Disclaimer: I don't own Jaord or any other persona from the serie. To bad though, I really like Jarod.
Authors note: This is a crossover with the Pretender universe and the Mystic World. I really have no idea if that is a serie or not, but what I mean is, the world in wich mystical creatures exist. Creatures like werewolves, vampires, demons, etc... This is my first Prentder fic. It also is my first try on anything mystical, so be kind when you review.
Well, enough said, let's begin...
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Chapter 1
-- Meeting a stranger --
Jarod had been having a very odd feeling all day long. It was like someone was trailing him. Not liking that feeling one bit, he decided to go out, take a walk. Maybe it would help clear his mind. So he put on his T-shirt and went for a walk along the beach. (A/N: it's summer and he's in Florida...) The soft wind did help to clear his mind, but the feeling didn't go away. In fact, it was getting stronger.
'What is that feeling? Is the Centre having someone following me? But I send them on a false track so I could finally have some rest before going back to pretending. If it's not them, then who could it be?' Jarod thought. He was getting extremely nervous about the feeling. 'Maybe I'm just imagining things. I'm probably going paranoid.' He chuckled to himself. The funny feeling decreased and finally vanished completely.
Little did Jarod know that there was indeed someone waching him. It wasn't a Centre goon though. The man had had the same feeling Jarod just had ever since he passed outside Jarods building. Only difference was, the man knew what the feeling meant. 'So, I was right. He is one of us.' Now that the stranger knew what he wanted to know, he stopped following the man and turned back. 'Time will tell me what to do.' He thought.
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Dusk was falling and Jarod was sitting on the beach, looking at the sunset. 'That is the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen.' He sighed. To think that this had been denied to him as a child, just because The Centre wanted to exploit his talents. Then that feeling from that moring came back, only it was feeling closer than before, but at the same time it felt...less hostile.
"Beautiful end of the day isn't it?" The man from earlier asked. "Yes, it is." Jarod replied. "Mind if I join you?" The stranger asked. "No, not at all." Jarod said, although he had a feeling that this man was the one that caused the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. The stranger was acctually a lot more uncomfortable then Jarod. Being so near one of his own kind, one who didn't even know what he really was and so didn't know how to mask or at least lower his presense, was painfull to say the least. But outwardly, no sign of discomfort was shown.
"I'm Jason." The stranger introduced himself and held out his hand.
"Jarod." Jarod replied and took the offered hand.
Both were surprised about the strenght the other possesed. Jason had never expected that Jarod would have that much strenght. 'He must be using his heritage unconciously.' Jarod on the other hand thought nothing of it, exept that maybe this man trained a lot. "You sure have a strong grip, Jason." Jarod commented.
"Well, your grip isn't to be underestimated either, you know." Jason replied to that.
"Really?" Jarod asked. He never thought himself as exeptionally strong.
"Sure."
Both men where silent for a while.
Then, almost simultainiously, thay began to speak.
"Where are you from?" Jarod asked.
"You from around here?" Jason asked at the same moment.
Both stared at eachother and began laughing. They found it so amusing, that their stomachs began to hurt from their laughter.
"Ok, you first." Jason said once he had his breathin back under control.
"Where are you from?" Jarod asked again.
"Oh, here and there. Going where my feet bring me. I don't know. I was told that my mother and father were killed in a car accident when I was very young. My aunt took me in and raised me." Jason replied.
"Sorry, I didn't know."
"If you knew, there would have been no reason for you to ask me, right? It would have been a hole lot easier if my parents were there when I grew up, but I pulled through. I survived. How about you?"
"I was taken from my family when I was a child. A organisation know as the Centre raised me. I ran away 3 years ago and they've been on my tail ever since." Jarod said, not realising he was telling this to a complete stranger.
"Why are they after you?" Jason asked, curious. 'If someone is after him, we're going to have to go underground till his training is finished.'
"I have the talent of pretending..."
"You're a Pretender??" Jason asked, dumbfolded. He had heard about Pretenders, but never actually met one. "Let me get this straight, you're a Pretender and the Centre has been using you ever since you were a little boy. Then you ran away and now they want you back, wether you want to go back or not. Am I right?" He asked.
Jarod could only stare at the man sitting next to him. Not only had he told him about the Centre, but he just mentioned the term pretending and voila, this guy summarises his life in a nutshell.
"Jarod? You ok?" Jason asked.
Jarod nodded and seemed to snap out of his trance.
"You know about Pretenders? How? From who?" Jarod inquired. He was intriged.
"Yes, I know about Pretenders, but only what they are. You're the first I ever met. As from how and from who, I can't remember. I think it was my teacher who told me about them. People with the ability to become anyone they want to be. He told me because I had to learn how to do the same. To be able to hide in public."
"You're a Pretender too?" Jarod asked, misunderstanding.
"No, just that I had to learn to be able to disguise myself, to be able to change my identity when nessesary.
"But why?"
"Let me ask you something. Do you believe in the supernatural?"
"What? Like bending a spoon with your mind?" Jarod asked, confussed.
"No, that's the paranormal. The supernatural. You know, creatures like vampires, werewolves, demons, etc. Do you believe in that?"
"No. There are no such creatures. They're fiction." Jarod stated.
"What makes you think that they aren't real? Because you've never seen one?"
"Yes. If they were real, then it would be likely that people would know about them."
"Not true, Jarod. If you were a vampire, you wouldn't be able to move in the sunlight, so that excludes a lot of busy areas. Second, vampires can take human form. They only morph into their demonic face when they feed or before a fight. And third, you wouldn't want to be killed because you're a vampire. You would hide as much as possible."
"You sound like you really believe in those beings."
"That's because I know that they exist, Jarod. Look at it from another point of view. Who in his right mind would believe that there are people around that have the ability to litteraly become anyone they want to be? Very little people would actually believe it and even less without some sort of proof."
"I'm not saying that I couldn't believe that those kind of creatures are real, but some proof would be nice." Jarod said. Jason had made sense when he made the comparison with his own talent. Very little people would believe a story like that.
"Jarod, have you ever had a feeling in the pit of your stomach? A feeling that someone or something was close?"
Jarod became suspisious. Jason was describing the feeling from earlier that day very accuratelly. When no reply came, Jason continued.
"You know what I'm talking about, don't you? You've had a feeling like that ever since this morning until sometime around noon. I know because I've been feeling the same thing all day. That feeling is your presence, Jarod. I could feel it from the moment I walked past your building. I'm feeling it at this very moment, and let me tell you, it's not a feeling that can be discribed as very pleasurable. When you had that feeling, that was me you felt." Jason said.
"Ok, let's assume that what you're telling is true and that you can somehow 'feel' my presence here. If I felt you earlier, then why can't I feel you now?" Jarod asked, not believing a word of what Jason had just told him.
"I knew you'd pick up on that. The reason why you can't feel me, is that I, unlike you, have already learned to mask my presence. I can prove it by stop masking it if you like. But be warned, I'll only reveal a little of my presence, because of the closeness between the two of us."
Jarod nodded and Jason concentrated on his masking technique. He then lowered the strenght of the masking so Jarod would know he was telling the truth. The effect was immediate. Jarods eyes went wide and he scrambled to his feet, holding his hands over his stomach. "Stop it! It hurts!" He yelled. Jason immediatelly masked his presence completely. Jarod sank to his knees, still holding his stomach.
"Imagine what would have happened if I completely let go of the masking." Jason said.
Jarod looked at him with fear in his eyes. But there was also determination in those eyes. And it was that that told Jason that Jarod would be allright. "What are you?" Jarod finally asked.
"I am just like you, Jarod. We share the same blood. The blood of the wolf."
"We are...werewolves."
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Done! Well, chapter 1 anyway. What did you think? Liked it? Didn't like it? Just tell me what you think of it. REVIEW!!!!!!! If no-one likes it, I'll be forced to discontinue this story and refocus on my DBZ fic... PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
