Rising Shards

“This is it, friends,” Kalei said. “The moment we’ve all been waiting for.”

Kalei stepped off the bus and lined up with her good friends the Matora sisters and Syval from Falling Shards. And Roux, for some reason. The group stood in front of LE’s biggest convention center, where fans of the popular comic book series Hado Diconius were entering for the big convention. Practically everyone there was in costume or in Hado Diconius t-shirts or hats. Wearing a costume of her own, the robe of a warrior from the comic, Kalei felt right at home.

“Well, friends and Roux.” Kalei said. “Roux, why are you here again?”

“I’m allowed to like Hado Diconius as well, you know,” Roux said. “Especially since my extremely wealthy family helped pay for all your tickets to the convention as well as bus fare.”

“No you didn’t,” Kai Matora said.

“Yeah, our parents paid for ours,” Ko Matora said.

“Roux, how many times do we have to tell you your family isn’t wealthy?” Kalei asked.

“Sometimes she tells us that,” Syval said. “When she’s on the ‘I’m a displaced princess from a forgotten kingdom’ backstory. Then when we point out the inconsistencies, she’ll say something vaguely ominous.”

“One day you’ll all understand,” Roux said. "Understand and regret."

“See? Like that.” Syval said.

“Well, whatever, let’s all get inside already,” Kalei said.

The convention felt like heaven to Kalei. Every booth had either incredible treasures from the series or great fan made stuff. Better yet, they all got there early enough to get seats for a panel where the trailer for Project Flyswatter was released, the first ever movie adaptation of the comic. Kalei left the panel hall feeling perfectly content with life.

“That was even better than I was expecting!” Kai said.

“I was skeptical about casting that pop singer,” Ko said. “But he actually delivered that one line in the trailer pretty well.”

“Right?” Kalei said. “And we got to see the director on stage! I don’t even know what to do now! Like here and in life in general! Like I'm fulfilled here, gang.”

"Well, there's still more merch." Ko said.

"And we need food." Kai said.

"Right, true and true." Kalei said.

Kalei and her friends walked over the entire show floor at least two times. She picked up enough versions of the first volume of the series with variant covers to give Oka and Zeta a chance to read them (she was keeping the autographed gold covers though). It was also a payment in Kalei’s eyes for Zeta for helping out with the Tyrant Rangers tie in armor drop.

“The only thing I wish this had was Slice B.G. Steel,” Kalei said. “I know he doesn’t leave his house anymore, but man it would be so cool to get his autograph.”

“Seriously,” Syval said. “I’d…I’d even offer him a firm handshake.”

“Wow, yeah, me too…” Kalei said. She dreamily thought about giving the comic’s first writer a firm handshake.

The sight of a familiar blue haired girl brought Kalei out of her daze.

“Rex Steel herself!” Kalei said.

The clybrid Cani stopped in the middle of looking through her bag of toys she’d gotten.

“Oh, hiya!” 09 said. “Wasn’t expecting to see anyone I know at a gathering this big!”

“What are you doing here?” Kalei asked.

“Well, my new dad is a big fan of Hado, so he invited me to this. He’s at a photo shoot thing with the guy that’s gonna play Small Bee?”

“Principal Penteldtam likes Hado Diconius?” Kalei said. “That’s…actually super cool.”

“Uh huh,” 09 said. “And since it’s one of the few major series right now that has any clybrid characters in it, I honestly wonder if it gave him the idea to get me. Clybrid representation bayyy beeee!”

“Oh, that is true,” Kalei said. She tried to remember if she noticed the clybrid characters before. She only recently learned from meeting 09 what a clybrid even was, but she felt pride in her series for being cutting edge like that.

“I best get going, though,” 09 said. “I think Papa P. wants me for the next photo op.”

“Alright, nice seeing you, Steel!” Kalei said.

“Kalei, I’m very disappointed in you,” Roux said after 09 left.

“How come?” Kalei said. “Are you ever not disappointed in me?”

“Because you didn’t introduce me to your clybrid friend!” Roux said. “I have uses for her.”

“No, you don’t.” Kalei said. “And if you did, you could just go talk to her at school.”

Roux grumbled.

After running into 09, they split into a few different groups. Roux and Kai were off to separate autograph signings, and Ko and Kalei ended up in their own long line at one of the concession stands.

“I can’t decide if this is better or worse than the bathroom lines,” Ko said.

“At least we have food waiting for us at the end of this line,” Kalei said. “Instead of a nasty bathroom.”

“Both provide relief if you think about it.”

“Shut up, I don’t wanna think about it,” Kalei said. “Don’t talk about the bathroom line while I’m waiting for food, I’m hungry and I want to be able to actually eat the food when we get it.”

Ko pulled off her hair tie to redo her ponytail. She brushed her long hair in Kalei’s face.

“Hey, quit it.” Kalei said.

“Nah,” Ko said. “If I annoy you here and you try to wrestle me, you’ll get in trouble with security or something.”

“So…just stop annoying me?” Kalei asked.

“Nah,” Ko said, brushing her hair at Kalei again. “Usually I just annoy Kai. One time I got her banned from a mall when she tried to wrestle me when we were on a glass elevator.”

“OK, that’s cruel but I respect it.” Kalei said.

Despite being identical twins, Kalei had known the Matora sisters long enough to know the differences in their personalities. While both were pretty tough, especially while playing beam chasers, Kai was a bit more physical and impulsive, while Ko was a bit more of a prankster. Ko was more suave than her sister, but her sister was more blunt and direct.

A group of three stylish girls that were maybe a few years older had to pass in front of Kalei and Ko’s place in line.

“Hey, watch it,” Ko said. “You gotta be careful busting into my spot in line unless you want me to come with wherever you’re going which I wouldn't be entirely unopposed to.”

The three stopped and looked at each other before giggling.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” Ko asked. “Maybe once I get some food, it is hard to turn down beautiful people, really.”

Ko chatted them up as Kalei laughed at how easily she was talking to them and getting them to hang on every word with stuff that would sound intensely cheese filled coming out of her own mouth.

The girls exchanged numbers and left.

“Holy crap, dude,” Kalei said.

“What?” Ko asked nonchalantly as she finished adding the numbers into her contacts.

"How are you such a flirt?" Kalei asked. “You just practically got three people into you?”

“Did I?” Ko asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Kalei said.

“Huh. Didn’t notice,” Ko said. “I just make friends easily.”

"Yeah, friends." Kalei said.

"Yeah," Ko said, throwing a sly look Kalei's way. "Friends."

Kalei instantly thought of how it’d be if she could talk to Nikki like that. A few minutes in line were spent daydreaming about that before Kalei decided she would try to learn from the new apparent flirt master.

“That was just like. Wow. Very impressive.” Kalei said.

“What was?” Ko asked. “Are you still on about the flirting?”

“I…uh. Nah, you know.” Kalei said. “I’ve just never seen anything like that?”

“You got someone you wanna flirt with?” Ko asked.

Kalei scratched her head and looked away, not able to take the smug look on Ko’s face.

“Pfffft, no,” Kalei said. “But like, if I did, hypothetically?”

“If you did, would you want my advice?” Ko asked.

“…I mean, it’d be a good skill to have, right?” Kalei asked.

“I’d be shocked if you weren’t a huge flirt already.” Ko said.

“What?” Kalei asked. “You’re joking.”

“You’re one of the most confident people I know.” Ko said, her smug look replaced with a serious one.

“For real?”

“For real. The only thing holding you back there is you.”

The two finally approached the front of the food line. Kalei nearly floated on the aroma, despite the waffle pizza looking a bit suspect up close.

“Judging by your drooling, these pizzas are gonna take priority about learning how to flirt and you’re gonna forget about it for the rest of the day?”

“Probably.” Kalei said, taking a big bite. “Probably for you too, yeah?”

“Yep….” Ko said. “So when we get back remind me, I’ll show you a thing or two.”

The rest of the weekend was a blur of good times, highlighted by a brief glimpse of the real Slice B.G. Steel, who stepped out onto the main stage for approximately thirty-six seconds to wave to the crowd before his reclusiveness set in.

“That might be the greatest thirty-six seconds of my life,” Kalei said.

“It was also the smelliest thirty-six seconds of my life,” Roux said. Glares surrounded her, not just from the circle of friends, but from the attendees of the convention as well. “What? He smelled! You could smell him from here!”

By the time they were back on the bus headed to Sky Clay, Kalei didn’t even have the energy to play on her eGame. She got cozy in a travel blanket as she sat between Ko and Kai.

“Hey guys?” Kalei asked. “Can you do me a favor?”

“What’s that, bud?” Ko asked.

“Make sure…” Kalei yawned. “While I’m sleeping…that Roux doesn’t steal my eGame 3.”