The sun rises over the horizon once more to gift its light to those awake. Duck is up bright and early, watching the sunrise from atop his dojo. He didn’t have any reason to be up there. The man was waiting for Vulcan but wasn’t quite going to wake him up early.

Ducks sightseeing was interrupted when a voice called up to him. He looked down to see Vulcan which was a surprise. He jumped off the roof and landed in front of him.

“You’re up early.” Duck said which prompted a quick reply from Vulcan. “Well, that's what I've been taught to do. Wouldn’t feel natural if I slept in.” Duck wore a small smile on his face.

“I suppose it's a good thing. I have more training for you to do.”

Vulcan frowned, “More training?” The tone in his voice suggested that he wasn’t very excited about doing anymore.

“Not just any training. Special training. Come on, follow me.” Duck said as he led the way to the back of the dojo. They didn’t stop there though and began to enter the vast forest.

“What exactly am I training for?” Vulcan asked as they strolled down the path they usually ran on.

“What is a warrior without their Fragment? You need to unlock yours if you want to become a skilled fighter. A martial artist uses every tool available to them.” Duck explained before turning onto a narrow path that branched off from the one they were on.

Duck was pretty excited to be doing Fragment training. It was always interesting because no one had the exact same one. Plus, it reveals the best part of someone when used for good. This would let Duck see more of who Vulcan is. Vulcan figured that his Fragment would eventually unlock on its own. He didn’t think he’d have to obtain it.

Finally the two walked into a meadow within the forest. There was nothing but grass and a few flowers. Two sticks did lean against a nearby tree which Duck picked up.

“Alright, let's begin.” Duck tossed one of the bo-staffs at Vulcan who caught it with both hands.

“Before you can begin to work towards your fragment, you need to understand what it is.”

Vulcan scoffed confidently, “I know what a Fragment is. It’s a cool power that makes you stronger in battle.”

“Wrong.”

Duck said with a smile.

“A fragment is, admittedly, cool but it certainly doesn’t make you stronger. Our Fragments will always be just that, a part of us. They do not determine if we’re strong. You must learn the importance of your Fragment and respect it.” Vulcan listened intently as his teacher went into detail on the abnormal power in everyone.

“Do you know the origin of Fragments?” The pupil shook his head.

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“Fragments have a complicated history. People debated on whether they were gods' gift or the devil's curse. It is said the god of order gave mankind the power to change the world for good while some believe the god of chaos handed them out in an attempt to tilt the balance in his favor. Now, whether the gods actually exist, that's up to you to decide. Eventually, we learned to live with what we were given but some choose not to acknowledge it.” Duck twirled his staff around his fingers as he explained. Vulcan was quite interested since he didn’t have a lot of access to history on the streets.

“Sounds like a myth a parent would tell a child to keep them under control.” He joked.

Duck stamped the ground with his bo-staff, “Myth or not, you need to understand how to master it. First you’ll have to get a grip on your emotions. They are what allow us to tap into our Fragment. People have many different ways of doing so. Anger, tranquility, content. It's a matter of finding the one that resonates with you.” The teacher hopped up onto his staff which remained completely still. He twirled around before switching to a handstand with just one arm.

“Try it.” Duck said to Vulcan while upside down.

Vulcan glanced at his staff and attempted the same feat. He was shaky but was able to stay fairly balanced on the stick. The pupil made no progress as an hour flew by. The young man had even fallen several times while Duck didn’t falter for one second.

He was getting aggravated and didn’t want to keep going. Vulcan then thought of a rather interesting question.

“Hey Duck, how’d you unlock your Fragment?” Duck shot a glance down at Vulcan before jumping off his staff.

“Why do you ask?” He responded nervously.

“Well I just thought if I knew how you got yours that maybe it’d be easier to unlock mine.” Vulcan stood up from the ground and waited to hear what Duck was capable of.

Duck sighed heavily, “I trained my ass off everyday like I said when I first met you. My mothers words were all I needed to accomplish my goals. The want for strength slowly evolved into something more than just a goal, it became my dream. A dream where the world was full of hope and safety.” Vulcan looked away, clearly bothered because he didn’t have a family to support him.

The teacher walked up to Vulcan and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Unfortunately, not everyone has a family. That's why we make one and I'd say you got a pretty good one back at the dojo.” Vulcan looks over his shoulder with a smirk on his face.

“Now, how about we try one more time before we call it a day?” Duck moved away after snatching the bo-staff from Vulcan.

“Don’t I need that?” The teacher shook his head in response to his question. “Focus. Close your eyes this time.” Vulcan did what he was told.

“Relax your shoulders, every tense muscle in your body and breathe in slowly.” The pupils shoulders dropped as he breathed in deeply.

“Concentrate on your heartbeat and nothing else. Just let your mind free.” Duck gave out his final instructions as Vulcan remained dead silent.

Vulcan slowly pushed away every sound around him. The chirping of birds, the rustle of leaves in the wind, everything except his heartbeat. Finally, he tuned that out. Leaving nothing. Duck watched as the wind around them stopped in its tracks. The trees stopped as if they were watching them. The hairs on his neck shot up as something out of the ordinary happened. Duck grinned just as Vulcan snapped out of it.

He looked winded and exhausted despite having done nothing.

“Nicely done!” Duck congratulated which brought about confusion from Vulcan.

“Did something happen?” Vulcan looked clueless to the small spectacle that had just occurred.

“Boy, you just took your first step towards getting your Fragment. Let's head home and I'll explain on the way.” Duck beckoned Vulcan to follow. The two then ventured back to the dojo, talking up a storm together.