Born Into Darkness: The Next Guardian
One: How Life Turns Into A Nightmare.


My names Keith, and I'm not like any of you. Turns out that I'm a part of some ancient mystical tradition. If it sounds weird to you, its because I don't understand it either. Basically though, I can control my soul, or more specifically, the fire that burns in my soul. I can summon it forward, and either surround parts of my body with it, or use it to fly, or fire projectiles of my soul's fire. Now, considering what I've learnt to do with this kind of power, that real useful. Especially if I'm slightly late for college, I can create wings and fly to school on them.
I'm not to sure how, or why people like me exist, but from what I gather, its because some guy, about a thousand years ago, killed some kind of dragon god and inherited his power, or mantle of Guardian. Now at the time this guy didn't understand what was going on, but over time he slowly began to work out what he had become. He had become almost a god. Now, once every few hundred years another is born with similar powers to the original one, and if he deems us worthy, we'll take his mantle from him, if not then we end up living for a very long time. Me? I've only been alive for seventeen years, but I've already seen my fair share of action. You see my friend's jobs are to protect the planet from threats. We're called the Resistance, but what we resist exactly, is beyond me. I think it all started a real long time ago, before my power emerged when some tyrannical guy called Apocalypse wanted to take over the world. The Resistance stopped him before to much harm could be done. Most people who knew about him are either dead, or have forgotten (read hypnotised to forget). So now, we fight to help keep the world a good place to live. Most of the people in the Resistance have been there a long while, we got Ms Sabre who used to work for Apocalypse, but she left him for a guy, I think, but nobody ever talks about that to much, there's also that guy who killed the dragon, George, he's pretty old now, but you wouldn't think it to look at him, Tokay, who is the father of Sabres kid, Dante. I like him, he's funny. We also got some vampire called Ashe, but he don't feed of blood, no, he feeds of pain and human souls. Rumour has it he once took an alien soul and that's why he doesn't talk properly much anymore. Once I heard it said that he's an angel, if such things exist.
There is a bunch of other folks, but to tell you the truth I'm not really sure I should be concentrating on who my team mates are, when I'm standing infront of what can only be described as a small army of ninja's intent on killing my friends. Why do they want to kill my friends? Well to be honest, I have no idea. Probably some sort of prophecy. Almost always is with these ninja sects. And by the way they all seem to staring at Jessie, I guess it'll have something to do with her. All I know for certain is that I need to stop them, no matter the cost to myself.
Although seeing as how Ms Sabre told me off last time I defended my friends in public and used my powers, I'm not sure how I will do this. Last time, it was only one person who noticed and Sabre wiped the memory from her mind (Sabres a telepath, which is bad when you think stray thoughts about her in near vicinity…). Now, if I use them, it'll be in full view of most of my friends, and anybody else who happens to look out of their windows at night. I guess I'll just have to use my fists and wits, I can't power up in-case anyone here tells anybody that they have one of the Resistance as a friend (most of us have some sort of secret identity. Well I do, because Sabre says I'm to young to work full-time as a hero and that I need to have a semblance of life before I truly understand why I fight to save others).
So now you know most of what I am; a hero who keeps what he is secret from most people. Now let me tell you what I'm going to do about the small army of ninja's that seem to be getting closer. They form some kind of secret and old sect who have thrived for millennia. Now, I guess, that Jessie will do something in the future that'll jeopardise the ninja's entire way of life. Whilst it may be bad for them at the time, I'm not about to let them harm her (I think I love her, although she doesn't know how I feel. We're just 'good friends' from where she stands) infront of all these people, who, judging by what I've heard about these ninja's, they'll kill all the witnesses. So I may as well fight them now, before any of my friends are hurt.

The only good thing I can get from any of this, is the fact that half the people here are to drunk to understand what is going on (we're having a bit of a get together in the local park, and alcohol is very prominent. I think that I'm the only stone cold sober person here) and that I'm infront of us all. The rest of my friends are back up against a fence that stops you going into a pretty wide, but shallow brook. The ninja's are only infront of me, so I don't have to think too much about tactics, I just have to hope I can hurt enough of the ninja so that they respect my efforts and leave well alone. Of course, that means me, with no weapons, fighting what I think approaches almost one hundred of them. Each is armed with swords, or tanto knives or some other fancy ninja weapon that kills really well.
I'm going to die here, aren't I?
“Listen to me, if you can, get over the fence and run away. Don't look back, no matter what you hear, okay?” I don't need to turn around to know that Chris, a person I just made up with tonight after we fell out the other week, is about to ask me what I'm planning on doing. I let him ask me.
“What the hell are you going to do while we run away?” panic sounds in his voice. I wonder how they must be taking the fact that a load of armed men and women are about to attack and kill us all. Then I realise that I'm taking it quite well, although I've faced threats like this before, but with some of my team mates with me. And I've never fought so many without being able to use my powers.
“I'm going to make sure you all stay alive. So go, get away, I'll ring you later.” If I survive, I think. My mobile phone feel like an added weight in my pocket, and an idea comes to me. Why didn't I think of it before? Why didn't I think of calling for back up before now?
“Keith, what the hell are you doing? You can't hope to stand against these… these… things on your own!” A girl's voice. Probably Jessie. Maybe she knows how I feel? Maybe she doesn't want me to die? Well, that's kind of a stupid thing to think, of course she doesn't want me to die.
“I'm doing my job” I say as I key in the number that Ms Sabre gave me in-case of a situation like this. Although truth be told nobody in the Resistance ever thought it would ever happen. And I just made a mistake of saying my job, didn't I? I hope they forget that.
“Your job? What are you…?” I lose her voice as the person on the Resistance switch boards picks up.
“Keith mate, what wrong?” it's Tokay. I can hear Dante and the rest in the background. Must be some sort of meeting.
“Ninja's. Lots of ninja's.” I say as they move slowly forward. They must think they have us, so are taking their sweet time to cross the two mile of field we ran across a few minutes ago to escape them. I don't mind.
“What do you mean? Where are you?” Tokay sounds like he's just been jerked awake, he sounds like he's worried. They weren't expecting this. That means there's no stand by team in the air already. That's bad. It'll take awhile for any back up to reach me.
“What do I mean? Well there is a small army of ninja moving toward me, and I'm standing infront of a group of about twenty people wondering how the hell I'm going to save them.” I take a breath, “you should be able to find my position with the tracking…”
He interrupts me “Yeah, Sabres found you. I'll send out George and Black Dragon to help you. The rest of us will remain on stand by in-case another threat turns up.”
“Okay…” I look toward the end of the hill, and for the first time my brain registers how many of them there are. “You'd best send another as well… there is a lot of them, and I'm unable to use my powers, remember?”
“Roger that. Ashe will accompany the rescue team, he looks hungry. Can you hold out for twenty minutes, mate?” Twenty minutes to cross the Atlantic was actually really good. They must be sending them in the new jet that we had built the other week. Thank god for small mercies. I thought it'd be at least the best part of an hour. I may have a small chance then.
“I'll do my best.” In truth, I'd do more than that to keep my friends alive. I'd give all I had. Everything.
“Good lad. The team are going now, stay alive Kid.” The phone went dead. I hate it when they call me kid.

“Keith!” somebody shouted, eager for my attention. I look down to my hands first. Fists infront of my body. I notice the faintest glow of my powers reading for battles. It takes a small effort to push them back. My name is shouted again. I turn my head slightly, never letting go of the ninja army infront of me, to see who called my name. It was Jessie again. “What do you mean when you say 'it's my job'?”
“Nothing. I meant nothing by it.” I hate lying to people, especially to people I'm almost in love with. “Now get over that bloody fence and run away before these ninja get any closer.” My voice remains calm as I tell them to go, but inside my nerves are shaking. I feel terrified. My team mates won't get here in time to help me, I have a bad feeling about this. I'm going to die. But my friends are going to live. They will survive, even if I do not. I risk a glance behind me. A few have done what I told them to, and now stand a few inches from the edge of the brook, waiting for the others to get there. I turn away as somebody demands I tell them what I'm going to do.
“Well what I thought I'd do was wait for them to get over here, and offer them a beer or two.” Sarcasm is just one more service I offer. “You idiot I'm going to make sure you all get away. I'm going to stop them for as long as I can, so don't be fools and stay around, get going now.” There is a moment of silence before people realise that I'm about to die for them. Several try to stop me, telling me to run as well, telling me that I don't have to do this, that they'll do it instead. Its amazing what alcohol can do for a persons courage. After a few moments I turn around, letting my eyes glimmer with the fire that lives within my body. I tell them, in no uncertain terms, to go and not to argue with what I'm doing. I don't know if it's the sudden urgency in my voice, but they all react like they have burning feet. Very fast and toward the brook.
I smile as I turn. The ninja are close enough to me now so that they can catch my words when the wind picks up. Maybe two hundred yards? Its time for me to attack, I think, as I slowly walk toward the first of them, my fists clenched, my body tense, which is the worst thing that can happen when your about to fight. Someone shouts at me to stop. I get the feeling they're all watching me now.

Ninjas are running now. They each want to be the first to make the first kill. Eager for some blood to wash over their blades. I look to the sky, a silent prayer escapes my lips: 'let me die with honour'. My eyes look back to the first of the ninja's swinging his sword in an arc aimed to cut my belly open to the spinal cord. I reach forward, my brain not in control, only reflex and instinct now. My hands grab hold of the hilt and I roll with the swing, taking the sword from the ninja's hands as I spin. He doesn't know what's going on, I doubt he ever expected me to be able to do that, but I learnt it from a good friend of mine; George. He has had hundreds of years to practice with the sword. And I made sure he taught me some of what he knows. The ninja dies as I complete the turn, cutting through the bones in his neck as the blade rises high. His body is dust when it hits the ground, one of the many indications that this ancient ninja sect is more than human. The rest come at me like a wave on the beach. I stand there, I have a weapon now, a sword. I may be able to hold them off long enough to stay alive. My sword rises to meet the oncoming blade of another, I don't even remember telling my body to move as the ninja turns to dust on my downward counter stroke. I seem to be quite good when fighting on instinct. My lips part in a sick smile as I take more and more of the ninja's lives, metal hits metal as it falls from the dead hands of the ninja's. The clothes they were wearing make the already dark hill look even blacker. I don't notice any of this until later, right now I'm more interested in staying alive and saving my friends. I can't remember how many I have killed when the roar of a jet plane sounds over head. Finally, the Resistance has arrived. I see George leap out before the jet is even on the ground. His near immortality lets him risk things like that. Black Dragon and Ashe both run out when the jet is grounded, but by then George has already sent most of the ninja's to Hell. The speed of George's attacks are phenomenal, he moves faster than most could think. Time and war has refined his body into a fighting machine. Black Dragon fights with a ferocity I have seldom seen in any man. In seconds the ninja are running from these two men. Why they didn't run from me, I'll never know. Then I understand. Its not us three they run from, its Ashe. It would seem they are not afraid to let their bodies die, but losing their souls terrifies them. And judging from the scream of those Ashe has already taken; it can't be too good a way to go, either. Unfortunately, the more Ashe takes, the faster and stronger he gets. I almost feel a pang of pity for them as I see my friends drive them back, killing without remorse. Okay, so I did kill some of them, but that was because I was angry, I was desperate to save my 'normal' friends. But this? This looks like these three are doing this to send a message to the ninja bosses 'Do not mess with a member of the Resistance, you will only get hurt'. I have a feeling Jessie will need a more constant protection form now on.
Speaking of which, I turn around and see my friends staring, eyes wide jaws open. My heart falls. I didn't want them to see this. George returns to me first, his sword bloodied to the hilt as he wipes it on one of the dead ninja's clothes.
“Are you okay?” genuine concern in his voice
“I've been better.”
He doesn't' reply for what seems like a long time, and when he does it seems as though he had been looking into my soul.
“You did well, protecting these people, but you should have called us earlier.”
I look down to the floor, unable to speak. I drop the sword I had been using and listen to the footsteps of another walking toward me. I guess its Black Dragon, I can still hear the occasional muffled scream from further down the field as Ashe feeds.
The two men talk briefly, but I seem to blank out their conversation as my thoughts turn to my friends, and more specifically, Jessie. I hope she didn't see what I was doing. And the pleasure I took in using the ninja's blade.
“Keith?” It was Black Dragon
“Yes?” I look up, the mask on his face is unable to hide the look of concern he now wears.
“Would you like to come back with us? We can get you patched up in no time.” He points to my left arm. Until now, I hadn't realised that I'd been hurt. But now, looking down, I had several large cuts down my forearm. Infact, now I thought of it, I could feel blood running down my cheek from a cut in my eyebrow. Still, I shake my head. I need to explain to Jessie and the others what went on, and why. Well, maybe not why.
“I'll be okay. Just put a bandage around it or something.”
“I'll do better than that.” Black Dragon says as he turns around, about to shout for Ashe, but there is no need. Ashe has silently walked toward us. He does that, moves without noise, arrives without saying 'hello'. It freaks most people out. I learnt to live with it. I see Black Dragon looking toward me, then to Ashe. Ashe nods, as if they were talking telepathically. I already know what will happened. You know I told you that Ashe can feed off souls? Well he can also feed off pain. I hold my arm out and Ashe smiles, slightly, placing his warm hand over the cuts and lose skin on my left arm. Damage is worse than I thought it would be. A brief jolt of pleasure and warmth flows through my body, then a slightly sharp stab of pain runs along my veins as Ashe heals over my arm. That's a side effect of his feeding off pain. He heals people to.
No words are needed as the three men who saved my life walk away and board the jet. There is a simple wave as they fly up and then a quick flash of light and the jet is already out of eye shot. It's quicker than I thought.

I start to walk up the hill where only a few of my friends are still there, waiting to see if I'm okay. None of us notice my torn T-shirt, showing part of my costume beneath it. I've taken to wearing it beneath my clothes now, because it helps to keep me warm in the cold nights and because it's useful when, or if, I ever get called into a situation from the streets. They do that, just tell you to get away from all the people and teleport you straight into the action, or first to our head quarters. I hate the teleporter, it makes my guts feel all twisted and I always feel sick afterwards. Still, I'm amazed that nobody really notices. After all, my T-shirts a kind of grey and my costume is mostly black, apart from some kind of design on my shoulder blades and my upper torso, which is blue.
I don't understand if the look I get from my friends is of astonishment, or simply of wonder as I walk toward them. I try to make my face seem calm, but in reality I feel very luck to be alive.
“Keith… who were they?” The first person to break the awkward silence that was creeping up is Stu. We've not known each other long.
“The ninja's?” I ask
“No, the other three who came and disappeared?”
My eyes drop for a second. I had hoped they wouldn't ask that. “Members of the Resistance, I think. I'm not to sure.” The lie walks past my lips faultlessly.
“Why did they come here?” Alan this time. He'd been one of my closest friends for a very long time.
“They came to stop the ninja's. Which they did.” I try and smile, but my body is tired, exhausted from all the fighting earlier. Instead I think my smile looks like a ghost of s smile. I don't care. “Is there any beer left?”
The look I get will live with me for the rest of my life. One of sheer, shocked amusement from just about everybody. Then they start laughing, the alcohol kicking in again. I hope I can get everyone drunk enough so they don't remember this. I hope, anyway.

Fours hours later, and I'm starting to drink a little to much. Although compared to the people around me, I'm doing quite well. For some reason they've completely forgotten about the ninja's. Maybe its because they didn't want to believe it happened, or maybe because they are all to drunk to remember. It doesn't matter much to me anyway, so long as they do not remember. Bonus if I don't, I think as I take a long, deep swig of some cheap beer. It tastes horrible. I don't mind.
“Keith, are you okay…?” I can barely make out the voice, its so slurred with alcohol. My eyes light up a little, so I can get some more light into the face of the person talking to me. It's a small and barely noticeable power usage that George taught me. Turns out the person infront of me is Rachel. A good friend. Nothing more, but I get the feeling I'm missing out on something, like everybody else wants it to be more. Including her. Unfortunately, Jessie is a good friend of Rachel's, I can't do anything about either of them. Well I could, but I'm just not brave enough. Strange isn't it? I'm willing to fight a small army of ninja's by myself, but I'm not willing to admit my feeling to a girl. Funny kind of courage.
I sigh as I look up into Rachel's brown eyes “I'm fine. Why do you ask?”
“Well,” why can't I let go of her gaze? “Everyone else seems to be blind drunk, and you seem to be quite sober. And everyone else is smiling and having fun, and you're here sitting by yourself. I just thought you might need company, or something. I'm babbling now, aren't I?”
My face erupts into the first genuine smile since I saw the ninja's almost five hours ago. I'm even starting to laugh. Why do I find that so funny? “I'm fine, cheers. And you weren't babbling, I knew just what you meant.”
“So why are you laughing?” She says as she sits down on the bench next to me, closer than most would, as well. I think my thigh is touching hers. I can't move up anymore, I think she knows that.
“I have no idea.” And in truth, I don't. My laughter doesn't die away for a few seconds, making my words seem all jittery. I find it funnier, but I slowly stop my laughter anyway.
“Do you remember what you did earlier?” She's referring to the ninja's, isn't she?
“Did I fall in the pond?” There is a big pond in the park. Most people fall into in when they get drunk in here. Worryingly, it's a favourite place for teenagers to get together and drink, so quite a few wake up wet and cold if they don't make it home. I know, I've done it before.
“No,” she giggled “when you stood infront of all those people with swords?”
I nod, slowly and deliberately. Once down, up and back to centre.
“What did you mean when you said 'it's your job' to do that thing?” Why couldn't she just ask why they turned up? I could lie to that. Or even how I knew how to fight with a sword? No, she asked the only question I don't have a back up answer to.
“What do you think I meant?” I ask, trying hard to think of a reasonable excuse for what I said, besides the truth.
“Well the way you said it… you sounded so sure. Almost like you had no intention of running.” She stops and looks into my blue eyes. Most people think the blue is a cold blue. I never really pay much attention to my own eyes. “Why did you say it?”
“I'm not sure.”
“Okay… how did those men know you? They looked like they were part of the Resistance, or something…” Now that's a bit harder to answer.
“Yeah… they were.” What do I say, that they know me because I'm part of the Resistance? Yeah and how much trouble would I get in for that? Too much. I guess it's another lie. But how the hell am I going to lie my way out of this. “I think one of them is a telepath, or something. He must have scanned my mind and founds out who I was.” None of them were a telepath.
“Oh… okay.” She smiles. I've just realised her gaze hasn't left my face. I think she moved in closer, as well. This is awkward.
“Is there anymore drink?” I try and sound calm, and normal, but I just know my voice shakes slightly.
“Why do you want another drink?”
“Mines about to be emptied.” Its half full, I realise. I can remedy that. She doesn't make a sound as I tip the bottle neck to my lips and drink deeply, only finishing when there is no air left in the bottle to let the liquid into my mouth. I hide the grimace that forms on my face because of the taste with my hand. I sense her smiling.
“There should be some left, but I'm not sure how much.” She stops, trying to think. I shrug and stand up. “Shall we go find out?” I offer her my hand to help her up. She takes it, but doesn't let go as we walk over. I don't think she noticed it's only her hand that's holding mine, and I'm not holding hers. I don't think she has noticed, though.
I'm not to sure how I manage to get out of her hand holding grip, but I'm pretty sure its when I bend down to pick up another bottle of something. The writings to small and fuzzy for me to read what. I'm getting to drunk, I should let this be my last, just in case I use my powers when I am drunk. That would be disastrous.
Instead of standing up again after I get the new bottle, I stay on the floor, watching what everybody is doing. I'm pretty sure I can see Mike wrestling some unwilling opponent to the ground. Then there's a few people just standing around talking, and a few others finishing off the remainders of the drink. I wish I could do that, but as I said, it wouldn't be safe. The only safe place I can drink is with the Resistance in the bar type room we have at headquarters.
Rachel sits next to me, I get the feeling her hand is looking for mine as I pretend to have trouble undoing the screw top lid. Just as she is about to offer to help, I take it off and cradle the bottle in two hands. Deliberately. Why won't she go away?
“I didn't think you liked vodka.” She says, looking to my bottle.
“I don't.”
“Why are you drinking it?”
“I have no idea.” So I have a small bottle of vodka. What harm can come of making it last me the entire night?
She shrugs at that, clearly not understanding me. I make no attempt to enlighten her. We sit for awhile in silence, not a companionable silence, just a quiet moment between us. Then she stands up, smiling at me. “I'm gonna go to the toilet…”
I nod. I have a slight feeling she's going to ask me to go with her. “I'll stay here then.” I hope I'm not being too harsh on her, I just don't want to be with a girl I don't have strong feelings for. My thoughts drift as she walks away, turning once to look back at me. I smile slightly and lay back. Then my world starts to swivel and churn. A light above me seems to be getting brighter and brighter as I realise what is happening; I'm being teleported back to the Resistance headquarters. Now my stomach is following my vision and swirling wildly out of control. I hear some of my friends stumble over, but I can't see them. I think they are asking me if I'm okay. Before I can reply, I vomit on the grass infront of me and then everything turns from the darkness of the park to the slight white and blue colouring of the Resistance teleporting bay. Wiping my mouth, I look on the floor. The clothes and weapons of the ninja's are with me. I wonder why for a second, until I realise that someone probably wanted to cover up the attack.

“Keith!” I think its Ms Sabre. But my senses are still in La La Land.
“Yeah…?” I know my words are trembling. I'm almost petrified of Sabre when I might be in trouble.
“Are you drunk?”
“Not yet. I was heading that way though.” I can't help it. Before I know what I had said, its out. Now all I can do is wait for the reply.
“Get changed, get sober and get into the ready room. Your wanted.” She turns away quickly. I think I heard a little bit more to her voice. Was it disappointment? Now I'm feeling slightly bad.

Five minutes later I'm standing in full costume infront of most of the Resistance. George, Ashe and Black Dragon are all here, so is Tokay, some blue guy that I keep forgetting what his name is and two elfin type people. I think I once heard that their names were NotWedge and Air Razer, and that they are father and son, but I'm not sure. NotWedge is probably the most powerful out of all of us. I can't help but wonder what it would be like if he had never met his wife Clio, and had turned evil. Truth be told, I don't want to know.
Sabre walks into the room now, Dante is next to her. She looks at us all, making eye contact with each of us but me. I feel like shit. Then she looks back to George, who stands up, looking toward me. Why do I get the feeling everybody else knows what is going on, but not me? Actually, I'm starting to understand. I'm the only person in costume, or uniform, what ever you want to call it, everybody else is in mainly relaxed clothes. Expect Black Dragon, for some reason he never takes off his mask. Then I notice the monitor screen. Its a lot like a big television screen, but it shows things that the T.V. stations do not. Right now, its showing my friends in the park, completely oblivious to the fact that they are being watched. Not only by us, but by a mutant bounty hunter. Now I know why I am the only one in costume. Because I'm the only one who is going to fight the bounty hunter. I look toward Sabre, then to George.
“Do you know why they are after her?” I'm the first person to speak since we all arrived here.
“Yes, and no.” George answers me. “We understand that it has something to do with a prophecy, but we aren't sure why they want to hurt her, or even if its her they are after.”
I knew it. Why is it always about these prophecies? I sigh. They must have a plan formulated, otherwise I wouldn't be here in full costume.
“What do you want me to do?” I ask, already having a pretty good idea.
“We want you to protect her,” Sabre says as she stands up, “until we know why the ninja's want to hurt her.”
“Do these ninja's have a name?”
“Probably, but we aren't sure of it yet. The markings on the clothes that we brought back with you indicate that they may well be part of the Hanzaki cult.”
I can't help my eyebrow rising beneath my mask as I ask my next question. “Who the hell are they when they're at home?”
Black Dragon's cheeks bunch as he grins beneath his mask. “I think its one of those 'We want the end of the world' type of things, Keith.”
I nod and George shakes his head. “They aren't your typical run of the mill ninja cult.” He says, looking to both me and Dragon.
“They seem to have ulterior motives for a lot of what they do, and until we know more about them, I do not want any of you to take stupid risks.” Sabre said, concern was barely detectable in her voice, but it was there, I'm sure of it.
I nod, this may be a bit more serious than I had first thought. “What do you want me to do?”
There is a faint smile on her face as I ask that, maybe she thinks I'm maturing as a 'hero'? “Your going to protect her.”
“I'd do that anyway, Sabre, you know that.”
She nods and looks to me. Then I feel her voice in my head. “You wont see her again as Keith. I'm afraid we need you to be there full time as a member or The Resistance. I'm sorry.” Because of the open mind link we are sharing at the moment, she can feel my disappointment, and she can also, undoubtedly, feel my attempt at covering it up instantly. What she just said to me, means that my life as a normal human will soon be over. There will only be the 'hero' me left. I'm not to thrilled at that news.
“Yes, I know.” Sabres voice is level, there isn't much emotion in it.

There is a brief silence, slightly awkward some would say, in the group as we all shift around, looking at each other. I try a smile, it must look pretty weak. “If I'm going to protect her, then you'll have to give me some sort of briefing, or something. I can't just go down in costume and follow her around, can I?”
Black Dragon nods, slowly in agreement, then looks to Sabre. “What if he needs back up? How will he get hold of us?”
I was going to ask that, but Black Dragon asked it for me. I'm quite glad he did, actually.
“Surprisingly, we have actually worked out all the minor details for this, Keith. You will have a tiny receiver located in your ear, which we will be able to communicate with you, via a link from the 'lookout station'.” That room always has somebody inside it, waiting to hear some kind of garbled radio message that pleads for help. It is also linked to several satellites that circle the world. We don't actually own any of our own, no, we just added some of our program material into some weather and television satellites. It works quite well, so I'm told. “But the more important part,” Sabre continued, “is that we are going to enrol you as a member of the Resistance in your current college. Unfortunately, however, you will be attending class in uniform, with a mask pulled permanently over your face.”
I sigh, and shake my head. My costume now, has a half mask. That is that it covers my face up until the middle of my nose, leaving my eyes and forehead open to the elements. I like it that way.
George walks over to me, holding what looks to be a book of some sort. He opens it and reveals my new addition to my costume. Its not as bad as I first thought it would be. It is still open top, allowing my hair to be relatively open, but it easily covers my face, with white lines, almost like tears, coming from the centre of the eye holes and running down my face until they reach my jaw bone. Sighing, I pull off my old mask and replace it with the new one. It feels weird, but strangely comfortable. I realise that they must have been planning this for awhile now, for them to have a pre-made mask for me to wear. I let Sabre pull my hair out from the side of the mask, freeing it to fall about my face and neck. There is a smile on Black Dragons face, I'm sure of it, as he watches Sabre re-adjust my mask to it fits properly. Eventually she steps away, and then I glimpse my reflection in the mirrored surface of the black monitor screen. I look like a black ghost. I smile. Its fitting somehow that now Keith has effectively 'died', I'll need a new name. “What am I going to be called?”
They hadn't thought of that, probably the most obvious of details, and they hadn't thought of it. How very ironic. How very Resistance.
Black Dragon looks up, his eyes flashed with an idea. “What about Shadow?”
I cringe, slightly. Its not bad, but it is slightly corny. I nod, pretending to think it over. Ashe then tries to say something, his gravely tones easily recognisable. “Nightmare…?”
People turn, looking at him. none see the glimmer of Soul Fire within my eyes, or the grin across my face as I turn the name over my tongue, liking the sound of it.
“What…? He… Might… Like…?” Ashes ability to speak in normal sentences was taken from him long ago, now he can only say, or only chooses to say, the key words in each sentence. It gets his point over just as well, if not better than other peoples as he doesn't bother with padding out of his speeches.
“I do.” I say, and Ashe grins. He's happy, and so am I.
The rest seem to be okay about it. I mean, Nightmare isn't really a name you'd associate with a 'hero', is it? That's more like 'Superman', or something. But then, I've no intention of being the traditional hero. If I'm doing a job, I'll do it to the end, no matter what it takes.

We are all grouped around the heli-pad, now, waiting for our resident pilot to take me back home. Only this time I won't be returning as Keith, it will be as Nightmare, a member of the Resistance. We do not say anything, no words are needed. Black Dragon is no where to be seen, which is surprising. We always used to get on well, so I'm a little upset he isn't here. I don't show it, though. Come to think of it, George isn't here either. Where are they?
I hear the sound of the helicopter approaching in the distance, and then I hear running footsteps. I turn around to see George and Black Dragon running toward me, Black Dragon is holding a sword in a scabbard. George is holding the sword belt. Both hold their own swords to keep them from tangling in their legs as they run. I wonder what this weapon is for. Then I work it out as George hands me the sword belt and Dragon gives me the sword. I grin.
“We thought you should have a weapon, and seeing how you were quite good with a sword earlier tonight, well the logical choice was this.” Dragon smiles.
“Do you want me to loop the scabbard to the belt, for you?” George asks, as I try to do it. I nod, and he does it with practised fingers. Its hardly any wonder, this man has been using a sword since he was my age. He's now one thousand and twenty seven.
I strap the sword on when George gives it to me, and draw the blade out. I can feel my power cursing through not only my body, but through the blade of the sword. Strange, how this steel can withstand the energies of my own soul.
“Thank you. I love it.” My eyes never leave the blade.
“Keith… your ride is here, mate.” Tokay says, and I look up. He's right, the chopper has almost landed. I sigh.
“I guess I'll see you all around, someday.” I say as I slide my new sword into its scabbard and fasten the claps over its hilt so it doesn't fly out for no reason.
“If you need us, then tap your ear twice to activate the radio.” I nod as Tokay says that.
Any other words are lost as the noise of the chopper landing drowns them out. I run over to it, and climb into the large cargo doors that are open and waiting for me. I'm glad of the mask, it hides the tears that are slowly filling my eyes as I leave my friends, only to return to a world that doesn't know me anymore. They return my wave as the helicopter climbs, taking me away from them. My heart misses a beat and then my ear crackles. I realise it's the young Dante activating my ear piece. Even as a youngster, he is pretty clever. I wonder how he'll turn out as an adult?
“Good luck Keith.” His voice comes over to me as clear as if he was right next to me. I smile and say simply. “Thank you.” And then the ear piece goes quite. Soon, I'll see my normal friends again, but they won't see me. Never again.

Born Into Darkness: The Next Guardian
Two: A Living Nightmare

It has been two days since I was last seen as Keith. But I haven't made my first appearance as Nightmare yet. No, instead myself and Sabre (who isn't actually here, but she's using some kind of power amplification device, so she is walking around with me in her astral form), are tying up loose ends. First, we had to explain to my parents what was going on, we had to think of a cover story for why I disappeared that night and why I never came back. What she came up with, I just agreed, was that the people who were with me when the Hanzaki Ninja attacked were having a 'goodbye' party for me, because I was leaving for America, to go live with my mothers sister. How did we convince them of this, well their drunken memories were easy for Sabre to manipulate, so now they don't remember the attack, they just remember me saying goodbye. They are happy, my parents are happy because they know I'm alive, and who I am. Sabre promised them that I would keep in contact through letters and such. I also promised them that. And, more importantly, The Resistance are happy because their agent is able to enrol in the local college without any holes in the plan. Okay, so it will be obvious who I am, but I think they have gotten around that.
So now, Keith Sutherlund no longer lives in England, but lives in America. Everybody knows this. What nobody but The Resistance and my parents know is that Nightmare, the newest official member of the 'hero' team The Resistance is Keith Sutherlund. And soon, my parents won't even know that. They agreed to allow Sabre to alter their memories to keep them safe, should anything happen to me. All I know is that I have to be away from them when that happens, so we had a tearful goodbye and I left, using my power to fly off into the night.

Three days later and its my first day at school as Nightmare. Right now, I'm standing outside of the assembly hall, waiting to be introduced to my new school year. I'm actually quite nervous. Funny, how that when I see my friends, it'll be from the wrong side of the mask.
“Good morning to you,” I can hear the principle starting the assembly. My nerves are trembling. “I called this assembly, because we have new pupil in the college. Now I know this would not normally happen for any pupil we get inside this college, but this student is, how can I put it, different to the rest of you.” He pauses. I think I can hear the others groaning and mumbling. I'm not looking forward to going out there.
“There isn't really anymore I can say about him, so I'll just invite him onstage and see what he says.”
What kind of a set up is that? How the hell am I going to go onstage and introduce myself now? Inside the others start looking around, trying to see me amongst themselves. Instead I walk on from a side door, straight out onto the stage. I've got a long dark leather coat covering my sword and costume, but nothing covers my mask as I turn to face the mass of students. Probably about a couple of hundred in total. My hands are shaking slightly inside the coat pockets. I stand behind the speaking podium and wait for those who haven't noticed me to notice me. They all soon fall silent as my eyes start to trail some of my Soul Fire into the air. I rest my elbows on the podium, my gloved hands clasp infront of the students. Eventually, one boy wearing jeans and a T-shirt stands up. I look at him, even beneath my mask there is no emotion on my face.
“Who are you?” He asks.
“I'm Ke… Nightmare. My name is Nightmare.” I have to try hard to keep my real name from them. Its my only mistake all day. The boy looks at me like I'm insane.
“What kind of name is Nightmare?” He says, scorn in his voice.
I sigh. This will be harder than I thought, although I'm starting to get the hang of it.
“The one I was given.”
“By who?”
“The Resistance.”
He looks at me, his mouth wide open. “Your with the Resistance?”
“Yes.”
They are all quite now. My eyes, the only part of me visible from beneath my mask, glimmer with the smile spreading over my face, as the boy sits down. Now, for some reason, I have them in the palm of my hand. A girl puts her hand up.
“Why are you here?” she asks.
“To get an education. People like me need some brains, y'know.” She nods. I feel awkward. Again. How am I going to fit in with these people?
“Your not supposed to fit in, Keith,” I hear Sabres voice in my head. She must be linked to the power amplifier we have, keeping watch over me. I'm glad she is. “Your supposed to do your job. Just try and be calm, and maybe we'll fit you with some sort of image disguise.” What she means is a tiny holographic device that I carry about with me, masking what I really look like with almost any other appearance I choose.

“Listen, I'm not good at talking infront of crowds, so if there's something you really want to ask me, then come up and ask me. Ignoring all my powers and training, I'm just a normal guy.” With that I walk off stage, and into the corridors that lead to the class rooms, walking to the nearest door like it was second nature.
After all, I did used to attend her as my former self. As the sun hits my masked face, I let my powers run free from my eyes, trailing off with the wind as I walk away. Eventually, I hear a voice, so I turn around. Its one of my old friends. Its Sam.
Its so hard to pretend I don't know him.
“Who are you?” he asks. I'm hardly surprised that he doesn't know who I am. He never went to the assemblies.
“My names Nightmare. I'm new.”
“What the hell?” he looks me up and down, clearly confused. “Why the hell are you dressed like that?” Even though our college has no uniform, most people tend to wear smart clothes. Then there's me with my tight black costume and my long leather coat. I try and sound calm and distant. If I do, I'm not sure. “I'm dressed like this because I have to.”
“What?” He sounds surprised.
“Look. I'll be blunt. I'm a member of the Resistance. I'm here to get some sort of education.” I sigh. I need to get away from here.
“Look mate, I don't believe you. Your just some idiot wearing a costume pretending to be a one of those super hero people.” His face bears a triumphant smirk.
I hated that smirk as Keith and I hate it as Nightmare. Nodding, I watch as his face drops when I form wings from my back using the Soul Fire.
“Yes, your completely right, I'm a powerless fake in a costume.” I say as I soar upwards, towards the clouds. Then, on a sheer moment of madness, I swoop back down and fly very fast over his head. My body is straight, almost tense, as I make the pass, my 'wings' beating deliberately as I fly past him, barely a foot above his face. Wind blows in my face as I speed away from him and over the expansive college grounds, my hair is being blown about by the wind. I have always loved that sensation. Several groups of people look up to see me. One or two wave. I wave back. I recognise them from the assembly earlier. I fly over Jessie and the others, and then I'm off into the sky, flying free and unburdened.
“Keith, as much as you enjoy this, you do need to keep an eye on Jessie.” Its then I realise that Sabre hasn't opened a mind link, but is instead using the small radio device in my ear.
“Okay. Point taken. I'll go talk to her.”
“Thank you Keith.”
“Keith is dead, Sabre. My name is Nightmare now.” In the back ground I hear somebody make a sound similar to a gasp, or a sob. I don't care.
“As you wish… Nightmare.”
They leave me to it then, so I simply dive down to the ground. Roughly seven feet from the grass, I spread my wings again, stopping my descent almost instantly, as I manage a graceful landing. I look around, standing up from my crouched landing. My coat falls over my sword again. I can see where Jessie is. Mainly because her and Rachel are walking over to me. They smile as they see me, and for an instant, I nearly forget that Keith is gone. Nearly. I check my self before I do anything stupid.
“You're the new guy, aren't you?” Rachel says.
“Yeah. Yeah. I am.” I smile, but its probably lost behind the mask.
“Well let us be the first to welcome you to our little shit-pit of a college. My names Jessie, and that is Rachel.” Jesse's smile warms my heart, as it always had done before.
“Thanks. I'm Nightmare.” I offer my hand. Its only now I realise how bad that name can sound as a normal name. I should have chosen something else.
Jessie smiles and shakes my hand. So does Rachel.
“Why are you called Nightmare?” Asks Rachel as she lets go of my hand.
“Well if I used my real name, there wouldn't be any point in the mask, would there?”
They both laugh slightly. It seems weird that they have taken me as a normal teenager so easily. So very weird.
“What is your real name?” Jessie asks.
“Again, if I told you, I wouldn't need the mask, would I?”
They nod. I take in a deep breath, then exhale it slowly. It smells good to be here again. Even if I am here as Nightmare.
“Listen, we should be in a class in about five minutes… if we see you later, can we say hi?” Rachel asks.
“Why did you ask me that?”
“Because you may want to be left alone.”
I smile. “That's the last thing I'd want.”
The both grin. “See you around then.”
“Its very likely.” I watch them walk away then I draw out my wings again and take to the skies, to keep a better eye on Jessie, without her knowing it. I make sure to keep out of the way of the sun, so I do not cast a shadow over them, in case they get freaked out.

Resistance Head Quarters.

George sits quietly, waiting for Nightmare to call in. Its only been a few minutes since Sabre told him to go back to ground, but he was up in the air again. Albeit he was looking after the others. But his protection means nothing if the Resistance can't figure out why the Hanzaki Ninja want to hurt Jessie. Still, whilst he was on monitor duty, there was nothing the dragon slayer could do about it, except think.
Black Dragon, however, was busily hitting the keys of a large keyboard looking for information about the Resistance's new enemies, but he kept coming up with nothing. It would seem that all their efforts amounted to nothing so far.
If any Hanzaki attacked Nightmare, then he'd have fight without any knowledge of who they are. Which wasn't asking much, Nightmare is a competent fighter without his powers. He proved that a few nights ago, so when he uses his power against a horde of them… well Black Dragon was confident enough that the back up team would only consist of two men, at its most. Infact, so were most of the team, they just kept it quiet and made ready for back up. Just in-case.

The College. Three weeks later.

I hate waiting. Its been three weeks now since I joined the college as Nightmare, and not once has anything happened to cause me to worry about Jessie. I don't think she's even noticed I'm almost two hundred feet above her, following her to school. I tap my ear twice. Black Dragon answers. “You all right Nightmare?”
“Yeah. I was just wondering if you had any more information on the Hanzaki.”
“Sorry, anything they've found out, they ain't telling me or Ashe or Tokay.”
I sigh. So far, I've been living in a dingy little flat near Jesse's house with barely any sleep at all, for fear they'll attack in the night. The teachers think I'm weird, my old friends hate me and only Jessie and Rachel talk to me, apart from a plethora of other people who want to know a 'super hero'. I hate that term. I've never claimed to be a hero. That's what firemen are, they are the real heroes in this world.
“Well if you find anything out, could you let me know?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. Nightmare out.”
Black Dragon doesn't reply, the line just goes silent. Well, its time for another fun filled day in school. I almost find myself hoping for a major attack, or even for the Hanzaki to appear.
I fly on ahead of Jessie, deliberately over taking her and landing on the ground several meters infront. I let my wings dissolve into the air as I stand. My coat billows up in the cold wind that is blowing on the ground. Up in the air, the wind is minimal.
“Cold today, isn't it?” Mike O'Neil says as he walks up to me. I really hate him. When I was Keith, he shouted abuse at me everyday, because I was lazy. Now he tries to be all buddy buddy with me, because I'm Nightmare. One day I'll be the source of his nightmares.
“I don't feel the cold.” I tell him. Its true, my powers somehow block out all temperature changes, so I could be running naked through the Antarctic and not even have goose pimples.
“I'm not surprised with a coat like that.” He doesn't grasp the point, does he? Idiot.
“No, it doesn't matter about the coat. I'm impervious to temperature changes.” He nods. He doesn't understand long words.
“So why do you wear the coat?”
“So nobody catches a glimpse of what is beneath.”
“And what is that, exactly?” His voice is all sceptical. I feel my blood boiling as I stand near him. Then an idea hits me, and I push the coat over the handle of my sword, and draw it out, slightly.
“This.”
He looks at me, dumbfounded. I should of just pulled out the knife that's hidden on my back. Its in a sheath on my belt directly above my buttocks. Its held upside down, with the blade pointing toward my head.
Leaving him there staring at me, I walk past him toward the doors, my eyes giving my path a little extra light this early in the December morning.
“Be on your guard.” Black Dragon's voice started in my ear. I didn't stop walking, but he knew I was listening to him. He also knew I couldn't reply, for to do so was to let the entire school know I was still in contact with the Resistance. He carried on anyway. “George has just told me that there is some sort of bounty hunter showing up on the radar. We think it may be someone hired by the Hanzaki. Find Jessie and make sure she is okay.”
I nod and turn around instantly, going back the way I came. I know Jessie's morning routine pretty well now. She'll wait outside for her friends, being late pretty often. I know this because more often than not, it was me who caused her to be late. When I didn't wear the mask.
Then people are running past me, yelling, screaming, panicking. I jump into the air, my Soul Fire wings already out and speed toward the open double doors as people run underneath me, barely a foot from my body, into the corridors and into random classrooms to hide. Out side is a pretty large man with a really big gun holding Jessie by the throat. Okay, so the large gun was slung over his back, but I really do not like it when people I know get threatened. I'm not sure if Jessie saw me coming, even to this day, but the look in her eyes as I sliced my new sword into the large mans arm, was of sheer shock and hope. I catch her before she lands, taking her instantly into the air, away from the bounty hunter. The bounty hunter growled at me, his arm laying on the floor infront of him. there was no blood coming from either the fresh stump on his shoulder, or the severed arm. Maybe the heat of my Soul Fire that was channelling along the blade cauterised it? The sword was in its sheath as Jessie and I flew higher. I could hear her thanking me.
“Don't worry about. I was just doing my job.”
She looks at me for a second, and I think she remembers someone else saying that to her. That someone else was me, three weeks ago.
“Nightmare, what is your status.?” Black Dragons voice sounds in my ear.
“Flying high, Dragon. Who was the bounty hunter?”
“Who are you talking to?” Jessie looks to me, bewildered. I ignore her for the moment.
“I'll find out. Is the girl safe?”
“With me now, my friend.” As we talk, I keep flying away from the school. Jessie has put her arms around my neck. I hold her like a lover carrying his new bride across the threshold of their new home.
“Bounty hunter is called Raxx. He's part of the mercenary network that goes by the name Angels Of Death. No surprising they specialise in collecting bounties and assassinations, huh? I'll get NotWedge to pull up some more information about them, for you. In the mean time I'm going to set up a back up team for you.”
I nod, although he can't see it. “Okay. What do you want me to do in the mean time?”
“Keep the girl safe, Nightmare.”
“I was planning on that.”
“I know. Resistance out.”
Back up team? That would mean I'm in deeper than I thought. Jessie was looking at me strangely, I hadn't realised that until now she had been studying my facial features beneath the mask.
“I know you, don't I?” She says, staring into my eyes, trying to work out who I was. I smiled. Inadvertadly I had been trailing Soul Fire from my eyes so it masked the colour. I made sure I pushed out a little more, just to be safe.
“Of course you do. You've been talking to me since I first arrived here.”
“No, I meant that I know who you are beneath the mask, don't I?”
I stay silent, staring at the ground. Eventually she persists and asks me again.
“Do I know you?”
“No, you don't.” I don't lie exactly. She doesn't know Nightmare. She knew Keith. And Keith is dead, at least to me. There is only the Nightmare now.

We fly onward in silence, she never asks me where we are going, and I make no effort to tell her. In truth, I do not know where I am taking us, except that it is far away from the bounty hunter Black Dragon called Raxx.
“Who do you work for?” She asks me, and I look at her briefly, before staring back to the ground which is only three hundred feet below us.
“I am part of the Resistance.” I say after awhile.
She nods. “Can we go back now?”
I don't think it'll be safe, but I don't say anything.
Actually, it would be better to go back. What if its not Jessie they want? What if I just saved the wrong person? Damn.
I turn around as fast as I can and holding her as tight as I dare without hurting her, I go as fast as I can back toward the school. We pass over a road with cars moving at a high speed, probably about 50 mph, and I fly over them, easily over taking in the air. It took me ten minutes to get as far away from the school as I could. It takes me two minutes to get back there. When I land, I let Jessie go and my powers seem to show them selves naturally. My hands are glowing as I stare around the campus, hoping to catch a glimpse of Raxx. I tap my ear twice.
“Black Dragon?”
“I read you loud and clear Nightmare. Go ahead.”
“Can you tell me if Raxx, or any other bounty hunter is in the near vicinity?”
“I can, hold on.” I hear him punching some keys on the computer infront of him. “Bad news mate, he's about forty feet infront of you. It looks like he has help, I'm going to get ready your back up team right now. Black Dragon out.”
I do not like the sound of that. There must be a lot of them for Black Dragon to ready my back up. I turn back to Jessie, who looks at me nervously. She has walked up pretty close to me, her friends are behind her.
“You may want to get out of here. I'm going to have to go to work again.” I say as I let my coat fall from my shoulders. I think this is the first time any of them have actually seen the markings on my costume. On my back, across my shoulder blades is the silhouette of a dragon with its outstretched wings. The design looks at the dragon from above. The wings run down the back of my arms to my elbows. On the my torso there is the same, but smaller. The rest of my body is clad in black, apart from the 'tears' from my eyes.
“Holy shit…” Mumbles one of my old friends at the sight of my body. It would seem that he is genuinely shocked at my appearance. I don't care. I start walking to where Black Dragon said they would be, my hands are itching to be surrounded by my powers, and I let them. There is no point in hiding what I am, anymore.
I am barely twenty feet from my destination when Raxx walks out from the trees. Behind him is ninja. Where there is one, there will be many. I pull my sword from its sheath, ready to bloody my blade for the first time.
Raxx nods to the ninja and she runs toward me, her three pointed daggers, or sai's, held out infront. She's from the school who holds the sai as if it were a set of claws. As she stabs on at me, I dodge easily and bring my sword down onto her other sai. She stabs at me again, but I twist aside and swing my sword at her unprotected neck as she stumbles off balance. At first, my blade meets resistance from her bones and sinews, although I quickly get through that and bring my blade out from her throat. Her head actually bounces on the floor as her body falls down beside it. I look toward Raxx and raise my sword, pointing it toward him. He knows what I mean, my message is clear enough; 'I'm coming for you'.
There are screams behind me as more ninja appear from behind Raxx, startling the college pupils. This time they each die quickly enough, their bodies turning to ash as their life ends. It takes me maybe two minutes to reach Raxx, and by then there are scores of dead and dying ninja on the grassy lawns of the campus. I'll get expelled for this, I'm sure of it.
Only when I near Raxx, do I understand Black Dragons urgency to get the back up team to me. It would seem that behind him, just infront of the trees, is what can only be described as a rift in time. So when I thought the ninja were coming from the trees, they were coming from that. I stand there for an instant and try and work out how many of them there are behind Raxx, using the method George taught me. Split the number into rough quarters, then cut that into quarters and then take a rough guess. I lose my concentration as a blade flies toward my throat. Avoiding it, I turn and run back to the school, telling everybody to get inside. The numbers are huge. I managed to get a rough count of about a thousand. In that eighth I had counted.
“You will not keep her from us, child.” Raxx said from just behind me. “The Child Of Time will be ours.”
“The who?” I turn around, my sword ready.
“You ignorant fool. You do not know what you seek to protect.” His voice was a mixture of loathing and annoyance because I fight them without knowing their purpose. I'm fighting to save my friends, I don't really care about their purposes.
“I know who I protect.”
By way of an answer, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at my forehead. I could feel sweat beneath my mask as he thumbed back the trigger. Then, for almost no reason, my chest shot out a blast of my Soul Fire, knocking Raxx back before he could kill me. One day I'll wonder why that happened, but right now I stab my sword down into his belly, twisting as I do so to keep from his flesh sucking it up. But there is no flesh in Raxx' stomach. The guys a cyborg? Well this could prove difficult. Cyborgs are notoriously hard to kill. And to top it all of, there seems to be some movement inside the other place. The army of ninja is walking forward. They are starting to come through the portal, and I'm going to have to stop them all. Pulling my blade from Raxx stomach, I sever his head in the vain hope it'll slow him down with a swing of my sword. Then I start to move backwards to the double door of the school.
I yell again to the students to get inside. “Go! I don't want to fight knowing your all out here! If your inside, at least I won't have to keep looking to make sure your safe.”
“What about you?” Somebody shouts. I think its Rachel, but I'm not to sure.
“I'm staying out here to stop these things.” I yell back, not bothering to turn around. I think slightly of the irony of the situation; last time I faced these things, it was without powers. Now I'm facing them with my powers and I'll still need help. There is just to many of them.
“But you'll die!” Anguish sounds in her voice. I ignore it.
“Get inside!” I yell, as loud as I can. I can feel my anger building. That's good, I'll need all I have soon.
She doesn't argue and the door slams shut. I hear them from inside blocking it up, barricading all possible ways in from the ground floor. I risk a quick glance backward. They are watching me from the first floor windows. I hope they enjoy the show, I think as I turn around. I'm starting to feel anger toward them as well. Now that they are safe enough, they want to watch me die. If I'm going down, then I'm taking as many of the ninja as I can down with me.
The Hanzaki mark is also on their garments, I notice as the first run out of the portal, heading straight to me. Soon I'll be overwhelmed. But now, I've got about fifteen minutes until back up arrives, if they use the new jet. If not, then they won't get here for another half hour. I tighten my grip on my sword.
“Come on you bastards.” I growl toward them as they get close enough for me to see the colour of their eyes.
Then it begins.

Resistance Jet. Ten minutes till touch down.

“I hope he's okay.”
“I hope he's alive.” Black Dragon replies to Sabre. She looks at him quickly. These two both served Apocalypse, Sabre as the horseman Death, Black Dragon as his Harbinger. They are also the only two in the cockpit of the jet at the moment, the rest of the team are preparing to land. Preparing for war.
“How many did you see on the sensor the last time you spoke to him, Dragon?” Sabre never takes her eyes off the fast moving ground beneath them.
“Almost nine thousand ninja ready to go through and kill him...”
“Oh God.”
“We need to hurry.”
“I know.”

The bulk of the Resistance were sat in the second room of the jet, the 'passenger bay', they were almost all here this time, Tokay, George, Ashe, NotWedge, Kulu, Gokitalo, and even the Resistance resident doctor Clio Skye. Just in case we need you, Sabre had told her. Although all harboured thoughts that Clio would be needed, especially because of Nightmares situation.

“Only five minutes now, Sabre.” Black Dragon told her as he checked the
co-ordinates where the Hanzaki were making their attack.

“I wish we could go faster. We should be there by now.” Kulu mumbles.
Then NotWedge looks up, his eyes sparkling with an idea. “I'll see you in five minutes, my friends.” And with that he is already gone.
“Where… He… Go…?” Ashe looks around for an answer.
“He's gone to Nightmare.” George says as he rubs a sharpening stone along the already razored edge of his sword Repentance.

The College. Three minutes to touch down.

Things are bad. I'm bleeding now, from several places. NotWedge arrived two minutes ago, but not even he can do much against this army of ninja. Okay, so he has already turned about fifty into rats with his Chaos Bombs, but that doesn't really help me much. My arms are tired and my power is running low. I've been building up a rather hefty shot of Soul Fire, I think its about done now.
“NotWedge,” I shout above the din of battle. “Get behind me!”
“I'm already there,” he says as he appears.
Then I open up and let my charge out. My arms fly to the side and I hear myself screaming. Does it hurt? Yes. But it'll all be worth it when these bastard ninja's leave us alone. I see parts of my costume tear off and fly toward the ninja, burning the ones who avoid my blast. When I'm done, I collapse.

The Resistance Jet. Thirty seconds until touch down.

“Jesus, but there's so many of them.” Black Dragon says as they prepare the jet for landing. Before either can say anything, though, Nightmare unleashes a blast of Soul Fire that would level a building. Instead, it wipes out a good portion of the ninja, and it keeps going after that straight into the portal. When he finishes, the jet is about twenty feet from the ground.
Already several Resistance members have pushed open the door and are leaping down into the fray. George, Tokay and Gokitalo are the first to land and join NotWedge in the fight. Nightmare still hasn't gotten up yet.
The jet lands on the grass and Kulu, Ashe, Black Dragon and Sabre are out before the engines have cooled off. Clio rushes out seconds later, holding her medical bag. She makes her way to Nightmare, protected from most of the fighting because her husband, NotWedge gets in the way. As she reaches Nightmare, she falls to her knees, her emotions blocked out, she now concentrates on healing the fallen child.
The others though, are more intent on driving back the ninja's. George seems to be cutting through their lines like steal through butter. Sabre has made her own way through, he arms bloodied to the elbows as she cuts open the remaining ninja using the edge and point of her sword.

“Get his mask off!” Clio's voice sounded urgent, and no wonder, seeing as how Nightmare wasn't breathing. Pulling his mask up to just above his nose, she slid a breathing mask onto his mouth. Much like the ones at hospital. Oxygen rushed into his lungs and into his blood stream, but still Nightmare wasn't breathing, the mask was breathing for him.
People were crowding at the windows now, ardent both to see the unmasked Nightmare and the spectacle of the Resistance driving off several thousand Hanzaki Ninjas. Still, one person thought she recognised Nightmares lower facial features.

NotWedge was standing near Clio, almost fully aware he couldn't do anything to help with Nightmare, but then he knew that Clio needed protection, especially when she was so determined to save a young mans life.
“You will not die on me, you British…” her voice trails off as she hurriedly hooks Nightmares arm to a monitor. Rolling up his sleeve, she pushes a needle into his skin, injecting the contents into his bloodstream. Wires lead from a small machine into a little strap around Nightmares upper arm. A series of beeps indicate that his heart is very faint.

Black Dragons blade slices through a Hanzaki Ninjas torso, and blood splashes up his arms as he runs onto the next kill. It has been a long time since he was let off the leash, and now he intends to utilise the moment to its full. The Hanzaki must have known what was going on, but there was nothing they could do to stop it. George, Tokay, Gokitalo, Ashe, Sabre, Kulu and Black Dragon were carving into their ranks, cutting their numbers down hard and fast.. From the initial terror they had installed on the college, and on Nightmare, many of the Hanzaki Ninja were running now, afraid of the vengeance and wrath of this unorthodox 'super hero' team.

“Damn you Keith, WAKE UP” Clios voice sounded urgent, as if Nightmare was dying. She had also forgotten to use his new name, and in the silence after, NotWedge cringed. If any of these kids had heard that, then Nightmare was about to find himself in a very difficult position, should he ever wake up.
“Clio, maybe you should let me talk to Nightmare?” NotWedges gentle hint to think before saying something that might jeopardise Nightmares identity did not go unnoticed by the Resistance doctor.
“But her voice is so much nicer than yours…” Came a croaked reply from behind the breathing mask.
“You son of a…” NotWedge smiled. “Now if you can get up, it would be helpful. We are slowly starting to get pushed back by these ninja scum.” NotWedge spoke as a new, more fresh wave of Ninja drove through the opening, many managing to make it past the ferocious Resistance counter attack.

I struggle to my feet as Clio unhooks all her medical stuff from my body. Whilst I'm not one hundred percent, I know that I can help my friends this day. All of them.
So I take my sword from where I dropped it and let my wings take me into the sky as I fly after the ninja's who have made it past the others. Soon, they will be ashes in the grass as I sever their heads from behind. Normally, I'd warn my opponent before I try to kill them, but not now. These Hanzaki Ninja are beyond scum. They do not deserve a warning as I speed up to them, my sword claiming their lives. For once, I do not care about killing, it just seems to come naturally now. Although every time I take one of their lives, I think I can feel a part of me dying inside. I'll deal with it later.

I can hear cheering as I fly past the building, stopping the ninja who try and climb through the windows. I swear I see Jessie staring at me as I spin past her, showing off a little. Her hand waves slightly and I smile back to her. Then I'm off again, back to work. Back to the war between the Resistance and the Hanzaki. The prize is the life of the girl I think I'm in love with. For some reason, I find that slightly corny. Still, that is the situation I am in.
They never see me coming, the first and last the they all know about it is when I ram my sword through the base of their skulls, sending their life fluid spurting out over my arms. Some turn to put up a fight, but most die on their knees.

“Nightmare!”
I look over to see Sabre pointing further into the mass of red and black that make up the Hanzaki Ninja army, only to see Ashe on his own, fighting like a man possessed, but still being slowly overwhelmed. I twist in the air, severing a head as I do so, and I move as fast as I can on my Soul Fire wings over to my team mate. My friend.

I can see Ashe holding an arm of a ninja, swinging him around, using him as a makeshift weapon. Judging by the tanned look of Ashes skin, he seems to have fed on a lot of Hanzaki souls. I know that, because when he is hungry, his skin turns to an almost white colour. He normally spends most of his time in a pasty white state, but given the chance he'll try and feed as much as possible. I don't think he'll be hungry for a month, the amount of souls he's fed off today. My sword is in its sheath as I fly down low to grab Ashe, although I don't think he has noticed me coming, yet.
“Ashe, do you want a lift?” I call, trying to make myself heard over the screams of his victims.
“Yes… Please…” I'm not sure how, but I can make out Ashes gravely voice almost anywhere.
“Then put your hand in the air!” I yell as I fly low enough to see the colour of the tallest of the ninja's eyes. Its slightly unsettling. I feel Ashes hand close around mine, so I pull up instantly. His other hand grips onto my other wrist as I air lift him out of the midst of battle. For once, he doesn't mind.
We fly low enough for Ashe to kick a few ninja's in the head, but none of them are able to grab hold, since I'm using my Soul Fire capabilities to surround us both in a thin shield. I think that judging by the burn marks it leaves on the ninja's heads that I must be charging it to be pretty hot. Although since Ashe isn't complaining, I guess it doesn't matter.
“Drop… Me… Here…” Ashe says as we near the main area of the fight. It would seem the ninja have had a second wind since they are pushing us back. Strangely, I can only see Sabre, George, Tokay, Gokitalo and NotWedge still fighting. Clio must be somewhere, but where the hell is Black Dragon and Kulu?
I let Ashe go as I circle around behind my friends, I can see why Clio isn't in the fight. She is tying a bandage around Black Dragons bare chest. I assume that somebody cut through his thin armour which layers his costume and scraped along his ribs. Kulu is trying his best to stop anybody from getting near Clio and her newest patient.

“Stay still, the more you move, the more it will hurt.” Clio's voice doesn't sound to sympathetic to Black Dragon, I think because he tried to kill her. Several times. But that was when he was still part of a now defunct group of villains calling themselves the Dark Hand. Most of them are either dead, in jail or just generally missing. Unfortunately, the two we need to be dead or in jail aren't; Bloodlust and ShadowSabre, the two who the rest of the Dark Hand followed.
“Jesus Clio, just get on with it.”
“Well can't you just cauterise it with your powers?”
“I think you need me awake and able to fight, and not unconscious, don't you?” Black Dragons cheeks are bunched. I'm not sure if it's a smile or a grimace.
“Good point.” Clio's said as she pulled the bandages tight. Black Dragon must have suppressed a yell of pain.

As I flew on past those two, I landed near Sabre and Tokay. Both were bloody, but I assume it wasn't their blood.
“Where do you want me?” I yell as my fist find a ninja's chest, then my foot his face.
“Back in the air! We need to know we're doing okay. Make sure they keep away from the school Nightmare!” Sabre yelled and I let my powers flow out of my body, Tokay ducked as I fire a large fire ball from my chest, burning the ninja infront of him.
I lost his thanks in the rush of air against my ears as I jumped into the air, my wings already out. In seconds I was heading toward the school, picking off ninja's with small, but heated, charges of Soul Fire. It works, slowly, but surely, they soon move away from their siege of the college, and start to attack me. The only difference from when Ashe was overwhelmed to what is about to happen now, is that none of my team mates are looking behind them. All are to busy fighting off the threat from infront. So I'm going to be left with the ninja's flanking attack. Oh God how I would love to kill the Hanzaki tactician, because who ever it is, they are pretty good at their job. But then, so am I.
Once again, it comes down to me facing off to about a hundred ninja. Only this time, I am the back up. I land infront of them all, drawing my sword and motioning for them to come and kill me. They all seem happy to oblige.
It may be my imagination, but I think I can hear the rotor blades of a helicopter. Risking a quick glance skywards, I recognise a press helicopter. Somebody must have used a mobile phone to call in those vultures (the press and myself have had a very… touchy… relationship. I hate them, but they won't leave me alone).
Then my mind blanks out almost all of my surroundings, as my own personal war starts.
I feel my body twist and lunge, stab and dodge, bleed and slice as the ninja's attack. I am aware of only one thing; none of the ninja's get past me. They all die trying. I think my rage and determination are proving me a force to be reckoned with.
I can hear my friends inside the school screaming in terror as I send blood spurting up into the air accompanied by the severed and burnt limbs of my enemies.
I watch, almost an out of body experience, my blade catch in a ninja's face, scraping along his cheek and gouging his eyes out before he turns to dust and the next one appears to die. The knife that was in my belt is now in my left hand, killing just as well as my Japanese style katana is in my right hand.
Somehow, I'm not to sure exactly what is happening, but I think the ninja's are slowly ebbing away, either they have found another way in, or the Resistance is finally managing to push them back. I hope my team mates have all survived this. But I can't worry about them now, I must keep these Hanzaki bastards away from Jessie. Must keep the girl safe.
My hands suddenly erupt in Soul fire as I blast the nearest ninja's to death. I had almost forgotten about my fireball abilities. Now I use them to their maximum capabilities. There is so much dust around me, its almost knee deep in some places. God, how many have I killed? Well I know one thing, if there is a Hell, I'll be spending my afterlife there.
They are running now. Running away from me? Nobody runs from Nightmare.
I yell at them to come and face me, to face the living nightmare. Inwardly I smile at that. Outwardly I'm a mass of rage and Soul Fire covered limbs and blades.
Several more die because of my rage when I feel Sabres voice inside my head.
“You want to calm down now, Keith. You have done more than we had asked. But now calm down.”
And I do. Almost instantly. I turn around, looking to Sabre, standing proud amongst the ashes of the dead. George, holding his sword Repentance against his face in silent prayer to his deity. I find Tokay holding a fresh stump on his left arm. His hand will re-grow eventually. Kulu is sitting cross legged on the dust covered grass, clearly exhausted, Gokitalo is breathing heavily next to him, spread out on his back looking to the clear blue sky. Black Dragon and Ashe are holding each other up. Ashes skin colour has faded quite a lot, he must have really exerted himself today. Black Dragon is bleeding a fair bit, but he is smiling. NotWedge his holding Clio, both thankful to have survived. I'm amazed we all survived, I don't notice the cuts and tears in my skin and costume. Neither do any of the others. Most of us are still running high on adrenaline right now. Soon the pain will kick in, then the realisation that we hurt all over. But for now, I feel nothing.

Even though we have won, it still feels like a loss. We are all hurt, and the students are still terrified. To make matters worse, I know I'll have to leave the school as Nightmare. I look at Sabre, the realisation is dawning on her face as well. Its not the first time I've felt like I've failed, when we have actually won. Its just that I never get used to it. I don't think I ever will, either.

Born Into Darkness: The Next Guardian
Three: The Ashes Of Remembrance

I look across the former battle field at Sabre. I do not know what is going to happen now, but I get the feeling that some serious medical attention will be needed for some of us. Me included, I notice, as I feel warm liquid flow down my body. Blood from my neck runs down my body, mixing with blood from both my chest, lower back and leg. For some reason, I can feel no pain. The same cannot be said for Black Dragon, who is leaning heavily on Ashe as they slowly move closer to the invisible point we all seem to be walking towards.
Eventually, we all stand in a rough circle, swaying slightly, I'm feeling cold, but that's probably just the tendrils of death snaking up my soul, trying to pull me under. I'm not ready to go, though, these people need me.
“Status check. How did we do?” Sabres voice trembles a little, and I realise her left arm is holding her stomach, blood seeps from behind it.
“Well the school looks okay, so I think we kept them away from that.” I finish before I mean to. My throat suddenly hurts like hell, and I realise that's because there is a ninja star embedded in the muscle of my neck. How I've not noticed this, or even how it avoided my major arteries and wind pipe, I'll never know. All I do is hold my hand up, and wipe blood from the wound, grimacing beneath my mask.
“If they attack again with those numbers, we won't be able to hold them off. Dragon is in bad shape, Tokay is missing a hand, Ashe looks like he's about to drop dead from exhaustion, Nightmare is losing to blood pretty quickly, even though he seems to not have noticed. Gokitalo and Kulu are probably laying down somewhere, trying to get their breath back.. So that leaves me, NotWedge and Clio.” George's face looks grim. What he failed to say, however, was that even though he was standing, he was hurting. He'd taken one hell of a beating out there, but had managed to stop his bleeding, some how. “Sabre, you don't look to good either.” George sighs, “and in truth, I feel like I'm about to die, again.” He says and lifts up the his shirt to show a long, deep cut along his muscled stomach.
“Oh, Jesus George.” Clio shakes her head. Although if George did die, he would come back, because that is the nature of his powers. I think I heard somewhere that George wants to finally be able to die, because he is tired of living. He is tired of the constant pain in his life. Apparently, throughout his lifetime, he has been killed almost five times. Each one hurt, each one was in a torturous method. I think his most painful was being hung drawn and quartered.
“Why do you always get cut?” Clio shakes her head and lets go of her husband to finds her medical supplies. “I don't have anything to help with that right now, just try and hold your guts in, will you?” Clio says as she finds a doss of morphine. Although she knows its futile. George refuses to touch either drugs or alcohol, a promise he made to a woman a thousand years ago is the cause of that. God how could he be so strong willed? Not to touch alcohol for a thousand years? I couldn't do that.
George never replies to Clio, instead he drops onto his face, finally giving into the pain in his gut. I'm more amazed that he didn't show it earlier, than the fact he has collapsed from it.
“Ashe… Save… Friend…” Ashe mutters as he drops Black Dragon, who doesn't complain. None of us want George to die. Even though he comes back, apparently, nobody is quite sure how long it takes. We never do know if he dies for good until he comes back, anyway. Rumour goes that once it took three hundred years, and once it took three weeks. Its just better he doesn't die.
Ashes hands lift George's blood stained shirt up and push his intestines back into the open hole in his stomach. Then, Ashes eyes glow briefly as he feeds of George's pain, healing him in the process. When the obligatory jolt of pain roles around, George sits up, his arms wrap around his belly, feeling only a fresh scar to go with the thousands that litter his ancient body.
For some reason, nobody speaks. Infact, nobody speaks for a very long time. Well, it's a long time for me, although silence is only around long enough for Ashe to touch my neck and remove the ninja star. I yelp and fall to the ground, then my body tingles. Then there is a sudden jolt of pain along my neck as Ashe feeds of my pain. I think he feeds for a long time, as I feel my body slowly close up all the wounds, leaving scars. Some are visible, others are not. When he finishes on me, he looks over to Sabre, his eye brows raised and she nods.
Eventually, the Vampire Healer has done his work, we are all almost fully healed in our bodies, although many of us are exhausted. Ashe included now, feeding off pain can take a lot out of the poor man. So when the doors to the school open, and the kids rush out, it isn't a good thing. They run over to us, eight members of the Resistance, the other two still hidden amongst the ashes, I doubt they'll appear until we go now. The rest of us are all sitting on the grass amidst the ashes of our enemies, and crowd around us, making sure we are real. I'm the first to speak.
“Jessie, did we have any home work for English?” English is not my strongest subject, and its coming up now. I can hear the Resistance trying not to laugh at the look on the school kids faces.
“What? Yeah… No… I'm not sure…” She stumbles over her words, eventually finding the ones she wants: “Are you all okay?”
“Yeah, we're fine.” It would seem that I've just been given the role talking to these college kids, because I used to be one of them almost a month ago.
“But, you all look so… beaten.” A voice calls out from the crowd. Its strange, I used to like the person who said that, but since I've been attending as Nightmare, he's tried to make my life really hard. The voice belongs to Sam.
“Who were they? What did they want?”
I sigh. I hate answering questions, I don't know the answer to. And since none of the others want to talk, I guess I'll answer. Then I feel Sabres voice in my head.
“Nightmare, what ever you do, do not tell them about Jessie, or who the Hanzaki are. Make up some sort of terrorist story, okay?”
“You're the boss Ms Sabre.” Whilst in the mind-link with Sabre, we can 'talk' with our thoughts, so nobody else can hear. Its really useful for situations like this.
“If you tell them why you were put in this college, Nightmare, you will be replaced by one of our recruits. We cannot jeopardise your mission, by telling these kids that we expected the Hanzaki to attack, okay?”
Well that just made my life harder. “I've no idea what they wanted,” I lie. They want Jessie. “But we stopped them. There are already a team of Resistance analysts trying to pull up some information right now.” I'm lying about that, as well.
I sigh, slowly, and try and stand up. Although Ashe healed my wounds, the pain from them is still very real. It will stay that way until I can recharge my energies. I wince as I stand, pain shooting through my thigh and chest. Why did I stand? Well I tell myself its so I can talk to these people easier, but in truth its so I can look at Jessie without having to crane my neck. God, but that is so pathetic.
“What was our homework” I look toward Jessie, and it takes her a second or two to understand what I'm talking about. I guess that because I face these sorts of things on a semi regular basis, I'm used to it. Its just a way of life, for me. For them, its not an every day, or even month, occurrence. Hell, most of these people don't even believe in 'super heroes'. So this must be a real shock to them.
Still no reply. Why don't they reply?
“Nightmare cover your body in flames” Sabres voice echoes in my head.
“Why?” I think back to her.
“Because your mask is torn, showing a dangerously large portion of your face. The more you leave it unconcealed, the more chance they get to work out who you are”
By the time she had finished, my face was enveloped in my white Soul Fire, as was my shoulders and upper torso. This way, it looked more natural, rather than just my facial features being covered, this was more of a natural mask. The wind blew both my hair and my Soul Fire toward the left, but as always an inexhaustible supply of my powers kept the mask there.
Through my white tinted vision, I could see the look of surprise on the college kids faces. They could make out my body from behind the Soul Fire, but it was all blurred, so the exact details were hidden. I had a feeling Sabre didn't expect me to do this, but I still think she enjoyed the results.
It shocked the college students as well, the look on their faces betrayed that. I look around me, noticing what all my friends, Resistance members and the other, select few, college friends. Sabre is sitting, her hands to her head, she looks like she has a headache, but I know that she's talking to someone telepathically, but if its somebody nearby, or someone at the headquarters, I'll never know. Strangely, George is looking around the crowd of people… no, he isn't. He's looking directly at Jessie, occasionally looking to another, but always going back to her. Why?
“We… Go… Now…?” Ashes gravely, monotonous voice breaks my train of thought. He isn't asking anybody inparticular, but Black Dragon is the one who answers, by standing up, then he gazes around, ignoring everyone but the members of the Resistance. “Anybody else get the feeling we should go?”
The reaction is instant, but we all know what will happen now.
Firstly, I can only watch as Tokay doubles over, his stomach turning, then disappears. Someone at our headquarters is using the teleporter to bring the team back to base.
As my friends all return to base, I wait for the churning feeling in my stomach, but it doesn't come. I stand waiting for almost three minutes, which is actually quite a long time, if your waiting for something to happen, after Sabre has left. She was the last to go. I get the feeling I'm supposed to stay here, then.

Sighing, I look over the battle field, the only remnants of our battle with the Hanzaki is the cold steal and dust that is littered about the battle field, the school grounds.
Then, it all vanishes. All of it. Someone just pulled an amazing clean up job, and I get the feeling it was the Resistance. So if they've pulled all the weapons and dust away, the other six who fought with me, why can't they bring me back? Surely they know how hard it will be for me to fit in normally again.

“You there!” I snap out of my thoughts as I hear the stern voice. It belongs to the principle of the college.
“What just happened?” he almost shouts into my face.
I take a breath and look him in the eye, from behind my Soul Fire mask.
“You just witnessed a big fight.”
He isn't impressed, I can tell that by the way his eyes narrow and his brow furrows. IF he was an enemy, I'd have punched him by now.
“Listen to me, you costumed freak,” his tones are low, probably supposed to be threatening, but the only effect they have on me is to make him seem even stupider than normal. After all, looking at it from an outsiders point of view, there's him, a smallish, balding, greying, man with a pretty big beer belly on him, facing up to me, a guy in what was a full leather costume showing off both my weaponry (okay, so my sword and dagger are in their sheathes) and my ability to control my Soul Fire as it continues to mask my facial features from the world. I guess it makes it a little funnier that I'm also nearly a foot than him. “I want answers as to why these, these… things… attacked my college, and my pupils!”
“So do I.”
“What?”
“Well I'd like to know why they attacked as well,” I say. In all honesty, I'm not lying. I really, honestly, would.
The principle doesn't reply for awhile, I'm assuming because he didn't expect that as an answer. But when he does reply, I ignore him. My head is slowly starting to go all strange.
“I'll tell you why they attacked, its because of you! Because you're here, they attacked! You just lucky nobody got hurt!” he obviously doesn't count the Resistance as people, then, just freaks who help others.
“Oh shut up.” That's Jessie, I can recognise her voice, anywhere. “Can't you see that he is hurt? Hell, if he hadn't of been here and those things had attacked, then the chances are we'd all be dead!” She's yelling into the Principles face now, and I smile a little at the sight of it. Watching her yell at the small balding man infront of me, I notice that she is slowly moving to stand between me and him. And she isn't the only one. All of my old friends are as well. Even Sam, who has a severe dislike of Nightmare, is getting between me and our Principle. Maybe I have more of a following in the college than I had thought.
Eventually, the Principle is driven away by students yelling at him, cursing him for his ignorance and then demanding that he thank me, which, to his credit, he does. I smile as he does so, trying to let him keep his pride, but I think he's already lost that.
When he is walking away, Jessie suddenly appears from the crowd of familiar faces.
“Are you okay?”
“I've been better.”
“Thank you for saving me earlier… from that robot thing…” Her eyes try to find mine beneath the mass of white flames covering my partially unmasked face.
“Uh, yeah…” Well there is a bad start to any sentence, “Look, I was just doing my job, so, uh, there isn't any need to thank me…” I trail off as I feel my stomach starting to churn over and over. Then, I'm on the floor holding it as my Soul Fire mask slowly fades away. I can't concentrate enough to keep it there. Hopefully, I won't have to for much longer, as I think I'm being teleported back to base, if I've read the signals correctly.
“Your job…?” Her memory flicks back to the first Hanzaki attack, “Someone else I know once said that…”
Even though I know it could be completely innocent, something tells me it isn't. She's just got an inkling in her mind that Keith Sutherlund is standing infront of her using the name Nightmare.
“Yeah, popular line, I guess.” Come on, get me out of here! I don't know if any of the others have noticed, but I've got to try really hard not to squirm with the awkwardness of the entire situation. After all, the longer I'm here, the more chance someone has of recognising me beneath my tattered mask. It would seem I've lost my Soul Fire mask now, I can't concentrate long enough to bring it back. All I can do is keep huddled on the ground, covering my face with my arms, whilst I pretend I'm hurt.
“Are you okay?” I think that was Rachel. But I'm not to sure, as by the time I'm about to reply, my vision is turning all bleary and spinning around rather quickly.
Then I'm gone.

I open my eyes as I feel the slightly cold metallic floor beneath me. I'm home.
“Sorry mate, we couldn't get you back earlier because we had a bit of trouble locating your bio-signature amongst all the others and singling it out.”
“D… Don't worry…” My head hurts like hell, and my guts are still twisting. I think, for once, I'm going to puke. Although I think this almost every time I'm teleported, the feeling is worse this time, and I pull off my mask as I lose my battle with my stomach and I can only watch helplessly as I vomit all over the metallic floor.
Somebody's going to have to clean that up later, and it'll probably be me.
“Oh Jesus, Keith are you all right?” Sabre slowly walks over and puts her hand on my shoulder. She's clever enough to stand behind me, so I don't puke on her feet.
“I've been better.” I manage to say between bouts of vomiting. To be quite honest, I've no idea why this is happening, it never normally does. Maybe its because my body is tired, maybe I was to weak to be teleported? That's unlikely.

“Keith, we've pulled you back for more than one reason.” Sabre starts, her voice is low, comforting me almost. Something's happened, and I think most of the Resistance know about it. Yet again, I'm the last to know, as per usual.

“Your going to go back to school.” Sabre continues, “but your not really going to able to go as Nightmare now, are you?”
“So I'm going as a different identity?”
“Your going as Keith.”
“Sod off.” That was a mistake. After all this time, I should have learnt Sabre hates me swearing at her. My cheek stings for about an hour afterwards, because of the slap Sabre hit me with.
“Don't swear at me again Keith. I'll hit you properly next time.”
“Sorry Sabre…” I mutter, but I think she's already forgiven me. We've all had a rough couple of hours, tensions are all high. “When am I going back?”
I know its useless to argue with what ever the Resistance has planned, but then I don't really want to, not when Jessie's life is at stake.
“You'll be going back as soon as your feeling better.” Sabre says, smiling softly.
The rest of the team are almost all looking at me, waiting for a reaction. All, but George, who is looking at a computer screen that is to far away for me to read. Looks like a picture of Jessie on it, though. I think I see him shake his head slowly and mouth the name of someone, but I'm no lip reader so I've no idea what he said. But I think his eyes look slightly more damp than normal. Is he… crying?

“Kulu, could you make sure Keith gets to the healing tubes?” I hear Sabre say. Kulu nods and gets up of the chair he was seated in. Walking over to me, I sense an amused look on his face.
“I don't suppose you want to help me up, do you?” I ask him. He smiles and offers me his hand, which I grasp. Then he pulls me to my feet.
“Come on mate, lets get you healed.”

In-case your wondering, a healing tube is a device that when your placed inside fills up with a strange liquid that starts to heal your entire body. They aren't really used that much, instead we just tend to heal the old fashioned way with medicines and ointments. But seldom we find the need to use those, as most of the time none of us are seriously injured enough to warrant using them. Truth be told, I could cope without going in there, but its now plainly obvious to me that Sabre wants me back at the college as soon as can be. And, if I'm going back as Keith, then I'll need to be fighting fit.

I'm naked apart from my underwear as I gingerly step into the open tube and let Kulu strap the breathing apparatus onto me. As he straps the heart monitoring equipment onto my naked chest, I suddenly get a sense of worry for Jessie's safety. Taking off the breathing mask, I look toward Kulu, desperation in my eyes.
“Kulu let me out, I need to get back there…”
“Look, Keith, I know how you feel about her, we all do, but you've got to let me put you in this. Otherwise if you have to fight off another attack in this condition when you go back, then it will be disastrous for all of them, won't it?”
“Yeah… I guess…” I sigh. He's right, I need to get better, I shake my head and let him finish setting up the other little patches that are placed over my body. I've no real idea what they do, but they monitor what is going on and they let the Resistance know when I fully healed.
As he closes the tubes transparent door-type entrance and seals it shut, I replace the oxygen mask as the healing fluid starts to fill the tube. I press my hand up against the transparent door as Kulu finishes the operating sequence of buttons and turns back to me. He smiles briefly and walks away, back to the others. There is no point in him staying here, as I'm now fully immersed in some green fluid that's working away at my wounds. Tell you the truth, I'm glad to be alone. It gives me a chance to think about my life, and how I'm supposed to explain to everybody who knows Keith Sutherlund that America wasn't all it was cracked up to be, so after barely a month and a half I've come back.
I wonder if any of them will make the connection that once Keith went to America, Nightmare turned up, and when Nightmare disappears, then Keith comes back?
Maybe they will, maybe they won't. The only real way they'll be able to tell that I'm both is the scars on my body from the battle on the school grounds. You see, whilst the healing tubes can heal, say a bad sword cut, the scar will still be left. I guess they're almost like an accelerated healing device, that can heal most every thing but decapitation, in mere hours.

Inside the briefing room

“Okay, listen to me. What I'm about to tell you all, do not let Keith know.” Sabre's voice was stern, commanding. She was standing infront of the rest of her team, except for Keith, who was inside one of their healing tubes.
George was still looking at the computer screen, busy tapping away, and occasionally it looked like he was wiping something out of his eyes, but since his back was turned on the rest, they weren't sure what.
“Yesterday, we found out what the Hanzaki need that girl, Jessie, for. Their going to use her to open the gates to the time-line.” Sabre stopped, and looked around the room.. All were stone faced, apart from Black Dragon, who was trying to smother a smile.
“Something you want to say, Din?” Sabre addressed Black Dragon by using his real name, Din-Skiden, and her eyes were now fixed on him as he replied.
“Forgive my ignorance, but how the hell can they do that?”
Sabre looked at Black Dragon for a second, then shrugged. “If we knew that, then we could stop them. However, we are fairly certain that she is indeed the 'Child Of Time'.” That put the majority of the room in silence, apart from the tapping of George's fingers on the key board. Unknown to Keith, the Resistance had in its vast library sources copies of ancient prophecies. In one of them it mentioned a 'child born outside of time, to one of the future and to one of the past'.
For centuries kings, emperors, religions, cults amongst others had been searching for this fabled being, as it was believed that it would be able to harness the powers of the gods. The truth, which emerged over time and effort of deciphering the ancient prophetic scrolls it emerged that the 'Child Of Time' was infact a gate way to the gods, to what could be called the 'nexus of realities' a place outside of time, a place where anything would be possible. But as always, there would be a catch. To access the nexus, the 'Child Of Time' must be sacrificed as the planets align with the sun, as only then would the chance appear for the gateway to open. Unfortunately, the only scroll referring to the sacrifice basically states that in order to open the gates, you must also open the key. Nobody is quite sure if the 'Child Of Time' is indeed the key, or even what 'opening' the child would do, but many have taken this meaning as a sacrificial message.
Some say it would be theoretically possible to open the gate whilst keeping the child alive, as there is no guarantee that if the child dies the gates to the nexus would open. Infact, nobody is quite sure how to open the gates, which is what makes the 'Child of Time' so dangerous.
The Resistance were mostly all aware of this, but Sabre told them again anyway, to refresh their memories, and also to drive home that for once, there was a danger posed by a harmless teenager who didn't even know who she was.

There was a silence in the room for a while afterwards, and Black Dragons head was shaking slowly. “Poor girl,” he muttered, which aroused a slow nodding from around the room.
“There's something else, as well.” George's voices spoke up, clearly audible amidst the silence of the room. “I don't want any harm to come to her.”
Sabre looked over to George, his tapping had stopped and he sat with his head in his arms. “Are you okay?”
“No… the 'Child Of Time'… she's my daughter.”

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