Siyo braced for take-off, and took a seat near the troop door.
“Siyo, this is the Commander of Special Forces, and he is very interested in your record. Show some respect, and introduce yourself.”
Siyo turned his gaze to the black armored Raiken, and his mind raced. The Special Forces included many different programs, including the Phoenixes… the greatest warriors of all time. Siyo held out his hand and said
“Hello sir, Warrior in Training Siyo at your command.”
Siyo did the traditional salute, and the Commander returned it.
“Siyo, your combat record, is most appealing for my program, you are the perfect candidate, as are some others in this camp. We need more warriors like yourself; we have selected you to join the Phoenixes. We will transport you to a new training facility, and you will enhance your skills farther, and then we will see if you are ready to wear the emblem, and the armor.”
Siyo’s heart pounded in his chest. He was selected to become one of the greatest of his race, and some others in his camp. He nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes, sir! It would be my honor to serve my race to the highest of my ability!”
The Tsunami touched down the in the center of camp, and Siyo emerged, and all the other recruits in the camp were around the bay. They all shouted their congratulations his win, adding to his record. The Commander nudged him,
“Follow me, I will find the others, and we will begin the preparations for the departure.”
Siyo tailed the Commander, and accepted many handshakes, back pats, and words of encouragement. The Commander commed the DI’s, and Siyo couldn’t hear the names he said, but he did the DI’s searching for someone, or more than one. The Commander went into the Camp Headquarters, and walked into a conference room, and tapped a light panel. The light panel brought up the image of a planet, a richly green, and blue. Oceans and forests sprawled across the surface of the planet. Siyo took a seat, and waited no longer than two minutes before the door opened. Following the Head DI, was Ranyk, and Deleon. The Head DI nodded, and left the room, as Ranyk and Deleon took a seat. The Commander stood up, and tapped the panel again. The emblem of the Phoenixes gleamed from the holo-graphic image.
“You three have been chosen for the Phoenix training program. You will be brought to a new training facility on the planet Vylrd.”
The Commander tapped the panel, and the planet appeared again, and slowly rotated.
“Vylrd is a multi-terrain planet, with large oceans, and land masses. It also has almost every biome that Phoenixes could possibly fight in. You will train in all of them, and be prepared for everything.”
Ranyk and Deleon were slowly shifting in their seats. Siyo nodded and showed a small grin. The Commander tapped the panel again, and a holo-gram of the Firebird Armor appeared.
“If you are deemed fit, you will be outfitted with v4 Firebird Battle Armor. The armor will maximize your efficiency in combat, and will protect you in almost any scenario. There is no armor that will be able to rival Firebird Armor.”
The Commander turned off the light panel, and it continued it’s steady blue glow.
“You will leave Rygosha training facility tomorrow at sunrise. Be prepared for departure, you will be leaving on a Volcano Cruiser, Eternal Hope.”
Siyo’s heart almost stopped, it was sheer chance that Eternal Hope would be the ship to pick them up. He looked forward to talking to Rilsamis, and maybe speaking to his father on Oushino. The Commander dismissed them, and Siyo calmly exited the room, and walked towards the barracks, he would save his excitement for there. Once he entered the barracks, with Ranyk and Deleon following, he yelled in triumph. Ranyk and Deleon shared in his jubilation at the day’s events. They hastily packed their belongings, and prepared for the day tomorrow. Even when the others returned from the mess hall, Siyo stayed quiet. A few recruits asked what the mysterious black-armored Raiken wanted, but Siyo brushed them off, it wasn’t time to tell. Siyo bolted upright, time… he had forgotten about the Time Lord! Siyo jumped up, and suited on his battle armor. Some of the recruits gave a questioning glance, but Siyo ignored them. A voice boomed in his head,
“Remember… bring four, your power is not great enough.”
The voice shook him, it seems the Time Lord was watching him the entire time. Siyo gathered his thoughts, and looked around at the recruits.
“Does anyone want to come with me? I found a neat cave during the games.”
A few recruits gave him a curious look, and sure enough, four recruits stepped up.
”Yeah, what’s up Siyo?”
“Just follow me, it was about halfway up the plateau.”
Siyo spun around, and walked out of the barracks, with the recruits tailing behind. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the plateau. Siyo began his trek up the path, and he almost missed the cave opening.
“Here it is!”
Siyo slipped inside, and headed to the back of the cave, and pulled at the rocks piled in the back. Sure enough, a click sounded, and the shaft appeared.
“See?”
The recruits started to debate whether they should climb down, or grab more people, but Siyo started down, and the recruits followed.
Siyo still wondered at the intricate carved walls, but he knew the evil contained within. The recruits were awed at the walls, but Siyo pushed them forward, with the reason that more amazing things must lie ahead. Siyo reached the large chamber with the gravity lift when the voice sounded again,
“Good, you will begin the process from here. Only you are required for the final process.”
Siyo lightly shuddered, and stepped on to the disc. He floated down to the floor, and the recruits followed. The floor still amazed him when it began to hum and glow.
“You will need to press the light panels that seal the energy field around my chamber. Each panel must be pressed at the same time, and I will make sure that happens.”
Siyo walked around the tower, and pointed out the panels to the recruits. The recruits decided to press them, to unlock the secrets of this shrine. The recruits counted down, and they pressed the keys on the panels. Siyo felt the familiar tingle of altering of time’s events. The floor started to shift, and Siyo could hear gears grinding against each other. The floor pulsed faster, and began to emit sharp white beams. The tower began to sink into the floor, and the odd orb on the table was flashing. The orb began to expand, and enveloped the recruits and Siyo.
Siyo rapidly blinked, and quickly stood up, and regretted it. The floor seemed to spin and shift, but Siyo regained his balance after a minute. He glanced around, and the recruits were nowhere to be found. Siyo said aloud,
“Where are they? What have you done?”
Siyo started to realize where he was; he was in the prison chamber. However, instead of being outside of it, He was standing directly in front of the portal.
“They have been forgotten, their power, and life, absorbed. They… have freed me, partly. I now require you, but you will not be absorbed.”
Before Siyo could react, the deformed hand shot out, and grabbed Siyo, and yanked him inside the portal of swirling colors, and familiar desert sweeping across the horizon.
