The Guardians of Destiny: Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Journey to Shadow Academy

The fog over the river was beginning to dissipate as the sun's rays began to reach over the distant peak of Mt. Star. Waves slowly rolled onto the shore and then faded into the sand. Gabriel Simon thought this was the most peaceful place in the world. He had often come here just to get away from the world. This was also his favorite place to practice with his sword. He would miss this place, that's for sure. The wind streamed through his brown hair as he looked across the river to Shadow City. "Gabe? Are you here?"
"Yeah, Roy, right down here." Gabriel looked up the small cliff behind him. A blond haired boy stumbled down the cliff and then walked towards Gabriel. He carried a sword with him. "What's up, Gabe?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to practice a little before we left."
"Are you nervous, Gabe? About Shadow City?" The blond boy laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I wonder how many girls there'll be at Shadow Academy? No, seriously, think about it, I mean..."
"Shut up, Roy! Is that all you can think about?" Gabriel laughed and hit Roy on the arm. "Oh, so that's how it is." Roy smiled and raised his sword. "I'm so going to kill you now."
Gabriel picked up his own sword. "We'll see." Roy ran at Gabriel and swung his sword, but Gabriel caught the blow with his own weapon. Then Gabriel pushed Roy's sword away and Roy fell backwards. He quickly got back to his feet and continued his assault. They fought for a few minutes until Gabriel was able to knock Roy's sword to the ground. Roy went over and picked it up off the sandy ground. He looked at Gabriel and frowned. "Nice workout, Gabe. I'll see you later at the ferry."
"Yeah, I'll be there."
Roy climbed the cliff and stormed off. "Get over yourself, why don't you," Gabriel said quietly. Roy had always been a real sore loser. Oh well, Gabriel thought, I'll see him later and he won't even remember that I kicked his butt. Gabriel laughed to himself. He put his own sword into his belt and took one last look at his little refuge. He would miss it, that's for sure.

*

In a distant city where chaos ruled and it was forever night, a small group of people gathered in a dark, shady alley. They all wore black cloaks and talked quietly amongst themselves. They were silenced when a large new figure appeared from the darkness. The figures in cloaks apparently didn't know the newcomer, for some withdrew daggers from within their cloaks. The figure then spoke in a quiet voice. "It is time."
"Are you the messenger?" One of the cloaked figures stepped forward.
"I have been sent by the Master to tell you of coming events, so, yes, I am a messenger." The messenger wore a cloak as well, but it was red. "Steven Shadow." the messenger said. "He is the one you want, correct?"
"That is correct, now tell us of these events." The lead figure insisted.
"Young Steven will soon be attending his father's school. This will be your chance to strike."
The lead figure snickered. "Then what are we waiting for?" He and his fellows turned to leave.
"Oh, and one more thing..." The cloaked figures looked back at the messenger. The messenger raised his hand and a blast of light completely obliterated the people in the cloaks. "The Master wishes you his very best."
The messenger lowered his hood and revealed his hair, which was totally white. Then he looked up to a nearby building top. A person stood in darkness atop the building and he wore a cloak that billowed in the strong wind that had just brewed. "Curse you, Michael!" The cloaked person raised his hand and a blast of purple darkness shot towards Michael. It knocked him backwards and when he looked back up, the caped figure was gone, swallowed by the darkness.

*

"I'll miss you, too, mom." Gabriel hugged his mom. She straightened out his uniform jacket and then she smiled at him. "I hope you have a great time."
"I'm sure I will." Gabriel turned to his little brother, James. "I'll see you later, squirt." Gabriel hugged his brother. James looked at his big brother. "Who are you calling 'squirt'?" Gabriel laughed and then walked towards the enormous ferry. He stepped onto the ramp and then walked up to the ship's deck. He looked back and waved to his mom and brother. Then he looked around the ship's deck. There were about a hundred other students wearing the same black jacket that he was. He quickly found Roy in a small crowd of giggling girls. Gabriel sighed and walked towards the group. "So, ladies, who's got..." Roy pulled out his class schedule. "Who's got Advanced Math third period?"
"Oh, I do!" One of the girls spoke up, her face beaming.
"I'm sorry, then, I probably won't be seeing much of you." All the girls giggled.
Gabriel waved at Roy to get his attention. Roy noticed and addressed the girls again. "I'll see you around at school, ladies." Then Roy walked towards Gabriel.
"Better cool down, hot shot. You won't have anything left for the rest of the year."
"This will be the best year of my life, I just know it." Roy grinned and the two walked towards the ship's edge. The ship had just cast off, and Aurora City was becoming smaller by the second. Soon they would be arriving at Shadow City, and then the fun would really begin.
For much of the trip the sea was calm and allowed for a smooth trip. The ship seemed to have been working fine, so no one knew why it had stopped in the middle of the river. Gabriel looked out into the sea. "Why did we stop?"
"Look, Gabe!" Several figures in black cloaks had boarded the ship. They were carrying swords. "Wha... what's happening?"
"Roy, do you know where the baggage is kept?"
"Down there." Roy pointed to a nearby door. "Why...? Oh!"
Gabriel grinned and ran towards the door. "Hold them off, Roy. I'll be back in a second!" He threw open the door and ran down a flight of stairs to the baggage hold. After a quick search, he found his bag. He unzipped it quickly and pulled out his sword. He ran back up to the deck just in time to see one of the cloaked figures grab Roy. "Roy!" Gabriel ran towards the figure and then jumped into the air. He spun around in midair and slammed the sword into the cloaked figure; knocking him aside and making him drop Roy. Breathing heavily, Roy said, "Nice save... but you're gonna need to do it about a hundred more times." Gabriel turned and saw about about a dozen more cloaked figures attacking other students. "Go find something to use as a weapon. I'm gonna need help!"
"I'm on it!" Roy ran up a flight stairs to the upper deck.
Gabriel ran to the nearest assailant and quickly put him out of commission. He ran towards the next one, but the cloaked figure fell to the ground. Apparently, that was due to a boy with spiky white hair who now stood in his place. The boy wore a school jacket and he looked angry. "Are you with them?"
"No, no!" Gabriel lowered his sword.
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's get them!"
The white haired boy ran towards an assailant. Suddenly, his fist burst into white fire. He threw a punch and it did about ten times the damage any normal blow would do. The assailant flew backwards and crashed into several of his comrades. As Gabriel stood, eyes fixed to the scene taking place in front of him, he didn't notice a cloaked figure sneaking up behind him. "Gabriel! MOVE!!" Gabriel turned in time to see Roy slam the sneaky assailant with a crowbar. He quickly moved out of the way as the assailant fell to the ground. "Thanks, Roy!"
"No problem!" Roy ran across the deck towards his next target.
"Alright, no more distractions." Gabriel raised his sword. "Time to get back to business." He charged at another intruder. This one was ready, though, and swung around just in time to deflect Gabriel's blow with his sword. "You're dead." Gabriel dodged a blow, and then countered with his sword. The clang of metal on metal surprised Gabriel. The cloak fell off, revealing a large man wearing a massive suit of armor. "What the..."
"Die, fool!" The man in the armor threw his fist at Gabriel and hit him squarely in the chest. The blow knocked the air out of Gabriel and he fell to the ground. The man raised his sword above his head and prepared to strike the final blow. Gabriel looked away and the last thing he saw before he blacked out was the white haired boy. His eyes were glowing white and as he held out his hand, a blast of light completely disintegrated the man who was about to kill him.

To be continued...