Chapter One: Not A Game

Lots of people don't think magic exists or others have powers. But the thing is, they don't take anything serious. It pays to be cautious, especially when your enemies want to kill you. To be honest, Alex King never saw it coming. It was either fast or rather slow. Panting and barely able to stand, he touches his head and chokes back a scream. Wait for the wrong hand. That was the one that got slashed with a blade that made a quick work of his flesh. Pulling back a bit, he finds his fingers slick with blood.

Something rises in his throat. The guy, his attacker, doesn't give him time to think anymore. His eyes glint in the fading sunlight, a predator sizing up his prey. He lashes out as Alex clumsily tries to move out of the way. 

"Shit. Shit. This is bad. Fuck man." The boy laughs or grimaces due to the pain he is feeling at the moment.  He winces as his attacker rips into his arm with his blades, and he screams loudly. This hurts Alex more than the last one. He stumbles, and knows that he won't be getting back up if he doesn't do anything soon. The man lunges at him, and for just a moment Alex's vision clears.

The light Alex sees poses enough of a diversion, it must be, right? But it's as blinding to Alex as it does to his attacker. 'Does the light even exist?' Alex finds himself wondering, on the edge of consciousness. He can only hope it does, because he doesn't have the energy to do anything more than hope. Alex passes out, right next to the girl that brought him to the woods. "NO." He can't see, can't move. His mind feels like a mess of thorns. Someone starts shaking him, and he belatedly realizes that he hasn't moved because it's painful.

"Hey!. Hey, dude. Wake up!" "Are you awake?" That voice, it sounds like a girl speaking. Is it the same one from earlier? "You're okay, right? I would have healed you, but….well, healing isn't really my specialty, and I didn't want to do anything that could hurt you more." "It's good that I was there to stop that guy and showed up, otherwise you could've been dead by now. But anyway, I had a magic kit with me and patched you up to stop the bleeding."

Magic? What is this girl going on about? Pushing past the pain, Alex forces his eyes open. It takes him a minute for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and another before he can take in the surrounding scene. It's night, or maybe early in the morning. Alex is lying in the woods, his shirt is bloody and arm bruised. The girl is either in her late or early twenties kneeling at his side, brown hair messy and mascara smudged around her eyes. Her clothes, look more suited for a night out than a fight for her life, are torn and bloody.

"Oh good, finally you decided to wake up! I'm Kia, by the way. Who are you?" Alex slowly sits up and closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. He opens and notices the girl, Kia, staring at him, waiting. "Alex. Alex King." 

Nico

Drip. Drip. Drip. Nico De Angelo winces at the sound of water splashing against the ground near him. His face is hiding itself further into his knees because of it. Trying to block out all the noises. Trying to block out the overwhelming feeling of something missing. Something that he knows, with his entire heart and soul, should be right next to him.

Closing his eyes, he presses his back against the cold, rough stone of the wall. His sitting position causes the craggy rocks to dig into his spine, but he didn't care. It was either here, where it was dry, or over a few steps where it was wet. He knew it was a tactic to unsettle him. To make him feel weak and helpless. He hated it. What he hated more however was the fact that it was working.

He hated how powerless he felt sitting here in the dark of a cell. His body shivers due to the coldness of it. He hated how he knew that there was absolutely nothing he could do. That no matter what he did, he would never be able to do anything. Above all he could hear is his mom's nasty words surrounding him. "WEAK! YOU'RE WEAK! YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WEAK! YOU ARE A MISTAKE I SHOULD'VE GOT RID OF A LONG TIME AGO! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!! ALL YOUR FAULT!!!" No. stop. Nico covers his ears and shuts his eyes tight. "Not true. Not true. Shut up!. Shut up! Shut the hell up!!" Silence. He opens his eyes and looks around the cell.

Above everything, Nico thought his mom was probably right. He was weak, lonely and helpless. He hated the loneliness and how every emotion he was feeling right now. He was completely useless. To himself and to anyone else. He glances down at his hand and couldn't recognize them through all the grime and filth.

The faint clinking of metal gained his attention. Causing his eyes to snap forward, the sealed door that only made him shrink more. He watched as the darkness under the door gave way to light. Knowing that there was someone out there right now causes a chill to run down his spine. 

'They've come to a decision,' his mind whispers darkly. 'They're going to kill you for what you've done.' "I didn't do anything." he murmurs back, feeling desperation trickle into his voice. 'Didn't do anything?' the dark voice replies, poison laced within its tone.

'You've affected everything, you ruined everything, and now you're going to pay the price for it.'

Another fear worms its way through his body at the words. The feeling only got worse when the door to his cell was yanked open, and a guard stepped inside. Before Nico could react, he was being pulled to his feet and cuffed. The cold iron embraces his wrists a little to soothe him. Being walked through the door was even less so. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tries to ignore the pounding of his head, and that venomous voice telling him everything he already knew.

Dani

Daniel Francis is standing in the middle of the city. All around him, people are running, screaming. Fire blazes from a nearby window. Aside from the screams and shouts, the only sounds are the blaring of police sirens, the drone of military helicopters, and the crack of gunfire as they attempt to bring him down.

It doesn't work. Nothing seems to faze him. The bullets barely tickle. The missiles, however, are somewhat annoying to him. The people attacking him are just trying to protect the city, after all. What they don't know is that he wants to protect it, too. He certainly doesn't want to be responsible for anything like the damage he sees, even though he gets the feeling that he might be already.

Dani finds an opening and darts through the street, away from potential casualties. Maybe it's safer this way. As he glances back, he can see the true enemy. Fortunately, it's not interested in mere civilians, at least for now that is. It's an older woman with wings that blot out the sun. She dives straight at him, coming in fast. As Dani looks at her, a single thought crosses his mind. He can't beat her. She's strong. She's terrifying.

He can stand bullets and other things, but her? The older woman probably drinks napalm for breakfast. He really just wants to hide right now. She dives for him more, shrieking, withe smoke and flames billowing behind her. As Dani rises up to meet her face on, time seems to slow down as he pulls back his fist to ready his attack, and then-

"And then you woke up." Jonathan, Dani's friend, says.

It was part question, part accusation, and part statement of fact. 

"Well, no, not quite-" Dani begins to say, but he gets interrupted again.

"Dude, you've been watching way too many cartoons, haven't you?" Jonathan asks again.

"You watch cartoons every day too, Jona," replies Kamila, another friend of Dani's. "Even in class."

"Hey now. I can handle the gun blazing, explosives, and flying dinosaurs and all that but….this is just some weird thing."

They're not listening to him. Not that he can blame them or anything. To be honest, Dani probably wouldn't have paid much attention to their dreams, if their positions were reversed. But he does wish they would listen. He hasn't even reached the most important part yet.

Kai

Kaito Katayama's family mansion is blanketed with quiet tension. Even at this early hour, it's usually filled with laughter, games, and activity. But tonight, no one is moving but him. In the vast entrance hall stand a pair of muscled bodyguards, statue-still, and poised for danger.

"Master Kai, your mother's in the parlor," one of the bodyguards says, with a hint of a crack in her voice. "I'm sorry sir." she bows deeply. Her companion hisses under his breath, and he straightens his shoulders, his expression blank. 

Kai clicks his tongue and glares at them both. "Sorry?. The fuck is wrong with you? All you could say is fucking sorry!. You were meant to be her bodyguard, but it looks to me, you failed!" it comes out as a low growl, and the woman yelps. Her gaze drops to the floor, she swallows hard and wipes her palms on her jacket. She is anxious. Or perhaps scared. Or maybe she simply liked Kai's mother. Most people did, that is.

The parlor is dark-paneled, and the heavy curtains haven't yet been dragged open. Someone has lit candles over the mantel, sending deep shadows flickering to the corner of the room.

Kai's mother received guests here when she wanted to intimidate them. Seeing a dead body is nothing new to Kai. It comes with being the child of the most infamous crime boss in Nightfall. When he was small, his mother would let him witness the swift execution of a minor traitor.

She wasn't expecting the traitor's ghost to dive straight at him, though, hungry for his blood. It marked Kai as a born leader or someone greater, or so he thought. From that moment, his life changed directions. In the wider world, people feared them for the danger they represent. Even in these dark days, Kai's family is traditionalist. They would never accept anything from anyone outside their circle. Anything can happen, after all.

Instead of Kai's mother teaching him to be her successor, she ordered him to do the dirty, nasty work to hone his skills to strengthen the family business. Kai's talent was his to use, so he embraced it eagerly.

The day of his mother's death was always going to come, but it's sooner and more sudden than anyone thought. No wonder the mansion is so quiet. She lies before him, dried blood pooled around her head.