Hiro's Fall Read online

  “I can help with that Hiro. I’ll have the LDS up and running when you get there.” Robyn said, in my mind.

  I cleared my throat and Anna, along with everyone else, looked at me questioningly. Well, not Ari and Bron, they had heard Robyn as well.

  “I’ll have the ship ready to go right when we get there.” I said, looking Anna in the eyes.

  I decided to not tell them about Robyn yet. She raised an eyebrow as if saying, ‘we will talk about this later,’ then nodded and turned back to the area between us and the tower.

  “There’s no time like the present. Let’s rock!” Anna said, jumping up and running, while motioning for us all to follow.

  There was no hesitation, even though we were all students we were well trained students on our way to becoming warriors. The whole group moved together at top speed, staying in a tight formation. Then, we flared our power as we hit the water and picked up speed, our feet moving so fast we stayed on top of the glassy lake. A good thing for us that the day was pretty much peaceful, except for the attacking NRE army and stuff.

  Our formation spread out as we sped across the water, wakes shooting out behind us, rooster tails fifteen feet long and twenty feet high glittering in the sunlight. Unfortunately for us, our flared Affinity Power and couple dozen twenty-foot high waterspouts, were like a beacon to the approaching enemy. The enemy ABBAs were in the lead of their forces and all of them turned and headed straight for the tower and us.

  “They’ve spotted us!” Sarah called, pointing at the incoming enemy.

  “Pick it up!” Anna yelled, ratcheting up her skill and going to level two, we all quickly did the same and the groups speed doubled, our trailing waterspouts shooting up even higher into the sky. “JV team secure the LDS and Tower launch pad!”

  Tiffany, Hadji, Michael, Serena, and the triplets, all ramped up their Affinity Power and hit level three. Then rocketed off ahead of us, covering the last hundred yards in seconds. The seven Sophomores made it to the tower just as the first dozen of the NRE ABBAs arrived. The upperclassmen immediately went on the offensive.

  ‘We’re close enough now Hiro, I’m firing up the LDS, it should be ready to go when you all arrive.’ Robyn told me.

  I relayed the information to Anna by screaming to her over the water, so she could hear me at our high speed, then flashes of powerful aura caught my attention. The Sophomores

  “Tidal Wave!” Hadji Ocean yelled.

  TIDAL WAVE (Level – 3) – The skill uses the hosts Affinity Power and makes it a corporeal thing that becomes an ocean wave that the host can manipulate. The host can direct the powerful Affinity Power as a means of transportation by riding it or as an attack, striking his enemies with it. The wave can be used freely depending on the hosts skill with manipulation of Affinity Power. This skill is only known to the Ocean Clan.

  His skill was higher leveled and much more powerful than his brother Johnny’s. Hadji’s Affinity Power looked like waves on the beach beneath him and he was riding them as if he was on a surfboard. His sea greenish blue aura coalesced around his fists and he shot dual jets of hypersonic sea water into two of the closest incoming ABBAs. Both NRE fighters took the blasts full on their chests and were launched off their boards. The talented Sophomore finished his move by cutting his AP and landing on one of the recently vacated ABBAs, then took control of the flying board.

  “Shooting Star!” Serena Whitelight called out.

  SHOOTING STAR (Level – 3) – The host uses their Affinity Power to create an aura that surrounds their body and makes their skin shine and become infused with star like energy. The immediate area around the host becomes like space and the host can manipulate it. Depending on the hosts abilities determines the degree of ability when using the space like area around them. Th host may also use star light to heal others and self at the expense of Affinity Power. The skill is known only to the Whitelight Clan.

  Like Hadji’s, Serena’s skill was at a higher level than her brother Dwayne’s. Her AP flowed around her and cosmic rays of light surrounded the beautiful ebony skinned girl. Millions upon millions of radiantly twinkling stars spun wildly around her like they were orbiting a sun while the colored aura trailed behind her like the tail of a comet. Serena’s bleach white hair floated around her like a living thing and her eyes glowed with starlight. In a flash she streaked up the tower almost faster than I could see, then zigzagged striking three different ABBAs and knocking the riders into the lake below.

  “Show off!” Michael Irons called out, flaring his power as he hit the base of the tower.

  Where a half dozen ABBAs had landed and already their riders were rushing the big Sophomore. “Bring it on! Iron Sides!” Michael growled loudly.

  IRON SIDES (Level – 3) – Full plate mail encases the host and then two shields that act as bulwarks and attacking weapons grow from his armored gauntlets. The hosts Affinity Power fuels the armors and shields strength. The more skillful the host is with the skill and his aura the more powerful the offensive and defensive ability. This skill is only known to the Irons Clan.

  His Affinity Magic firmed and formed interlocking iron plates that snapped together while moving into place around the big students muscled body. With a loud clink the armor settled into place and then two huge metal shields started to grow. Then Michael rushed into the incoming mass of enemy students, just as his Affinity Powered shields finished growing with and clicked into place. All this happened in seconds and a flaring of Affinities caught my attention while Michael knocked the enemy aside like bowling pins with his two massive shields.

  Meryl, Beryl, and Sheryl had reached the ship, it was they who had flared their AP and the few ABBA riders who had landed on the vessel were sent flying out into the lake. Their screams were almost comical, echoing behind them as they fell through the sky and then crashed into the lake a hundred feet below. Tiffany was right behind the three girls, but all the enemy had already been knocked off the ship so she beelined straight to the helm. That was all I saw because in the next moment we were at the base of the tower and ascending the stairs as fast as we possibly could.

  TRACK 4 – JACKIE CHAN – TIESTO, DZEKO, PREME, POST MALONE

  “You gotta be kidding me, there’s a crap load of the bastards.” Dwayne swore.

  Ari elbowed her big brother in the side and I just nodded in agreement. He was right, there were hundreds of the enemy students swarming the school as we pulled away. The teachers had all went unconscious again, those stun batons were no joke, and they had been placed below decks in the crew’s quarters. Now, all of us were on the main deck and standing on the aft railing watching as the NRE forces overwhelmed our school, swarming over it like ants at a picnic.

  Robyn was as good as his word and the ship had been fully powered and running when we got there. All Tiffany had to do was put the engine in gear and we were off. We were already pulling away from the tower as we reached the top and jumped on board the RKP Ship. Anna had been the last one to come onboard, she had stopped before jumping on and stared at the dreadnaught that was swiftly closing in on our means of escape.

  “Anna come on! We gotta go!” Blake called out, from the ship’s railing.

  The beautiful Belmont sibling nodded to herself once and then whispered something too low for me to hear before turning and flaring her Affinity Power. Even though we were over thirty feet from the dock and growing, Anna only needed two quick steps and she leaped out off of the tower and into the air. She flew through the sky and halfway to the ship her Affinity Powered wings grew from her back and she coasted the rest of the distance before landing softly on the deck beside us.

  “All right everyone, here is the plan.” Anna called out, her tone brooking no nonsense, as she used her A-Ball Captain voice while she strode past us across the deck and towards the helm. “We’re going to head to my family’s lands. Once there we will do as my dad said, train, prepare, and then we fight back and get our revenge against these bastards.”

  Everyone
cheered at that and I was about to join them when motion from my peripheral caught my eye. Tuki noticed it at the same time and called out to me as I was turning.

  “Boss, you need to see this, we got incoming.” Tuki said.

  He was right, from our rear over a dozen ABBAs were headed our way, along with one of the fast assault gunships trailing behind. Something was wrong though. I enhanced my vision and then my eyes widened in surprise. The ABBAs were fighting amongst themselves, I began to recognize some of the riders, they were the RKP and SNES students.

  “Hey guys, we have company coming our way and some of our friends need help.” I yelled out, getting everyone’s attention.

  Anna was at my side in an instant assessing the situation, among the many others trying to see what was going on. I refocused on the incoming riders and their continuing air battle. Affinity powered attacks flew back and forth, the outnumbered and beleaguered RKP and SNES fighters held their own against the overwhelming odds. I could tell it was only a matter of time before they were taken out by the numerous enemies, already the gunship was closing in on them. When their firepower was added to the mix the students would fall quickly. Anna seemed to come to the same conclusion as she rapidly began shouting out orders.

  “Tiffany slow us to half speed. Blake take the…” Anna said.

  “Rest of the team and grab the ABBAs on board, ten-four.” Her brother called, interrupting his sister with a small grin then taking off, his teammates in his wake.

  “What about us?” I said to Anna.

  “You and Justin go join Blake and the others. The rest of you get into firing positions. We are going to back up the ABBA Riders when we’re in range.” She replied.

  I barely heard this as Tuki and I, along with Belmont and Commander, were already sprinting away after the Sophomores. Both of us glanced warily at the other, but on some unspoken agreement we didn’t push or argue. We had more important things to do right now. Our personal feud could wait, it had to, everything had changed. All this ran through my mind as we sprinted toward the Launching Bay and in seconds we were below decks and in the hangar with the others.

  We arrived just as the triplets and Hadji were launching. Blake, Michael, and Serena were already on boards of their own and were about to follow their classmates. Blake saw us as we slid down the ladder and rushed into the hangar.

  “The ABBAs are over there. Hurry up and join us there is no time to waste.” Blake shouted and pointed. Then turned back forward launching his ABBA and flying out after the others.

  “Over here.” Commander hissed.

  “Boss!” Tuki called, simultaneously.

  Both Justin and I rushed over to where the two AR-Sprites were circling, grabbed a board, and sped to the launch area. I placed the amazing craft into the launcher and hopped on, accessing my AR-2 and interfacing with the ABBA as I did so, pulling up the menu and selecting the correct options. Being used to the boards since the MOB Hunt and Justin having grown up with them, we both were locked in and ready as soon as the boards were in place. A second later, we were flying out of the launch bay and towards the battle.

  In the minute or so that had gone by the Sophomores had already reached the embattled RKP and SNES fighters and were quickly turning the tide. Our ship slowed to half speed, letting the battle close to about a third of the distance, which meant we didn’t have too far to go to join the fight. The both of us were going at top speed and were just about to jump in when I remembered the gunship. I quickly adjusted my direction to skirt the fight. Justin saw me and scowled, then saw where I was going and he immediately understood, and switched directions joining me.

  “Tuki, we gotta stop that gunship.” I called out, to my friend.

  “No dookie sherlock. What’s the plan?” Tuki snapped back, snarkily.

  I sent a mental image of my plan to him and his eyebrows rose, then he looked at me speculatively.

  “That just might work, I’ll go relay the plan to jerk face and the snake.” He replied, disappearing from my shoulder and reappearing next to Justin and Commander.

  “Let’s rock!” Tuki said, popping back to existence on my shoulder. “They’re good to go.”

  I just nodded in response and focused myself on my current task, taking out that NRE Gunship. Already, we were almost around the aerial battle and closing in quickly on the target, which judging by the activity going on the deck was almost in range of the fight. If we were going to help our friends and get away, I couldn’t let that happen. My plan was basic and straightforward, first we’d split up and each attack separate sides of the ship, the bow and stern, as those were the least armed sides. “Good luck loser!” Justin called, flicking me the bird and peeling off from my wing and streaking to his target, the bow.

  I ignored the jab, this was us getting along well, and sped off to the stern. Now that I was within a hundred yards of the ship. Increasing my ABBA to full speed I got low and into a prone position on the speeding board. My route took me on a wide arc around and above the ship. The plan was to come down with the sun behind me so the NRE crewmen on deck couldn’t see me coming. Justin had the same idea, because I could see him as a speck in the distance his route mirroring my own.

  “Tuki do your thing!” I called to my sprite, as I hit the pinnacle of my arc and began streaking down towards the gunship’s stern.

  Tuki gave me a mock salute and then was gone with a pop of displaced air. The second part of the plan was for Tuki and Commander to get in the ship’s engine room and weapons areas, then knockout their Affinity Engine and their Affinity Cannon. The range to the ship was decreasing rapidly, only a few seconds had gone by and now I was only a hundred feet away. The sun did its job, and no one had noticed me yet. Good, mentally I hit the airbrakes and the board flattened out and immediately began slowing down. The change in angle from hitting the air brakes caused my ABBA to cast a much larger shadow and the enemy finally saw me.

  That’s ok, I was already moving, my AR-2 flashed and I glanced at the message.

  NRE AIRSHIP CREWMAN (Level – 1)

  WEAPON – Affinity Negation Stunning Asp

  ARMOR – NRE Standard Issued Banded Airman’s Leathers

  AFFINITIES – N/A

  The standard fighter in the NRE Air Forces is the crewman. NRE Crewman and other base soldiers have limited to no ability with Affinities. They are basically the Neo Rus’s version of cannon fodder. They are the lowest of the low in the NRE military’s totem pole. NRE Crewmen will follow orders to their dying breath as the alternative to following orders is immediate execution.

  My expression changed from and expression of intense concentration to a wolfish grin. As soon as I hit the brakes and started slowing down, I leaped from the board, keeping the sun behind me and to my back. The ABBA was the perfect distraction and the NRE crew fired shot after shot of different Affinity Magics at it from the ship’s weapons. I landed on the stern railing just as the board exploded in flashes of Affinity Power, fire, and smoke. The enemy cheered and then I flared my skill.

  “Fire and Ice.” I said harshly, my body exploding in a yin yang of fire on my left side and ice on my right, then retracting in until it was a thin layer over my skin. Then, I smiled winningly at the crewmen and winked. “Nice job you guys, now it’s my turn.”

  FIRE AND ICE (LEVEL – 3) – The two sides contract into a thin layer that doesn’t burn or freeze outward. Instead, it acts as steel like armor and the power is focused inward letting the host use it at their discretion. The host can use the Affinity Power to attack or defend equally, the effectiveness depending on the hosts own ability. This skill is unknown to the Clans.

  Before the cheers and expressions of accomplishment could leave any of their faces, I flashed forward, fire and ice exploding in a cloud of steam that trailed behind me like a jet exhaust. There was no time to waste so I immediately went full throttle, moving so fast my feet barely touched the deck. Ten enemies stood before me in a ragged mob less than ten paces away and spread o
ut over a fifteen-foot area, perfect.

  “Double Dragon!” I called, landing in the center of the crewman.

  DOUBLE DRAGON (LEVEL – 1) – Skill can only be used when Fire and Ice is activated. Body splits into two separate entities, one of fire and one of ice. The two entities mirror each other’s actions under the control of the hosts mind. Power is doubled in each body and attacks do double damage and critical hit chance is doubled.

  Not stopping when I hit the deck, my body split and continued on spinning with their forward momentum. They turned in dual crouches which morphed into furious spins. Freezing air and burning smoke bled off the bodies in successive waves, but using their centrifugal force created a vortex of superheated air that sucked the oxygen from the immediate area and began a pulling effect.

  The enemy around me started grabbing at their throats and then losing their balance as the miniature steam powered tornado pulled them towards me like a magnet to a lodestone. Spinning faster now, my fire and ice blended together as they reattached into a seamless bright colored purple. All this happened in seconds and then the ten enemies were all in range. I shot up from my crouching spin.

  “Shor-Yu-Ken!” I screamed, my bodies slamming back together as I leaped up in a rising uppercut, my burning and oxygen deprived Affinity Magic tornado exploded and turned the world white.

  SHOR-YU-KEN (Level – 2) – By combining the elements of fire and ice the host creates a superheated steam. Then, using an ultrafast spinning motion the host creates a vortex that becomes a tornado which sucks all oxygen from the area of fifteen feet around the host. After the tornado is completed a leaping uppercut explodes in the center of the tornado using the hosts Affinity Power as an impetus to blow up and release the pent-up power of the tornado.