Chapter Text
Rex and Nora are childhood friends who have lived their lives dreaming of becoming professional wrestlers. The two, despite their gender difference, can almost always be seen tangling in a ring they built themselves on their hometown’s closest island, known as Shallow Isle due to the waters around it being remarkably shallow below five feet even at high tide. There will be days where they’re bitter about the outcome of a match, but the next day they’ll be closer than before.
Rex has short black hair like his mother and usually wears sneakers, black denim shorts, a white short-sleeved shirt, and fingerless black grappling gloves. Nora on the other hand has long brown hair worn in a braided ponytail. She can almost always be seen wearing running shoes, black spats, a blood red skirt on top, a black tank top bearing a skull logo, yellow bracelets, and white grappling gloves.
The two have proved to be a devastating tag team against some of the other kids too. They even have their own unique team finishing move that they like to call “The Devastator”. They’ve almost always won their matches with other kids too. Most of the adults scoff calling them brats with nothing better to do, but some refer to them as twinkling stars waiting to rise into the sky.
One summer morning though, the two arrived on Shallow Isle to see someone washed onto the shore. She had long crimson hair going past her behind and was wearing what looked to be badly damaged armored wrestling gear. Her body was covered in bruises and small cuts too indicating a very rough fight. Their immediate thoughts were to get her to the mainland, but their canoes only carry one person each and they couldn’t just leave her there to get help. So they decided to carry her to their secret rest spot in a cave opening at the base of the largest tree on the island, affectionately referred to as Big Champ Barry. She’d be safe there since they’d set up blankets to keep the floor warm plus a comfy air mattress they’d spirited away from Rex’s attic.
“Now what do we do? I haven’t had the chance to stock up on medicine and bandages because of our summer homework.” Nora asked.
“Nora, go get a doctor from the mainland. I’ll stay and watch her.” Rex ordered.
“What if she wakes up while I’m on the mainland?” Nora asked.
“She looks too hurt to move even if she did wake up, now hurry.” Rex urged her.
“All right…” Nora nodded reluctantly before taking off.
Rex then sat down by the woman waiting for Nora to return. With no watch on him it started to feel like it was taking eternity. If memory served him properly it should only be about ten minutes from the island to the mainland via canoe. The woman began to groan startling Rex as he was about to doze off.
“W-Where am I…?” she asked weakly opening her eyes.
“Shallow Island. You washed up on shore.” Rex told her.
“Is that where I ended up…? I feel so weak…” she groaned.
“That’s because you just got up from taking a heck of a beating. What happened to you?” Rex asked.
“Does the word ‘Misplaced’ mean anything to you…?” she asked.
“Uh… it’s a word that means you placed something where it doesn’t belong and wound up losing it?” Rex answered raising an eyebrow as if she were crazy.
“Then how I got like this is none of your concern…” she sighed with relief before coughing a bit.
“Well, my friend Nora will be back with a doctor any minute now, so try to take it easy so you don’t agitate those cuts.” Rex told her.
“Smart kids… not often kids your age forget to panic if they see someone in dire need of medical attention...” she scoffed with a smile.
“So… what’s your name? I’m Rex.” he introduced himself.
“Just Chrys will be a sufficient name to be called by…” she smiled.
“Is that short for Chrysanthemum?” Rex asked.
“Don’t go trying to figure me out, boy… I may be injured but I’m still an adult.” she chuckled cringing a bit as she did so due to her wounds.
“Sorry, but my curiosity drives me to know more when I meet someone new. It’s how Nora and I became such good friends when she moved here in Pre-K.” Rex beamed.
“I’m sure to most you come off as annoying…” Chrys smiled.
“You know, they tell me that too. I just don’t let it get me down. I accepted that not everyone wants to be friends a long time ago.” Rex told her.
“Rex, was it…? Take my hand…” she instructed raising her right hand to him and curiously he did so with a smile on his face.
The gems inlaid in her breastplate, full-arm gauntlets, and greaves then began to glow. The glow turned dark crimson red, lightened a bit, and then turned orange before the gems retook their original green color becoming dormant again. Rex was completely confused as Chrys let out a disappointed sigh.
“Such low growth potential… he’d unlock a bracelet and that’s about it by those readings…” Chrys sighed talking to herself.
“Bracelet? Unlock? Growth potential? Explanation please.” Rex asked.
“It’d take too long… plus it’d be a waste to perform it with you…” she told im bluntly.
“What’d be a waste? You’re not making any sense.” Rex groaned.
“Rex, I brought a doctor!” Nora exclaimed as she entered with an elderly man carrying a medical bag.
“You’re my patient, eh? Well just give me a minute to assess your injuries so I can treat them properly.” the doctor told Chrys kneeling down to her.
That entire evening as Rex lay on his bed he couldn’t stop thinking about what Chrys had said to him. What did she mean by low growth potential? What would be a waste to do with him? It soon grew to the point that it started to agitate him. She couldn’t leave the island due to her wounds being too severe to move her, so he could go demand answers. It kept eating at him even after dinner that night. In his room after his bedtime shower he finally snapped…
“What does it mean?!” he exclaimed in frustration.
He got dressed and snuck out his window to go to Shallow Isle. Once there he could see a light coming from the cave opening. He hurried in and discovered Nora performing the same ritual, but the light the gems were emitting was a bright blue. When the light faded Chrys let out a satisfied sigh.
“You’ve an astounding amount of potential to grow with… have you ever heard of Heart Defenders?” Chrys asked her as Rex took care to hide and listen in.
“Heart Defenders? What’s that?” Nora asked.
“Those whose sacred duty is to protect all worlds from beings known as The Misplaced. They are beings that had lost their existence from being swallowed by Malice, the darkest form of Momentum.” Chrys answered.
“There’s more than just one form of momentum?” Nora asked tilting her head.
“No, not like continuously built up speed. The Momentum I speak of is one that everyone employs whether they realize it or not. It comes in many elements that denote its properties. Red Momentum carries the element of fire, rage, passion, and ambition. Blue Momentum carries the element of ice, composure, wisdom, and knowledge. So on and so forth, Heart Defenders are able to gain superhuman abilities and powers from harnessing the power of Momentum.” Chrys replied.
“So… you fight evil?” Nora asked.
“To dumb it down to a child’s level, yes… we wrestle the bad guys and keep the worlds alive.” Chrys sighed.
“Wrestle?! You use wrestling moves on these Misplaced or whatever?!” Nora asked with sparkling eyes full of excitement.
“Y-Yes…?” Chrys answered caught off guard by her sudden enthusiasm.
“That’s so cool! Rex is gonna be psyched to hear about this!” Nora spoke.
“Actually… it’d be best if he didn’t hear about this… I appraised his potential earlier today. He’d be dead meat in an encounter with even the weakest of the Misplaced.” Chrys told her.
“Oh yeah? I’ll have you know we’re 99-90 in terms of wins. That means he has nine wins over me and you said I have great potential. You can’t trust scan thingies to be 100% accurate about people.” Nora scoffed.
“My gauntlets read the heart, not the body. A body can be strong as a god for all it pleases, but if their heart is weak then they’re easy prey for the Misplaced. It’s best to keep people like that out of the Heart Defenders’ ranks.” Chrys told her.
“You don’t know anything about Rex! His heart’s a hundred, no, a thousand times as strong as mine! He’s the reason I got into wrestling in the first place! He’s the reason I am who I am, and if I could go back and redo it I wouldn’t change a single thing!” Nora barked at her, unexpectedly making Chrys smile.
“So that’s the source of your heart’s strength… how very interesting. Why not let that be your fuel as you ascend the ranks of being a Heart Guardian?” Chrys suggested.
“I don’t want to without Rex. It’s unfair to exclude him because of something so little.” Nora told her adamantly.
Rex had already fled the cave to the south end of the beach where he was least likely to be found. What did it mean that his heart was weak? Why was Nora’s heart “stronger” than his? He didn’t know whether to be happy for his friend, hurt that apparently he was too weak, or upset that he was being left out. When at last a tear fell from his eye he found himself being hugged from behind. His visitor was a masculine yet voluptuous woman donning a full set of black and red armor bearing horn-like appendages on the helmet, a dragon-like tail attached to her posterior, and gauntlets with claw-like finger tips.
“Who are you…?” Rex asked finding himself unable to move.
“Your heart is wounded… broken… shredded to pieces… just like mine was…” echoed in his head without a voice.
“W-What do you mean…?” Rex asked managing to turn around in the woman’s embrace.
“I won’t let you repeat my fate… no one deserves to suffer like I did…” echoed in his head.
“What do you mean…? Make some sense…” he asked sniffling.
Her grip loosened and he gazed into the helmet’s eye sockets. In them he saw complete darkness. In an instant the two became engulfed in a bright red light startling Rex. When he could see again the woman was gone and there was a black metal bracelet bearing red gemstones around his wrist. He couldn’t help staring at his new piece of jewelry.
“You have nothing to fear now… I am not able to guide you, but my Master Ability will be there for you when you need it the most.” echoed in his head as a strong breeze suddenly blew by.
“What have you done?!” Chrys’s voice barked prompting him to turn around seeing Nora helping her walk.
“I don’t know.” Rex replied as a tornado began to erupt around him.
“You fool! That power will destroy you! The Misplaced will hunt you wherever you go!” Chrys scolded as the wind began lifting Rex off his feet into the air.
“Rex!” Nora cried trying to brave the raging wind that seemed to be fighting her progress.
“Nora!” Rex cried trying to reach out to her, and then bright light obscured the two in the tornado blinding everything.
Meanwhile, at the Council of Defenders where all of the Masters gathered, a peculiar event was going on. The General Master, Sophia Rockwell, had gone missing! Her close friend Maria Eureka, a petite Blue Momentum user with tidy shoulder-length black hair, decided to check Sophia’s office one last time for clues to her whereabouts. She wouldn’t just leave without giving some indication of where she went. She looked through the closet and found nothing. She opened the desk drawers and found nothing. In frustration she banged her hands on the desk making a painting behind her fall off the wall. In her panic to put it back before someone saw she spotted what she’d been looking for… a note! She quickly opened it and began to read...
“Maria, you’re the only one smart enough to find this letter, so I know it’s you reading it. The Beast has set its sights on someone, but this time we’re going to do something about it. No more sitting on our asses while the advisors majority rule veto any action I can get passed by the other Masters. I left to go find the one thing that’ll tame The Beast, but I’m gonna need a solid from you and Yoko. I need you to go find the kid that The Beast has made its new host. I don’t know exactly where he’ll land once The Beast takes off with him, but I can give an approximate so start looking there. To narrow your search, it’s a boy with red-level growth potential.” -Your Friend, Sophia.
“Sophia… you’ve done some reckless things… but this crosses the line! Who am I kidding, I’m gonna cave anyway so I may as well tap now while I still have my pride…” she grumbled.
She hid the note in her legging pocket and rushed down to the cafeteria. There as she always was with a late afternoon mushroom pizza, was Yoko Hiroshima, Sophia’s other best friend. This tower of a Defender had knee-length pink hair, huge bosoms, and was a bit on the chubby side despite her obvious muscle. She had on her usual outfit: foot wraps, black leg sleeves attached via a garter belt to her dark violet leotard with a diamond hole in the chest showing her cleavage, black arm sleeves attached via a small breastplate, and light purple grappling gloves.
“Yoko, we’ve got work to do.” Maria told her.
“Can it wait?” Yoko asked with half a pizza slice in her mouth.
“No, It’s of the utmost importance!” Maria barked.
“Do we have to…?” Yoko groaned swallowing the rest of the slice she was eating as Maria checked to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard.
“It’s coming directly from Sophia…” Maria whispered and Yoko’s attitude immediately changed.
She closed the box to the pizza she was eating and hurried with Maria to the Dimension Jumper Hangar. Boarding Maria’s ship, The Starry Sky, they took off for the area indicated on the map where Sophia’s letter specified. They had to be quick, because even if the advisors don’t know exactly what’s happening they’ll sure as heck realize something’s up sooner or later.
In a stadium somewhere Rex was finally coming to. He groaned as his vision eventually began to focus. Once it’d fully focused he saw that he was caught by the ankle by the rope of a counterweight that’d just barely stopped him from landing face first in a wrestling ring. Just as he went to move the other end that was holding up a rafter board snapped making him hit the mat as the board landed in the crowd area that was thankfully empty. He sat up rubbing the back of his head and heard someone step into the ring.
He looked behind him to see a middle-aged woman with long white hair wearing a janitor hat and jumpsuit with gloves poking out of the left pocket. He was expecting her to be mad about the hole in the roof he’d just noticed was scarily Rex-shaped, but she was smiling. She even helped him stand up and untangle his ankle.
“I’ve seen some ungraceful landings before, but that one takes the cake.” the janitor chuckled.
“Um… sorry about the roof.” Rex told her with a bow.
“Ah, the place is abandoned anyway. I’m just paid to make sure the place doesn’t become a pigsty. I’ll just list it as disrepair damage. The boardwalk was bound to start coming apart anyway.” she smiled.
“So… where am I exactly?” Rex asked.
“Where are you? Kid, you’re just in the granddaddy of all venues for wrestling, King Stadium! Well, I guess it literally is the granddaddy since it’s so old and isn’t used anymore… it’s just a squatter magnet for Tango Town now, but I remember the days where wrestlers came from all over the worlds to compete…” the janitor smiled.
“Worlds?” Rex asked tilting his head.
“Hold on, you’re a Hearts Defender and you don’t know that there’s multiple worlds out there?” the janitor asked pointing out his bracelet.
“I… don’t know anything…” Rex admitted looking at his feet.
“Well then, I know just the place.” the janitor winked.
She led him out of the stadium and into the quaint town. The people seemed nice enough, they gave friendly waves as they went by. Once they passed through large double doors into another district they came to a small shop on a corner. The sign read “Abraham Gear” and basic ring gear was on display in the front window.
“This is Abraham Gear, an old shop meant to outfit beginner level wrestlers both Heart Defender and regular grappler. Of course, the owner works another job since nobody buys from here anymore. You know how it goes, rival companies at closer-to-home locations in town…” the janitor told him.
“So the owner can help me?” Rex asked.
“Go in and see for yourself.” she smiled.
Rex took a deep breath and entered. The inside had soothing classical music playing. Sitting on a stool on the far end of the shop using a mannequin to model a leotard as she stitched it was a middle-aged woman with greying brown hair. She was wearing black boots, blue jeans, a black tank top, and half-moon spectacles. Rex took a step and the floor creaked startling him as the woman simply glanced over not bothering to turn toward him.
“What’s a Heart Defender doing here?” she asked.
“Um… I was told I could come to you for help. I don’t know anything about being a Heart Defender.” Rex replied.
“Where’s your Master?” she asked.
“I don’t have one.” Rex answered and she stuck the needle in the mannequin’s shoulder so she could turn toward him on her stool.
“Now how can you have that bracelet without having a Master? It had to come from somewhere.” she asked.
“Um… I was given it by a woman in armor… I didn’t get her name… I don’t even know how I got here…” Rex admitted.
“Sounds a lot like The Beast… not exactly a person but not a Misplaced. The Council of Masters is gonna be mighty pissed that she’s gone and picked another Apprentice.” the woman spoke.
“Misplaced…? Council of Masters?” Rex asked.
“Kid… you’re in way over your head if you don’t know what a Misplaced is. When a person succumbs to Malice Momentum they turn into a Misplaced, because they’ve lost who they are. There’s no worse fate than that nowadays.” she lectured.
“Malice Momentum? I’m not following…” Rex told her.
“God, you’re killing me, kid…” she sighed.
She sat him down, busted out a textbook, and began to lecture him. He was extraordinarily slow to picking up the concept of the basic “Colored Momentums” and their evolved forms. The one thing he immediately got was the legend of The Beast. Apparently she was a General Master, the highest rank attainable by Heart Defenders, having mastered all Lvl2 forms of every Momentum. The only one she hadn’t mastered Lvl3 in… was Black, as to even attempt it would result in transforming into a Misplaced. It was frowned upon to even considered learning Lvl2, also known as Dark Momentum. For trying to perform such madness, her sister claimed she’d become lost to madness. Her rank was stripped from her and she was locked away.
Her sorrow turned her Soul Aura black. When she learned that her sister did it because she covetted her position, her fury became indescribable. The momentum she used started as Volcanic, but by the time she’d torn the bars of her cell off… it’d become Malice, the Lvl3 form of Black Momentum. Her rampage gave birth to her Misplaced… The Beast. Her rage brought about the Night of Blood. When two Defenders clash you either stop when your foe is pinned or submits… but The Beast would not stop until they have stopped breathing. The Beast then began seeking out young talent to convert into her own kind, or so the Council of Defenders claims.
“There. Do you understand now, kid? That’s just the tip of the iceberg too.” the woman told him.
“There’s more…?” Rex groaned.
“Of course there’s more ya numbskull! Of course, I’ve got a soft spot for young boys trying to become Master Heart Defenders… so I’ll look out for ya. You get into trouble you come here.” she told him.
“Is it weird for boys to wanna become Masters?” Rex asked.
“It’s more that it takes them much longer than women in almost every regard, so the Court of Masters and Council of Defenders are mostly women. By the way, what’s your name, kid?” she answered.
“I’m Rex.” he introduced himself.
“Okay Rex, just call me Jewels.” she smiled.
“I wanna explore town now…” Rex told her.
“Hold it. Before you go anywhere that a Misplaced might get ya, you’re going to need elbow and knee pads. You’ll bust something if you go like that.” Jewels scolded him tugging him toward a fitting room.
She measured him and then began to sew like clockwork. In a lofty thirty minutes she had made him a matching set of black and white elbow and knee pads. She then placed an odd-looking cross pendant around his neck.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“It’s a Defender Compass. Get lost, it’ll begin to point you in the right direction be it when travelling between two worlds or two areas. I noticed you didn’t have one, so it’s on the house.” Jewels chuckled patting his head.
“Thanks Jewels.” he smiled before rushing out.
“That kid reminds me of when I was his age… young, full of energy, but a fateful day made me the target of the Council of Defenders…” Jewels sighed with a weak smile.
Rex excitedly ran around the world he was in. He wanted to see all there was to see. When he entered the Hotel District, it was devoid of people. No lights were on, not even the street lamps. He carefully walked around until a woman ran by him with an odd knight-like creature a bit shorter than Rex charged at her. It tackled her and as it began slashing her with its claws, her screams scared Rex, but he still had to do something. He ran at it and tackled it rolling to his feet throwing it to a wall dazing it.
“T-Thank you…” the woman cried quickly getting to her feet making a break back for the district Rex came from.
Rex then got a good look at her assailant. It was female in build, yet there was something very wrong with it. On its chest was an emblem of some sort. It looked like a jet black key pointing down with wing-like lines extending from the ring part. It couldn’t be… was this one of those Misplaced that Jewels told him about? His bracelet then began going haywire tugging his arm until it began to send light at the creature seeming to scan it.
[Misplaced Entry #01]
Name: Lady Knight
Class: Emblem Misplaced - Common
Description: The most common form of Misplaced. It moves fast, attacks quick, and has a thirst for blood. To normal people just one can be fatal, but to Heart Defenders as long as they aren’t in huge groups it should be cake to handle.
[End Entry]
The Lady Knight then came to and got up looking hella mad. Rex had no choice but to defend himself. It came at him and all at once his feet began to emit a yellow aura as he moved fast behind it giving it a German Suplex dazing it again. When it got up he gave it a “one-two-kick” combo, which means two punches and a drop kick making him back flip landing perfectly on his feet.
He landed a few of those on the Misplaced, but it didn’t seem to give up. Out of nowhere black and red portals opened making more Lady Knights appear. He stepped back staring at his six opponents and turned to flee. He ran as fast as he could with more seeming to appear like a plague. When he got back to Jewels shop he slammed the door behind him locking him.
“I take it you ran into some Misplaced.” Jewels smirked.
“It… it wouldn’t give up… I hit it with my signature 3-hit combo and it just stood like it was nothing…” Rex panted trying to catch his breath.
“Oh, so you don’t know how to destroy a Misplaced… you have to either pin it or make it submit. The good thing is you don’t have to count a pin, you just gotta weaken it enough that a move like jumping from the top will destroy it.” Jewels explained.
“How do I tell that?” Rex asked and she examined his bracelet.
“Let’s see if I remember how to do this…” Jewels spoke fiddling with his bracelet until she made a holographic screen emit from the bracelet’s gems showing various stats.
[Stats Report: Rex]
Lvl: 1
Stamina: 20/20
Momentum: 2/2
Offense: 5
Defense: 3
Technique: 1
Abilities: Underdog (Master Ability).
-Momentum Mastery-
Red: 0/100%
Blue: 0/100%
Yellow: 0/100%
Green: 0/100%
Purple: 0/100%
White: 0/100%
Black: 33/100%
Momentum Skills: None.
[End Stats Report]
“Damn kid, you’re super new!” Jewels exclaimed.
“Underdog? What’s that?” Rex asked.
“It’s a very handy ability. If your Stamina hits 0 during a fight, you’ve got high odds of your bracelet fully restoring your Stamina and giving you a strength and defense buff for a little while. It isn’t fully reliable though, so keep your wits about ya.” Jewels answered.
“Pin or make them submit… huh…” Rex thought to himself.
Elsewhere, in the Industrial District, Maria and Yoko’s ship had finally arrived. The searched the area and only seemed to find Misplaced roaming around. They met up at the District Gate to deliver their findings.
“Then conclusively we can say he’s not in this district. Let’s check the others just to be sure he isn’t here though.” Maria told Yoko.
“If we can get some grub while we’re at it…” Yoko groaned.
“You need to lay off the snacks, got it? I refuse to have a repeat of the previous world we were in.” Maria scolded as she opened the doors.
They then entered the doors coming out into the Hotel District. From there the search began yet again. They were trying not to leave a single stone unturned. Meanwhile in the Safe District, Rex had just exited Jewels’ shop after a long lecture on Momentum for the tenth time...
“The Misplaced are naturally drawn to Black Momentum users. They’re especially fond of people where that Momentum has instilled darkness in the victim’s heart. You have The Beast inside you… that means they’ll know where you are no matter where you go, until they devour you and make you one of them.” a woman’s voice spoke.
He quickly looked to his left to spot a tall, muscular, yet well-endowed dark-skinned woman in wrestling gear. She had long white hair and sparkling jade eyes. On her arms were silver Heart Defender Gauntlets bearing green gemstones, matching her attire’s color scheme. She had a scar on the left side of her face going from her forehead to her jawline.
“Who are you?” Rex asked.
“Still… why would The Beast choose a kid like you? No growth potential and is a total novice, what’s she thinking?” the woman contemplated ignoring his question.
“Hey, I asked a question!” Rex barked.
“Whatever. Come with me kid… you need to have that removed, it’ll just end in death for you.” she scoffed walking toward him and Yellow Momentum appeared around his feet shifting him back from her at insane speed.
“There’s no way you’re getting this…” Rex growled.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, kid…” she sighed when out of nowhere several Misplaced appeared leaping at her.
Rex took the opportunity to flee into the Hotel District while they had her attention. Once there he had to continue fleeing from the Misplaced. When he ran by the doors to a hotel he got yanked inside. Whoever had him covered his mouth dragging him into a pink room. They then locked the door and fall on the bed holding him until he bit their hand hard enough to make it bleed.
“YEOW!!! Some way of thanking someone for saving your life…” a girls’ voice whined.
He rolled off the bed getting to his feet looking at his savior. She was a teenage girl with long brown hair worn in a ponytail dressed in a maid outfit. She already had a first aid kit out and was treating her bite wound.
“What’s the big idea just grabbing me like that?” Rex asked in a wary stance.
“You were in trouble… and every building has an Anti-Misplaced Stone inlaid to keep them out. You’re 100% safe in here.” she told him.
“Then why didn’t you just call out to me?” Rex asked.
“You’d have been way past me by the time you would’ve heard me. You’re welcome…” she scoffed.
“Why’d you cover my mouth like you were kidnapping me then?” he asked.
“I didn’t mean to… plus my boss would’ve had my head if he’d heard me bringing a kid into an adults only hotel.” she replied as she finished wrapping bandages around her hand.
“There’s better ways of telling someone to be quiet.” Rex growled.
“I’m sorry, okay? At least be a little thankful…” she sighed.
“What’s up with all of the Misplaced here though?” Rex asked crossing his arms.
“That’s common knowledge. Nobody’s defeated the General of this world, and so Misplaced keep pouring out of the World Heart. Unless someone takes the World Heart into themselves so the Misplaced can’t use it as a gate, we’ll have an incurable infestation.” she replied standing up.
“World Heart?” Rex asked scratching his head.
“You’re kidding right? The World Heart is this world’s heart, literally. Every world has one. The Misplaced found a way to travel between them though. That’s when Heart Defenders learned how to take World Hearts into their own, for protection. We haven’t had a Heart Defender competent enough to deal with the threat for a while now…” she explained.
“Huh… where is this General?” Rex asked.
“The Arena District, why?” she inquired.
“No reason. Thanks for the save, later.” Rex told her before running out of the hotel vaulting the rail to a lower area to begin exploring.
When a Misplaced appeared he modified his combo to use be a dazing punch, a clotheslines, and then an elbow drop bouncing off it to his feet. Just as Jewels had said, all he had to do was have it pinned for a second and it burst into black mist. He kept going until he came to the doors he’d went through with the janitor woman.
“Hey, kid! We’ve got some questions for you!” Maria’s voice called from behind him making him look seeing the two charging.
The sight made him panic rushing into the Arena District. The two women began to go top speed to try and catch up. After the bridge was a drop off with a ramp to the left. Rex forgot about this and skid to a stop a few inches from the edge. Maria then collided with his back almost taking him off the edge until Yoko tripped crashing into both of them going over the edge landing in a pile.
“Stupid kid… someone says they have questions you stop…” Maria groaned trying to pull herself from under Yoko and Rex’s combined weight.
“Oh… the bracelet.” Yoko observed with Rex’s arm in her face when all of a sudden all exits became blocked by pillars as Misplaced began to appear making the three right themselves.
“Misplaced!” Maria exclaimed as they charged.
Yoko charged up with a red light and began plowing through some as Maria charged with blue light surfacing along the ground as if on a skateboard. Maria unleashed blue blasts of energy at them ending her combo’s with a cross-body leap whereas Yoko overpowered hers and landed package piledrivers to end them. When the last one fell, an air of unease came over the three…
“Above us!” Maria exclaimed.
From the heavens a female-shaped black form-fitting suit with a white breastplate bearing the Misplaced emblem, matching white combat skirt, and matching gauntlets and greaves belly-flopped onto the ground appearing to be just a colossal outfit. It remained flat as if empty for a second until it suddenly bounced to its feet filling out to a busty and curvaceous form. The last touch was a metal knight helmet dropping from the sky landing perfectly in the palm of its left hand so it could place the helmet where its head should be where the visor then dropped revealing darkness inside along with glowing red eyes. Rex’s bracelet then scanned it…
[Misplaced Entry #02]
Name: Metal Beauty
Class: Emblem Misplaced - Lieutenant
Description: A giant of a Misplaced that guards a fragment of the World Heart in Tango Town. It moves in a seductive fashion right until it’s ready to strike. Without its armor, especially the breastplate, it seems to lose all will to exist quietly laying out accepting death by pin.
[End Entry]
“Take out the armor!” Maria ordered and the three began to take on the massive Misplaced.
They attacked each piece of armor continuously, even if Rex didn’t seem to be doing much at all. Maria and Yoko did most of the work, due to Rex seeming to lack any ability to inflict damage on the Misplaced. After a bad hit from it knocked all three down, Rex’s fists and feet began to glow with darkness.
“The Beast’s power…” Maria gasped as Rex charged making time slow down as he left after images in his wake.
He leapt to the chest plate and a ball of darkness formed around his right fist. He unleashed his fist and the blast pierced the Misplaced’s chestplate with a beam of darkness that also pierced its body. It began to fall over as Rex landed on it. The minute they landed the Misplaced exploded into a tornado of darkness around Rex that then formed into a brightly shining pink fragment of a heart-shaped crystal.
[LEVEL UP - REX]
-Max Stamina Up! +3
-Offense Increased! +2
[LEVEL UP - MARIA]
-Technique Up! +2
[LEVEL UP - YOKO]
-Max Stamina Up! +3
-Defense Increased! +2
Rex stood up as his bracelet began to resonate with the crystal piece. It then turned to energy and entered Rex’s chest making him groan a bit as light shined around him for a minute making the darkness on his hands and feet vanish. When the light faded Rex’s vision began to shake and he passed out falling forward into Maria’s arms.
“This kid has The Beast in him? Well, he matches Sophia’s description, so I guess this is him…” Maria sighed lifting him up.
“I know it’s him by looking at that bracelet.” Yoko pointed out.
“Yoko, you carry him. We’re taking him to Abraham Gear.” Maria ordered forcing him into her arms.
The two then took him to the shop and set him on the sofa. Jewels was absolutely paralyzed to see two veteran Heart Defenders there. Maria explained what happened in the Arena District to her while Yoko scanned Rex’s bracelet. Three solid hours passed until finally…
“What happened…?” Rex asked sitting up holding his chest.
“It was only for a brief moment, but you unleashed the dark power of The Beast calling Black Momentum to your body. You shouldn’t use Momentum period if you don’t have a firm grasp of Momentum Theory.” Maria scolded getting in his face.
“I tried teaching him Momentum Theory, but he doesn’t quite get it yet I’m afraid…” Jewels sighed while itching the back of her head.
“He might be a hands-on learner.” Yoko suggested to Maria.
“Ugh… I hate getting hands-on with noobs…” Maria groaned when all of a sudden a paper airplane glided in the window bouncing off her nose.
“A paper airplane?” Yoko asked as Maria unfolded it.
“A letter from Sophia!” Maria exclaimed reading it with Yoko shoulder watching.
“Dear my beloved friends, if this letter has found its way to you then that means you found him. I knew you could do it! Now I can give you further instructions. You’ve gotta get him certified at HQ. You know very well what that means going forward… but you can’t back down. I’ve got a hunch there’s something the council doesn’t want found out about the Bearer of the Beast as he’s called. It’s imperative that he’s prepared to take on the Match of Certification once he’s at HQ. Maria. I know how much you LOVE training newbies, which is why I’m making you his official tutor! No complaining, because Yoko’s helping too! I’ll contact you again at a milestone in his training, and I might even send a present.” -Your Friend, Sophia
“Ooh, that friggin’ nugget! How DARE she put me in charge of that?! She knows I HATE teaching!” Maria roared as Yoko giggled.
“It’s not so bad, Maria. If he’s hands-on then you can save the complicated explanations and give him simple stuff to try on me.” Yoko told her ruffling her hair prompting a fist to the gut that didn’t do anything to her.
“Don’t treat me like a kid because I’m a little short.” Maria growled.
“Who are you two…? What’s going on…?” Rex asked.
“We’re Heart Defenders. Not exactly Masters, but we’re definitely approaching the need to apply for the Match of Mastery. I’m Yoko and this is Maria. We were sent to get you.” Yoko replied.
“They came under orders from the General Master of Heart Defenders, Sophia. From what they told me, this is technically an unsanctioned event. The Council of Defenders already knows about you and is preparing to come after you.” Jewels told him.
“So you’re coming with us, end of story.” Maria huffed.
“All because of my bracelet…?” Rex asked looking at his wrist.
“The Beast is a big deal, you know. I don’t know why you need to be certified as a Heart Defender when you already have a Master-Student Contract, but if Sophia says we have to then we don’t have a choice.” Yoko told him.
“Before we can do ANYTHING I need to get him proficient in combat as a Heart Defender. I saw how sloppy he was during that battle, he obviously doesn’t know how to slot Momentum.” Maria barked.
“There isn’t a working arena around these parts…” Jewels told them.
“That’s fine, every Dimension Jumper has a match facility on-board for when we’ve got downtime while the ship autopilots.” Maria retorted.
“Dimension Jumper?” Rex asked tilting his head.
“Our vessel. It lets us go between the many worlds. We had the coordinates for this world letting us come immediately, but it looks like we launched a bit prematurely and forgot to record HQ’s coordinates into the system… so we’ll unfortunately be taking the long way.” Yoko laughed.
“What if I don’t want to go?” Rex asked squinting his eyes.
“You’ll live as a criminal trying to survive on this world and never see the world you came from again.” Maria threatened.
“He’s just a kid, Maria. There’s no reason to threaten him like that. Apologize this instant.” Yoko growled.
“No. It’s the truth. The sooner he understands the position he’s in the better and easier it’ll be to get moving and training.” Maria scoffed making Yoko lift her into a bear hug from behind.
“Apologize!” Yoko ordered squeezing her compatriot without remorse.
“No! I won’t apologize for telling the truth!” Maria barked back trying to wriggle free.
“Admit you were wrong!” Yoko barked shaking her as she squeezed more.
“Stop, stop, I’m getting dizzy!” Maria howled, and the two were stopped by Rex bursting into laughter.
“What’s up, kid?” Jewels asked.
“I needed to know who I was agreeing to go with. That display proved they have no ulterior motives to hide from me.” Rex chuckled.
“You’ll come?” Yoko asked.
“I don’t have anything to lose from it, plus I get free lessons from veterans in the field.” Rex smiled.
“Great!” Yoko exclaimed dropping Maria to shake his hand.
“Friggin’ Amazon…” Maria groaned.
“Come on, let’s get to the ship. Trust me, you’ll love it.” Yoko smiled walking Rex along purposely stepping on Maria’s back.
“YOU’RE DEAD!!!” Maria roared leaping onto Yoko’s back wrapping her legs around her body as she put her head in a sleeper headlock, but didn’t seem to be doing anything despite her effort.
Once they returned to the Industrial District and exited the doors, Rex couldn’t believe his eyes seeing the massive ship. When he got on-board he couldn’t help exploring. The ship seemed to be mainly composed of a spacious cockpit, a four-bed barrack, a bathroom with a pretty snazzy shower, a kitchen with a built-in dining area, and last but not least a large workout area with its own regulation-sized ring. Connecting these areas were halls and stairs.
“What do you think?” Yoko asked while finally deciding to pry the still-furious Maria off of her.
“It’s awesome!” Rex exclaimed.
“That ring is where we’ll be instructing you today onward. Look forward to your first day of training in the morning.” Yoko smiled.
“It’s about five now, so, Yoko, start cooking.” Maria scoffed.
“I thought we took turns making dinner?” Yoko moaned.
“You pissed me off, so you get to go again.” Maria growled crossing her arms.
“You had an agreement, so if you’ve got honor as a wrestler you’ll uphold it.” Rex told Maria causing a surprised reaction.
“That’s totally something Sophia would say!” Yoko laughed.
“Listen brat, I don’t need lip from you.” Maria growled getting in his face.
“You saying you can go toe-to-toe with me just because you’re a veteran at wrestling? If you think you intimidate me then you’re dead wrong because I’ve put bully-type adults like you in their place before.” Rex smirked pressing his forehead on hers.
“Ooh, shade… your move, Maria…” Yoko giggled watching the two.
“You’re lucky that I have an oath to uphold my honor…” Maria growled before stomping off to the kitchen.
Elsewhere in a dark chamber, ten cloaked people stood around a portal showing the boy. All had stares of contempt, except for an elderly woman with very faded red hair using a cane to help her walk.
“The boy is a threat to all worlds…” one of the men spoke.
“Their ship will need to make quite a few stops to return here without coordinates… why don’t we lead them to a world where they’ll be doomed to perish at the hands of the Misplaced?” one of the women suggested.
“No, we can’t trust the Misplaced. Bumbling as those two are, they’re still very skilled Defenders. I say we deal with him ourselves.” another of the men scoffed.
“Silence.” the faded red-haired woman commanded and they all knelt.
“Have you all forgotten? If we directly intervene then we shall see a repeat of The Beast’s legend… let us learn from history, and allow another to deal with him.” she spoke.
“Who would you have carry out the deed?” another of the women asked.
“I was thinking of Margaret the Grey Duchess… one who has the power to bend the Misplaced to her will.” she smirked.
“You can’t truthfully mean to make a deal with The Grey Duchess?! She may turn on us and fill Headquarters with Misplaced!” one of the women asked in a panic.
“I will make the deal… I am old, and will not be High Councilor for much longer. I can’t even throw a decent punch anymore. She has longed to make me into her slave. So before I strike it I shall name my successor, for the future of the Heart Defenders.” she told them.
[To Be Continued…]
-End of Chapter Stats-
[Rex]
Lvl: 2
Stamina: 23/23
Momentum: 2/2
Offense: 7
Defense: 3
Technique: 1
Abilities: Underdog (Master Ability).
-Momentum Mastery-
Red: 0/100%
Blue: 0/100%
Yellow: 0/100%
Green: 0/100%
Purple: 0/100%
White: 0/100%
Black: 33/100%
Momentum Skills: None.
[Maria]
Lvl: 3
Stamina: 17/17
Momentum: 6/6
Offense: 3
Defense: 3
Technique: 8
Abilities: Blue Channeler.
-Momentum Mastery-
Red: 0/100%
Blue: 66/100%
Yellow: 0/100%
Green: 0/100%
Purple: 0/100%
White: 33/100%
Black: 0/100%
Momentum Skills: Healing (Lvl1 White; 1 Momentum), Frost Blast (Lvl2 Blue Skill; 2 Momentum).
[Yoko]
Lvl: 4
Stamina: 28/28
Momentum: 3/3
Offense: 5
Defense: 7
Technique: 3
Abilities: Berserker.
-Momentum Mastery-
Red: 99/100%
Blue: 0/100%
Yellow: 0/100%
Green: 0/100%
Purple: 0/100%
White: 0/100%
Black: 0/100%
Momentum Skills: Rampage (Lvl3 Red; Invulnerable when berserking).