A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 87: The saber's ignition and special training.

-Narration-

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get the saber of yours and fix it!" Bowser says to max impatiently even though he knew all to well that max is on the same page. "I was just about to head back to my room and get it." Max says with a chuckle before heading back to his room and he slowly takes what he saw as a necklace off. He had always seen this as a good luck charm during his stay at the bridge of hope adoption home whenever something bad happened even though he never witnessed it himself or even knew just what had happened. He couldn't help but wonder if that was a good thing considering the fact that the magishadow were once taking kids in and having them join their cause. However, he knew that they were wanting to kill him, but..over a crystal? Something about that made no sense to him. He felt that him having this crystal was just a small reason to an even bigger reason. Maybe..maybe he could meet someone who has the answer? Before that day comes, max needed to remain firmly within what he can do now.

-Max pov-

I held pico's saber hilt in my hand while holding the starlight saber crystal in my other hand. The hilt itself looked somewhat small in my hands and i can only imagine what it looked like in pico's hands. Just by holding this...i felt as if i always had this...ugh, i can't get invested in these thoughts now! I felt as if i were guided by invisible hands without an aura for me to sense as i find myself taking the hilt apart and find a small compartment inside where the crystal can be placed. "Huh..didn't know it was that easy to take apart..." I mutter before placing the crystal inside and made sure it was firmly in place.

It feels so weird not having it around my neck and holding it in my hand while saying a quick prayer...something i did often during my stay at the bridge of hope. "Ok..that's in...just gotta put it back together..." I say while trying to put it back together. "You certainly don't waste time." I hear mike say with a chuckle. "Heh..yeah..it was surprisingly easy for me to take it apart...not exactly easy to put it back together though..." I answer, ultimately annoyed that it was taking me a few frustrating minutes to put it back together.

-Mike pov-

A few moments ago, i decided to see what max was doing considering that bowser was beginning to get impatient. Heh..big guy ought to show some patience. Although ..the fact that i decided to come up to max's room out of impatient curiosity makes me just as bad. "Finally!" Max says after i hear a click. The elation in his voice became evident. "Nice! So..you gonna activate it?" I ask him. "Not in here! Gonna do that outside..." He answered before he starts walking out of his room.

                      Oh, boy..this ought to be good!

-Narration-

Max and mike go downstairs where bowser, kamek, ludwig and tyson are all waiting anxiously while max had the saber in his hand and no longer had the crystal around his neck. "Finally got it fixed, eh?" Bowser asked max upon seeing the hilt in his hand. "I must say...it looks rather small in your hand." Kamek says, looking at it closely. "Well, yeah..but if i can modify it somehow, then i..-" Max started to say while looking for a way to activate it before finding a switch near the top of the blade and presses it, and wasn't expecting to see it turn on so quickly. Especially since it was close to his face. "WOAH!!" He yells while everyone in the room steps back in total surprise. The blade itself glowed orange and the blades' hum sounded unlike anything any of them have ever heard of before.

// Credit goes the star wars in terms of its sound and credit goes to the one who made this quick video.

-Max pov-

Holy shit...aside from it sounding lower pitched than a certain lightsaber (if that even makes sense...) this thing sounds like the actual thing...it unfortunately doesn't sound like the one vader uses, but that's ok, i'll work with that. Iggy is gonna freak out!

-Mike pov-

Ok..that sounds...wow...not even my dad has seen anything like this before...

-Ludwig pov-

The sound that thing makes...the orange glow...i have never seen anything like it before! Ugh, iggy is gonna have fit...

-Kooky pov-

Orange...just like pico's....it can't be...it's becoming more and more obvious to me...but...HOW?!

-Bowser pov-

"Turn that thing off!" I demanded. The fact that he switched it on when it was close to his face is what aggravates me even though it's his first time activating it. I don't want that thing destroying everything it touches! That, and there's no doubt in my mind that the other koopalings, ESPECIALLY iggy, will be ecstatic about it...

-Narration-

Max presses the same button he pressed to activate it in order to shut it off and in doing so, the blade instantly goes back in the hilt with a soft 'shhh' sound. "Ok...DEFINITELY gotta be careful with this thing..." Max says with a sigh. "Gee, you think?! You just about burned your face off, you knucklehead!" Mike says with n annoyed sigh. "How the hell was i supposed to know it would activate like that?!" Max protested.

"It matters not. What matters now is that you must undergo training in order for you to use your new weapon." Tyson says with a sigh before turning his head to mike. "You must also undergo training. After what happened in bowser's castle, it is a necessary step."

"...Me? But..I already know how to use my sword." Mike looked confused, having no idea what he did when zöhm revealed that the magishadow were the ones who killed his parents. "Do you know anything of gorochu?" Tyson asked. "The hell..? W-what are you talking about?" Asked a very confused mike. "Yeah, he definitely doesn't know." Max says in a somber tone.

"KNOW WHAT?!" Mike yelled, having no idea what he did. "Yeah, um..you turned into this 'gorochu' and actually landed a blow against zöhm." Max says to mike. "I did..?" The look on mike's face was of genuine confusion. "It would seem that you blacked out during that brief moment. Very little is known about the gorochu other than there was once many of them and that each one shared a special bond with another.

It is a shame that, for now, we will never know what happened to them knowing that they all vanished without any trace." Tyson explained. "Hmph..what a shame." Bowser said with a huff. As long as it didn't involve mario in any way, then he hardly cared about it.

"You and max have that bond, and you must be trained to use it without losing control. And for max...he must learn to use his starlight saber." Tyson said in a serious tone. "And to not activate it while it's close to your face..." Mike says while roughly nudging max with the end of his sword hilt by simply using his sheathed sword to reach the back of max's head. "OW..ok, i get it!" Max mutters while rubbing the back of his head.

-Mike pov-

I vaguely remember my dad talking about a legend, but...i was so young. Did he know? Did mom? Knowing my dad, he likely had secrets of his own and as much as i want to find out for myself, i highly doubt now is a good time to do that...not when zöhm and the magishadow are around.

-Tyson pov-

The legend of gorochu has been around for nearly as long as the legendary pokemon themselves and most, if not all of them know nothing of what happened to them. Then again...perhaps they do, but were never asked? That question will be answered, but not now...

-Narration-

"Where are the others? I'm surprised none of them heard any of this." Max says, becoming curious to how they would react. "Knowing them, they're outside at the pool. Just, just be careful with that thing..." Bowser answered. "I will." Max says, before heading to the backyard.

At this point, max couldn't help but feel excited about what's going to happen. Perhaps..perhaps it won't be so bad? Or perhaps he's ultimately naive and has no clue?

           All max can do, is take it one day at a time.