The Tale of the Dark Guard: Book one Beginning Darkness

Chapter 1: introductions and immortality

It was a hot summer day in the European country of Ireland. Times have been peaceful ever since World War Three when the WDO showed itself to the world and tried to enslave the people. That was 40 years ago. The year is now 2300; Jackson Grove looks exactly the same as he did then. Being an immortal sucks sometimes. Sorry let me start at the beginning. In 2020, Jackson Grove-an archeologist—had been using an alias ever since 2017. When he got out of the Ivy League. The reasons for it have been always pretty vague, but in a dig around the door to the universe they found a symbol that was on a gold medallion which of course he picked up. After a blinding light he fainted. When he awoke he felt different as though the flow of energy in his body had been tampered with. He no longer aged and he had different abilities, which were to say the least inhuman.

Any way he looks like a young 19 teen year old man with black hair, brown eyes—which sometimes turn blue. He is 5.11 feet tall and has Asian skin, but looks like a mix of 18 different European and Asian countries. Along with these different abilities, he has gained knowledge, which surpasses all technology and so far all of his inventions have worked. He has also lived passed all of his family members. They had all died from old age and the only way for him to die is in combat. He can be killed, but not from sickness and old age. He lives on, and now he lives his life making inventions and finding lost species. This is where our story begins:

"After world war 3, Jackson Grove went into mass scientific research for new weapons and computer technology. This new project of his should be able to send us into the future. Or the past!" Said the reporter on TV. The voice was flat with fake interest. Jack turned it off. He was tired of the same old things. It was nice being famous, but it doesn't last very long—he wanted something new, and this project would give him just that. His last project made robots have artificial intelligence and feelings as good as a person. He even made a good friend which he named Acobra (ah-coo-brah) who helps him on new projects. Acobra is an 8 foot tall robot with a snake head, 2 arms, a double bladed staff, and 1 leg with a hover device which allows him to fly everywhere.

By the time he turned off the TV it was already 9:00am and he was ready to work. He went to the elevator in his "house". Calling it that is an understatement because it looks like a medieval castle on the outside and inside—only with a plasma TV and holographic cube, which he plays virtual reality games. The plasma T.V. was his invention. Plasma, he found out, was about a hundred times better than the leading red ray brands. He entered the pin # on the keypad next to the elevator; it scanned his weight, height, and pulse on his thumb, along with his thumb print. It also checked his eyes and blood type. The security was really tight. For instance even if you cut off his thumb the scanner would read no pulse and not allow you in, it also was designed to make intruders fall into the pit which is a box attached to a rocket which safely flies them to prison. They've counted at least 35 prisoners so far. The laboratory is 10 stories below the house's foundation. The trip takes about 2 minutes to complete. When Jack got to the lab he was greeted by Acobra. Who has already woken up himself, along with the rest of the work force.

"Hello there Jack, How are you this morning?"

"Well, I can't complain. How are the preparations going?"

"Just fine, the mooniron is on its way and we should be able to complete the ring for the portal." Mooniron is pure positive energy put into titanium; also Jacks invention.

"Finally, when should it arrive again? About 10:00, am I right?"

"Yes sir; I wonder what we will find when we are done with this machine?"

"That, my friend, can only be guessed at."

"Well I can't wait to find out."

As the hour flew by, with the sound of drills and lasers cutting into metal and plasma welders repairing tools, 10:00 finally arrived and the package came down the mail chute. Jack ran to the package with anticipation, opened it, and found the correct parts to finally finish the arch which was the shape of the machine.

"Finally a whole new wave of possibilities will be opened for us—to explore the different times and witness what really happened!"

"I agree, but first come the beta testing. We don't want anything to go wrong."

"No we do not, so we shall go into safety process mode for now. Is that agreeable Acobra?"

"Yes it is." So they set to work on making a safety hazard area around the arch and had an artificial intelligence unit robot stand in the area.

"O.K. so you know how this works. Watch to see if anything goes wrong and tell us obediently." Jack was all about safety and protocol "Yes sir!" the unit then stepped forward and pushed the on switch. The arch began to have a glowing purple sphere in the middle, which grew to the size of the whole arch "Everything is going smoothly so far sir."

"Great! Now tie yourself to the mooniron post and approach carefully." The unit did what it was told. When he was about a foot away the arch started shaking.

"SHUT IT OFF!" But Jacks orders fell on death ear circuits because the arch exploded but the portal itself was still there. Unfortunately, that's when things got really bad. Already the security bots and their 80 caliber light sub pistols showed up right when the Shadows came out. The shadows started to cut their way to Jack and Acobra, but they just brought out their weapons and started hacking. Jack uses a 90 caliber light revolver made of mooniron and duel katannas made of mooniron; back to back they fought until they heard a booming voice—the voice of an ancient demon.

"Well look at this another world to conquer and to enslave with darkness!"

The figure stepped through the portal. He was covered in a black cloak which covered everything. He spotted Jack and Acobra fighting and laughed.

"How pitiful! I guess these are the new heroes who I have to conquer!"

"We'll show you how pitiful we are!" Jack charged him hoping his powers would be enough to defeat the new foe. The figure just laughed and swatted him away. He went flying in the direction of the swat—all hope gone. Acobra ran to help but was frozen because of some strange power the figure held.

"Yes you did show me. Now be gone from my sight." Everything went black.

When Jack woke up, he found himself in a forest with no one around him.

"Acobra!" He yelled and yelled but no one came he eventually gave up and moved on. He looked for familiar things but could not see a single thing except the trees that were evergreens, such as red woods and cedars. He walked around for at least 2 hours and spotted nobody at all. He was starting to get hungry when he noticed an apple tree—at least that looks familiar he thought as he took 10 ripe sweet Fuji apples. Or at least he hoped they were.

He ate in silence and then moved when he was full. He could feel his stomach tightening as he went . He was defiantly full or had food poisoning and with that he walked onward. About an hour later it started to rain. He ran to the nearest cave and slumped down miserably against the wall. How will I get out of here? Or more importantly where am I? He pondered these things until he fell asleep tired from his fight. He awoke to the sound of scratching and the smell of smoke. He heard a voice—scaly and reptilian ask:

"Who are you?"

"I am Jackson Grove. Who are you?"

"A rarity that a human asks me—a dragon-for his name." The sound of his voice made sense now, but Jack was enthralled by the idea of a dragon.

"A dragon! You guys are real? I always knew it!"

"What do you mean are real? Where did you grow up boy? I am Nightwing, prince of the northern dragon clan."

"Well, nice to meet you. As for where I grew up, I was born in Portland Oregon over 500 years ago in the United States. I later moved to Ireland and lived there ever since."

"You're that old? Well, I never guessed you were an immortal but-"

"But what?"

"I have never heard of a Portaland Oregoon united states as a name of a country."