Prologue-
Fire. Flaming tongues of red and orange, licking their way up the fast-heating metal walls of the facility. Armed guards rush about quickly, shouting at one another and making wide, troubled movements about the grounds. Among this frantic panic, however, there was no discussion about saving the test vessels inside the burning facility that were currently either sleeping or continuing to go insane. For them, there was no in between.
Taito was currently 'asleep', his bandages being replaced. He felt safe, since his knife was tucked securely under his pillow. His hand twitched, wishing to reach for it and the healer tsked, swatting at him so he'd keep still. And he did, his purple hair spread messily over the sleeve of his pillow, turned flat on his back by the healer Malcadh ("mal-kad-hyr"). Soon, the old woman finished and as soon as the door closed, both of Lucas' eyes blinked open. He had sensed the danger when the smell of hot metal had woken him from his previous slumber only a half hour before Lady Malcadh had come into his room. He sat up now, weapon already in hand, and stood by the door with his back flat on the wall beside it, dead silent. He knew only a few more minutes needed to pass, a few more seconds he need to wait- noises- footsteps- screaming—and the door exploded inward, shards of metal and screws flying into the room and lodging themselves in the mattress and pillows on the bed, the bigger and blunter pieces knocking over vases and the lamp on the bedside table. If Taito hadn't guessed the danger, he'd have been impaled and killed. Stepping out into the hall, he felt the first few rays of light from the wall torches fall on his dark violet hair, running a bandaged hand through the mess upon his head. Some of it rested in strands over his eyes.
Starting off down the hall, the young boy watched as his small body was reflected back to him in the smooth marble walls. He was ten years old and the year was 2010 on the island of Alcatraz. Taito had been here since he was old enough to crawl, his unusual eyes and behavior thought as demonic among his parents' families. And so he'd been sent here, to this godforsaken place, to rot alongside the criminals, seeing as how he had shown the potential of a murderer almost immediately after he was born. But now he rounded a corner and ran through the doors, the sunlight hitting his face for the first time in nine years. As he looked out on the ravaged, bloodied, and burning courtyard, the smell of ash and melted skin stinging his eyes and nose, he realized that he was free now; standing here in a rain of burning flecks of multiple substances, the stars cartwheeling above his head in an oblivion of sparkling fire against the black-blue of the night sky, holding his body as if he were an angel in a war. Then, without warning, he broke into a run and began to race the world and time, side-by-side. And as he ran, he vowed that until he found something that would permanently ground him, he would run with the world and time as if they were old friends.
Chapter One-
The airport was bustling and loud, people and animals jostling about their business. A girl around the age of seventeen stood in the middle of a 'line' (which was really just a crowd) by the airport metal-detectors, looking as lost as a kitten in a herd of antelopes. She squeaked and hastily backed away as a pregnant woman clattered by, her pinky-finger being clutched by a small four year old boy. Her knees knocked together a few times, even though her blank dark blue eyes gave no sign of her timid nature. It was a warm summer afternoon, as warm as it could get in Yellow Stone. A young man her age with unruly purple hair and bandages wrapped around his arms, hands, and left eye was beside her, having been for a little while. It comforted her, knowing someone her age was near.
"Plane overseas?" he asked softly. His voice was sweet, but rough. If you poured fresh linen-scented honey over sandpaper and it was able to make a pleasant sound, it would be his voice.
"To the Bermuda." Their plane would pass right over the Triangle and stop at a highly-restricted island to fuel up again, at which point Ace will have already been gone to explore. The boy's silence made her wonder if he was shocked. "I want to see if the Bermuda Triangle is really all that bad."
"Well, most accidents happen in people go by ship," he reasoned, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You know, abandoned shipwrecks infested with skeletons, some infamous pirate and his cohorts, that sort of thing."
"I suppose you're right. My name is Ace," she said, a little more comfortable around him now. He was referencing Scooby Doo and the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle, after all.
"Taito," he responded happily, holding his hand. They shook hands and the line moved, bringing Ace closer to the detector. "I'm in first class, 4-A. You?"
"Right next to you, actually." Gazing down at her ticket, Ace slid her hand out of his, although she felt a bit of a pang when she did. Her ears were ringing from the noise around, blocking out more of the sound than she would like, and it made her wary.
"That's nice," Taito smiled. He looked at the girl closely, taking in her features with dark-purple eyes. She wasn't mighty short, but shorter than he was, and her hair was as white as snow. Her eyes were a starry, stormy blue and Taito figured if he stared into them for long enough, he might drown in their depths.
He was brought suddenly out of his thoughts as the line moved once more and Ace was guided through, setting her things onto the conveyor belt. She went through and passed without a sound. After grabbing her stuff and debating silently, she turned and waited for Taito.
Said young man was floundering around, getting gently pulled closer to the metal detector, struggling to dig in his heels. His knife was in his pocket and he feared that if he passed under that huge, arching signal of red flags, he would be caught and sent back to Alcatraz. Now, he was forcing his legs to bring him under the flashing pillars, his hair becoming so bathed in crimson it was almost blue, and he braced himself to hear shouts and feel the painful tug of rough arms against him- but instead passed cleanly underneath without disturbance at all. Rushing to get his case and box and thanking the patient-looking, smiling officer who had helped him through that ordeal, he ran off and came to a halt in front of Ace. Beside her, there was now another and taller man, dressed entirely in black. His pants were made of tight, black leather and his shirt was covered by an equally tight black jacket, the sleeves long and open like covers around the black nailed and 'dainty' looking fingers. The hood which covered the lanky man's head was removed in a smooth, quick flick of the wrists. Taito let out a startled noise as the face was revealed, like a sort of gasp. The man was beautiful, with enough grace and perfection to mirror that of a jaguar's, or another majestic wild cats'. His eyes were radiant, like liquid silver inside a halo of white, and sprinkled with black.
Ace was staring at Taito with a silly grin on her face whilst her perfect companion stood silently at her side, looking as amused as though he'd read Taito's mind. "Say hello to the most beautiful man in all of North America- Magnus Bane," she said happily, indicating to her friend. "And I think he may well be thanked for saving your skin back there from the guards."
Magnus continued to stare at him, his silver eyes boring into the younger boy's skin so that Taito had to resist the urge to squirm. The thought of standing so close in the crosshairs of such an inexplicable and extraordinary line of fire was like the thought of touching an iron that had been on for several hours and may-or-may-not be hot after being turned off for one minute—a stupid idea and potentially dangerous.
Finally, Magnus offered a slim yet strong-looking hand and said with a laugh, "I don't bite. If I did, you'd know by now."
His voice was the definition of pure silk and Taito could feel his legs becoming gelatin-based. "I, um.. th-thank you," he stuttered, purple eyes wide, shaking the older man's hand.
"You're personally welcome," the skinny masterpiece said obligingly, then added, "You'd better catch your plane before it rolls off without you." His hand slackened in Taito's and the boy with the purple hair forced himself to let go, although he didn't want to. As soon as he did, Magnus vanished, though it seemed to the rest of the crowd that he had never existed at all.
Taito figured they hadn't even seen Magnus in the first place, but as he and Ace headed out to their plane, his thoughts were highly preoccupied with that beautiful man and his cat-like eyes.