Chapter 2: This ain't a scene, it's an arms race!

The chapter where it picks up steam.

(Author's Note: Screw it, I'm just going to post the entire chapter on this website without the pictures. Also, this is going to be a LONG one as a heads up. Not to mention contains harsh language.) 

Click on this link if you want to read the story with the graphs: 

Episode Start. 

A two-story warehouse sits in the middle of an unknown forest somewhere in Maryland. 

In regards for the interior, there is not much to talk about; random boxes scatters the place, the walls are sparsely decorated, and only 1-2 pieces of furniture fills the room. Not to mention, it seems uninhabited for several decades. 

It's drab, somber, and dull, to say the least; however, being vacant does not necessarily mean unusable. In fact, it's the perfect place for unscrupulous and shady people to meet in, as with the five people occupying it right now. 

Four of them are mercenaries in their mid teens, decked-out in combat gear; countries like Britain, Ethiopia, Spain, and Australia is where they most likely came from.

Right now, they're all gathered up in the second floor of the warehouse; more specifically, the main office with their leader, Justin Korishima, A.K.A Absolute-Zero.

"So Justin, you're saying that this fellow has blueprints for exotic and deadly weaponry," said the 17-year-old curly blonde-haired British boy. "And out of all places, they're in his smartphone."

"Well... allegedly," A white haired-teen possessing a Cloud Strife-Hairdo confessed. "But I'm more than positive about it; who else than a government official like Thomas Noir would hold those kind of things around?" Justin stated.

"Alright, believable enough," replies a Ethiopian girl with curly black hair barely passing her shoulders, possessing a large scorpion tail in her lower back, "But, what's in it for us?" Shiva asked.

"$8,000 and universal access to high-class lounges around the United States, good for four years." Absolute-Zero offered.

The eyes of the mercenaries widen with delight.

"Well sh*t man, count me in!" the Spanish with spiky black hair said in excitement.  

"Me too Miguel," joined the burly Australian owning straight brunette hair. "Where do we find this guy?" Reginald inquired. 

Justin rises from the chair of his office desk and walks towards the window to view the scenery of the forest.

"Recently, Intel has reported that Noir is sidetracking towards a catholic cathedral in south of Bethesda; apparently visiting a deceased relative," the blue-eyed young man stated, "Don't get me wrong, he's powerful in his own right, but there are times when even the strongest momentarily let their guard down." 

He paused and continued, "So if all of us ambush and corner him with no way to escape and unleash an onslaught of attacks against Noir giving him no time to think, react, or even breathe; a huge tactical advantage will be at our side, thus, our victory and retrieval of that phone is ensured."

"Strategically simple, yet effective," the British mercenary commented, "I like that." Edward approved. 

"Thank you," Justin responded, "Alright, now then, Edward, Reginald, Shiva, and Miguel, prepare yourselves; this will be one hell of an afternoon." 

And so, it begins...

Western Bethesda Metro Station

Carter and Mini scurries down a beautiful and sleek staircase leading towards their waiting transportation. 

Besides them and the mess they to chose to be part of, business goes on as usual with people walking through the subway, communicating with others, and planning trips; stores, food kiosks, and banks fill the elegant underground facility. 

Before they enter the train, Mini spots a vending machine full of drinks. 

Knowing that the trip to the south of town will be somewhat long, she approaches the machine and obtains two cans of soda; one for her and one for Carter. 

They entered the train together and took their seats, sitting next to each other. The locomotive moves forward slowly, and gradually picks up speed exiting the tunnel. 

The peach-eyed girl gives Carter a can, "So... what does this Absolute-Zero guy have against Master Noir?" she asked.

"I was asking the same questions too," the gray-eyed academy student adds, "But then I realized something."

"And what's that?"

"Master Noir works for the city government, right?"

Mini gives a puzzled look, "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, ever since the day people started gaining Anima, it's normal for people with strong powers to safeguard sensitive information, right?" Carter rubs his chin, "I think there is something Master Noir has that Absolute-Zero wants." 

That idea alone made the pink haired school-child ponder. 

"Could it be blueprints of something?" Mini said.

"Possibly," Carter theorized, "What do you think rakes in big money, among criminals?"

Then, Mini comes to a shocking conclusion; an inference that no other child would dare think of. 

"Good god... high tech weapons and armor," she uttered. "If we don't intervene, those blue-prints will fall into the hands of weapon dealers, manufactured, and sold." 

"Bingo," Carter interjected, "Worst case scenario, it can lead to an entire gang war; causing massive amounts of damage among people and property within Maryland, possibly a big chunk of the country too if it spreads," 

He took a deep breath, "Man, these are the kinds of situations that you remember for years to come."

"But... it's also an opportunity to evolve as a person, " the small-afro haired child philosophized, "Dangerous and unpleasant things may come out of nowhere, but at least you lived through it and learned; life goes on baby."

"It sure does," Mini agreed giving a warm smile, "You're so wise and philosophical, Carter."

After that conversation, they discussed possible battle plans for the purpose of minimizing risk for serious injuries or even worse, death. Something tells them that this is going to be a long and hard battle. 

Southern Bethesda

Eventually the train arrives at their destination; surprisingly, they encounter Adam, Toby, Andra, Dan, and their chief Evan, at the same time. 

As an act of desperation in a comedic manner, Carter asks Mini to act natural; they walk by the group of five, pretending to mind their own business. 

Unfortunately, it didn't work as Evan notices their presence, "Hey!" he called. 

Carter sighs in frustration and turns around to the blue-eyed 12-year-old as he walks up to him.

"Fancy meeting you here, Carter and Minerva," Evan expresses, "To what draws both of you here at this side of the city?" he pried. 

"We've been hearing about this place called the St. Ruby Cathedral around school recently," Mini claimed, "All we want to do is to take pictures of its exterior and interior designs, as well as the scenery around it."

Unbeknownst to Evan, that was a lie. What really happened is that Carter eavesdropped on his conversation with his friends and decided that they too want to join in, on behalf of their master's well-being.

"Well, since your here, wanna join in on a fight we're going to have?" the snow-haired 12-year-old asked.

"Sure, who are we fighting?" Carter inquired.

"Out of all people, it's my older brother," Evan stated, "Since Justin is going after a really strong and important person, there's a decent chance that he's bringing along some back-up to lower his odds for failure; so I think it's a good idea to team-up if we're going to have any sort of luck."

Thus, these are the roles that Evan assigns to everyone, including Carter and Mini:

King: Evan Korishima

Queen: Andromeda Freymoore

Bishop(s): Adam Chang (Main) and Minerva Hernandez (Sub)

Knight(s): Daniel Akamura (Main) and Carter Weston (Sub)

Rook: Tobias McCormick

"Wait, what about Pawns?" Adam posed.

"In our current predicament, no more time." Andra stated bluntly. 

"Yeah, we have enough trouble deal with," Daniel added, "Adding in liabilities are not gonna help our case." the auburn-eyed kid said.  

After the assigning of roles, the seven Anima-users heads towards the place where a great struggle will unfold. 

St. Ruby Cathedral 

The setting sun looms over the grand cathedral. Not much is happening besides people sitting around performing mundane tasks such as reading, praying, and writing both inside and outside of the church. 

Several feet in the back of the immense building lies a graveyard, a man dressed business causally stands in front of a tombstone. 

His short black hooded-cape dances in the wind, armed with a cutlass and rapier, both sheathed and holstered on both sides of his waist. He gives off an anguished frown, a state of despair to put in lightly. 

"Brother..." he mournfully uttered and closes his eyes. 

Horrific sounds in his mind began to surface; gun-shots, explosion, people screaming in terror, criminals laughing maniacally... these are the thoughts that surge through his mind. 

Is there any hope in this world?

What's the bigger picture?

Is it preordain for humans to destroy each other for power, while innocents suffer and die?

No.

The real question should be: Is there anything worth fighting for?

Amidst questioning himself, Thomas feels a slight tug on his trousers. His eyes snapped wide open. 

"Hey, mister," said an angel child with short light blue hair and wearing a simple dress, "Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

Thomas took a deep breath, "I'm fine, don't worry about me." 

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing... just paying respects to my late brother." 

"Oh, sorry about your loss."

"It's okay, it happens." Thomas spoke, 

"If you have someone you care for, love him or her with all your heart," he advised solemnly, "Because you will never know when they will vanish from your life." 

He miserably walk away from the tombstone. The little angel girl is confused at first, but then begins to slowly understand; then suddenly, she senses danger in her vicinity!

"Mister, look out!" Elysia yelped. 

Out of nowhere, a large scorpion tail darts through the air aiming for the French-Brazilian; Thomas instantly senses the attack and quickly unsheathes his rapier to deflect it. In a flash, Absolute-Zero and his crew reveal themselves, including Shiva who attacked the dark-brunette haired man with her stinger. 

"Long time no see, Master Noir." the white-haired teen greeted. 

"Justin? What are you doing here?" Thomas questioned. 

"That's Absolute-Zero if you were to refer to me," Justin forcibly corrected, "Due to the violence in the world increasing at a scary rate, there are blueprints of weapons highly desired by arms dealers all around." he stated. 

"All of which are in your smartphone." Justin said as he points to one of Thomas's pockets. 

A gust of wind brushes against the trees and their leaves. 

"So you finally known the truth..." Noir affirmed, "Alright then... if you want it, come get it!" he challenged as he pulls out his cutlass, thus dual-wielding swords.

All of them get into combat stances, ready to clash until the sound of a loud shout echoes over the distance. 

"Hey assh**e!" yelled Evan calling out Justin. 

They redirect their attention from each other and instead faced the source, which is a group of seven school-children. Justin recognizes that voice, and boy is he not happy to hear it, at all. 

"Oh... you little sh*t!" Absolute-Zero scorned. 

"What's wrong ice-head? Did I ruin your moment of glory or something?" Evan ridiculed. 

Furious, Absolute-Zero creates a spear out of ice and prepares to hurl it at the 12-year-old. 

Edward put his hand on shoulder of the white-haired teen with the Cloud-Strife hairdo, "Justin, don't be hasty." he reasoned. 

The spear made of ice dissipated and Justin begrudgingly regains his composure. With so much commotion going on, the patrons of the cathedral exited the building to see what's going on, including an elderly priest and nun. 

"Halt!" ordered the nun, "Cease all forms of violence; your behavior is disturbing the serenity of this place!" she scolded. 

Before the nun can speak further, the priest stops her.

"Sister Wendell, enough." he commanded.

Wendell sighs, "Yes, Father Collins." she said and takes a step back. 

Father Collins approaches the group, "I knew this day would come; the day where people fight over something significant, and often dangerous if it were to fall into the wrong hands."

"Man, what the f**k are you talking about?!" Miguel interrogated. 

"Silence!" The priest angrily ordered, "Violent confrontations are strictly forbidden in this graveyard," he stated, "If you wish to duke it out, there's an arena underneath the cathedral." Collins suggested. 

And so, Evan and Justin's squad agreed to settle it all with an Anima Battle. Just like Evan, Absolute-Zero allocated positions to his mercenaries; here are the results:

King: Justin Korishima

Queen: Shiva Olatunji 

Bishop: Edward Dublin

Rook: Reginald Hennessy 

Knight: Miguel Santiago

Immediately afterwards, the twelve of them proceeds towards the underground arena via staircase and elevator.

Carter and Mini are blown away by how colossal and majestic the fighting grounds are, it's both equal in terms of vertical and horizontal space with four giant golden angel statues holding different weapons surrounding the arena. 

It has two floors: the combat zone and spectator platforms. The combat zone is where all the action happens; the floor is made up of a solid yet smooth stone and the white-colored walls have gates that lead back out into the cathedral. 

The spectator platforms are very simple, as it only has a guard rail to prevent people from falling into the combat zone below; there are no chairs, so a spectator has bring his/her own seat. 

Basically, it's like a football stadium, but has a sacred and holy theme to it and geared towards fighting. 

The first combatants to appear is the kid with the untidy crimson hair and auburn eyes from Evan's squad and the Spanish teen with the spiky black mane and brown irises from Justin's crew. 

Name: Daniel Akamura

Anima: Ignikinesis 

Type: Emission

VS.

Name: Miguel Santiago

Anima: Spike Guard

Type: Enhancement

The two boys face each other with determination on their faces. 

Miguel scoffs, "Fighting a kid... this is gonna be a cakewalk." he said as numerous razor-sharp spark protrudes out on various parts of his body like his arms and face, covering it. 

"Don't get too cocky," Daniel humbled, "Acting like a big-shot will bite you in the a*s someday." 

"Enough chit-chat!" Miguel interrupted, "Let's fight already!" he demanded as he dashes at breakneck speed towards Daniel ready to throw a punch. 

The red-haired child sees the incoming attack and swiftly dodges it; he then performs a long back-flip creating distance between him and his opponent. 

Daniel, using the space he created, launches an onslaught of fireballs through jabbing with his fists at an expeditious pace. 

The spike-skin combatant desperately attempts to evade them, only to get hit by a fire jab after another. 

If that's not bad enough, the red-haired Anima-User begins firing arcs of fire by kicking ninety degrees horizontally, guaranteeing mayhem.   

Meanwhile at the viewing floor, Justin's Bishop carefully observes the fight between the two combatants. Judging by the expression Edward is showing, it's bad news for their Knight getting mowed down. 

"Bloody hell," the curly blonde-haired commented in unpleasantness, "At this point, Miguel's only option is to surrender or risk getting incinerated." 

"You think so?" Reginald queried. 

"Yes, I can tell that Evan's Main Knight is an absolute powerhouse in terms of power and speed via my Anima," Edward states, "Justin, pull Miguel of the fight before he gets scorched or worse!" he urgently recommended.

Justin took his word for it and walks towards the safety rail, "Miguel, enough!" he loudly ordered. 

The battle between the two Knights comes to screeching halt, with the black-haired Spanish teen covered in burn marks. Fearing for his life, Miguel uses this opportunity to surrender, much to the disappointment of Daniel. 

"You act like a thug, and yet chicken-out when you can't handle it," Daniel criticized, "God, you're pathetic." he said in disdain while walking away from the arena. 

"Well, that was anti-climatic." Andromeda commented while watching the whole thing. 

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Evan interjected. "Anyways, who wants to fight next?" he asked. 

Among his fighters, Adam raises his hand. 

"Good, do your best." The blue-eyed 12-year-old encouraged. 

"I will, boss!" Adam promised while heading down towards the combat zone.

End of Episode.

Glossary

(I will be concise as possible. If there's any questions, just ask.)

Types of Anima:

Enhancement (Enhancer) - Gives the user a leg-up. 

Transmutation (Transmutant)  - Changes the user's appearance and abilities, ranges from subtle to drastic.

Construction (Constructor) - Allows the user to make things.

Manipulation (Manipulator) - Allows the user control.

Emission (Emitter) - The user shoots or releases stuff.

Supernatural - Relates to gods, demons, angels, and other esoteric stuff.

Meta - Affect and control things on a fundamental level. Example: copying powers and negating abilities.

Anima Battle Roles:

The rules of an Anima Battle are very simple, the team that accumulates the most victories is declared the winner. 

King: The strongest male Anima-User of the group and its leader. If he goes down, so will the entire team, this rule is entirely optional. There can only be one King.

Queen: The strongest female Anima-User of the group and second in command. Just like the king, there can only be one Queen. 

Bishop: The smartest and tactical person of the group.

Rook: The strongest and most durable person of the group

Knight: The fastest and agile person of the team. 

Pawns: The only non-combatant role, most likely restricted to healers. 

Anima User Parameters

Measures how powerful the user is graded from grades E - A or S (or points 1 to 5; 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest, 6 is exceptional).

Attack Power: Measures how much damage the user can inflict and overall physical strength.

Mobility Tempo: Measures how fast and agile the user is such as running and jumping.

Defense Toughness: Measures how much the user can resist and block damage.

Technique Capability: Measures how well the user can fight and overall mastery of his/her Anima.

Tactical Intelligence: Measures how smart the user is and tactical in combat.

Teamwork Ethic: Measures how willing the user is to work with other people.

(Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, I apologize for delaying the third chapter, I will probably have it up in a few hours or tomorrow.)

Author's Note

Please excuse the lackluster fight scene; some help on how to write one would be nice.