No One's POV - three weeks later
Valt was sweating through his clothing as he watched the open doors of the Monastery. The last few weeks had been a blur. After Xander and Shu had agreed to being trained in the ways of the Masters, PIXAL had sent them away, though they hadn't left without a heartfelt goodbye with Valt. Then she'd had the blue haired boy stay and train at the Monastery while she traveled the world with the Elemental Navigation System, searching for more Masters. When she'd returned after two weeks, Valt had asked her why he hadn't accompanied her. It had been a lonely couple weeks, since PIXAL had told Xander and Shu that they should come back on a specific day so she could address the new generation of Masters as a whole.

PIXAL had only grinned and ruffled his hair. "It would be better if you didn't know beforehand who the new Masters are," She told him kindly yet firmly. "Showing no surprise when they come may lead them to believe that you had planned this change in their lives somehow, which may lead to hostility in the future team; hostility is something we cannot afford in dire situations."

Valt could not argue with that logic, but it didn't sit right with him that PIXAL would be shouldering all the blame when it comes.

"Besides, I thought you liked surprises," PIXAL had told him playfully.

"I may have grown out of that, seeing as the last 'big' surprise I got nearly killed me," Valt had grumbled back, no there had been no heat in his tone. PIXAL had only grinned and ruffled his hair some more.

The third week had been spent cleaning and shining everything in the Monastery until even the stones in the courtyard gleamed in the sunlight. PIXAL had pulled out all of the stops to make sure that the new Masters didn't get the wrong impression of them, washing and rewashing every spare scrap of fabric, waxing and rewaxing every suit of armor and weapon. Valt had been saddled with dusting and redusting every surface and knickknack. Even the training dummies never looked nicer.

Now all that was left to do was wait for the new Masters to show up.

Which was what the duo was currently doing. Awkwardly standing, staring at the open Monastery doors in the high noon sun.

"Remind me how exactly these guys are going to get here," Valt asked PIXAL out of the corner of his mouth. "They're coming from all over the world, right; as far as I know, the Monastery can't teleport across continents." His eyes widened as he considered the possibility. "Though that would be AWESOME."

PIXAL giggled slightly at his child-like wonder. "Once I discovered the Masters, I slipped each of them an envelope that had the Elemental Symbol pertaining to their families stamped on them," She explained. "Their ancestral memories would recognize the symbols, causing them to open the envelopes out of curiosity."

"It's a little concerning, how you know how they'll react," Valt admitted, giving her a side eyed stare.

Choosing to ignore that, PIXAL continued, "Inside, I put a note with specific instructions. The first was to tell their parents about the transaction. At least one parent was a past Master, so I suggested them to tell both parents in case one didn't know or told them to neglect the note. The Master parent would inform the Master child and possibly the other parent of their heritage and what must be done."

"And how do you know the Master parent will just tell them everything?" Valt inquired. "What if they decide not to? These are their children." His own mother and how she kept the secret from him for his whole life flashed in his mind.

"Again, they're past Masters," PIXAL said definitively. "They know the importance of the Masters better than anybody."

"That explains how they'll leave home without their parents worrying, but that still doesn't explain how they'll get here," Valt whined, starting to get antsy in the heat.

"Included in the envelope was a teleportation device - kind of like a high tech button. When the time becomes the one designated on the instructions, they'll push it. It'll transport them directly to the bottom of the mountain, and they'll climb up to the Monastery. That's where we come in - we're like the Welcoming Committee at an Orientation. We'll explain to them what we do here and answer questions if they have them."

"Wait - bottom of the mountain? So they have to walk up all those stairs?" Valt asked incredulously, staring at her fully.

PIXAL giggled. "Why not? Climbing up the stairs is part of the exercise here!"

"I know, but that doesn't exactly scream we're friendly."

"Hopefully our attitudes will change their minds!"

"I wouldn't put too much hope into that."

Finally, a clatter from further down the stairs caused them to stop and regain their composure. A few more seconds of waiting, and Shu appeared at the top of the stairs. After seeing Valt he smiled and hurried up the last few stairs. "I see you two have changed your appearances since I last saw you," He noted, addressing the both of them but looking at Valt.

The blue haired boy blushed and glanced at their clothing. PIXAL was wearing her "casual" outfit, which consisted of a pair of traditional Japanese sandals, a white undershirt, and a kimono in pink/purple palette that was edged with triangles in various shades of green. It was a far cry from the samurai armor she usually wore; she'd wanted to appear "normal" before the next generation, and not have them think she was simply a robot bred for battle. Valt was back to wearing his blue training gi, as PIXAL had insisted that it would give the new Masters an insight into their future training regime. However, he had finally cut his hair to its original length and had gone back to wearing his yellow headband - PIXAL had 3D printed it and gifted it to him as soon as she'd noticed that the light in his eyes had returned.

He was starting to feel more like himself again, and Shu definitely noticed. He went over to his new boyfriend and pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead. He too had changed his appearance. He no longer wore his Red Eye uniform and had gone back to wearing his usual black vest, tie, shirt, shoes and pink dress shirt; he had cut his white hair as well. "You look so cute in your little uniform," He purred against Valt's tan skin.

Pouting at the swift contact, Valt quickly stood on his toes and met Shu's lips, forcing him to commit a more passionate kiss. The albino blushed profusely, but had no choice but to comply. PIXAL raised her metallic eyebrows and turned her head to give the two some privacy.

"Alright, alright, get a room!" An impatient voice groaned. The two pulled apart with a surprised gasp, turning to see Xander leaning in the doorway with a devilish grin on his face. He had since cleaned up, and his hair and clothing now sported their usual bright colors.

PIXAL smiled. "Perfect. Now the Masters of Energy and Fire..." She paused as another boy walked up the steps behind Xander. "And Mind are here."

Valt and Shu gawked as Ren Wu Sun walked into the courtyard. "No way...he's a Master, too?" Valt exclaimed. "He was the one that was ready to beat me with a stick if I so much as breathed wrong."

"Yeah, and I'd still do that," Ren Wu snapped, pulling his gaze away from PIXAL. "And I gotta say, after witnessing you use an 'Element', I'm not that excited about this new arrangement."

"You don't even truly know what we do here," PIXAL told him gently. "Just give it a chance, Ren Wu Sun." The braided blader grumbled, but continued to survey the courtyard.

Xander grinned. "He was scared stiff when he got the note," He explained. "Something about 'having a characteristic similar to that of a monster'. I had to force the button into his hand and maneuver his fingers to push the button for him! Then I had to push him up the steps until we got so high, any attempt to escape would result in death." A wince crossed his features at the dire statement, then his look once again turned sly as he turned to Shu and Valt. "Now, how are you two lovebirds doing?"

Shu growled. "Do you always have to torment us?" He asked in a low voice. Xander simply stuck out his tongue between his sharp teeth.

"WAIT, WHA?" Another loud voice came from farther down the stairs. Everyone turned to see Honcho gawking at the quartet, Kit and Cuza huffing and puffing their way up behind him. Free was behind the three boys - not out of breath, just taking his sweet time.

Valt, Shu, and Xander gawked back at them while PIXAL simply beamed. "Perfect! Masters of Earth, Gravity, Time, and Amber are with us now!" She proclaimed, clapping her hands happily.

Honcho's wide-eyed stare moved to her. "So...we're just gonna ignore that," He said in a loud voice. "We're just gonna ignore...that two of our closest friends...just kissed! And apparently do it OFTEN! And APPARENTLY are IN A RELATIONSHIP!!" He looked like he was suffering from a stroke. "So we're ignoring that, right? Out of sight, out of mind? That's alright...it's fine. EVERYTHING IS JUST PEACHY!!"

The group just deadpanned. "Uh...are you okay, Honcho?" Valt asked tentatively, his hands still on Shu's shoulders.

"WHY WOULD SOMETHING BE WRONG?!" Honcho continued yelling. "No, it's not like our WHOLE LIVES HAVE JUST BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN!"

Xander awkwardly stood there, then slowly turned to face the couple. "Is he always this dramatic?" He asked.

Both boys nodded. "Sometimes it's worse," Valt admitted.

Honcho was still hyperventilating, so Free decided to do something about the noise. Bypassing Kit and Cuza, he walked up to the shook blonde and pinched the back of his neck, causing him to seize up. "You're too loud," The usually sleepy blader said in his ear.

Valt stepped away from Shu and approached the new group with a large smile on his face. "Hey, guys!" He exclaimed, holding out his arms for a hug. "I didn't know you were all Masters!"

"Neither did we," Kit told him, excepting the hug and burying his face in the older boy's chest. "But we each got those notes, and our parents finally fessed up. My mom actually cried when she told me; she said she was sorry for keeping the secret from me all these years."

"Yeah, my parents had the same reaction when they told me," Cuza added, leaning against the opposite doorway from Xander. "I can't believe my dad was some sort of magical Time Warrior."

"Master of Time, please, Cuza," PIXAL corrected him.

Cuza just stared at her, suddenly in a daze. "PIXAL...?" He asked slowly. Honcho, Kit, and Free both turned to stare at the white android. The same dazed look appeared on each of their faces as memories flashed in their heads.

PIXAL smiled brightly. "I will explain further once the other Masters get here," She promised. "For now, I think you have some catching up to do with Valt." The blue haired boy beamed and lead his shell-shocked friends off to a corner to chat.

Soon enough, the sounds of more people walking up the stairs floated into the courtyard. A mane of black hair flounced up the stone steps, green eyes widening as they caught sight of PIXAL.

"KEN!!" Valt and Honcho yelled in unison, startling the ventriloquist out of his ancestral reverie.

"Master of Metal," PIXAL proclaimed, opening her metallic arms to him. "Welcome."

Ken smiled weakly, Ken and Besu already on his hands. "Hey, guys," Besu said sheepishly. "Good to be here, but I'm not the only one." He stepped aside to reveal another boy hiding behind his legs, who couldn't have been more than 9. Deep red eyes peaked shyly out from behind washy blonde bangs, staring at the assembled group before them.

"Master of Water," PIXAL said kindly, kneeling down to greet the boy eye-to-eye. "And what is your name, little one?"

The blonde little boy's gawking gaze turned to her, finding the courage to come out from behind Ken's legs. "Fubuki...Sumie," He whispered softly.

"The little tike came up to us in the park about a week ago," Ker spoke up. "He'd gotten a note, and he'd noticed that Ken had gotten a similar note. He asked if we could accompany him to this so-called meeting, since he was too scared to go on his own." He paused as the ventriloquist and his puppets glanced at the simple-looking wooden building behind the group. "Though something tells me that calling it 'so-called' would be slandering it in some way."

"You bet it is!" A loud voice rose from the stairs. A look down the mountain revealed the Sword Flames bey club trudging up the steps, Yugo having been the one who spoke up. "Speaking of such a historic building in a low manner is disrespectful!"

"He was spewing useless facts about ancient monasteries the whole way up," Ukyo grumbled, he and Quon looking equally exhausted.

"They are not useless!" Yugo proclaimed, shooting daggers at the cyan haired blader with his brown eyes. "They are essential to our education as young Japanese martial artists!"

"Exactly - YOUNG Japanese martial artists," Quon spoke up. "We don't need facts from the days of the First Emperor of China, for crying out loud!"

Xander rolled his eyes, but smiled warmly at his former teammates. "Hey, guys! What Elements are you guys the Masters of?"

"Mr. Nansui is the Master of Nature, Mr. Ibuki is the Master of Light, and Mr. Limon is the Master of Poison," PIXAL broke in helpfully.

The new trio stared at her for a few seconds, then Quon slowly pointed at her. "Yeah, what she said."

"So we're all pretending this is normal?" Honcho whispered uncomfortably. "We're all mystical warriors and a robot is supposed to be teaching us?"

"Trust me, it's better to just accept," Valt told him.

So the group convened, chatting amongst themselves about the possibilities of their new future. Fubuki's shyness disappeared as he got acquainted with the older boys. He seemed especially happy that Shu was there, claiming to be the albino's biggest fan. The younger boy practically hounded him with questions, making Shu promise to battle him at least 5 times a day. Valt teased that Fubuki was a better boyfriend than him, then fretted that Shu was going to leave him for a younger boy. His red eyed lover kissed his head and promised him otherwise while Fubuki stood there, confused as to what a "boyfriend" was.

After a few minutes, more sounds came up the stairs, and Daigo soon appeared in the doorway. "Master of Shadow", PIXAL dubbed him. Wakiya came afterwards. "Master of Speed" was his new title. Orochi Ginba appeared at the top of the stairs with his headphones in his ears - no surprise that he was called the Master of Sound. Jin Aizawa and Naoki Minamo came together (NightBear15 , YES); Jin was the Master of Wind while Naoki was the Master of Ice. "My spirits told me that something amazing would happen," Jin claimed, his sleepy eyes holding a mild smirk. "Looks like they were right."

Soon their little group was up to 19 people, including PIXAL. "Who are we missing?" Valt asked her.

"Two; the Master of Smoke and the Master of Form," PIXAL informed him. She looked over his shoulder and smiled. "And there's the Master of Smoke now. Welcome, Mr. Shirosagi!"

Everyone halted in their tracks and spun around to face the doorway. "MR. WHO-NOW??" Honcho cried.

Sure enough, Lui Shirosagi stood in the doorway, the look of awe masked by a look of pure loathing as he took in the assembled group. "You guys are here, too?" He grumbled, his arms crossed as if in defiance at the whole situation. "What a joke."

At first no one spoke, too flabbergasted by this turn of events to form words. Then suddenly, Shu burst out, "You've gotta be kidding me; HE'S a Master, TOO?"

PIXAL gave him a look that mothers usually give their children when they're misbehaving. "Yes, and you will be working together for here on out, as will the rest of you." Her reprimanding gaze probed the rest of the gathered party. "So I expect all of you to get along, regardless of history."

Valt tugged on his lover's arm. "Please, Shu?" He begged. "I'm not happy about this either, but at least we're together again. Can't you just let it go?"

Shu looked like he wanted to protest, but one glance at the scalding look on PIXAL's face and another at the pleading look in Valt's eyes drained his opposition. He heaved a sigh, clenched and unclenched his fists, then turned to face Lui. "Welcome to the Monastery," He grumbled begrudgingly.

Lui gave him a raised eyebrow, looking the albino from head to toe. After a few seconds, he shrugged and muttered "Whatever, Kurenai."

Sensing the energy in the courtyard, PIXAL hurried over to Lui and lead him to a corner of the courtyard, away from the others.  Once they were deep in conversation, the assembled group took a deep breath and resumed their own conversations.

"Lui's a Master, too?" Honcho asked in a hushed voice. "And now we're going to be hanging around him ALL THE TIME?"

"I know; just being in the same vicinity as him is making my skin crawl," Daigo agreed, then fearfully glanced over his shoulder to see if Lui heard.

"He's scary..." Fubuki whispered, his shyness back and bordering on terrified as he hid behind Shu's legs.

"I'm with you on that," Kit agreed, hiding behind Xander's legs.

"Relax, you two," Valt told the two of them, kneeling down to their level. "Lui may be mean, but he's our brother now, and we have to treat him with respect."

"Well, you'll be treating him with respect..." Quon grumbled.

Valt shot him a look. "Anyways..." He turned back to the younger ones. "Just try to endure him, okay?"

Both Fubuki and Kit nodded as a new voice filtered through the courtyard, "Uhm...I got a note saying I should push a button; then I ended up here?"

Everyone turned to see Boa Alcazaba standing in the doorway, taking in the sights and memories. His large green eyes wandered the length of the courtyard, noting every person's reaction. Then his gaze caught on a face he knew well. "Red Eye?"

The albino smiled and shook his head. "It's Shu," He informed the goldenrod haired boy. He approached his former minor. "So...you're the Master of Form."

Boa glanced at the others. "I suppose I am," He admitted, grinning slightly. He caught sight of Lui and his grin dropped. "Aw man...Lui Shirosagi is here, too?"

Valt walked up to them. "Yes - just endure him," He said quickly and pulled the duo away before PIXAL or Lui could notice Boa's obvious dislike of the blue haired male.

PIXAL definitely noticed, but simply rolled her eyes and walked to the center of the courtyard. "Now that everyone is here, I'll begin the Orientation," She announced. Everyone moved to stand around her, except Lui, who preferred to stand against the wall. "As you've all been told, your families are very powerful in the literal sense. They are all Elemental Masters - that is, they all can control a different aspect of the natural world," She explained loudly. "They have not told you about your heritage for reasons I will leave to them to explain, but now it is time for you to learn the ways of your ancestors. Do not worry, for I have seen it all; I will teach you all such ways, but I need you to realize that this new development does not need to change who you are. You will still be able to do all of your usual activities and hobbies; all I ask is that you make some time in your schedules to train here.

"You will each be given a training gi similar to the one that Valt is wearing." She gestured to Valt at that, who waved shyly. "The teleportation buttons you used to get here today will transport you here for the remainder of your training. You will be trained in numerous scenarios both related to your powers and not, in order to be sure you're ready for anything the future throws at you. Those scenarios will be both mentally and physically challenging so you can push your limits.

"You will be introduced to an entire world that only a few people outside of this group are privileged to see. It may not always be fun and it may not always be easy, but take to heart the fact that you will not go through it alone - from here on out, you boys are a team. You are family."

A few bladers grumbled, casting side glances at Lui, who seemed oblivious to them.

Done with her piece, PIXAL turned to the "oldest" of the group. "Valt, as you have been here the longest, do you have anything else to add?" She asked of him.

Valt stilled, at a loss for words. He looked around himself at the gathered bladers, who were now the future Elemental Masters. They had similar abilities to his, but they didn't know what they were, or how to control them. He still didn't know all there was to the Element of Lightning, and he was honestly scared to find out. But now there were others who could understand him - who would be with him every step of the way. And he would do the same for them.

This was his family now. And he was going to do anything he could do to help them.

"Like PIXAL said," He finally told them. "It may not always be fun or easy, but no matter what happens, we're all going to get through it together. As a family.

"So...

"Who's ready to get started?"

—————
3746 words.

I...

Am...

SO TIRED.

FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS.

1. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately because I've been sleeping at my grandma's house for the past five nights.

2. I FINALLY FINISHED THIS BOOK AFTER NEARLY A YEAR!

Don't worry, it's not the end - far from it! A new book will be coming out soon, with your favorite bladers flaunting their new Elemental Powers!

And in case you were lost on the matter of who's who:

Hopefully this helps.

As you've probably already noticed, this has been the background picture in my profile for months now, and I didn't post it in my Art Book because I thought it would give too much away. But being the egomaniac I am, I couldn't help putting it up as my background because it looks SO GOOD.

Which begs the question: How much have I already spoiled?

The colors are based off of the ones used for the Elemental Masters Lego Minifigures. Sorry if they look weird on the boys - I went with what I felt was right.

I was in my Kakegurui phase when I made this drawing. I just loved the concept of something on you changing when you feel intense about something.

Anyways, that's it for this book! See you in the next one!