FicWad

Chapter 1
Josh, or Ryoryuu as his friends called him, lay on the floor of his cell. He deserved this; not for what he did to the gang that imprisoned him, but to his friends, whom he left. And now, as the blood slowly left his body, he mused over the fact that no matter what, he never had a chance to tell the one he cared about the most. He knew he was dieing, good as dead, and he knew it was all his fault.

Several months before....

Satine awoke to the sound of thunder, or so she thought. She got out of bed, stretched her wings, and when she looked outside she was shocked..... In the middle of the street, a man had just been destroyed by the Poleras, a local gang that ruled the city of Gilhollroy, a small town in what used to be the United States. Now, it was a wasteland, a hellhole that was created by the war of all wars. Everyone fought, most died. The ones left either formed gangs or tried to live like normal people.

Running to her door, she locked it, and made sure that she had her weapons on her, she fixed her halo, as she was the only Haibane in this now god forsaken wasteland, then she went out to meet her friends, a group of people who hated the gang that ruled the area. They were called the “Resistance”. This group was gathering in an old factory where Ryoryuu lives.

Seeing the small group approaching, Josh turned off his custom made defense system, a series of laser trip wires that activated land mines. He needed the protection, for his work was invaluable. He was the quartermaster, he supplied the group with everything from guns, to food. He also had a secret, something he kept hidden from everyone.

Daniel, in his annoyingly over-clichéd black mage robes, and Jake, lugging his, suprisingly light for it’s size, computer gear, joined Satine, currently equipped with adamant book knives, and a single enchanted blade that could materialize and dematerialize itself at will, at the entrance, knowing the living hell that would be unleashed if Ryoryuu hadn’t shut off his security system.

“Come on in you guys.” Ryoryuu said over the intercom. “And don’t go down the third hallway... Its dangerous.”

Daniel, Jake, and Satine all acknowledged Josh’s warning. The three of them followed Josh through the obviously run-down factory. As they walk through the left hallway, the fact that the only hallway with a large amount of wiring was in the “dangerous hallway”. The single thought of what was in the third hallway was ringing in all of their heads, but they had a more pressing matter to attend to. The hallway soon ended in an open room with maps, notes on the maps that are seemingly illegible, a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling illuminated the room, in the middle of the room was four fold away tables set up in such a way that they form a large square. As they approached the table, a large map of Gilhollroy, with pictures of several people pinned on to it in several different locations. They all circled the table and Ryoryuu looked to everyone, and pointed to a picture of a bulky, masculine white man with a bald head, and a scar on the side, slightly above his ear. Ryoryuu said, “He is Garret, and as you know he recently took the territory we were able to protect...” Daniel interrupted, “Until now, unfortunately” Ryoryuu continued, “He knew that part of Gilhollroy was important to us Resistance members.” Jake remarked, “Considering that was where half of our houses were.” Ryoryuu said, “Garret probably thought if he took our houses, he would find our headquarters.” Daniel,remembering how he lost the one he cared for the most, sighed and said, “Considering all our friends died in that Damn war. I digress do we even have a headquarters?” Jake, knowing the pain that everyone in the room had shared, even if it wasn’t someone he cared for in that manner, said, “None of our parents are even alive now.” Ryoryuu replied, “This is our headquarters. I was planning on having the rest of the Resistance move in.” Satine said, “It sounds like a good plan.”

Chapter 2

After they discussed the rest of the gang leaders, Ryoryuu decided that they should all figure out which rooms they were going to sleep in, and he returned to his room at the top of the spire, overlooking the whole compound. Plopping down in his chair, he looked out over the barren wasteland that used to be two thriving cities before the war began, then smiled, knowing he was safe here, and double checked the security systems, re-activating the outer defenses, and making sure no one was in the third hallway.

As Satine walked down the hallway she saw a room that suited her needs, and elegant European styled door that stood out in comparison to the rest of the compound, a queen sized bed with silk blue sheets and a cotton Blanket, a brown six door dresser kept itself hidden in the corner, and a window overlooking the factory and the spire allowing for the perfect amount of light to enter the room during the day and the most beautiful view of the stars during the night. She didn’t quite know why, but knowing that Ryoryuu was there for her was a comfort, a relief. She smiled at the card sitting on the bed. Reading it she saw the words “Figured you’d go for this one.” on it. She just chuckled, knowing who wrote it. She just sat down and started to clean her gear, and wash her wing covers as winter was soon approaching.

Daniel found his room, a small room that was perfect for him. A single lamp provided the perfect lighting and atmosphere for his preferences, a special glass display case that could contain at least 5 or 10 different weapons sat in the corner of the room right beside the lamp, beside the display case was a extremely intricate alchemy table which contained three large drawers filled with miscellaneous ingredients, the lack of windows made the atmosphere seem slightly dimmer, as the room was only lit by the single lamp, the only other illumination in the room was caused by the runic enchantment on the door that functioned as his lock rather than an actual lock, a simple twin sized bed in the opposing corner with a basic sheet and blanket the only thing that stood out about the bed was the anime pillow, lastly, a four-shelf bookshelf was in the corner opposite that of the door lay filled with miscellaneous manga, spellbooks, Daniel’s fanfics, and Daniel’s handmade Death Note.

Jake unloaded his shimmering silver cpu tower and black reflective LCD monitor in the first room along with the rest of his indecipherable computer tools and equipment, a plain medium sized room with a light powerful enough to illuminate the whole room to a safe brightness, no windows were in the room and nor were they needed, and a very large amount of storage space was still blatantly obvious as the computer equipment took up less than half the room. Immediately setting up a special encrypted server that allowed the Resistance to access the interned despite the satellite’s, in orbit, lack of repair, and preparing the special weapons he had made, not only for him, but for his friends. Jake’s technical knowledge was almost inhumane. For Satine, he had crafted a special bracelet that, when worn, would speed up the molecular structure which would, in essence, increase hand-eye coordination, strength, and reaction time. For Ryoryuu, he made a special headband that emitted a neuro-electric resonance field that, when within proximity of the human body, interacts with the nervous system in such a way that allows someone to aim without their hand wobbling as well as increase his/her stamina and reaction time significantly, allowing for near flawless long range prowess and extremely deadly close range combat. For Daniel, a special rod was made; forged by fusing atoms of matter and antimatter together; because if this mix, it easily funnels any form of magic through it and amplifies it threefold; this included the catalytic agents Daniel used because of his alchemy. Finally for himself a twin pair of isolinear chips that could be attached temporarily to the molecular structure of the back of his hands; these chips would allow him to literally hack into reality itself. Just as computers function on a binary language of “1” and “0” reality itself functions on a binary language of numbers “1-9”. Jake could not only understand that language but he could make slight changes to the language and thus manipulate parts of reality itself. He could cause burns to the enemy, heal an ally, or even unlock the door by changing the proper numbers.

Ryoryuu looked over his room. From the twin sized bed, to the heavy steel door, and the wall full of guns, knives, and anything that could kill someone. He had a single poster that he had saved, and he had his beloved record player, and some vinyl records. Then there was his computer bank that would make even Jake green with envy. He wasn’t as smart as Jake, just more resourceful. When he looked out he noticed Satine looking out the window at the spire. He just turned away. He sat down and smiled, knowing he can protect them, keep them safe, for the most part. But always, in the back of his mind, was the secret. No one would ever understand, and he didn’t want them to. It was his secret, and his alone. He walked down the spire, heading towards the third hallway, then looked and walked hurriedly down the hallway after entering the pin code, not seeing Satine following him quietly within the shadows.

“I thought you said this hallway is dangerous....” Satine said coolly, making Ryoryuu spin around and walk back to the spire, slamming the door shut.

Embarrassed and upset, Ryoryuu didn’t come down until the next day. When he did, he was quiet and withdrawn. This was pretty much normal, except for the fact that he didn’t look up from sharpening his different knives, over 200 of them. Satine, who had just woken up, waled over and just smirked, knowing that she was now in a position that made Ryoryuu uncomfortable. She knew he was hiding something, and she could tell the others if she so wished. But there was no need for that. She smiled and whispered “Don’t worry, I wont tell anyone.”

Ryoryuu just nodded, still silent, always observing the situation before reacting. He finished polishing the last knife and smiled, quickly flicked his wrist, sending the knife flying into the wall. “Good, still balanced.” He said as he got up and went to the forge to make some assorted parts for his compound, pot hangars, hinges, nails, reinforced boards, extra land mines, extra tripwires, and even knives for defensive and offensive purposes. Then when he finished, he decided to make something special. He worked until late into the evening, until it was finished, It was the the most beautiful, elegantly carved dagger that he had ever made; its handle was adorned with alternating emerald and silver jewels within a gold molding, the guard arm was curved inwards, the blade itself had two haiku poems engraved in Japanese characters and was shined to a point where he could see his own reflection on the blade, and a small diamond was embedded in the hilt. He placed it in it’s specially crafted gold sheath adorned with an emerald surrounded by two amethysts on each side, and wrapped it in a sakura themed cotton cloth. He then walked to Satine’s room, laying the dagger on her dresser and walked back to the spire.

暗い廊下を介して
私の秘密の多くは、うそをつく
すぐに渡される

私の愛は今なくなっている
私の心の奥深くに隠され
オールウェイズは私を離れない



As the day turned to night, Satine returned to her room, and saw the bundle lying on her dresser. She looked at it, and when she unraveled it, she almost dropped to the floor, for she had never seen something of such craftsmanship. When she saw the Haiku, she understood what they meant, and would never let anyone know their meaning, not even Ryoryuu. He wrote them, but they had meaning beyond that of what even he, himself, knew....

Chapter 3


The next day, Ryoryuu had gathered everyone in the strategy room, for today he was serious. He pointed to the picture of Garrat and said, “Today we are taking what’s left of our homes back into our territory.” Jake acknowledged Ryoryuu’s seriousness and replied in turn, “He is sure to have security systems similar to ours. Luckily I made equipment for all of us that should help turn the tides in our favor.” Jake then passed out the gear he had previously made. Everyone was overcome with curiosity and took a few minutes to become familiar with their new gear. After the few shortlived minutes it took, Jake regathered everyone’s attention and said, “I will hack into the security system and make sure it stays down. Heck, if i am lucky i can reprogram it to work for us.” It looked as if things seemed to be going well, and the strategy solidified when Daniel said, “You’ll need protection during this combat op surely the enemies won’t let you just hack into the system. Since I am versed with catalytic agents, i shall escort you for the hacking.” Ryoryuu said, “Fine, since we are better experienced with assassinations we should be able to kill him before anyone even notices us.” Satine replied, “Just be careful, all of the henchmen's attention will surely be focused on you since Jake’ll be drawing all the attention with his hacking.” Knowing the full dangers they acknowledged with just a glance at Ryoryuu, who then went to the spire, then came down wearing special body armor and brandishing his new laser. “Everyone ready?” Ryoryuu asked.“Yeah yeah, lets get going” Satine said calmly.

Smiling, Ryoryuu walked into a sealed room and drove out in a H-1 Hummer. “Okay kiddies lets get going....” After everyone got in, Ryoryuu sped away, going towards Garret’s small house. They rushed over the unpaved dirt road travelling at roughly 85 mph. They made a quick stop at the entrance to Garret’s territory to allow Daniel and Jake to disembark. Jake surveyed the surrounding area, and walked to an unkept alley. He nodded and said, “this’ll do nicely.” Jake then put the isolinear chips on the back of his hands. A blue semi-transparent screen materialised out of nowhere and Jake began mashing away at a seemingly invisible keyboard. Within seconds of Jake starting hacking, multitudes of thugs numbering in the hundreds began converging on their location. Daniel readied his rod and said to himself, “Ryoryuu, Satine, please... hurry!” Daniel threw two yellow vials,which contained catalytic agents he had made through alchemy when he settled into his room, at the thugs, causing several lightning bolts to strike down hitting at least five of the thugs.

At the same time, Ryoryuu quickly drove onwards, quickly nearing Garrets house, and when it was withing eye’s distance he stopped, getting out along with Satine. They both ran off into the deep trenches that used to be a riverbed. They traversed the riverbed as quickly as possible without compromising their position. Several minutes have passed, and they had neared Garret’s house they noticed two guards, both armed with Mk. 11 Decimator Rifles, special deadly experimental rifles that were deemed too barbaric to use in the war that caused the apocalyptic wasteland due to the extreme pain caused by just a single shot. Satine equipped her molecular accelerator. She materialized her adamanitum blade, maneuvered herself silently behind the guards and slit both guard’s throats before they even realised she was there. She then took both Mk. 11 Decimator Rifles for safekeeping.

When they finally got there, they saw Garret sitting on his porch, just like he always does. Ryoryuu quickly set up his specially modified Barret .50 Cal. rifle. This one had been modified to fire heavier loads, and had a mil-dot scope.

Taking careful aim, he put the cross-hairs right at the base of his neck. The rounds were made specifically to create the most damage they could. The outer shell of the bullet was depleted uranium. Perfectly harmless, and 60 times as dense as steel. This means that it would blow clear through almost anything, if it wasn’t for the hollow point, which creates a massive concave wound throughout the whole bullet path, in essence blowing the neck apart. This would be a message for the Poleras....

Sitting in his chair, Garret just smiled and drank a beer, made in his home brewery. He never saw the bullet coming. He was just gone.

Ryoryuu pulled the trigger, the sound of the report completely quenched by the most effective silencer ever built. The bullet traveled down range, entering at the base of Garret’s neck, then began to shatter inside his neck, completely removing his head.

Driving over to Jake and Daniel, Ryoryuu had them jump in and went to retrieve the supplies they left in case of a failed mission. Ryoryuu just smiled as the others packed up, and he put the gun in the back, and they drove away. “Well, that was easier than I thought.” Ryoryuu said calmly, and he saw something that made him happy, someone was tailing them. He simply flipped a switch disabling the car’s communication system and led the pursuer towards their base. Smiling he let everyone out to go do whatever and engaged the security system. He couldn’t wait to test it. Suddenly there was a ground shattering explosion and the group all ran to the entrance.

What Ryoryuu saw made him happy as can be. The trap worked. However it had worked to well, and had destroyed the archway. “Well, that needs to be fixed, and maybe I’ll lower the amount of gunpowder in the mines.”
“Yeah, you really should,” Jake said coolly, “That one almost blew the wall apart”
“So four pounds is a bit much, at least it got the job done!” Ryoryuu said defensively.
“GOT THE JOB DONE??? THE GUY WAS FRIGGIN VAPORISED!!!!!!” yelled Daniel, obviously perturbed by just how dangerous this facility was, not only because of the mines, but because of the man in charge of it. Ryoryuu, even though he was his friend, scared the crap out of him. This man knew more ways to kill anyone in any way from any distance than anyone in the world.

This not only scared Daniel, but Jake and Satine as well. Ryoryuu knew this, and he hated it, but that was who he was. He was the wild card. He didn’t care about his own life, so long as he got the job done. He had training, unique to everyone else. An old friend came to see him one summer. He trained him to be as dangerous as a Navy seal, because he knew what was going to happen. This made him angry. His friend was killed, and he was left without a cause to live....

Chapter 4


The next day Ryoryuu started making the replacement panels, and installed them with every one's help, excluding Jake, who was modifying the Hummer.

After repairing the panels, Ryoryuu started to re-set the mines, and making them more deadly, by replacing the gunpowder he took out with small metal pellets. This created a hailstorm of steel balls, effectively killing anyone. He then went up the spire, leaving the outer door open, just in case someone wanted to keep him company, which he doubted. He had been a loner most of his life, always rejected, always forsaken, abused and forgotten. He knew nothing of the value of his own life.
Running his fingers through his thick red mullet, he leaned back, and decided to put on some vinyl records, listening till he heard a knock on his door. “Come on in.” he said calmly.

Satine stepped through the doorway and smiled, looking at him. “Hey Ryoryuu” she said in an unnaturally calm voice, even for her.
“Whats up Satine?” Josh asked.
“Oh nothing, just felt lonely. So erm, whats with all the guns? You can’t have enough ammo for them all!”
Josh just laughed. “Open the closet door, at least 10,000 rounds for each one, the AK-47 I have a little over 100,000 for. I like knowing I have an edge. It helps keep me from going suicidal on their base.”
“Suicidal? Why?” Satine asked almost nervously.
“Well, if we have an edge, then we have a decent chance of winning, without that, then the chances are much more miniscule. Then, in order to make the situation less... complex, I would simply remove myself from the equation, and as many of those bastards as I could.” Josh said calmly as he reached under his bed and grabbed a bottle of apricot brandy, pouring two glasses. “Here, your favorite. I came upon a few cases of these a month or so back.”
“Thank you” she said sipping slowly. “So, your telling me that if we lose the edge we have on them, then you would just try and kill as many as you could in one strike, then... boom?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Josh said quietly, drinking more, refilling his glass twice before Satine is even finished with her first.
“Well, I guess I had better get some rest.” Satine said. “And Josh" "Yeah?" Ryoryuu replied. With a smile, Satine answered, "thank you for the dagger.”Ryoryuu just looked down and said “I have no idea what your talking about.”

Satine just flicked her wings as she walked away, heading down the long spire, patting the dagger on her hip. She whispered to herself “Always in denial aren't you, but you just don’t understand.” When she arrived in her room she just plopped down in her chair, stretching her legs and wings, adjusting her halo.

Jake sighed, knocking on Satine’s door.
“Come in.” Satine said calmly.
“We need to talk about Ryoryuu.... Have you noticed a change in him lately? He’s more withdrawn than ever, and it looks like he has a death wish, did you see the way he laughed at the thought of someone trying to break in? He’s changed......”
“I know, something isn’t right, and there’s something else. He’s hiding something. I can’t tell what, but it’s important. And as for the death wish thing, I know. He just doesn’t seem to care anymore....” Satine said quietly.
“Umm Satine, not to change the subject, but when did you get that dagger???” Jake asked excitedly.
“Today why?” Satine said.
“Because, it has a GPS transmitter, whoever gave it to you can knows exactly where you are!”
“Oh?” Satine said blushing some.
“Who gave it to you??? YOU MUST TELL ME!” Jake said nervously.
“Ryoryuu.....” She said blushing bright red.
“O-oh.” Jake said chuckling. “So he likes you or something?”
“I guess.” Satine said leaning back. “He won’t admit it, or deny it.”
“Sounds like you care for him as well.” Jake said nodding.
“THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUISNESS!!” Satine said somewhat frustrated and embarrassed, shooing Jake out and locking the door.
As the door slammed shut when Satine shooed Jake out, Daniel opened the door to his room to ask what all the commotion was about. Jake replied, “I am not completely sure myself.” Daniel nodded and said, “I see, but please refrain from slamming doors. I am working on a very delicate alchemy experiment. If i am right, i can extract the strength of the bullets from the Decimator rifles and using some of the banana leaves i had stored away from the mochi balls. I can put the banana leaves in the alkalinic compound, and after a few hours, the resulting potion should give whoever drinks it a permanant stamina boost.” Completly confused by most of the explanation, Jake replied, “Fine, just don’t expect me to drink it” With a look of nuisance in his eyes, Daniel replied, “no one was expecting you to Jake; no one was expecting you too”, and shut the door to his room.

In the meantime, Ryoryuu walked down the hallway, into his secret room, and he looked at the panel. Only one day. He needed to tell them, but how, he wondered, would they ever understand what was going to happen. Over the intercom he called everyone to go into the room where he was. It was either today, or after the transformations....

When the group arrived, he sat them down at a round table. “So... I have you three here, to tell you something. As you know the Polera leaders have special powers... And, until now, only they did; this is going to change. At around 9:25 tomorrow morning, you will all awaken in a high fever, and it will last for almost a full day, Satine, you already know about this part for obvious reasons. But instead of becoming Haibine you will gain powers, unique to your own minds. I kept this from you for one reason only. I needed secrecy. In this room there are more secrets that must be kept till the proper time. Also, I will not gain these, unique, powers. I was not given the unique DNA change that was caused by the remains of a biological weapon used in the war. In a way, you are the most rare species in the world... Any questions?” Jake replied analytically, “Wait, by saying that we won’t become a Haibane you insinuating that this process is similar to the one becoming a Haibane.” Daniel replied, “Not exactly. the process in which a person becomes a Haibane is different than this process. The process he was describing was when a Haibane gets his or her wings. The only difference is that it seems our process won’t be as painful.” Ryoryuu looked at Daniel with a hint of confusion and asked, “Wait, how the hell did you know that?” Daniel shrugged and said, “Meh, I don’t know how i know that. I know allota things that I don’t really know why i know; guess i just don’t remember learning ‘em.” Ryoryuu shook his head for a second then turned to everyone and said, “Anyway... if that is all then the meeting is adjourned. I suggest you all get to sleep. You will all need your energy for tomorrow.” Without making a single comment everyone left, Ryoryuu returned to his room at the top of his spire, as he knew what his friends were about to face; he knew because he had helped Satine when her wings had appeared. Jake had gone right to sleep so he could have enough energy to endure the process. Daniel took about fifteen minutes to mix together a potion that would counteract the fever and prevent dehydration.

Just as Josh had warned, Daniel had awoken at 9:35 AM in a cold sweat, the potion he had injested the night before seemed to be completely ineffective aside for keeping him from being dehydrated. He had all the indecations of a fever, shivering, headache which could be considered a borderline migrane, and Muscle aches. To him, what was normally considered a generally comfortable 75 degree Fahrenheit room was freezing. He reached out towards his alchemy lab to get the phial containing the catalyst to heat up the room but it was just out of reach. Upon several minutes of trying to stretch to reach the phial, he gave up. As he did a yellowish light had enveloped him, and he fell unconscious due to the lack of energy.

In Jake’s room, he had awoken at about the same time, and he had all the same symptoms as Daniel. The main difference was he had, seemingly, enough energy to sit up. As he did, a black haired man in a black tailcoat, indicating him a butler, said to Jake, “I was curious as to when you would wake up.” It took a second for Jake’s vision to become clear, and as it did, he saw is computer gear dancing around his room acting as if they were dancing around some sort of invisible Indian fire pit. Jake’s first words were, “WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO MY COMPUTER!?!?!” The man in black sighed, stood up, and looked toward his computer set, which was sitting in the same place it was before Jake went to bed. He looked back to Jake and said, “Master, it appears as though your hallucinating.” Jake came to terms with it and said, “Oh great now my hallucination is telling me what is real and what isn’t.” The man in black replied, “I assure you, I am quite real.” The man in black walked out of Jake’s room and returned with a glass of water. Jake took the glass, realising it was real he said, “Just who are you?” The man in black bowed and said, “My name is Sebastian. I am your butler as well as a manifestation of your powers. You know me just as well as I know you. For I am you, you see.” Jake took a rather large gulp of the water and said, “I... see.” Sebastian replied, “You seem to be becoming tired. Rest now. It will all be over soon.” And with that, Jake fell back to sleep.

As the two of them spent most of the time asleep due to lack of energy from the fever, Ryoryuu was hard at work repairing the damage done to the factory. He knew that he had to be more careful with his mines. Even if he didn’t admit it to himself, he didn’t want to scare Satine. He figured his new steel mines were just as deadly as his old ones, but they were also less destructive.

Satine, however, was thrashing in bed, drenched in sweat. She was in severe pain, unable to control her body. Thrashing about for over an hour, she finally settled into a deep sleep, and just lay there, with only her thoughts. She realised how much she feared Ryoryuu, yet just how much she cared for him. She not only cared, but cared to the point where she was willing to protect and help him, and pitied the demon inside him. He was always on her mind, and now she knew why, but she just couldn’t bring herself to accept it.

The next day had come as a relief to all three of them. Ryoryuu had suggested that they take today off to recover. Unsurprisingly, they all took that offer.

Jake had quickly returned to his room. He saw that his computer was in the exact same spot it was in last time, and Sebastian was standing patiently in the corner of the room. Jake walked over to his bed and fell face-first onto his bed. He quickly regained his composure, sat up, and looked toward Sebastian. Sebastian looked toward Jake and asked, “Is there a question you would like to ask?” Jake nodded and said, “Why are you my power exactly, and what can you do?” Sebastian replied, “Your knowledge is excessive, however your physical attributes are lacking. Using your hacking ability you are good at dealing damage anyway. If someone gets close to you, I will be able to act as your shield. As for what I can do, simply give me an order and it shall be done. For you see, I am simply one hell of a butler.” Sebastian smiled almost menacingly.

Daniel ,on the other hand ,knew all too well what his power was. Before the war, he had seen enough anime and read enough manga to realise he had awakened to magical potential. He took the rod Jake had given him and swung it. This caused a fireball to shoot from the rod and out toward the wall. He thought to himself, “Interesting. It seems that my form of magic lacks the requirement of an incantation.” He put the rod away and started rummaging through his the drawers of his alchemy lab. and pulled out a small safe. He ensured that the runic seal on his door indeed keeping the door locked and entered the combination into the lock 10311994. A click signified it opened. Its contents consisted of two phials and a note saying “Use these after the war. I’ll look forward to seeing you again once the war is over.” One of the phials contained a blue liquid giving off a yellow aura, and one contained a pink liquid giving off an equally pink aura. He saw the note and reminisced about the person who gave him the potions, a person who is nothing more than a distant memory now; he then carefully took the phial with the blue liquid. He ingested it and let out a cough due to the extremely bitter and sour taste of the potion. As soon as he ingested it though, he completely understood the nature of his power. The magic he had had no form and thus could be channelled and given form with very few limitations. The potion he ingested was a special potion made by mixing a potion made from from lavender, stinging thistles, and a one inch moonstone with the potion, Reminiscentiam Intra Seipsum, a very unique memory potion. The potion allowed someone to look within themselves to find something specific or special. Daniel originally had an alternate use for this potion, but this was a much more pressing matter. Over the next few hours he practiced fire, ice, thunder, and water elemental spells, some necromancy, evoking and summoning spells and ailment magic. He knew better then to practice what were considered “Forbidden” spells, which consisted of Black Rain, Pandora’s Box, Shadowstorm, and several others. Through the practicing, he became fond of elemental spells and ailment magic. Before he even realised it, it had become dark. He prepared to go to bed and fell asleep shortly after.

Satine just sat at the foot of her bed, feeling the power coarse throughout her body. She felt enlightened as she flicked her wings, changing her vision, from normal, to motion-sensing, to infared, and finally night vision. She smiled, now no one was unable to be seen. She picked up a brace of throwing knives, and flicked one at a target in her room. The knife whipped into the target, going clear through the wall. “What the?????” She exclaimed, utterly surprised. She was twice as strong as before, but she hadn’t changed. She looked the exact same. “Well, this should be interesting.” She said calmly, standing up, flicking her wings.

The next day, all four of them met in the strategy room. Jake pointed to a point on the map where there was territory controlled by the Poleras, but there was no official “leader” there and said, “No one has official control of this area. We should test out the full extent of our powers. Sebastian show them!” Sebastian rushed in with a more specific map of the area. Ryoryuu, Satine, and Daniel were all surprised when Sebastian came in, and Ryoryuu said, “What the?! Just who the hell are you?” Sebastian bowed and said, “My name is Sebastian, I am Jake’s power in manifested form... Also I am simply one hell of a butler.” Once again he smiled almost mischievously when he said that. Acknowledging Sebastian, they continued their meeting. Sebastian explained the full movements of the entire thug groups within that area of their territory. Sebastian continued, “As you can see, all the guards are evenly spread out.” Daniel replied, “I get it, if we split up then we will not only be able to take them all out, but we will each be able to get a rough estimate of our new abilities in combat.” And with that, they all packed into the hummer.
They exited the factory and drove westward, driving at roughly 90 mph. When they had arrived at the entrance of the enemy territory, Jake jumped off the Hummer with Sebastian and put the isolinear chips on the backs of his hands. As Jake clasped his hands into fists, thugs charged towards him, and Jake smiled and said, “Let’s get started!... SEBASTIAN!!! I order you to defeat these thugs.” On his cue, Sebastian charged toward the thugs, armed with hidden throwing knives, and began attacking the thugs, taking down two or three at a time. Within seconds, all the thugs began shooting Mk. 11 Decimator Rifles towards him. To counter, Jake began hacking reality replacing multiple lines of codes, which caused all the rifles to lock, making them unable to fire. Sebastian took this opportunity to finish off the remaining thugs.

At the same time, Ryoryuu, Satine, and Daniel continued towards the eastern section of the territory. This time, they made a slight change of plan as Ryoryuu said, “To hell with it, I am joining you!” and jumped out of the Hummer; unfortunately, as Ryoryuu jumped to the ground, he inadvertently tripped one of the Poleras’ ground mines. The blast caused Ryoryuu to be thrown back and knocked unconscious. Satine and Daniel rushed over to him; he had third degree burns over most of his body as well as several deep cuts; thankfully, due to the nature of the mine, there were no shrapnel wounds. The sound of the mine’s explosion caused Jake to use Sebastian’s speed to get over to Ryoryuu to see what happened. Daniel and Satine carefully moved him into the Hummer, and Daniel looked to Jake and said, “He was the only one who could drive this thing, we’ll have to carry the entire truck back to the base.” Ryoryuu coughed up a little blood and sat up. “Like hell you are!! I can drive, I’m hurt not fucking dead you know...” Daniel questioned, “Weren’t you knocked unconscious by the mine?” “Yeah, till you moved me I guess. Now if you don’t mind i would like to get out of here.” Ryoryuu tried to move his leg, but saw that the whole calf was severed. “That could be an issue....” Sebastian interrupted, “I will drive us back there. If I couldn’t do something as simple as drive a vehicle I am completely unfamiliar with, then what kind of butler would I be?” Sebastian then looked to Jake, “You need only give the order, which i suggest you do soon since that explosion was pretty loud; the rest of the thugs will be here soon.” Jake nodded and said, “I order you to get us back to the factory.” Sebastian then took the wheel and drove the Hummer quickly in the direction of the factory. As the vehicle was nearing the exit of the Poleras’ territory and into “Resistance” territory, a tank armed with Decimator rounds shot at the Hummer. Seeing this, Daniel shouted, “Watch out!!” and threw a grey catalytic agent toward the Decimator shell, effectively nulling the shell and breaking the phial causing a large smokescreen. Using the smokescreen as a cover, they were able to safely escape and park back in the “Resistance” factory.

Satine, Jake, and Sebastian carefully brought Ryoryuu to his bed. When they lay him on his bed he coughed up more blood, still unconcious. Jake and Sebastian knew there was nothing they could do, so they left for the time being. Worried for her friend, Satine decided to stay by his side. Josh saw something he hated, fear. Satine was afraid for him. But then, there was something else, something hidden. But just as quickly as he saw it, he went unconscious, and Satine just watched, unable to do much, as Daniel mended Ryoryuu’s wounds. Unfortunately at current, Daniel was merely able to stablize his condition. Despite Daniel’s level of magic prowess. Formless magic alone would not fully heal Ryoryuu

Satine was afraid. She cared for Ryoryuu. He had shown her something few others had. Acceptance, the unbelievable and simple acceptance of who she was. As she sat next to Ryoryuu’s bed, she just got more and more tense, her wings twitching, constantly adjusting her halo, and giving him constant glances. She just hoped that he would just wake up and be the same person who she cared about.

After Daniel had stablized Ryoryuu and as Jake and Sebastian were about to enter their room, Daniel called them over to his room. Leaving the door open, Daniel asked, “How is he?” Jake replied grimly, “not well at all... he is still unconscious.” Daniel nodded, returning back to his alchemy lab. Jake started to leave, but Daniel said “Wait...” Jake turned back and replied, “What is it?” Daniel answered, “Though magic alone can’t fully heal him, magic while using alchemy as a crutch may just turn the tides.” Jake said in surprise, “WHAT?!?! If that is the case why didn’t you just whip up a potion and give it to him? Satine is worried sick!” Daniel replied, “Because not only do I lack two very important ingredients, but there is no guarantee it will work. I managed to use my magic to stabilize him for now. I needed to buy time. This potion will reinforce his immune system, nothing more. If his will is strong enough, this may be able to awaken him and start the true healing process.” Jake nodded and said, “Okay, I see. If there is a chance I suggest we take it. What are the ingredients you need?” Daniel closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He eventually answered, “The two ingredients i need are actually the two key catalysts to the whole potion. You see...” Jake interrupted, “JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED!” Daniel replied, “Right, sorry. I need an ounce of Ryoryuu’s blood to cause the potion to become a symbiotic mixture, and i also need two of the herbs, Dragon Iris, which, when mixed with the rest of the ingredients, will stimulate cell regeneration and...” Jake interrupted again, “I get it, you don’t need to get into detail we REGULAR people don’t care about! What we do need to know is the location of this dragon iris” Daniel replied, “Well... that is the problem. Since the start of the war, Dragon Iris has long been on the brink of extinction. One of the last ones in existence is in the garden of Stephanie’s mansion.” Stephanie was Philos’ girlfriend; Philos being the Poleras’ leader. Jake facepalmed and said, “Which is in the heart of Poleras territory isn’t it?” Daniel replied dejectedly, “Unfortunately.” Jake said “Why can’t any of this be easy?” Daniel replied, “Murphy’s law... I will go get Satine, and we can start.” Jake stopped Daniel from going up the spire. Daniel said to Jake, “What the heck are you thinking? Our chances of success will be much higher if she joins us.” Though Jake didn’t know all the details, he knew it would be best if Satine was with Ryoryuu; Jake argued, “If someone were to attack this place then Ryoryuu would be unguarded.” Daniel understood what he said, but he remained oblivious to Satine and Ryoryuu.

Satine sat by Ryoryuu for more than a day, only leaving for a few moments at a time. Then, on the second day, while Jake and Daniel were gone, Ryoryuu’s eyes flicked open and he just looked into Satine’s beautiful hazel green eyes, and did his best not to try and move. After a while Ryoryuu looked himself over, and what he saw scared him. He had third degree burns over almost eighty percent of his body, including down his back and his left hip, and his left calf was completely severed, though it appeared to be healing. As he sat up he felt a splitting pain and saw the long gash along his side. “What happened?” he said in a hoarse whisper.
“You err, stepped on a land mine” Satine said nervously.
“Good thing it wasn't one of mine, there wouldn’t be enough pieces to fill a thimble.” Josh said calmly. “So... Why you? Why did you choose to help me?”
“Well, your my friend....” Satine said quite calmly.

Ryoryuu was somewhat perplexed, Satine was there for him, now more than ever, but he didn’t know why. Satine just got up, and started cleaning his wounds. Though the pain was unbearable, Ryoryuu just lay there, taking the pain. Eventually he passed out, and stayed that way. How long he didn’t know....

Chapter 5

Satine, Daniel and Jake all sat at the table. It had been over a month since Ryoryuu had taken the potion and moved. His wounds had healed, but his mind was still withdrawn. Then, they heard something, a small thump. They all looked at the door to the spire, and a very thin and pale Ryoryuu stumbled out wearing a pair of shorts and no shirt. “M-morning....” He gasped as he dropped to the floor. Satine ran over and helped him to the table. He looked so, different. The skin on his shoulder, down his back and chest was a now pale silver, and his right leg had a ghastly scar.
As he sat down, Satine grabbed a plate and put several mochi balls on the plate and gave it to Ryoryuu. He slowly picked on up, and as he took a bite, he asked, “Just how the hell am I alive?” Daniel answered, “A potion enhanced your natural ability to heal. You see...”

One month earlier, Jake and Daniel rushed out of the factory. They both stopped, and Daniel looked toward enemy territory then back to Jake and said, “Because of Ryoryuu’s deteriorating condition, we don’t have the luxury of using stealth. Stay close.” As Daniel finished that sentance, Jake and Daniel started ascending. Daniel said, “Stay close, the spell only works in close proximity to the caster.” and started running. Jake closely followed along with Sebastian. The three of them were around fifty feet in the air because of the spell. They continued running past the entire security defense system of Poleras territory. Within the timespan of fifteen minutes, they had arrived at Philos’ manor. Daniel’s spell started to wear off, and Jake, Sebastian, and Daniel descended back to ground level. The instant they touched the ground, several thugs had them surrounded. Armed with modified .45 Revolvers with Decitmator rounds, the thugs quickly opened fire only to see that Sebastian had caught every bullet fired. Sebastian smiled and said, “Perhaps i should return these to you now.” As he finished his sentence, he threw the bullets back at all the thugs, which perfectly pierced each of the thugs hearts. Daniel quickly cast an anti-sound barrier preventing anyone from being alarmed by the deaths of the thugs. After he retracted the barrier, they started scouring the entire area of the mansion, carefully examining each flower and herb to see if it was the Dragon Iris. Soon enough, Sebastian located the Dragon Iris, and he brought it to Jake and Daniel. Daniel carefully took the iris and placed it in an alchemy phial. Once Jake and Sebastian had gathered with Daniel, Daniel cast the levitation spell once again. They quickly charged back to the “Resistance” factory.

As the three of them entered the factory, Jake and Sebastian ascended the spire, and Daniel entered his room to add the second to last ingredient to the potion. As he did, he said, “Finally, things are finally starting to look up.” As the potion was brewing, Jake knocked at the door. Daniel opened the door, and Jake said, “Here is the blood you needed. Ryoryuu’s wounds are being tended to....” Daniel carefully took the phial from Jake and added it to the concoction. As the blood mixed with the rest of the concoction, the entire brewing potion turned to dark green. Daniel hesitated for a moment, but he pulled out his safe, entered the combination 10311994, and opened it, revealing the note and the last potion. Daniel spoke to himself, saying, “I was hoping to use this to bring you back... even if it was only an illusion.” The potion Daniel pulled out of his safe was a special brew; it was a gift from a person he held dear, from a person he lost. The potion, aptly named Signifer Spes, meaning bearer of hope, was specially designed to bring a dream into reality. Daniel intended to mix it with the healing potion, which originally had the healing powers of a novice spell at best, which, thanks to some of Ryoryuu’s blood as the catalyst and stabilizer, multiplied and mutated the effect of the healing potion. It still only had the power of a novice healing spell, but if someone gave him the potion truly wished for his recovery, then the chances of his body being able to absorb the potion to enhance his immune system and energy intake would be much higher. After finally finishing the brew, he poured it into a glass and brought it up to the spire. As he knocked on the door, Satine answered it. Daniel said, “The potion is done. I suggest you give it to him quickly now before his condition deteriorates further.” Satine nodded, took the glass from Daniel and carefully shut the door. Satine’s heart started beating faster as she thought to herself, “I hope this potion works. Please Josh! You have to pull through”. She carefully positioned the potion over Ryoryuu’s mouth as the brew slid quickly, and within seconds of swallowing, he awakened, coughing. Still partially dazed, Ryoryuu said, “That has to be the most foul tasting stuff I ever drank.” And with that statement, Ryoryuu fell back to sleep.
“Well, that sounds, interesting....” Ryoryuu said calmly a few days after his recovery, and he walked back up the spire, and sat down. There was something he had realised. While he was in his coma, he had nothing but his thoughts. He realised that he had come to love the killing. He loved it. There was something that had snapped inside. His friend trained him to kill, and when the Poleras had taken his friend from him, he learned to kill without hesitation. He learned that the one thing that he was good at was creating death. He found ways to kill that no one had ever even thought of. He even developed a method of mental stimulation to kill someone simply by driving them mad to the point where they would kill themselves. This wasn’t his only secret. He had many more ways. One of his deepest secrets was inside a hidden safe that only he could open. It held a special vest lined with enough plastic explosive to level a five story building. This was his escape hatch, his last way out. If all else failed he could simply walk into their base, and blow it apart. This is the true Ryoryuu, lost, hurt, and alone in his mind. Sharp as a razor blade, and as savage as a wolf. He was ready to strike at any moment....

Satine just sighed and walked to her room, sitting in her bed. She saw something in Ryoryuu no one else saw. Where they saw hate, she saw fear. Where they saw a demon, she saw a lost puppy in need of a home. For some reason, she couldn’t keep from thinking about him. He was without someone, always a loner. He was a lost boy in a world full of death....

At around two in the morning, Ryoryuu wrote down four things on a piece of paper. One was labeled Main code and read 52425. The next was Self Destruct Code: 5252. The last one he tore off and wrote, Room of Secrets: 5456 and slipped that into a separate envelope. The first two he set on the table, and the last he slipped under Satine’s door. He then packed up his most valuable items, his AK-47, his vest, and a bottle of apricot brandy. He put his bag on, and walked out of the factory. He just walked and walked, until he reached his cave. He sealed the door and set up his things. He unlocked the door of an old locker and smiled seeing the laptop, and his combat clothes, a black leather jacket, cargo pants and jungle style combat boots. These boots had blades that came out of the toes. The jacket had hidden blades, and the pants had two hidden revolvers. He went to sleep, knowing what he had to do.

The next day, Satine was the first to awaken and find the note, perplexed she ran up the spire, only to see it empty except for a case of apricot brandy with the name Satine burnt into it. She just dropped to her knees out of shock, she yelled for Daniel and Jake, who came running up the spire, expecting to see Ryoryuu dead, and were more than stunned to see that he was gone....

Ryoryuu just got up and walked to town, where he found the Headquarters of the Poleras. He walked in and yelled “LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!!!!!!” and pushed the button that should have detonated the vest, but something went wrong. “FUCK!” he yelled pulling his AK out and started shooting, but to no avail. One of the guards knocked him out, and dragged him down to the cells to await “Interrogation”.....

Satine got all of her weapons together, and got ready. She packed up the hummer, and sighed, wishing to God she was right and she had been able to disable the vest. He meant to much to her to let him destroy himself like that. He would be in the cells. Alive was alive, and that’s all she cared about. She just wanted him back....

Ryoryuu awoke in a dark room, his hands in two vices. The second his eyes opened, the vices began to tighten. No matter what, he just took the pain. After almost a minute, he heard his bones begin to snap, one by one, digit by digit. The interrogator, dressed in all black and wearing a mask, let him drop. He then took a drill and began to drill into his shoulders. Ryoryuu didn’t make a sound. he just slumped forward. The interrogator was furious. He threw Ryoryuu onto a wire bed hooked up to a switch, that in turn went to a wall socket. The interrogator just turned it on and smiled to himself as Ryoryuu thrashed and was unable to move. He didn’t make a sound. Finally the interrogator called in their leader.

Philos walked down the stairs, calm, cool and collected. He knew just how to handle this man....

The torture went on for days, and still nothing. Finally Ryoryuu spoke. He spoke to Philos for over an hour. No one knew why, but Philos went home that day, and when his girlfriend found him, he had blown his own brains out..... Ryoryuu smiled, not knowing Satine was about to risk her life to save him, a man who didn’t want to be saved.

Satine drove right through the front gate of their building, Daniel, Jake and Sebastian were outside guarding the door.

Ryoryuu heard the alarm over the loudspeaker. It was now he realised just what he had done.....

So ends the first book of the Resistance.....