----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------They had gone out to check on the crops when Dokebi and five of his Shamans arrived in the farmhouse. "The boy is ours now. You must taint his blood no more." The father protested weakly. "He is my son! He will not be accepted in the village, as you have commanded them regarding us!" The Shaman Councilor laughed at this. "You have forgotten, outsider, that he is my apprentice. The whole village regards him as my succesor; he is a striker, and more." "He is no shaman, councillor, but a boy who will choose what he will be when he comes of age. Now please leave us. Winter is coming and we have to prepare; I suggest you tell your people to do the same." Dokebi smiled and walked around them and drew his one of his blades. The strikers did the same. They walked in a threatening manner, circling in on them, just as the barn door burst open. His mother was saying something about their friends from the city when she saw their plight, her eyes widening with horror. Dokebi gestured, and one of the strikers grabbed her mother. "Your choice, Bloodcaster." He knew what would happen if he resisted, but if he went with them, there was a chance that the councillor would let them go. He decided to go with them. He took one last look at his parents, his eyes brimming with tears, begging for forgiveness. Then Dokebi put his arm over his shoulder and they all left, the shadows of the twilight mocking him of his choice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Snow and ash fell lightly on the blood-strewn village. To some eyes, this and the blood moon accentuated the beauty of the starless evening - but they had already shattered their vision years ago. This squad already had another two encounters this morning, but they had still not found the rebels they were looking for. If another day passed without even a footprint leading to the hideout, they would be withdrawn, all of their members reevaluated, including the candidates for the ZPCI Elite. Three Hunters had to be pulled from the mission to accomodate the tagalongs. Looking at the Commandos, the Captain was disappointed with one of them. The eldest, had one of the sharpest minds he had ever seen. Normally, no one would question the battle plan drawn up by their Sergeant. But this one challenged every element and questioned every tactic of the strategies the guy had come up with. The Captain approved of him, but it could not be said of the next one. The kid, to put it bluntly, was nothing more than a charmer. He had probably impressed his previous commanding officer by going by the book, apprehending anyone with the slightest mistake that went against the rules, hell probably even had a relationship if the former CO was female. But it wwas the third that sent chills down his spine. The debriefing officer told him to disregard the fact that the kid had lied about his age, which was really fifteen. He looked he was seventeen but had the eyes of any of his Hunters that had seen death before. But the scariest of all, he was like a ghost. He never was included in the battle plan because he was given freedom to kill, or capture any he encountered whenever he scouted for them. The only reason they could locate him was the emergency friend-or-foe tag that sent a beacon to anyone, including enemies nearby. He was surprised, because the second one, a Sergeant once of the Dystopian Guard, raised his rifle and cried, "Sir, contact!". The only thing he noticed before he was dragged to safety by one of his Hunters was that youngest Commando, Luke, was running away from the batle into the deep darkness of the winter night. And fell. He had been hit by one of the mounted MGs. Even if he had made it, he would have shot him himslef for running from the battle. Something was wrong and he couldn't shake off the feeling. Luke couldn't have died so easily. Then he remembered that he ran away from the battle; he was a coward, and died like one. He didn't give the young man another thought. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Glowing embers flew about the burning house. He had run away from the tent while he was being prepared, only to find two shamans waiting outside. Killing them had been easier than he thought. He had always thought that when they were training, they were just taking it easy on him because he was a worthless outsider, that Argalla had told them to not hurt him. He saw the shamans he sent to the menders' care. He had never seen those memories before, then realized they were not his. He knew that the puppeteers that guarded the village borders were the only ones able to do that. The voices of breakers lookig for him took him back to the real world. Fear-and something even more powerful deep inside him-jolted him and let him run faster than he ever dared. His mind never even noticed that he had already gone around the lake until water from the edge splashed against his feet. He saw the house burning. There was only the howl of wolves in the distance that was punctuated by a deep rumble. He froze; the rumble was getting closer, and so were the wolves. He stood but it was too late; the rumble was directly overhead, and there was a gale that swept away from him the will to stand, to fight, to rise, to think. The last things he saw were lights that blinded him, but before he lost his vision, he saw the wolves. ------------------------------------------------------------ A sharp whistle announced the descent of another hi-explosive round into the abandoned village. A section of the roof of a house at the other side of the street destroyed a section of the wall, the explosion doing the rest. One of his men dropped a grenade from the secondary tube of his modified M7V down the ridge. It fell short, but hit the underside of their hiding place, undoing a section of their cover. The portable artillery piece crashed down the hill, along with a section of the snow. It was then that they saw a man dangling under the ridge. The man-more a boy than a grown adult- was planting explosives before the grenade fell. As he fell the dark-clad soldier pulled something out and thunder rumbled throughout the hills of Oberursel. The remaining gunners fell down the hill, tumbling down to the spot where the mysterious man was pointing his rifle at them and waiting for the Hunters to arrive. "Identify yourself!", the Sergeant shouted, and gasped as did the rest of them when Luke took his mask off. "Captain, these men have no tattoos born by the rebels, or any other distinguishing mark of any kind. They are not the rebels we are looking for,Sir. What do we with them?" Captain Artakunos' mind, which was slowly overcoming his shock, went blank when Luke said they were not rebels. He took a glance at them. "We'll...we'll..." and all the world spun around him and all went black. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I almost forgot to say; all of the first parts of every chapter is supposed to be italicized because it's a dream/memory; btw thanks to Larah131313 for proofreading, to whitenovember06 for the support, and for someone special for the inspiration even if she doesn't know a thing about it; Thanks for reading! (no, this isn't the last one...)
hold on, Mayor Johnson's the one going to make an appearance, but sure I'll try to insert Nostalgia here somewhere during the revolt... oops I slipped.
Uh, I just got grounded by my dad, so the next chapters will have a longer interval because I will have to work on this in secret... Please bear with me as I attempt to bring to you my first (hopefully not the last) fanfic in the greatest form possible.
**** these animals, thought Lieutenant David, when he found the bodies. "She shouldn't be here..." he mumbled, but he had no other choice but to obey her father. The mayor's daughter insisted she come along, thinking she would somehow miraculously find them. Sophia probably envied her sister for being able to go outside their home. Sophia was the younger of the two by a year and always had to be under medical supervision. She was always racked by constant seizures, or worse, headaches that rendered her immobile. The elder, Silena, never had any kind of medical trouble, which was why she didn't have any problem cornering her father into letting her go to the valley of Gadi'kala. It was a peaceful valley, with the shamans there to keep out any trouble. The new Coucil Elder, however, was beginning to raise alarm in the City Council. Dokebi was known to use violence to anyone that was linked to anything big happening in the valley near the sea. He thought that this valley was more beautiful than the one Hew was in. But Gadi'kala was less peaceful now compared to the years past, and the two burnt bodies in front of him were a testament to that. "Sir, the woman was pregnant. We can confirm it at any of the labs back at the city," the field medic reported. "The child, Arthur," he replied, and the medic's grim expression confirmed David's worst fears. "Sir, there's a lot of organic matter in the house, a lot more than what two skulls can spill. There's tracks leading to the woods nearby, and we followed them, but the carcass we found is unidentifiable, much like what happens to ink when it gets wet. It's horrible sir, and there's a chance that the boy is alive and lost somewhere somewhere in the woods, but with what I've seen after running with the squad, I don't think were gonna see any of the boy again." The despairing news came along with a crash of thunder and the soft patter of raindrops upon the hard ground. His last thought was that none of this could happen in the northern valley. ------------------------------------------------------------Luke glanced at Artakunos. The man was beginning to wake up after fainting at the sight of him alive. They were inside the choppers now, after they had suddenly recieved orders to pull back. Luke knew the former Dystopian Guard, David, was hiding something, but he didn't know until the man dragged the one of five into a basement of one the abandoned houses. There he started playing Barney like there was no tomorrow. The captive, after a few hours of unending torment, began screaming and laughing. They had recieved the transmission after David had checked on his personal project. They then radioed in to the command post two miles away. Looking at Artakunos, he wondered why the man had been unconscious for so long. Was he gifted with an unnatural Cosmic Charge?; Was he a prophet?; maybe he was just having dreams, but looking back, he remembered that most prophets saw the future in their dreams. He looked at the others. He wondered what they hid. He wondered if they had any thoughts as to who he really was, or what he once was. He remembered Silena, who always glanced at him when she thought he wasn't looking. He wasn't looking at her however, but her sister, Sophia. Even when they were young, her beauty would entrance him, and when he was completely mesmerized, her raven hair would whip around her face as she turned to look at him and utter "What?" with innocence in her voice and her hazel eyes. He remembered her in the city when he was sent by the ZPCI to assassinate someone there. She was no longer the sickly little girl, but had grown into a beautiful young lady who was like she never suffered any frailty as a child. He could not believe his eyes. He could not believe what time had done. The hum of the rotors never disturbed him from the thoughts that made his heart ache. He swore and sighed. He knew he could never be part of that, even before he had become what he was now. But he never even knew his purpose. "Thirty seconds to descent," came over the intercom. He dreaded returning here. He feared those glistening eyes and what they had in store for him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry guys, but I have to drop this one. It's getting awkward in school and stuff; I'm writing something else for temporary so if you've got an idea, don't hesitate to post it on my wall.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The raindrops fell lightly as the wind howled through the city. It was night, and the sky was pitch-black from the clouds that brought showers to the earth. Luke was at the rooftop of a building adjacent to that of The Vanishing Apple. It was a new one and hosted show for rising magician Clemons Bugiel. Mayor Torelli was having an informal meeting with some of the city's councillors. One of those councillors was Grey, who opposed the ZPCI fiercely and openly. Torelli was more cautious and neutral but he agreed to some of the points grey made, ideas the ZPCI could not accept without heavy loss. And so they sent him to warn off Torelli and kill Grey. A flash of movement caught his eye. One of the cars was stopping, and was unloading a man and two women. It was Torelli, he could clearly see with the crosshairs of his rifle. The rifle was a customized Ember model 212 that used electromagnetic energy to discharge its projectiles and was fitted with an adjustable scope that had a large zooming range. Nor was the rifle the only special equipment he had brought for the job. The bullets he was using were practically needles that were encased in a copper shell. The shell was discharged as soon as the shot left the barrel which amplified the needle's penetrating power. It could go through a three-inch thick glass panel without shattering it, but the downside was that it cost thousands for every single bullet. The ZPCI would write this one off as worth that, and if the current mayor stepped down, then they would call it a bargain. As the crosshairs drifted from Torelli to the women, his heart stopped beating. The taller one, was stunning and called for the goddesses' ire, but what numbed him dead was the other one. When he first saw them, he had mistaken it for the ending of the mayor's grief over his dead wife, then realized it was his daughters, whom he had often played with as a child. He could see that she had outgrown his memories of her, outgrown her self from what illness had struck her and depraved her from the joys of youth when she was growing up. When she at last disappeared from his view, he realized that Grey had already come along with the mayor. He checked the adjacent buildings, making sure that no guards were posted there and had spotted him. He cursed Felicity for making him join the private organization. There was nothing there but blood, money, and power, which he had no interest for. The reasons she had given him had been so compelling then, but he also remembered that something inside of him told him that it would be a choice he would regret. His phone buzzed, breaking him from the distraction. "They're raising hell as to why Grey's not yet dead, and I just heard that they sent a Phantom to watch your every move. What the hell are you doing?!" He flipped the phone back into it's pocket in his belt. " I swear, I will silence that woman when this mess is all over" and he sighed. A Phantom meant danger. It also meant that he would have to go inside and do Grey up close. He packed the Ember back into his bag and set it in his room. He then took out his gas-operated pistol, five clips, and his tuxedo. ------------------------------------------------------------ The raindrops fell lightly upon the lead lined rooftop of the ZPCI Hew Station. The soldiers posted in every station lasted no longer than 6 months, except the Station Chief. All the thermite packs were in place, and the rain could do nothing to stop it. His beeper rang in his pocket; 'Time to go, Luke, it's going to start in an hour', the words played endlessly in his mind. Would he go with Felicity, or would he keep his promise, and keep one last vestige of his morality? He stood, his mind set, and the structure burst into flames, smoke, and thunder. He dropped to a back alley, and dropped an envelope beside the dumpster. A voice came from behind as he walked past the foul-smelling pile "Van's in the second parking lot." Concentrating, he tried his best to look calm, yet curious. Along with several bystanders, they watched as the station went down in flames. When the police had arrived, the crowd noticed that there was one less stray, and one more thing to fix: the carpark gate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
