Portal Hoppers Chapters 1-6

The train of cars moved on into the mountains, a white chev astro, green chev astro, green van, dodge caravan, white Yukon SUV and a Plymouth van. Friend and family along for a hike in the woods. Up to Lake 22. Little did they know that they would be stepping off the map and into an uncharted land of myths and monsters.

“Shane, Shane, Shane, SHANE!!!!”, yelled My dad Fred. “Get those things off your ears! You’ll ruin your hearing.”

I yawned and sat up. I had fallen asleep with my headphones on and dad was having a conniption fit.

“Wazup?” Was my reply.

Fred said, “We are almost there, I want you awake to help me unload things when we stop.”

“Roger Wilcoc” I returned.

We stopped and pulled off the road into and old abandoned campsite. I saw the Schwems stop ahead of us and put it into park. The Swonsons behind us were pulling in as I was jumping out of the van. I stood and surveyed my surroundings. It was a simple campground; the bushes were taking over the sites. It had a gloomy feel to it, ominous as it were, as if it was trying to tell us to turn back.

I jumped as I heard something behind me. “Creepy aint it”, Kyle remarked. Just then Logan walked up.

“Yeah your right”, I agreed. Then Josh, Darren, and Dell walked up.

Josh said, ”Man this place is creepy”

I slumped my shoulders and shook my head as I said; “Yes we have already established that.” So we got to work. Josh and Dell were in charge of getting the packs together and making sure they were secure. Darren and I were in charge of finding the trailhead. Kyle and Logan rummaged around and scouted ahead. Nicole and Jaclyn helped to unpack the cars and get everything organized.

“Rollem’ up and head out!” yelled Mark, Joshes dad.

So it began, the adventure to end all adventures. A mind bending experience. My friends and I could still not shake that ominous feeling that we had at first. Instead it seemed to be intensifying.
My father was leading the expedition because he was the only one who had ever been to the lake before. Then he stopped and handed me a map.

He said, “We are half way there, you lead us the rest of the way.”

I took the map and nodded. A grim nod because I felt that things had just taken a turn for the worse. I took my friends and we headed up ahead of the adults. That is a group I will never forget. I was in front, Logan and Kyle just behind me. Then came Josh, Darren, and Dell. Then at the last minuet the two girls decided that they wanted to come along with us. So Nicole and Jaclyn brought up the rear.

As we set out I felt a cold chill and knew that we were in for it. I did not want to be the one to lead us into trouble, though I was sure I could lead us out of it. Boy did I have it coming. I was right but I didn’t know the half of it.


CHAPTER ONE
It Begins
As we came into a clearing we stopped to take a rest. The air had an electrical charge to it. I couldn’t quite place it but I could tell something was not right. I heard someone creeping up behind me and stepped to the side just as Josh threw a pinecone at me. I watched it fly and disappear into thin air. A ripple fanned out slowly from were the pinecone entered the airspace. I walked up to touch it and felt Kyle grab me and pull me back.

“Bad medicine”, was all he said.

We decided that we would all hold onto each other somehow and walk through together. I figured that if one of us started to get hurt or something the others could pull us back. I felt myself getting nervous as we approached where the pinecone disappeared. I put out my hand and as soon as I touched the air I felt an extreme cold and hot at the same time. Then I blacked out.

When I woke up Kyle was still holding onto my pack so I figured that I was safe. I awoke and found that we were all lying in a line just as we were before I blacked out. Then as I took stock of our surroundings I found we were not in the same place. I was sitting there trying to figure out what happened and Darren woke up.

“What happened?” he asked. “I feel like I was hit in the back of the head with a log.”

“I duno”, I said. “I think that we got shocked and thrown back down the mountain or something. Well let’s wake up the others.”

When all were awake we found that we were all sore but nothing else was wrong. So we decided to head back down the mountain. We walked all day and seemed to be getting nowhere. I knew we were going down hill but it seemed like the mountain was much taller. I just shrugged it off and decided we were just tired.

We decided to take a break when it was about to get dark. We set up camp and found some wood and built a fire. Just as it was getting dark I went out to the edge of the clearing to see if I could find some plants or something to get our food supply to last longer, just in case.

I just was walking back into the clearing when I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up with a new feeling of electricity. As soon as I felt that feeling I dropped what I was carrying, picked up a stick and swung it around behind me as fast as I could. I heard a crunch and felt the shock wave ripple up the stick. I looked down to see what I had hit and it was a wolf. It was two times the size of the ones you normally see. I only knocked it to the ground. It was getting up and shaking its head. Then I ran.

I ran as fast as I could to the camp hollering, “Grab something there’s wolves!”

When I got there I saw they had already met the beasts. Kyle and Logan were cutting a swath through them. Logan was in front with a huge log and Kyle was behind with a smaller one guarding his back. Darren, Dell, and Josh were doing okay themselves. Darren was taking out the biggest ones while Dell and Josh took out smaller ones with smaller sticks.

Then I noticed Jaclyn and Nicole. They were pinned up against a tree together. The main pack of wolves were holding them down. I fought as hard as I had ever fought in my life. I was two feet from Nicole when a wolf jumped for her. As hard as I tried I could not reach her. I thought it was over. Then a small breeze swept past me. I saw the wolf fall to the ground in two pieces. I had no time to wonder at this. I saw the pack leader. He faced me and I knew I was no match for him with my stick. Then I thought, It is better to die with honor fighting than to die running as a coward. Possibly if I die it will give them a chance to get away. I faced him and held out my stick. We began to charge at the same time. As we came together I slammed my stick into his head, the stick snapped! I stood there facing the opposite direction I had began and realized there were strangers watching with my friends, standing among the corpuses of the slain wolves. One about my size held up a Katana. (Japanese Sword) I nodded once and he tossed it to me.

I caught it without ever letting my eyes leave the wolf. It felt as if I had known this weapon before. I unsheathed the blade and dropped into my fighting stance. I thought, Here goes nothing. My life depends on this. Let’s make it count. Again we charged. As the wolf leaped into the air it tried to bite the blade, Its teeth never touched it. The blade took off the top of its head and cut it down its center. I stood there with blood dripping off the blade looking at the first foe I had killed in my life. I must have stood there for at least ten minuets. Then I returned to my senses and realized I was coated with blood, thought none my own. I retrieved the sheath and wiped off the blade. I sheathed the weapon and handed it back to its owner.

I looked at him and his two companions and said, “Thanks a lot you guys, if you hadn’t come along we would be dead. You and your clothes are different. Where are we?”

“You are welcome.” Were the first words out of his mouth. His second were a question, “Have you ever handled a blade before?”

“No”, I admitted. “I do practice with sticks with Logan and Kyle at home.” I pointed to them.

He nodded and said, ”Yes they seemed to be doing well for themselves.” After he said this his face brightened. He said, “Please forgive me, I have been rude. My name is Granite.”

Granite was a man about five foot seven, a little taller than me. He had black hair he wore back in a shoulder length ponytail. He wore a white shirt, like one you would see in a pirate movie tucked into a pair of loose almost old Japanese style pants. These were held up by a bright silver sash. The most prominent part of him were his two katanas he had strapped to his back.

As he gestured to his left he said, “This is Kotan.”

“Hello”, I said. “And thank you.”

Kotan was a sturdy looking fellow. About five foot nine. He had short black hair that pointed up and to the front. He carried a large maul. It had strange markings on it and seemed to weigh less than a feather to him. He wore the same simple shirt as Granite yet his pants were black and had a brilliant blue sash.

To his right he said, “This is Rin.” “She is a native here.” “One of the few pure natives left.”

I bowed and said, “Hello. It is good to finally meet a woman warrior. Not many women fight where we are from.”

She carried a duel bladed sword. Like a staff only with sword blades. She had blond hair about down to her waist. She wore a blue shirt of the same type of the men. However she wore a short dress with leggings underneath, for freedom of movement.

Kotan stepped forward and said, ”We will take you to the village tonight if you wish.” He had a strange look on his face and said, “It has been a long time since I have seen anyone from earth. Most humans can not survive in this gravity, yet you seem to be thriving.”

Then the trio helped us to break camp and carry our stuff to the village. They set us all up in an unused long house. Similar to the ones the Native Americans on earth made. We were all grateful for the beds. I fell asleep when my head hit the pillow.

I awoke the next day to a foul odor. I was still covered in the wolf blood from last night. So I woke up and walked outside. The first person I saw was Rin.

“Hey”, I called to get her attention.

She walked up to me and said, “You must have really been tired. You fell asleep without even washing. You smell horrible.”

“Yeah, I know.” I admitted. “Well that is what I was going to ask you about. Do you guys have a place I can wash up? It don’t exactly look like you have a shower around compared to the building that we spent the night in last night.”

She laughed and said, “How very observant. There is a stream running through the woods right over there. We have it rigged up so that you have your privacy.”

I headed that way and said over my shoulder, “Thanks, I owe you one.”

She was right there was some privacy. It was a canvas suspended by ropes across and alongside the stream. I washed my cloths and myself. The hair was the worst. It was all dried and caked in blood. I pulled quite a bit of hair out. When I was done I smacked myself in the head because I had forgotten some cloths back at the Long House. Then I heard something outside and quickly barked, “Who’s there”

Kotan answered, “Just me. I thought you might like some new clothes. You know so you fit in.”

I relaxed and replied, “Thank you, sorry I snapped at you. I’m still a little jumpy from last night.”

He threw the clothes over the canvas. It was a pair of Bright orange pants in the same style as Granite, with a black sash. On closer inspection I found I had two shirts. A close fitting black long-sleeve undershirt. With an Orange short-sleeved overshirt. I put them on and they fit like a glove.

I bent down and came out from under the canvas. Kotan looked at me with approval. “Looks good on you. Those are your colors.” He also presented me with a pair of boots that looked like something off of one of those sci-fi movies. Knee high leather looking stuff.

I said, “Thanks but how am I going to pay for all this? I didn’t bring any money.”

Kotan surprised me when he said, “We don’t use money here. Everything is free. Now if you are rested we will go to my smithy. There you will pick out your weapon.”

I paused in midstep and said, “My weapon, are you serious?!”

With a quizzical look he posed this question, “Would you like to get caught unarmed again in the woods? You did quite well for yourself without a weapon, but you would have died if we had not come along. If you had weapons you would not have needed out help. Come now your friends are waiting.”

So we walked to his smithy. It was the first time I got a chance to look at the town. Simple dirt roads with log cabin houses. No electricity, plumbing, or TV.  It seemed to be an old west settlement. It was only lacking one thing. Guns. There were no guns. It made me feel better. I could count on a fair fight.

We arrived at the smithy and everyone was there. All of them had their own outfits now to. Each had two colors just as mine. Kyle was Green and Blue. Logan was Red and Yellow. Darren was Brown and Purple. Josh was Black and Blue. Dell was Red and Green. Jaclyn was Gold and Silver. The only other one that had the same color as me was Nicole. But her colors were reverse She had a Black skirt with orange leggings and an orange under-shirt with a black-overshirt.

We were all talking till Granite came up to us and said, “You will each go in one at a time. There are weapons laid out on the table. Pick up each one and try it. Take as long as you need."

He pointed to me. “You will be first.” It felt weird going into that shop. Kotan was in there. It was a long shop with the smithy at one end and a long table at the other. There were eight weapons lying on the table. A Saber, battle-ax, Bow, Staff, Kodachi, The Master Sword, Katana, Two Short Swords. I tried them all and came up with the Katana. It felt so right when I used it against the wolf there was really no question in my mind on what I would choose.

When I was done I took it up to Kotan. He nodded and said, “Good choice. It will serve you well.”

Then he took it and placed his palm over the blade just below the hand guard. His hand began to glow! I looked on in amazement as an intricate pattern spiraled down the blade, then disappeared.

Then he said, “When you need it most this sword will help you prevail. But you must remember, the sword is only a tool. You have to use it right to make it work for you. Do not tell any of your friends of this.”

Next in was Kyle. He came out with the bow and a pair of long daggers strapped to his back. A quiver slung on his side. He said, “It was between this and the Katana. The bow won out.”

After Kyle came Logan. He came strutting out with the battle-ax. He swung it proudly for all to see. Then went in Darren, he came out with the master sword slung across his back. Then went in Josh, he came out with the saber and a pair of fencing gloves. Then Dell went in, he came out holding the staff. Then Jaclyn went in, She brought out the par of daggers and a pack of throwing stars. Lastly Nicole went in. She came out with the double Kodachi.

Rin came up and asked, “Have they all chosen?”

Granite nodded and said, “Take the Girls. I will take Darren, Dell, and Josh. Kotan, Will you take Shane, Kyle, and Logan?” He asked.

Kotan bowed and said, “Of-corse.”


Little did I know that would be the last of them I would see for six months.


CHAPTER TWO
             The Training

We began to walk with Kotan. He took us past the outskirts of the village. As we were walking I asked, “Where are we going? Will we be back in time to eat with the other guys?”

Kotan grinned and said, “You have no idea what you are in for, do you?” Well I looked at Kyle and Logan. We shared worried glances. “You will be training with me for six months. We will be living in a cabin I built out here for just this purpose. You will not see your friends till the six months are up. Then you will be fighting each other in a tournament, just to see who is strongest at that point.”

Kyle piped up and said, “But we will be missed by our parents. What will happen to them? Will they miss us?”

Kotan reasoned with him saying, “Time will pass while you are here but when you transport back to your world it will be a split second after you left. You will not age here either. You will however gain strength, speed, and agility.”

Just as we entered the clearing with the cabin Logan said, “I like the sound of that, lets get started.”

So we began the training. We each grew in power, speed, and agility just as Element said. However we did get something we were not expecting. In the beginning of the second month we were training Kotan called us together from our exercises and said, “Shane I bet you are wondering how Onyx could have cut that wolf and been gone without you even seeing him.”

In truth I had. I had been a great puzzlement to me ever since we started training. I had increased in speed more than Logan or Kyle who was in a close second. However I was no where near to the speed Onyx had achieved that day.

I said, “Yeah how dose that work? I mean I am getting faster but I am nothing compared to what he was that day.”

Kotan smiled and began an explanation, ”What he did is use a technique I taught him called focus. It is where you concentrate on a central core of emotion in your chest. When properly cultivated it can increase your speed and strength two to three times. However in all of our spars up to date I have been holding back a great deal. When you can control it enough you can tap into a deeper power, one that will make your body go through a transformation. It took me years to figure it out so don’t try to transform just yet. I think that all three of you can most likely use your focus now. Give it a try.”

We took his advice and all three of us learned how to control it within thirty minuets of beginning to try. From then on that was what we used. It made us faster and stronger.

The day before the tournament I asked Kotan, “Will the others know the focus technique to? Will they be as strong as us?”

Kotan nodded and said, “Yes they will have learned focus and will be just as strong or even stronger. You will need to fight with everything you have.”

We had all learned new techniques. Logan turned into a berzerker. He felt no pain when he had his blood up. He had the advantage of superior strength. He had also had some adjustments made to his battle-ax. It had a blade on the end of the haft and was completely metal. Kyle on the other hand had gained much speed and agility. He had adjusted his bow by putting blades running up and down the front. I had learned a secret technique I kept from everyone else. I called it the double tap or just tap. I move so fast you can not see me even using focus. I can also increase my strength past the two times that Kotan had told us about. I was up to at my best three and a half. I also felt that Logan and I were the closest to achieving the transformation that Kotan talked about. I figured that it would be in the tournament if anywhere. I was right.

We arrived at the tournament and I saw that Kotan was right about no one aging. I could tell that they had all changed. There was no fat on any of their bodies. It was all lean mussel. That was when I knew that I was going to have a hard time of it.

I said to Kyle and Logan, “No easy fights today. It looks like even the girls have beefed up.”

Kyle said, “Yeah but their clothes are different, and they move so smoothly.”

Logan said, “They look like Ninjas, like out of an anime or something.”

We walked up to Darren, Dell, and Josh, just to size them up. I said, ”Looks like you got used to that master sword Darren.”

Darren said, “Yeah well it was always my favorite weapon. I always wanted one.”

Then Granite came up and told us to come over to the platform. What we were going to be fighting on. It was a 200 square foot arena raised about three feet off the ground. Rin stood up and said, “You will each put your hands in the box and take a number. This will decide whom you fight first. You will be paired off like one and two, three and four. Girls will fight boys and boys will fight girls. There is no discrimination.”

We came up and drew numbers. I drew a three and Dell drew a four. I would fight him first. Nicole drew a one and Jaclyn drew a two, go figure. Josh drew a five and Kyle drew a six. Logan drew a seven and Darren drew and eight. So the fights began.


Chapter Three
The Fights

Nicole and Jaclyn were the first to fight. Nicole had her double Kodachi and Jaclyn had her daggers. It was a fight for all to admire. They were so fast you could hardly see them. It turned out that Nicole won. Jaclyn mis-stepped and Nicole slammed her left fist into Jaclyn’s face. Nicole’s dagger acted like a fist pack. Jaclyn was out.   

Next up were Me and Dell. I thought this will be easy. All he has is a stick, a long stick but a stick none the less. It can still be cut. Then I saw him move his hands along the middle of the staff. My ears picked up two faint clicks. Then Dell spun his staff and the wood sheaths flew off. He had a duel bladed sword! Just like Trins. I thought to myself I was wrong this isn’t going to be easy. How am I going to beat two blades with one? I had no time to form a plan. He was on me. I was forced back to the edge of the ring. I was having trouble keeping myself balanced on the edge. So I decided to use my focus. I sprung up in the air and did a flip over Dell. I landed and turned around with my sword to attack his back but he blocked my blow. He knew focus.

So I decided to take a more direct approach. I came right up the center aiming for the space between where he held the staff with his hands. I locked my blade onto the hilt of his duel bladed sword and held I there and smiled. I said, “Game, Set, And Match.”

Dell looked at me like I was crazy and said, “What are you talking about?”

I said, “All I have to do is move this sword two inches and you will be dead. You loose.”

Dell looked at Granite and he nodded his head. Dell lowered his duel bladed sword and walked off the ring. I won the match. Next up were Kyle and Josh.

I figured that Kyle and Josh were very close to each other in skill. Kyle had placed arrows with a soft weighted tip in his quiver so as not to kill his opponent. So they began Kyle started right off the bat firing an arrow at Josh. Josh used his focus and dodged the arrow. While dodging he came up and tried to slice Kyle. Kyle then showed us his skill with the blades on his bow. He dodged nimbly aside as he blocked the saber slash with his bow. So Josh put in a series of swift slashes and thrusts. All were thrown aside by Kyle and his bow. Then Josh had a change in tactics. He sliced the bowstring with his saber. Kyle looked at his misshapen bow and threw it aside. He then pulled out his two short swords. They were twirling and slashing so fast we all saw the sparks their blades made when they touched. Then they stopped. Kyle had one of his swords blocking Josh’s saber. The other was touching Josh’s Adams apple. Josh was disqualified. Kyle won his match.

Next up was the last preliminary fight. It was between Logan and Darren. The two berzearkers. I knew this would be a good fight. Logan swung his battle-ax and Darren unsheathed his master sword. The fight began. Logan came in at Darren with a swipe from the right. Darren blocked the ax head and jumped over Logan. Logan used his focus and thrust the blade on the other end of his ax up into the air at Darren. Darren batted it aside with his sword and Logan waited for Darren to land. Then charged at him with his ax raised above his head. Logan brought it down with a tremendous force. Darren shifted his sword to his left hand and blocked the downward swing with his sword. With his right he delivered a wicked jab to Logan’s Adams apple. While Logan stood there stunned Darren kicked Logan’s feet out from under him and as he was doing this he shifted his sword back into his right hand. As Logan was in the air he smashed the hilt of his sword into Logan’s face. Logan fell senseless to the ground.

We all stood there in awe at Darren’s awesome fighting skill. None of us wanted to fight him. I pitied whoever had to fight him next. Just then I realized it was Kyle. There was an intermission to go freshen up or heal or do what ever so I found Kyle. Together we went to find Logan because it looked like he was pretty bad after Darren got done with him. On the way to the med tent I asked, ”How confident are you about fighting Darren?”

Kyle admitted, “I don’t think that I can do it without my bow. I mean you saw how he took out Logan. It only took him three moves!”

“Yes” I said, “I think he is the most talented one that Granite trained.” I nervously asked the question, “How do you think I will do against Nicole? I don’t know if I can move as fast as her.”

Kyle thought for a while and said, “You two will have a time with it.  She will be faster so you will have to use focus almost all of the time. That will wear you out. You should finish it fast.”

I thought for a moment and said, “Your right, lets go see Logan.”

We walked into the med tent and he was standing there completely healed. I looked at him in awe. I was sure he would be in a bed all broken and bleeding. Kotan was in there and I asked him, “How is this possible? He just had his face smashed in!”

Kotan smiled and said, “I cannot tell you until the fights are over. I will only tell the winner. I have a feeling it will be either you or Darren.”

So Logan came to watch me fight Nicole. I climbed up onto the ring. She was standing there with her Kodachi under her arm. She looked horribly nervous for someone who had just routed their partner. So I unsheathed my Katana. She brought out her two blades. I made a choice; it was double tap time. I brought my blade horizontal to my eyes. Then I turned it so the blade end was facing Nicole. We were told to begin. I flicked my sword two times to get myself focused and tapped into something deep inside. I felt a bust of energy and put it behind myself as I moved forward. I didn’t even move my feet. In my focus it felt like I was moving so slow it would take me all day to reach her. Then I was there, standing with my blade touching her face. She had not even had time to raise her weapons. I won, she was disqualified. I felt kind of bad for beating her so quickly. I felt that if I had not used my double tap the fight would have been better but I could not take any chances.

After I got down Kotan came up to me and asked me, “How long have you been able to do this?”

I replied, “It took me about a month to get it right. It feels so weird, I feel like I don’t even move my body at all, like it just transports itself there.”

Kotan looked at me and shook his head. Then he said, “That’s because you do. What you just did is called instant transmission. I was going to teach that to you later but it seems that you have figured it out for yourself.”

He smiled and told me, “You do know that this makes focus obsolete don’t you. You have that major advantage. However it would not surprise me if Darren is able to do it also. Kyle is going to loose.”

I shook my head. “How do you know?” I asked, “The fight hasn’t even begun yet. There is no way of knowing.”

Kotan said, You and Darren have almost the same energy readings. You are the two strongest here. You two will be the ones who will be fighting for many secrets.”

I was about to ask him what all this energy stuff was about when Kyle and Darren’s fight started. Kyle had his two short swords and Darren had his master sword. Kyle was having a hard time from the start. He was using both his swords just to block one swing from Darren. Then he crossed his blades and tried to twist the sword out of Darren’s hands. This must have been what he was waiting for. He let Kyle flip his sword out of his hands. The master sword slid across the ring. This threw Kyle off guard. Then Darren laid in on him with his fists. A right hook to the jaw, left jab to the stomach, and a shove sent Kyle to the ground out of the ring. Kyle lost. Darren recovered the master sword and came up to me.

Darren said, “Hey looks like your next. Try not to get beat so easily. Good luck.”

I said, “Same to you. May the best man win.”

Kotan came up to me and said, “He uses his hands a lot, don’t let that be your downfall. Use your instant transmission first thing.”

I laughed and said; “Double tap sounds cooler. That’s what I’m gona call it.”

I grimaced and said, “Where is the bathroom? I should probably go now hu?”

I went to the bathroom and on the way back I saw Kyle. So I asked him for pointers. He said,” Look out for his fists. I don’t know if he uses focus or what but I know that he is not normally that strong. Don’t get into a fist fight you will loose.”

I said, “Thanks I will keep that in mind. I always thought he would be a good fist fighter.”

We walked back to the ring. I stood there waiting for him to come. When he came up onto the stage I climbed up and it began.

I set up for the double tap. I put the blade horizontal across my eyes, blade pointing out toward Darren. I flicked the blade twice. Focused more of that powerful energy I tapped into and appeared right in front of Darren and swung my blade, right through thin air. Darren double tapped out. I tapped just as he swung the blade through were I was. I reappeared facing him. I was getting the hang of this and I could tell he was to. We smiled at each other and began to fight in earnest. All the spectators could see of our battle were the sparks our blades made when they touched. The only ones who could follow us were our teachers. We reappeared on opposite ends of the arena. So I decided to use my focus for a while. I came up to him and our blades clashed an inch form Darren’s face. We pushed each other back. I was beginning to have confidence in myself. I wasn’t getting beat. But neither was he. So I changed tactics. I just ran at him and swung my sword as hard as I could. He brought up his sword and blocked it. Then my sword shattered. The pieces tinkled to the ground. I looked at it in disbelief. I threw the hilt to Kotan and dropped into a fist-fighting stance. Darren sheathed his sword and handed it to Onyx. Then he dropped into his fighting stance. I was getting right into what Kyle had told me not to. A fist fight.

I tapped right to him to begin. I threw punches and kicks high and low and only one or two hit. He blocked all the others. What did hit him seamed to do nothing to him. Then he attacked. I was trying to block but his punches and kicks were so strong that he slammed my arms and my legs back into my face and body. Finally he tapped and hit me right across the jaw. This spun me around; I dropped to one knee. I don’t normally have great feelings of anger or rage. However when he hit me by the time my knee landed on the ground I remembered all the things he had done. How I was always being beat on by everyone, how I was always second, how long I had held it all in, and how it needed to change right now. I thought That is it. I will not take any more. I will not stand for this any longer. I stood up and yelled, “Now is your time to fall! You won’t know what hit you.”

I tapped into that emotion and bound to the energy for the tap. I felt myself grow more powerful. My hair stood up on end and electricity wrapped and spiraled down my arms.

I looked at my hands and the look on Darrens face and grinned as I said, “Its over, you are done. You are dust to me.”

Then I charged at him. He barely had time to get his hands up before I was on him. I slammed my fist into his stomach, then kneed him in the face. Then as he was flying in the air I brought my hands back and placed them one wrist on top of the other with palms out. I slammed this into his midsection. He flew back off the ring and broke through a tree. I stood there for a couple seconds and then I felt a great release of pressure out of my chest and head. I blacked out.


CHAPTER FOUR
Transportation

I woke up in the med tent. I was lying next to Darren. I was surprised when I found I was not hurt or even sore. I thought that Darren would be a lot worse than he was. He was the same as me. He had no scars any broken bones and no outside injures.

Just then Kotan walked in. He smiled and said, “It is good to see you finally awake. Do you know how long you were asleep?”

I thought for a moment and said, “I’ll guess twenty four hours.”

Kotan shook his head and laughed as he said, “Try seventy two. You wore yourself out with that transformation. You almost killed Darren and yourself.”

I shook my head in wonderment. “I can’t believe that feeling I got when I was in that transformed state. It was like I could do anything I wanted, nothing could stop me.” I asked, “What happened? How am I healed?”

Kotan nodded and said, “What happened is you achieved a transformation. Not the one that I told you about in your training, one that is like the next step down. You are the one who I will be training when we get to my planet. Granite, Rin, and you will be going back. How you were healed, that is a little more complicated. On the planet I got transferred to first there is no water. Only stuff called Neo-Water. It can heal anything. I have found a way to turn it into crystals so I can transfer it easier.”

Kotan reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond shaped crystal. It had a radiant blue emerging from within itself. “This is what I call a neo-crystal. It has enough energy to heal anyone of any thing however it can not bring you back to life.”

I looked at him in awe. I asked, “Am I going to learn how to form these? What else awaits me in your world?”

He smiled and said, “You will see.”

I got up and went to find Kyle and Logan. I found them sparing in the ring. It looked to me that there would be no clear winner then Logan brought his sword around and caught Kyle a glancing blow to the side and kicked him off the arena. Logan watched Kyle fall and looked up and saw me. His face broke into a wide grin and he walked over, helped Kyle up, and said, “So you didn’t die after all.”

I smirked back and said, “Of course I didn’t you can’t get rid of me that easily. I have to tell you though, I am gonna leave soon.”

Kyle and Logan stood there in disbelief. Then Kyle asked, “Where can you go? What are you going to do? What about us?”
I said, “All right one at a time. I am going to Kotan’s planet with him, Granite, and Rin. I am going to train with them for I don’t know how long. You and everyone else will stay here and train until I get back. Did I leave any thing out?”

Logan shook his head. “Man I guess that fight was really worth something then. I have to admit you are the strongest out of us, I couldn’t beat you.”

I looked at Logan and said, “You got a new weapon.” It was a sword about two inches longer than the master sword. However the most unique feature about his sword was the space in between the blade. So it was really two swords put together. It looked like it would be a formidable weapon. ”What made you change your mind?”

Logan looked at the sword and said, “I think it was because I got beat so bad. My weapon just wasn’t fast enough. So I moved on to something better. I had Kotan make this for me.”

I blinked as I remembered my sword. I said, “I will have to talk to Kotan about a new sword for myself. Mine broke.”

Kyle laughed and said, “Yeah I remember. Is that what made you so mad? What happened anyway?”

I shook my head and said, “I don’t know. I just felt a huge power inside myself and let it go and take control.”

Logan said, “Teach me how to do that. It was tight.”

I said, “I don’t know how I did it. It just happened. I’m sure it will happen to you though.”

I said later to them and walked off. The next people I ran across were Dell and Josh. They wanted to know what happened and I told them the same story. I think that Dell was still a little peeved at me for beating him so easily. But it didn’t bug me. Then I saw Nicole and Jaclyn.

I walked up to them and said, “Hello, how are you people doing?”

Jaclyn looked at me and shook her head. She said, “We’re doing fine.”

Nicole asked, “How do you feel after your fight? Where did all that power come from?”

I said, “I am doing fine now, thanks to Kotan. The power, I have no idea. If you have any idea you could tell me.”

Just then Kotan walked up and said, “Its time to go. You are leaving.”
Nicole asked, “Where are you going? How long will you be gone?”

I looked at Koran and he said, ”He is going to the first planet I was transferred to. He will be training with Rin and Onyx. He will be gone for six months. The same amount of time you spent training here.”

Jaclyn asked, “What will we be doing?”

Kotan answered, “You will all study under me. I will be the one teaching you while we are gone. I will be the strongest being on the planet.” He suddenly turned serious and said, “Take my advice and train as hard as you can. Every day you need to train. Wait for his return. Shane will return in your hour of greatest need.”

I walked with Kotan to the ring. Granite and Trin were waiting. I stepped up onto the ring. Then Kotan raised his palm and a bright pinprick of light appeared in the center of his hand. It grew out in an oval shape until it was about ten feet tall by five feet wide. Granite and Trin stepped through. Kotan waited for me to step in then he closed the portal.

The sensation was different than the first time. I felt like my whole body had fallen asleep. The pins and needles feeling. Then a hot, then extreme cold. Even though I had my eyes closed I saw every color in the rainbow, and a few new ones to. Then we were there.


CHAPTER FIVE
Arrival

The fist thing I noticed when we got there was the crushing weight. I felt as if I was caring an elephant on my back. I slumped to the ground. Darkness began pulling at my eyes and I thought, Why would Kotan and Rin send me to a place like this. They knew I would die. I knew I could not breathe in again so I closed my eyes and went to sleep. Then just as I was going to sleep I felt a hand on my cheek. I opened my eyes and saw what I thought was an angel with blue hair and teal eyes. She smiled and said, “Sleep soundly my dear.” Then I felt a drop of water on my forehead and I could breathe easily again.

I awoke on a dirt plain and stood on shaky legs. I looked around and saw nothing in all directions. Then out off to my far left I saw a tint of green. I decided to go there because it would have water and possibly food. I walked for three days straight and then on the forth night I saw two moving lights in the sky. I thought to myself, What are those things? They look like space ships. Then they flew right at each other and smashed into one another. Then about five minuets later a giant wind of about eighty miles an hour hit me square in the face, carrying small rocks and dust. I was thrown around and flew at least half way to my target, the patch of green. After the dust settled I could make out individual trees. Then right before my eyes a tree grew from a seedling to a full tree. I had no time to think about it though because another blast of wind made me over shoot my target.

I waited for a while and no more wind came so I began to walk toward the trees. I found that it was actually at the base of a small mountain. With a waterfall and pond with a stream running out of it. Then I saw a figure floating there and he turned around almost like he sensed my presence. I did not recognize him until he pulled back his hair. Then I realized it was Mark from school!


CHAPTER SIX
An Old Friend


I stood and asked, “Where did you come from? What is the gravity in this place? What is going on Mark?”

He smiled and said, “It is good to see an earthling again. Well Shane I came through a portal just like you. The gravity is somewhere around twenty-earth g’s. What is going on is Granite and myself are going to train you. In six months you will be able to do something like this.”

Then Mark clenched his teeth together and contracted all his mussels. Then a brilliant blue began to follow his body beginning at his chest. Then it spread out through his arms and legs. So eventually his whole body was a brilliant blue. His eyes were a swirling yellow color. Then there was a silent explosion and a wind almost picked me up and threw me.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end and I said, ”I can already do something like that, didn’t Kotan or Onyx tell you.” So I stood up and powered up like when I fought Darren. There was no gravity difference to me now. I stood and smirked at Mark, “So what do you think Mark, not as flashy but it works.”

Then Mark said, “My name here is Element.” Then he powered down and I began to do the same. Then he said, “Don’t power down just yet. Try this first.”

So I powered back up and he created a ball of light in his hand. I looked at it and thought, What is that?! Am I supposed to catch it or something? Then he pitched it to me like a baseball. I just tried to block it like I would block a punch. I crossed my arms in front of me. The electricity came back and tried to fight back the light. I stood there for about a minuet then flung my arms apart. The stress was too much. The ball of light came through and hit me in the chest. I powered back down and the weight was too much. I slumped to the ground and lay there trying to catch my breath.

Element came up and said, “You have real potential. I didn’t believe Granite when he said you had achieved a small transformation. You surprised me. Here have a drink.” I took it and I felt as good as new, and the gravity wasn’t quite as bad.

I said, “Whoa! This must be the neo-water Kotan told me about.”

Element said, “Correct. Your training begins now.”

Six long back breaking months. At twenty times earth gravity. I learned many new tricks. I could grab objects with my mind. I could channel that energy I tapped into to transform and create disks, balls, and a sword. Eventually about half way through those six months I found a new twenty earth gravity was not enough so Element taught me how to create a higher gravity around myself to train harder. I was eventually working at one hundred times earth gravity.

I had however, during that time found a new friend. His name was Onyx. I still have no idea what race he is, but he trained me well and I fought in a tournament on Elements world. I came in third. That’s pretty good considering whom I was up against.

During this time not all had been quiet on the planet with Darren, Dell, Josh, Kyle, Logan, Nicole, and Jaclyn.