Chapter One: The Journey Begins

January 1st, 2022.

8:39am.

Joey wanted to sleep in, but couldn't afford the luxury of sleep. Today was his first day of military school, and he couldn't afford to be late.

Groggilly getting up from bed, he took a quick shower and started packing his things. Joey didn't have much to begin with, only a few pairs of clothes and other items.

Ever since Joey's parents died due to a deadly virus that ravaged 2020, he started living alone in his family house. Despite being a teenager, Joey never threw parties after his parents died. He wanted to respect the last thing they left him with.

The house wasn't impressive anyway, being only an F - Ranked building. In the country of Crash, and other countries of the world, buildings, other items and people fell under five categories, A - Rank, B - Rank, C - Rank, D - Rank and F - Rank being the lowest.

A loud repetitive bang sounded from the front door. It was time.

"Couldn't they have come later?" Joey asked himself. Why the need to rush? It's not like the teenagers are running away, right?

The banging was getting louder and louder, so loud that Joey was afraid his front door would be destroyed any moment now. Joey didn't want that to happen. This house was too precious to him. And also, repairs ain't cheap.

Joey bolted down the stairs, clinging onto a small black briefcase with an image of Goku in Ultra Instict on the top along with images of the other Z Fighters on the sides. He had finished packing his things, and was ready for the next phase of his life.

"Took ya long enough." A man in his late forties said. Despite almost being middle aged, he was well built. Almost too built if you ask me. Muscles bulging, ready to burst out at any moment. It was scary seeing such a person up close. That is, if he was human.

He had sleek black hair with few white strands on the sides. He looked straight ahead, arms crossed, but eventually lowered his gaze, his blue eyes slitted at Joey. What a puny ant.

The man wore an ash coloured uniform with a black and white strip from head to toe. On his right chest were two gold stars, indicating he was a D - Ranked General.

He had a scar on his right eye, rendering it useless. The scar was a symbol of the hard work and sacrifice he made for the country. Many would see it as an unfortunate loss, but to him it was an honor. An honor that meant more than life itself!

Joey didn't meet the man's gaze, afraid of what the outcome would be. In today's society, it was a taboo to stare at a military general in the eye. Best case scenario, such an act is punishable by ten years imprisonment. Worse case scenario, punishable by death.

"I'm ready, sir!" Joey said, giving a proper salute.

The general didn't reply. His attention was focused on the weird designs on the luggage Joey was carrying.

'Tsk. Kids of nowadays.' He thought, making a loud 'tsk' sound.

Joey found his actions strange, but didn't think much of it. Military men were always weird in some way.

Down the street was an ash coloured van with a similar white and black streak design as the General's uniform. Inside, Joey could see other teens his age lively chatting and having fun. Joey subconsciously quicken his pace, surpassing the General.

Getting on board the bus, Joey was greeted by a strong just of wind that knocked him and his briefcase out of the bus, drawing everyone's attention to him. They all laughed and pointed fingers at him. What a weakling? He shouldn't even be allowed to live?

Joey casually got up and picked up his luggage. He had grown used to this kind of treatment. Looking behind him, he saw the General with a nasty scowl on his face.

"Everyone conduct yourselves!" He yelled at the nasty lot, getting on board the bus with Joey following from behind.

Joey saw the General move into the driver's area, leaving him alone once again. No one had to tell him to take his seat. In fact no one did.

Walking past the other teens, Joey put on a poker face, which turned into a scowl from time to time. Whenever he saw an empty seat, the person sitting next to it would place their hand on it, a gesture Joey was smart enough to understand.

Joey had almost reached the back of the bus, but still no one offered him a free seat. He dreaded the idea of sitting on the floor through out the journey. That would only add to his embarrassed.

Joey turned back, about to accept his fate when...

"Hey, you can sit with me." As if God in heaven was smiling down on him, someone offered him a seat. Turning to where the voice came from, Joey saw it came from a girl with straight brown hair and brown eyes. She waving at him.

Not wasting the opportunity, Joey made his way to where she was, seated at the very back of the bus.

Eyes of disgust ambushed Joey left and right, but he didn't give a fuck. He walked past them like they were maniquens in a clothes shop.

Setting his luggage beside him, Joey could finally sit down. Looking at the girl that saved his ass, Joey wanted to thank her for offering him seat.

"Thanks for letting me sit here. If it weren't for you I'm sure I'd have to sit on the floor through this shitty trip." Joey didn't even bother to filter his words. Ever since he was little, he was fond of always speaking his mind, no matter how offensive it might be.

"Don't mention it. I couldn't just sit and watch someone struggle when I can do something about it. I don't like sitting alone anyway." She said passionately.

The two passed time talking about themselves and their past experiences. Joey learned her name was Maya Steve. She was human.

He also learned about her interests and hobbies. She told him one day, she wanted her name to go down in history as the young woman who helped take down the werewolves once and for all.

"I'm gonna look good on a portrait, don't you think?" She said, forcing her muscles. Joey was surprised how easy it is to talk to her. Normally, when he tried to talk to a girl, she would either give him false hope, only to crush it in the end, or outright snob or insult him just so he will fuck off.

But Maya was different. Something about her just drew Joey closer to her.

Finally, after a thousand years of travel, they finally made it to their destination. Upon getting off the bus, everyone could feel their legs shaking like a working vibrator. Some were able to some what stand on their feet, while others fell ass first to the Stony ground, trying to soothe their aching legs.

The same was the case for Joey and Maya. But Maya respected herself and clung on to the body of the bus, while Joey was lying on the floor. No one cared about whether they dirtied their clothes or not. At this point it was life and death, for their legs.

The last to leave the bus were the General that brought Joey on this hellish journey and another man. The second man wasn't in any military uniform of the sort. Instead, he wore rock image jeans and a black shirt with the image of a phoenix rising from the ashes. He had scruffy dirty blonde hair and sharp green eyes, which were a direct contrast to his laid back clothing.

"Alright, everyone, gather up!!" The general ordered the teens who shrugged at his order, but quickly did as told when he shot them a death glare. Everyone knew the Legend of General Blood, the man who took down a legion of D - Ranked beasts on his own. There was no need for blood shed for the message to be passed across.

Two ques were formed, boys and girls. How orthodox, but necessary to please the closed minded general. When someone tried to join the other line, General Blood would clear his throat, his blue eyes turning a shade darker. It passed the message, 'Get back in line or I'll cut that thing that you treasure the most.'

No words needed to be spoken. The rascals understood the message as clear as day. Joey couldn't help but shake his head at the scene that just took place. What was sad was the fact that some were too stupid to notice what happened, looking left and right with curious eyes. No one dared to laugh. Well, almost no one.

"What's so funny?" Maya nudged Joey's shoulder, struggling to hold in her laughter. They were both in this dilemma. Neither one wanted to end up on General Blood's list how could they control themselves?

Getting in line with the others, they all waited for General Blood to give his orders.

Clearing his throat, he looked at the lot of kids as he referred to them, and started his speech.

"As you are all aware of, the humans and... werewolves, have been living in peace with each another for the past 20 years now. But that isn't an excuse for us to lower our guard. For all we know the were wolves maybe building their forces to end us as I speak!"

Truth be told, no one gave two rats for what General Blood and to say. They all had one thing in mind.

"As such, we have to make sure the next generation is ready to face the threat when the time is right!" He said with passion in his voice.

A woman wearing a similar military attire and a lab coat teleported beside the general. She didn't even spare them a glance, her gaze fully fixed on the tablet she was holding.

"You will all go in groups of six. She will take you all to an Planet Ateg, where your skills will be tested."

It sent a shiver down everyone's spine. They had just left the comfort of their homes, and now they were meant to take their test on another planet? No one knew about this. But there was no going back now.

A tablet teleported into the General's hands, as he began to read the names of those in each group to be tested.

"As you hear your names, make your way towards Miss Riley. Joey Grey, Maya Steve, Lucas Mane, Ellie Troit, Koe Zane, Gerry Salva."

The six of them made their way towards Miss Riley. Joey glanced at Maya, who turned to look at him. Out of the other five, the only person they knew was each other. They had to stick together no matter what.

They all saw circle of bright white circles where Miss Ashley stood. Numbering seven in total. Standing on their respective pods, the group was instantly teleported to what looked like a jungle.

What was weird was the fact that the air and feeling they got from the place wasn't normal. It somewhat felt... other worldly.

The gang was teleported to a planet known as Planet Korai, a jungle - like planet similar to those back on Earth.

Looking around, the gang noticed there were giant black pillars and strange devices connected to them.

The scoring was simple. Each 1000 score was equivalent to a level. Meaning someone who scored 1000, 2000 or 3000 would be at level 1, 2 or 3. If the score was something like 2341, it would be rounded up or down to the nearest thousand. That is, 2000 or level 2.

"You all will undergo three tests." The woman said, finally acknowledging the existence of the group.

"First, strength test. You all will have to punch a metallic pillar as hard as you can. The strength used in hitting the pillar will be calculated by the devices you see next to the pillar. First up, Gerry Salva." She explained nonchalantly.

Gerry had a fairly muscular build with brown hair and eyes. He wore casual street clothing. If one were to look closely, they could see sparks of lightning snapping with every step he took.

Using his ability, Gerry punched the pillar with every once of strength he could muster, sending stray lightening bolts flying everywhere, hitting those who were too weak to deflect it.

Joey was among them. Falling to the ground, his body sizzled his roasted beef. Luckily the attack wasn't fatal. he could still feel the agonizing pain from the strick.

"Tsk. What a weakling." Miss Ashley said out loud, not caring for how the group would react. It's not like they could do anything about it anyway.

No one reacted, except for Maya. She glared at Ashley, eyes burning with fury. She hadn't know Joey for that long. Heck she only got to know him over a hellish bus ride, but she still somewhat grew to care about Joey within that small period of time. When she first entered the bus, just like with Joey, everyone ignored her like she was last night's pizza. Luckily she found two empty seats at the back end, where she could fall into her own world of thoughts.

If she hadn't met Joey on the bus, she was sure she would have lost her mind from the loneliness. Which was why she couldn't let her chatter buddy be talked to like that.

Ashley shrugged Maya's hot stares and did her job. She went and healed all of Joey's injuries with a flick of a wrist. Literally.

"Thank you, Miss Ashley." Joey said, amazed at how advanced her healing ability was.

The machine connected to the pillar which Gerry had punched showed a reading of 1020. Gerry walked back to the group with a nasty scowl. Next was Maya.

Stepping forward, Maya reassured herself that everything was going to be okay as she readied herself to punch the metallic pillar.

Drawing back her hand, she lunged forward with as much force as she could muster, clenching her fists when her hand was close enough to the pillar. It connected. The machine calculated the amount of strength she put into the punch.

'1124'.

It may not have been much, but it was certainly enough to out a smile on her face, knowing she had more than enough strength to deal with the guy that hurt her friend. It was just a matter of time before she would beat the living daylight out of him, allowing Maya to wake back to the group with a satisfied expression.

Everyone was speechless upon seeing the reading on the machine. '1124'. Gerry, who was an Improved, and had the lightening ability, had only attained a score of 1020. But a girl, who was human none the less, was able to achieve a score of 1124. It all felt like a movie, but everyone knew it was freaking real.

"Next, Lucas Mane." Ashley said.

A well build boy with black hair and aqua blue eyes walked out. Unlike the last boy that walked out, Lucas was different. There was an eerie calm that surrounded him as he walked. His eyes, his razor sharp jawline and full lips. He was the very definition of a god.

Facing the metal pillar, Lucas readied his fist.

*Bang*

A hardening ability.

A bang, louder than anyone produced before, filled the atmosphere. Everyone, including Ashley, closed their ears, wanting to save themselves from deafness.

Lucas retracted his hand, but the sound remained, lasting for a few minutes before eventually dying down.

Everyone was shocked beyond imagination. The machine calculated his strength.

'6235'

His confidence wasn't for show after all. Walking back to the group, he had a confident smirk on his face.

Next was Joey. However, something strange happened when he was about to pinch the pillar.

[ Body has absorbed enough sunlight ]

[ Boot up in progress... ]

Joey had no idea what the message was about, and couldn't afford to think of that now.

Pulling his arm back like the rest, he lunged forward at the pillar when...

[ Boot up complete ]

[ Host has activated the Phoenix Genes System ]

Joey held back, unsure what the hell was going on.

"Joey, hit the damn pillar so we can get on with the tests!!" Ashley barked at him, bringing him out of his stupor. He could always just check it out once the tests were over.

Hitting the pillar with all his strength, the machine began to calculate his score.

'523'

Everyone except for Maya burst out in laughter. How could someone be so weak? What was worse was the fact that they knew he was an Improved. Improved had the ability to smell their kind among a group of people.

Moving back to the group, Joey didn't care much about what they had to say about him. He was already used to it.

The others took their tests and went on to the next categories. Those remaining were Ellie and Koe. Both had the fire and poison ability. And of course they used their abilities to boost their strength. They both had scores of 2152 and 1953.

The next two tests were agility and speed. For agility, they each had to manuver around a barricade of rotating wood, similar to in Kung Fu Panda. While for speed, they each had to run on an 800 metre track not too far from where they were.

Their respective scores are as follows. For the agility test; Maya scored 1456, Joey scored 456, Gerry scored 1245, Lucas scored 6071, Ellie scored 3217, while Koe scored 2000.

Then for the speed test; Joey scored 400, Maya scored 2000, Lucas scored 6754, Ellie scored 3542, Gerry scored 1542, while Koe scored 2153.

Adding and then dividing the scores by 3; Gerry had 1269, Maya had 1527, Lucas had 6353, Joey had 460, Ellie had 2970, while Koe had 2035.

They all were given watches showing their respective levels. Gerry was at level 1, Maya level 2, Lucas level 6, Joey level 0, Ellie level 3, while Koe level 2.

They were all then teleported back to the others, as another group of six were called to take the tests.

Posting second chapter at 10:00pm tonight. Keep reading.