CHAPTER 2:THE WHITE SITE

Lux and Freya walked down the long, dimly lit corridor. The air was thick with anticipation, and Lux couldn't shake the feeling that he was on the brink of something extraordinary.

"So, if I understand correctly," Lux ventured, "we're part of a grand game, a battle between good and evil. We're the good guys, the White Site, and the Black Order are the bad guys. And there are sixteen of us on each side, right?"

Freya nods. "That's pretty much it. We're part of a larger game, a cosmic chess match, if you will. The goal is to eliminate the opposing king. If Pierre, the guy you met, dies, we lose."

"So, are we going to meet the rest of the team? The other pieces?" Lux asked eagerly.

"Indeed," Freya replied.

"Let's go meet the others."

"Hey, Freya, can I ask you something?"

Freya raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."

"How did you meet Pierre? Were you also rescued like me?"

Freya chuckled. "Nothing special. Coincidentally encounter the guy through this chaos and here I am.Same way I found you."

The soft drink can clattered to the ground, interrupting Freya's story.A middle-aged man and a stunning blonde woman approached.

"Freya!" the woman greeted, her voice sweet and seductive.

"Hi, Queen," Freya replied, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Nice to meet you," the man said, extending a hand. "The name's Kaaya. 24. Straight like a rook, but not as handsome as you."

Freya rolled her eyes.

Lux chuckled nervously. "Thanks for the compliment. I'm Lux. 15, straight, and not as ugly as you."

A moment of awkward silence followed. Lux mentally facepalmed. He'd meant to be funny, but it came out more cringe than comedic.

"Hey there, Lux!" The blonde woman, Mercy, interrupted the awkwardness. "We've been waiting for you. Come on, let's go outside."

As they stepped outside, Lux took in the devastation. The hospital, once a symbol of hope, was now scarred by the Black Order's invasion.

A wave of sadness washed over him as he thought of his family."Mom, Dad," he thought, "I wonder where you are. I lost Granny, so I can't expect to see you again."

*CLAP

"ARGH!" he startled immediately after hearing Kaaya's clapping loudly on his ears purposely.

"What's on the mind? Don't waste time little guy!" he pulled his hand dragging him

They rushed and finally made it to a plain field at the hospital. Freia and Mercy were already there with seven new faces. From eyes, easily guessed they are teenagers like Lux.

"I'll leave you here Lux, do your best to make some friends!" Kaaya provoked him like a dad to his kindergarten child and joins in with the adult.

"Okay then...social skills, get ready for action..." he sighed decided to give it a shot.

Lux surveyed air around. The new faces consist of a girl and five males. An ordinary guy would try to approach the girl, but a true man goes to the boys. Although the atmosphere seems intimidating...

"Uhm...Hi you guys! I am Lux,15,... let's be...mate?" at least he tried

Awkward silence strikes again for a moment.

"𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪..." as tradition, regrets came in

"Caleb. Call me Caleb." one of them finally replies. He was the guy with glasses."So, you too got recruited by Mr. Pierre?!? You're so young."

"Heh, you're the one to complain, my role here is pawn by the way. What's yours?"

"Same dude, same. All of us here except the adults are the boring ones."

As both of them start to chemistries, one cuts inside.

"Cal!My Pal!Qué hay, Hermano! (What's up bro) Who you are chatting to? I was so lazy to step first so, I just wait until it feels right to join." He came from Caleb's back and hook his hand on his shoulder

"Lux, I am Henry, I'm not Spanish but I like speaking other languages because it feels like I am knowledgeable."He smiled brightly

"Let's add another one... because it sounds funny to you," Lux replied

"...Dude...From now on, you are my Tomodachi(Friend). Those words speak directly to my Kokoro(Heart)."

Both Lux and Henry cackle in laughter.While Caleb successfully plays the role of a guy who doesn't get the joke.

"Caleb how did you find this friend of yours. Hehe..." Lux stopped laughing

"Since when I had friends?" He said it with a straight face

"Sorry, my joke is rather disappointing,saya senang terhibur.( I am easily entertained)" Henry continues to laugh.

"What's senang terhibur?It sounds catchy to me!"Lux asked

"It means I get entertained easily" Henry answered.

"Oh, correction! KAMI SENANG TERHIBUR!BAHAAHAHHAHHA!(We are easily entertained)" add Lux and then both impractical jokers lost their sense again.

"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵?"Thus, Caleb continues to suffer from their humor.

From distance, there is Kaaya watching Lux like a proud dad.

"Credits to the guy who provokes him to socialize." Kaaya self complimenting

"Three words.Atmosphere.Here.Hell." Freia feds up

"When will he arrive? He said he was just around the corner when I was on the phone." Mercy walking around in a circle keep redialling numbers on her phone

"Don't turn edgy girls. Look! Speak of the devil. Here they are."He points to a truck approaching them

The truck then stopped at their assembly spot. A muscular man wearing a tight plain white T-shirt with jeans came out. What stands out was the white crew haircut and the thick beard. He immediately joins the adult.

"Welcome back, how was your trip Gareth? We're yearning to start."

The muscular man let out a deep sigh before replying.

"Then, let's get started," he replied and stood in the middle of attention.

"LINE UP TODDLERS! WE ARE GOING TO START ASSEMBLY." the man shouted.

All of them started to line up horizontally. Four-person in front, three at the back which is where Henry, Lux, and the girl are. Gareth in front started his speech.

"Finally today, the recruitment of the white pieces has been completed. The last pawn has filled its spot. The site of white finally has the even ground. We, the ones who are standing here today will together play our role and prevail in this war."

"Alright todds, now eyes on him" he points on none other than Kaaya.

Kaaya was startled a bit, looking left and right. He realizes it's always him then proceeds to follow it.

"Fine." he let out a sigh and step forward. Getting the crowd some views.

"Watch me, kids. I hereby present you a power of a rook" he extends his right arm and opens his palm.

Lights are seen in his veins scatters different parts of his body. His legs, face, his right arm, and lastly some went out from his palm on the right. The light started to shape into an object. It's a long rod exceeding his height.

"A stick?" like the others, Lux hardly sees what is going on.

The light weakens time by time, and the curtain finally falls down revealing the final product. Kaaya, wearing white tights covering most of his body and his neck except for his left arm. The object his holding turns out to be a long sledgehammer.

"Like what you see boys?"Kaaya stood proud

"𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."He thought but then let it slide

"WOAH" the boys impressed then give him applause

"Ew" the girl of the recruiting group implied slowly

"As you know or not, the pieces embodied within you give incredible power to match up against those insane morons. We also are able to summon weapons as you all see here. Our traits and specialty will be influenced by the piece we are entrusted to. This means that our power will differ from each other depending on what our piece is. For example, rooks are incredible in brute strength more likely to fight defensively meanwhile the knights are agile and deadly which they are more contributed in every pattern of offense. Bishops are the pieces in the sleeve also the last guardian. Finally, the queen is the perfection of the pieces."

"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵...𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵" both Lux and Henry are in sync.

"The queen piece is the top of the chain. The upper piece, rook knights, and bishop are in the middle, capable of countering one another. While YOU TODDLERS, PAWNS ARE AT MOST BOTTOM! But hold no worries, in a game of chess the one who holds the most potential are those pawns they underestimated. Also, you guys are kids which means you originally have room to grow too. With that being said I just wanna say that you toddlers that we look down on today might be the ones we look up to when we fall." He suddenly raises his voice then controls it back.

"Today we are going to make you toddlers, conceal your powers. Firstly, all of you largen the gap, get some space."

With the order given, they obey.

"You see that toddlers, by the end of today you will be able to do that yourself. Before starting,I want to confess a disclaimer. what we teach is not important if it doesn't give any result. We ourselves are not experts and we admit that. Thus, let's get started."

Gareth faces his friend then tilt his head a little signaling them to merge with the kids in other to help him give guidance.

"𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺." thought Mercy

Then, the lesson started. Sir Gareth's teaching thus began.

" First, do some stretching it might assist the procedure."

They could do nothing but follows the lead.

" As we know the power originates from the pieces inserted in us. Try to imagine that piece inside you melt, scatter or dissolve into your body. Just like a pill for your fever. Then try to focus on the main parts of your body. When I said main, I mean your strongest part of your body, one that you always use and focus on. Imagining certain things also may influence the outcome product."

Suddenly one of them started screaming. It was a boy beside Caleb.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!MAXX!!!!!POOOOWWWWAAAAAAR!!!!!" he screamed on top of his lung determined to unleash his power.He fists the air repeatedly.

"Oh...Looks like Max is so hyped up." he responds

While swinging his fist, Max does not realize that his fists are glowing. He just keeps punching again and again.

" AAAAAARGH!!!!" he went all out on his last try. Putting everything he has left into his final strike.

That final strike is when the tree finally blooms its fruits. Something is glowing within the boy's grasp. It shines brightly just like Kaaya's transformation. As the light dies a karambit appeared in both of his grips.

"WOW HOW SWEET!" he was on cloud nine with his success

The others congratulate him with applause.

"Good job boy! Now the others. Prove your worth! As just as I said before I want ALL OF YOU to master your power BY THE END OF THE DAY!"

"In short, none of us will be able to call it a day if you guys don't serve the results."Freia continues and sighs in frustration.

"What!?!?" the recruits whines

Gareth lets them continue and waits for all of them to succeed.

As time flies, one by one finally hit the jackpot. First is Henry then Caleb followed by the other two boys.

"Wow, look Lee! it's a spear!" one of the boys called out his friend.

"Impressive, I got these two, How about you Caleb?." the boy who is called Lee pulls out a double dagger.

"Good, you too got in pairs, "Caleb reveal a pair of short scythes.

"Hey guys, I got depression." Henry pokes a long stick on the ground with no doubt is his weapon.

The other faces changes to disappointment. The air fills the void of the conversation. After a bit of silence together as one, they had enough.

"SHUT UP DARK HUMOUR!"

"Hehe sorry boys, I'll go check on Lux. Only he that laughs at my joke."

Meanwhile, Lux on the other hand is still struggling to provoke his power. As the last one who did not accomplish anything yet. The menacing glares of others are all on him. Those eyes express words none other than "We're tired...JUST HURRY UP YOU PIECE OF TRASH!!!! WE WANNA SLEEP. I KILL YOU IF IT TOOK TOMORROW'S DAYLIGHT FOR YOU TO SETTLE YOUR STUFF. UNLIKE YOU WE WANNA NAP!!!!"

"𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬?𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵?𝘏𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘱 𝘓𝘶𝘹!" He began to frustrate.

As best friends do, Henry approaches but is not good at giving him support.

"Lux, it's a piece of cake ok. You need to find the inner peace."

"Don't disturb me! I'm searching it" his tone rose while swinging his arms and legs like an outrageous baby.

"You don't look like it, bro, you look stressed. Inner peace yo INNER PEACE!"

"I'm trying but you're annoying." he closed his eyes trying to focus even more.

"Amigo, LA PAU INTERIOR(inner peace). Hehe"words spitting from a guy who likes to toy other's temper.

Lux on the other hand finally had enough. He stopped his training because of his anger and let it out.

"SHUT UP, CLOWN! I REGRET BEING YOUR FRIEND!" he takes a full swing fist to Henry while his eyes are still unopened.

After he took his turn, Lux opened his eyes. Lucky for Henry, Freia swiftly blocked Lux punches holding his arm.

"Hey, boy, chill.Look."She released her grip.

With a single glance, a smile is drawn at the boy's face. Within his grasp, a knuckle duster appeared after his attempt knocking out an impractical joker.

"Mission complete, good job Lux." she then returns to Gareth's side.

"So...are you gonna take back what did you just shout?" Henry proud of himself

"NOPE."

Thus, all of the recruits reassemble back waiting for Gareth's reply.

"Finally, all of you have successfully accomplished our milestone today. We are proud of you all." He implied with a happy face

"Which that means...LET'S HIT THAT SACK!!!HOORAY!!!!" supportive dad Kaaya interrupts.

"HOOOOOORAY!!!" the recruits go with it

"AS IF I WERE THAT NICE!"Gareth kills the jolly celebration.

"𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘌𝘓𝘚𝘌 𝘎𝘌𝘌𝘡𝘌𝘙?!?" the recruits and so as Kaaya were one in mind.

"I wanna see the exposure of these combatants' combat skills. All of you will take turns in a duel. The loser will be switched out."

"Don't worry y'all. Although the sun is setting we promise that this is the last one. So stop whining like a baby and give it a shot at your best." Freia implied

With that said they obey the order. They gather around creating a circle then two of the recruits will enter to start.

"Round one, Courtney against William."

The lone blondie from before stepping up enters the fighting stage.

"Court, I'll be careful against you. Not because you're a girl but becau-"

With not enough time to finish his line. The girl takes the first blow to swing both of her arms towards the boy while releasing her weapon which happens to be an L-shaped baton. William null the attack by blocking with his spear. Both of their weapons collided. Courtney then brings her face closer to William continuing the boy's unfinished sentence.

"Because I am a badass."She then spread her hand dragging the body of the spear. Her aim is to make William let go of his weapon.

The spear in William's hand dropped making him unarmed. Courtney went for the kill. One light punch and she prevails. He collapsed to the ground. Luckily there is no injury due to that.

"Next one, Max." Mercy calls him out

Courtney suddenly takes a stance points her weapon towards the boys.

"Monkeys, this lone wolf will sweep all of you." she declares poised.

With that said, one by one. All the monkeys lining to deathbed. One meets ground, the others look dead. She keeps her line. Gareth declares calling it a day.

"Okay, mission accomplished, all of you take some shower and rest. That is all today.Goodnight."He ends the assembly.

Using the hospital's facilities they took baths, change clothing, and prepare their beds. They use the hospital wards like dormitories. Each ward contains between two to four people. Lux's bed tonight is with his new friend he made.

"YAY! Hospital beds are the best. It's like my second home."Henry charged to the hospital ward which was their dorm.

"You sound like you always get hospitalized,"Caleb replies

Lux enters the room. Just by surveying, he could feel some nostalgia. Without intention, he smiled lightly.

"Dormi, Amico Mio. (sleep, my friend)SLEEP LUX. I wanna turn off the lights."

"Oh, okay."He then went to his bed laying down staring at the window with raindrops falling down like it's having a race.

"𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘖𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦? 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦? 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤. 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘈𝘳𝘨𝘩! 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥." Line by line making him harder to sleep while his friends already faint.

Suddenly, Lux's ears caught the sound of the door being open. Someone is entering. Lux rise from his bed and take a look.

"Mr.Pierre?Why are you here?"Lux questions him.

"Sorry Lux, I was just taking a peek at my silverware soldiers. Are you about to sleep? I am sorry to interrupt."

"It's okay, I am having a hard time right now."

"What's on your thought?"

"Although now I know what to do, I still don't get a better, more detailed explanation of all these things."Lux started to sadden.

"Don't be down. Actually, I lied. That was the sole reason I come in. Lie on that bed. I'll give you a bedtime story."