakin from within Ryder.

Ryder chuckled. "I'm not trying to destroy ALL their confidence, Lord Vader. Plus, I'm not about to give you free reigns to my body."

Hunter was peering out from the side of the chimney he was behind waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

Ryder was just walking down the street. Once he past the first alley, he wove a short series of hand seals.

Suddenly, a thick fog rolled onto the street and elevated to the rooftops.

"He's trying to make a break for the finish line under the cover of the fog," he said to himself.

He jumped from the roof he was on to the one next to it.

When he landed, a voice inside talked to him and said, "Did you realize that the rooftops are now black?"

Shocked and curious, Hunter said, "Activate."

Hunter's eyes went black, and a black line went down his arms and legs. "Let's see if we can confuse him," Hunter told the voice. He sunk down into the dark shadow and disappeared.

Ryder hadn't move from the spot where he cast his mist jutsu. "Hmmmm. He was on the roof over there, but now my Force Shadow can't locate him. It senses him in multiple places." A person would pop up twenty feet in front of him, then move to an alley on the left, then back to a rooftop within two seconds.

Ryder laughed to himself.

"You can't fool me like this," he yelled out to Hunter.

Suddenly, a scythe connected to a chain busted through the fog and flew right past Ryder's face. It would've gotten him if he hadn't had a kunai to help deflect its trajectory. The chain tightened and was pulled back through the fog.

Ryder threw a handful of kunai in the direction of where the attack came from, but he only heard the sound of metal on metal meaning that they were deflected. Ryder deactivated his Force Shadow and wove a new set of hand seals.

"Wind Style: Demon Gale!"

Ryder extended his palms and three consecutive forces of wind shot out from him. They were so strong that they dispersed all the fog that was around. However, Hunter was nowhere to be seen.

Hunter was behind one of the stores off the side of the road. "As expected from my teacher." He took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I guess I should just go all out since the assassination attempt was a fail." He cut the tip of his thumb with his dagger and smeared his blood across the blade.

"Lucifer and Satan, hear me and accept my invitation to fight. Amplify my power and this weapon in exchange for my blood."

Hunter's dagger quickly became hot as the blade grew longer and longer. Black lines started to wrap around his arms and legs. A black line grew down from both sides of his forehead and two more growing up from each side of his jawline, forming the shape of a "V" beneath his eyes. His black scarf turned into what looked like a solid shadow that waved around his neck.

Standing up he said to himself, "Uncanny Sword." A reddish black aura began exploding out beneath him as black lightning began crackling around him.

Ryder turned his head towards the immense power that was coming from behind the store. He looked at his other students and yelled to them, "Everyone get back and make sure you are at a safe distance. Try and learn something from what you're about to see." Ryder faced in the direction of Hunter who was powering up. He ignited his red lightsaber and activated his three-tome Sharingan too.

In an instant, Hunter appeared in front of Ryder mid-swing. 'So, he activated his Sharingan. Easy,' thought Hunter.

Ryder's red lightsaber met Hunter's Uncanny Katana. The light of the lightsaber illuminated Hunter's face, and Ryder saw how his eyes were pitch black.

"Hunter, are you still there?" he asked concerned that the demon took over his body and soul entirely.

"Don't worry, they'll never take me over," he responded. Hunter swung his sword low then sliced upwards, but Ryder blocked and jumped backwards.

"Good," Ryder said with a smile.

He began weaving hand seals and said, "Fire Style: Hellfire Clap!" A circle of fire about two meters across formed in front of Ryder and went flying towards Hunter.

He jumped towards flaming circle spinning while parallel to the ground and went through in without receiving a single burn. Hunter landed a few feet from Ryder who was in a defensive stance.

With palm facing towards Ryder, Hunter let out a large electrical shock that extended to and past Ryder. Hit with the strong impact, Ryder slid back roughly ten yards thanks to blocking it with his lightsaber.

"Nice," Ryder said. He held up his pointer and middle finger then vanished.

Hunter frantically looked around but didn't see him. Suddenly a large power appeared behind and above him, Hunter quickly turned and held up his arms to block.

Ryder's leg came down with so much force that the asphalt beneath Hunter cracked. He threw Ryder off him and gathered soul and light energy into his palms then released consecutive soul blasts that looked identical to chi blasts except that these were blue instead of yellow. One of the blasts hit Ryder, and he fell to the ground staggering on his feet.

Quickly, a rope of solid shadow extended from Hunter's scarf and wrapped around a bamboozled Ryder. He tried to overpower the shadow, but it was too strong. "What the hell is this stuff?" asked Ryder in a struggle.

Hunter laughed and said, "It came from Satan's scarf. Since he's inside me, he gave me it for protection. It allows me to manipulate these solid shadows." He made the shadow squeeze even harder. "Now give up. I won this round 'teacher.'"

Ryder just glared at Hunter. The pain he felt from the shadow made him grimace.

"I don't know if you're in the position to tell me that you've won, Hunter," said Ryder with a grin.

Shocked and confused, Hunter immediately responded, "Do YOU see the situation that you're in?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hunter found himself being wrapped and strangled by his own shadow.

"What is going on?" he asked to himself.

Hunter looked up at his opponent and teacher. The sun was shinning down behind Ryder, making the front side of his body completely black except for his eyes. His eyes. Those demonic eyes. They were crimson red; the three-tome Sharingan felt as if it was piercing his very soul.

"You have tremendous skill in almost every category, but you rely too much on your demons. You fell victim to my genjutsu very easily. I can teach you techniques to counter anything that you'll face on the battle field, but that's all up to you," Ryder told Hunter. "I am the First Shadow of Hell and you, Satan's vessel, did well standing up to the Shadow of Typhon."

The scenery around them changed. He was now sitting next to a black lake. The clouds in the sky were black, and the sky itself was red. The hills around them were black, and the moon was giant and red with the reflection of Ryder's new Sharingan on it. Ryder began floating about twenty feet above the lake.

"Come to me if you wish to become elite. Come to me if you wish to be stronger than anyone on the Council," he said as he put on the mask that his old master gave him.

"But for now, this match his mine." When Ryder finished speaking, he lifted his hands into the air and then flung them to the ground.

"Behold, the power of the man that will change the world as you know it." A pitch black, spherical rock the size of the moon, hell, it could have been the moon itself, broke through the clouds and began falling towards Hunter.

He looked up at his teacher who was staring back at him and said, "Are you trying to kill me?!" The black rock was getting closer and closer to him, and his teacher didn't move a single muscle. Instead, his body turned into a flock of ravens and flew away.

"Is this really how I die?" asked Hunter to himself as he closed his eyes and readied for impact. He could feel the earth and air heat up to point where he thought that he was being burned by fire. The pressure from the falling moon created an affect that made Hunter feel like boulders were already being stacked on top of him. Then, it happened. He felt the moon slowly crush him a millimeter at a time. It must've lasted for at least an hour before he passed out.

Hunter opened his eyes and was immediately blinded by bright LED lights.

"He's awake," someone said from a desk across the room. "Hold still, we don't need you passing out again." A nurse hurried over to his bed side and began using medical ninjutsu.

"You'll be healed enough so you can walk around, but beyond that, it's up to your own body." Hunter nodded and shut his eyes again.

A few minutes passed before the nurse spoke again, "You're all healed up. You should go a little bit easier next time training so your teacher doesn't have to carry you here again." She winked then walked away.

"How did I survive that moon?" Hunter asked himself.

"It was another genjutsu," said a deep voice from inside of him.

"I haven't heard that voice in a long time. What made you speak out, Satan?" Hunter asked.

Sounding like a pissed off grandpa, he said, "I don't like getting beat. You were pathetic out there losing to a genjutsu by someone like him."

"What do you mean 'someone like him?'" asked Hunter.

"He's a demon through and through. I don't think he knows it yet, but he sure is one," Satan said.

"Yeah, with those eyes and his power, he sure is," said Hunter. He waited for Satan to say something back, but all he heard was a scoff followed by silence.

Hunter slowly got out of his bed and put on his normal clothes and white scarf. He put his two daggers in his sheaths and began walking out of the room.

On the way out, the nurse yelled out to him and said, "Master Ryder wanted me to let you know that his offer is still on the table!"

Hunter waved his hand and said, "Thanks," then left.

Ryder's office wasn't far from the infirmary. It was down the hall then down one more hall next to the library.

On his door was a plaque that read, "The Seven Shadows." Shaking off his nervousness, Hunter knocked on the metal door.

"Is that him?" asked Katie, who was sitting on one of the couches that surrounded Ryder's desk.

"Yeah. It should be at least," Ryder closed the notebook that was on his desk and put it in one of his drawers. "Don't do anything," he paused and looked over at Nero. "Excessive."

Nero gave Ryder a thumb up and said, "Just bring him in already."

Ryder walked to the door and opened it. A blonde-haired eighteen-year-old with a white scarf walked through the door. He had a small sword and a dagger strapped to his back.

"Thanks for coming Hunter," said Ryder. "Please sit down," he said as he pointed towards a chair that was next to the two couches.

"Thanks," he said as he walked towards the chair. All the other shadows, who were either sitting on the couch or standing by it, stared at him while he sat in the chair.

"Will y'all chill out," Ryder said to the other shadows. "Anyways, everyone, this is Hunter. He's in my assassination classes and has top tier potential." Hunter looked at Ryder surprised. "He forced me to use my Tsukuyomi on him."

Hunter butted in and said, "I bet you could have beat me without it, though."

"That's not the point," Ryder replied. "Your speed and strength are incredible. It was hard for me even to keep up." Ryder walked to the spot in-between the chair and couch and separated Hunter to the shadows.

"Now, as you can see, I've gathered all the shadows here. I, of course, am Ryder Jace, the Shadow of Typhon. My right hand is Nero." A guy with white hair that wore black pants, shirt, and shoes with a white lab coat stood up and waved. "He is the Shadow of Cthulhu, pretty scary guy. Next is Murdoch, the Shadow of Abaddon. The Angel of Death on the battle field. Next is our mechanic and alchemist, Katie." A girl with a black crop-top, green bandana, and khaki capris stood up and waved.

"She's the Shadow of Tartarus. Doesn't look scary, but I'd hate to go against her when she's pissed off. And lastly, Skibo, the Shadow of the Balrog. He's our newest recruit, but don't let that fool you. As you can see, I've only named off five people. We haven't found our final two members, and we have an important mission coming up. We could really use the skills of an assassin."

Ryder looked at the other shadows then back at Hunter. "That's why I asked you to come here." Ryder walked to Hunter and reached out his hand and asked, "So, will you fill our sixth spot and join the Seven Shadows of Hell?"

Hunters eyes widened. He could feel beads of sweat rolling down the side of his head. 'Did it just get a lot hotter in here?' he thought.

"So?" asked Ryder again.

Hunter shook off his nervousness, stood up, and shook Ryder's hand saying, "It'd be an honor to join the Shadows."

Nero stood up and turned for the door.

"The ceremony isn't over yet. You know that, Nero," said Ryder.

Nero sat back down on the couch and said, "Then hurry up."

Ryder performed a combination of hand seals, and when he finished, a blue light with a few black flames came from the top of Ryder's fingers. "Seal of the Seven Shadows," he said as he touched Hunter's shoulder. Suddenly, the blue light seeped into Hunter's skin creating a black, three-headed dog that looked like a tattoo.

Ryder walked in front of Hunter and said, "Welcome, Shadow of Cerberus. The keeper of Hell." The other shadows that were behind Ryder came and pat Hunter on the back congratulating his acceptance.

"That's cute. Named after my pet dog," said Satan within Hunter.

"Okay, so we leave for the mission I was talking about in the morning. All you need is your weapons and a cloak that you can conceal yourself. Meet at the Rogue Shadow at six in the morning, and Hunter stay behind after this. That'll be all for now, everyone. You can go to rooms."

Everyone left the room and went to their room to get ready for the mission.

Ryder sat Hunter down on the couch as he sat down at his desk. "This mission is on Luminous in the Newk Belt. We're infiltrating a factory that produces weapons, droids, and cruiser ships. We have intel saying that a leader of ISIS will be there along with a few other high-ranking soldiers of theirs. The leader has super strength and invisibility, and his right hand can transform into one of Satan's forms. He can summon different armor that comes with a powerful weapon. Our mission is to kill these two people. We'll go over it in more detail tomorrow. Any questions?"

Hunter sat back and thought of some questions he might want to ask. "Who hired us?" he asked.

"The Resistance," Ryder said.

"Do we ever do work for ISIS?" asked Hunter.

"Sometimes, but they don't like hiring others to do their own work. In a way, you can think of this order as its own nation. Yes, we align more with ISIS in ideals, but we accept contracts from other nations too," explained Ryder. Hunter sat there and didn't say a word. "Okay, go ahead and go pack. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day for you."

Hunter nodded and said, "Got it, boss." He left and ran to his room to pack.

Ryder walked down a small hall in the back of the room and walked into his room. "Phew," Ryder sighed as he fell onto his bed. "One more guy."

Ryder reached into his nightstand and pulled out a small flip phone. He turned it on and went to the recent text messages. There was only one. It was from Clipper Fields.

Ryder clicked on it and it read, "Ithunzi? Two months. Operation Jericho. Operation Exodus needs to be underway before that happens."

Ryder took a deep breath and pressed reply and typed, "Roger. Omunye ushiye. Iqembu lezimpisi?" He pressed send and closed the phone.

Ryder wasn't worried about anyone hacking into the phone because it fed directly off his Force or chakra.

'Wow, only two more months before its time to roll. Better train more before then,' he thought.

The phone vibrated on his chest.

Ryder flipped it open and read the new message to himself in his head. "Lupus est draco iam. Senex discipulo sit vivere" The message ended there.

Ryder slowly placed the phone back in his nightstand and laid back down on his bed. "There's no way," he said to himself as he rolled over in his bed.

Ryder awoke to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ears. It was the classic alarm sound that made you want to kill everything when you hear it. It read "5:00 AM" and it sure did feel like it. Strangely, it felt cold this morning. It was usually warm inside the academy. Ryder put on his dark-blue pants and walked over to R2.

"Wake up, R2. We need to start going," he said after he patted the old astromech droid on the head. A series of light flashed on its head as it began starting up. Meanwhile, Ryder threw on his navy-blue shirt that was mesh around the upper chest then grabbed his light purple light shirt. This shirt had a high collar that zipped in the front; he left it unzipped showing his navy-blue undershirt.

*Beep woop zip zop*

"Yeah, just store my red one in there for now," said Ryder putting on his jacket. R2 picked up one of Ryder's lightsaber and stored it inside its own body.

"Go ahead and go to the ship and make sure everything is ready to go," said Ryder to his mechanic friend. R2 did as he was told and strolled off to the Rogue Shadow.

Ryder grabbed his old backpack from high school. It was a black North Face with neon green elastic strings on the front.

'Wow, it's been four years since high school,' he thought.

He also grabbed a small travel bag that he's had for a long time by now. Ryder put his khaki shorts, short-sleeve, blue shirt, black pants, black cloak, and collarless, light-purple short-sleeve shirt into his travel bag.

A few scrolls sat on his desk, and Ryder scrapped all them into his backpack. He opened one of the Force-locked drawers and pulled out his mask. He felt the Force pulse from it passionately. Ryder put it in his backpack.

Lastly, Ryder reached inside his nightstand and grabbed the old flip phone. He flipped it open and there weren't any new messages. Instantly, Ryder felt someone walking down the hall towards his room. This was one of the perks to the Force that he liked. Ryder was rarely surprised. He threw the phone into his bag and zipped it closed.

A knock came from the door then it opened. Standing there was an average height man in a white lab coat. He eyes were crimson red with the Sharingan. It was Doctor van Hoosier.

"What can I do for one of the Council members this morning?" Ryder asked throwing his backpack straps around his shoulders.

"I just wanted to clarify some details for the upcoming mission," the doctor said. "There are factories there that contain Titans who are working. If you find one that is covered in armor and seems to be a leader among them, subdue him and bring him back for us."

Ryder clipped his purple lightsaber to his belt and said, "Sure. What makes him so special?"

"The ability to cover oneself in a hardened shell is rare for a Titan, so he is exceptional among them. Intel says that he's there, so bring him back," finished the Doc.

Ryder saluted Dr. van Hoosier and said, "Got it, boss."

The old doctor scoffed and left the room.

"What a sour guy," Ryder said to himself as he locked up his room. "Seven Shadow: Ryder Jace," read the sign on his door. He took a deep breath then hurried to the hanger.

No one was out in the hallways except the students who love to train. No one seemed to mind him either which was nice because usually they stop him asking questions left and right.

He stopped at the hanger doors and placed his hand on the scanner. Within a second, the doors were opening to a barren hanger. The large force fields that separated the outside with the inside of the hanger were deactivated, and the Rogue Shadow was sitting right outside where the force fields had been. Ryder looked down at his watch and it read, "5:26 AM." Good, fifteen minutes until people show up.

He ran over to the ship and climbed up onto the top of it. On the side closest to the sunrise, Katie was lying there watching it slowly come up over the horizon. Ryder began to slowly walk closer to her in order to scare her.

"You know, you should be more gentle on the metal roofing if you want to scare me. I am an alchemist," she said turning her upper body around to Ryder, but he wasn't there. Where he should have been were three ravens. "Well never mind," she said as she turned to face the sunrise.

"Isn't it pretty," said a voice suddenly next to her.

"Holy shit," she shrieked as the sudden appearance of Ryder lying next to her startled her! "That was your best on yet, Ryder."

Ryder began laughing at her reaction.

"I'm gonna get you back," she insisted.

"Yeah right," he said as he put his arm around her shoulders. Katie leaned in laid her head on his arm and shoulder.

The bluish clouds contrasted fantastically with the red and orange blend of colors produced by the sun. "Do you think we'll ever stop this?" asked Katie.

"Fight, you mean?" asked Ryder. He felt her nod her head on his shoulder. "I sure hope so," he replied.

She lifted her head and looked Ryder in the eyes and said, "Then let's go find a place on a random planet where we can live. We could leave everything and not look back."

"Katie, I honestly wish that we could do that right now, but we will constantly be called upon and hunted down right now," he explained. Ryder looked back at the sunset and said, "Once we end this war, I promise, we'll do just that."

Katie laid her head back on Ryder's shoulder and stared out at the sunrise.

A few minutes passed before the doors to the hanger opened. Nero and Murdoch walked in with a small bag around each of their shoulders.

"I guarantee I could take you on in a fight," yelled Murdoch as he argued with Nero.

Katie and Ryder began laughing as the other two came up to the ship. "See, I bet Ryder and Katie will agree too, Nero. Hey Ryder, Katie. Don't ya think I could take Nero in a fight?" he asked.

"Sorry, buddy," said Ryder. "I think Nero has the edge on you, but just by a little bit."

"Ah fuck you," he said walking into the ship.

"How long have y'all been waiting on us," asked Nero.

"I've only been here for about ten minutes. And, I told y'all to be here at six anyways, so it's not like you're late," explained Ryder.

"You sound like someone who wished he could've had more time," teased Nero.

"Just go put your stuff up," Ryder laughed sarcastically.

After a few minutes, Skibo and Hunter walked into the hanger and into the Rogue Shadow where everyone else was.

"Hunter, your room is the third door on the right down that hall," Katie said as she pointed down a hall to the left of the cockpit.

"You're right across from me since we basically joined together," said Skibo. The two left to put their things away.

"Have you been on any missions yet?" Hunter asked Skibo.

"Yeah, we've done three missions in the four months that I've been with them," explained Skibo. "It's amazing how much real experience will help you; especially, when you're with these guys." The two threw their bag on their bed then walked back to the main hold where everyone was sitting on a three couches that surrounded a table.

"Okay," said Ryder standing up. He turned on the holograms for the table and the solar system appeared. He pressed on the hologram of a planet that was close to one of the two suns. The planet enlarged and showed mountain regions and a multitude of volcanoes on the surface.

Ryder pointed to a mountain range that had a massive volcano next to it and said, "This is Luminous. The location of the ISIS factories. Currently, titans and other people with powers power the factories. Our job is to kill the leader in charge of the factories and anyone else who oppose us. If we find a titan that has armor, we are to capture him and bring him back alive." The hologram of the planet disappeared.

"The leader's name is Denzel Colbert. He has the power of Sunshine and Invisibility. Sunshine means that he has incredible strength during that day and at high noon, he becomes nearly invincible, so we are going to attack at night. His right-hand man is Zero. He can use Takeover magic and Re-equip magic. When we get there, I want R2 and Katie to stay in the ship to provide air support or be reinforcements. Murdoch, you take Skibo and sweep through the factories. Try to liberate as many slaves as you can find. If y'all get into a predicament, send your signal."

Ryder turned to Nero and Hunter. "You two will be with me," he said. "We are going to scout the land in search for the armored titan and their leader, Denzel. Everyone, be ready to be called if we run into him. Once we finish with him, we are good to head back here. Are there any questions?" he asked.

No one said a word or raised their hand. "Good. Let's get going then, everyone. Nero and I will start with the flying, and we'll change up after that. Skibo, show Hunter around, and make sure he gets familiar with the training rooms."

"Got it," said Skibo. He turned to Hunter and said, "Follow me."

Thanks for reading! Make sure you go check out the poll at my profile. It will help me out writing. Let me know what you thought in the comments!

~Aldon