[Outside the Testing Center]
Akio: “So, today’s the day?”
Haru: “Yeah… kinda makes me nervous.”
Akio: “Aw, why? IS IT ‘CAUSE YOURS SUCKS?”
Haru: “HEY, MINE’S WAY BETTER THAN YOURS!”
Akio: “HOW MUCH YOU WANNA BET?”
Haru: “$20 says mine’s better than yours!”
Akio: “NUH UH!”
Haru: “YUH HUH!”
(A deep voice suddenly cuts through their argument)
???: “Quit it”.
Akio: “AND WHO ARE YOU?”
???: “I’m Steven. I’ll be taking you to your gate test. Now, follow me.”
Haru: “Uh… thanks?”
Akio: “Tch. Alright, whatever.”
(Inside the Testing Chamber they step into a giant white room, reinforced walls and shields surrounding them. It looks almost unescapable.)
Haru: “So, uh… Steven, what do we do?”
Steven: “Try and break out. That’ll determine your ranking and intelligence.”
Akio: “SAY LESS!
(He clenches his fist and deliberately cuts his palm.)”
Haru: “Wait ranking? What do you mean?”
Steven (shrugs): “Your Gate evolves as you grow stronger. Some people even… change when they rank up. But that’s for later. Just focus on escaping for now.”
(Haru sees Akio)
Haru: “ew”
(Akio’s blood twists and hardens, forming a sleek crimson sword in his grip.)
Haru: “EW. Dude, you’re gonna give someone a disease!”
Akio: “Bruh, it was never that deep.”
Haru (laughs): “I’m messing with you. Now let’s figure out a way out of here!”
(Haru suddenly snaps her fingers. Time freezes. Akio stands still except, to his surprise, he can still move.)
Akio: “What the—?”
Haru: “You’re not the only one with crazy powers. This should buy us some time to plan.”
(They scan the room, their eyes locking onto a reinforced glass panel.)
Haru: “Think you can make something else?”
Akio: “Yeah, I can do boxing gloves with claws… and a few other things.”
Haru: “Perfect. Make the gloves. I’ll boost your speed so then you can go straight through the glass.”
Akio: “SAY LESS.”
(Akio’s hands glow red as his gloves form. Haru accelerates his momentum, and in a flash CRASH! The reinforced glass shatters as Akio bursts through it, landing outside the test chamber.)
Steven: “…Oh. Uh, yeah. That wasn’t supposed to happen yet. The test didn’t even start.”
Akio & Haru: “…Ohhhh.”
Steven: “Eh, whatever. I’ll mark it as a pass. You two are rank E, not like I can stop you now.”
(There they are Arena Virex Moments later, they step into a massive arena filled with other participants who have just unlocked their Gates. Energy flowing and cracking in the air competition is fierce.)
Akio: “Pfft. We could definitely wipe the floor with everyone here.”
Haru: “That’s if we don’t have to fight each other.”
Akio: “Oh… yeah, true.”
(A loudspeaker crackles to life.)
Announcement: “This year, the arena’s rules have changed. For the 5th time in 60 years… duos are allowed.”
Akio: “OH LET’S GO!!”
(grabs Haru by the shoulders)
Akio: “YOU’RE MY DUO. NO QUESTIONS.”
Haru: “Yeah, yeah. I got you.”
Akio: “YES SIRRRR!”
(They step forward, ready to take on whatever comes next.)
Announcement: “The first match is Akio and Haru vs. Jin and Kira!”
Akio: “Who are these guys? Never heard of ’em.”
Haru: “Huh, it’s a girl-guy duo like us.”
Akio: “I heard the guy, Jin, never unlocked his Gate, but he’s a skilled fighter.”
Haru: smirks “I know that has you excited.”
Akio (grinning): “YOU HAVE NO IDEA.”
Jin (groggy): “Wait… I thought this was tomorrow.”
Kira: “Yeah, same… What the hell?”
Haru: “Well, at least you guys look nice.”
Kira (eyes Haru up and down): “Shush. We don’t talk to… bums.”
Haru (offended): “I’M A BUM?”
Kira: “YES. YES, YOU ARE.”
Akio (laughing): “THIS IS GONNA BE FUN.”
Announcement: “FIGHT STARTS IN 3… (Akio cuts his palm) 2… (Haru prepares to blitz) 1… GO!”
(Akio rushes Jin, throwing a punch, but Jin dodges effortlessly and counters with a sharp kick to Akio’s stomach.)
Akio (stumbling) “FUCK– how…? What the—?”
(Jin blitzes forward, hitting Akio with a rapid combo right hook, left hook, uppercut sending him flying.)
Akio (determined): “No… no… no… I WON’T LOSE!”
(Akio summons an extendable sword, but before he can strike, Kira blocks it with her shield power.)
Haru: “Lost me—”
(Haru lands a brutal right hook on Kira, leaving her gasping for air)
Kira (wheezing): “You… bitch…”
Akio: “HARU, WATCH OUT!”
(Haru freezes time just in time to see Jin mid-air, launching the deadliest kick toward her.)
Haru (examining him): “Geez, man has no class.”
(She kicks Jin, knocking him back.)
Jin (gritting teeth): “I WON’T LOSE!”
(Haru boosts Akio’s movement speed, and in a flash, he’s behind Jin.)
Akio (smirking): “Yes, you will.”
(delivers a devastating body shot, sending Jin crashing to the ground.)
Jin (coughing): “S-Stop… STOP”
(Jin suddenly activates his Gate Hyper Reflexes.)
Akio (grinning at Haru): “Yo, you know what would be funny?”
Haru: “What could possibly be funny right now?”
Akio: “If you stopped time to cancel out his Gate.”
Haru (shrugs): “You know… not a bad idea.”
(Haru freezes time.)
Akio: “First, let me make sure the girl is safe.”
(moves Kira’s unconscious body to a safer spot.)
Haru: “So… we jump him?”
Akio: “Yeah.”
(They rush at Jin, but even in frozen time, he dodges.)
Haru (stunned): “Oh, we are so deep-fried.”
Akio: “Oh yeah, we’re cooked.”
Haru: “Do I—?”
Akio: “Yeah, yeah, unfreeze.”
(Haru unfreezes time.)
Jin (smirks): “Bye.”
(Jin suddenly slashes Akio with his daggers, stabbing him multiple times. Akio collapses, bleeding out.)
Akio (fading out): “Is this… how I die?”
(His vision goes dark.)
(Akio suddenly wakes up in a strange, crimson void.)
Vermillion: “Yo.”
Akio (blinking): “What the?”
Vermillion: “Relax, your friend stopped time.”
Akio: “Then why am I… here?”
Vermillion: “Your Gate is bound to you. Also, congrats you just ranked up from E to D.”
Akio (flatly): “Cool. What about it?”
Vermillion: “Gave you a cool new trick called healing you bum and you can summon me because your trash at fighting”
Akio (eyes widening): “YO, THAT’S SICK!”
Vermillion: “Vanish.”
(Vermillion Kicks Akio out.)
(Akio gasps, waking up.)
Akio: “HARU!”
Haru (mid-scream): “AHHH wait, what?”
Akio: “LOOK, I HAVE AN IDEA.”
Haru: “Dude, I thought you were DEAD so I froze time to process it!”
Akio (grinning): “Yeah, well, surprise I CAN HEAL MYSELF NOW!”
Haru (stunned): “WHAT?!”
Akio: “Just unfreeze time.”
Haru: “If you die again, I’m not freezing time.”
Akio: “JUST UNFREEZE.”
(Haru unfreezes time.)
Akio: “VERMILLION!”
(A crimson aura flares as Vermillion materializes.)
Vermillion (cracking knuckles): “Got you.”
Jin (shocked): “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?”
Akio: “MY SPIRIT WHO WILL KILL YOU”
(Vermillion pins Jin to the floor)
Vermillion (roaring): “DO IT!”
(Akio raises his Blood Blade, ready to drain Jin’s life force)
Announcement: “WAIT!”
Akio (annoyed): “What?”
Announcement: “YOU WON.”
(Akio blinks, remembering they’re in a stadium.)
Akio: “Ooooh yeah, no killing.”
Announcement: “Haru and Akio WIN!”
(The crowd erupts into cheers.)
Akio (grinning): “HARU, WE WON!”
Haru (sighs): “I’m just glad we can move on to our next job.”
Akio (suddenly remembering): “WAIT, I got stabbed to death!”
Announcement: “Yeah, but one moment you were down, the next you were back up.”
Akio: realizing “OHHH IT’S CUZ OF THE–”
Haru: “Yeah, time stop, you bimbo.”
Announcement: “Winners, meet up at Dispatch Core.”
(At the Dispatch Core)
??? “So you’re Akio and Haru.”
Akio (arms crossed): “Yeah. What about it?”
??? “I’m John. I’ll be helping you reach the fighting grounds.”
Akio: “YES!”
John: “But first, you two will have to explore the other two planets and complete some objectives.”
Haru: “Fair enough.”
Akio (groaning): “BROOOO—”
Haru (sternly): “Akio.”
Akio (grumbling): “Okay, okay, no complaints.”
John: “You two start tomorrow.”
Akio & Haru: “Got it.”
(Meanwhile, at a government building…)
??? “What do you mean the experiments are going rogue?!”
??? “The kids turn into powers, how the hell are they fighting back?”
??? “Fix it. Now. And report back. I don’t want people to know how they are getting their powers.”