A/N: Before anyone bothers to say anything, YES, I know it sucks. No, I don't expect any reviews. And, as always, everything I post here is dedicated to my beloved Truth. I will miss you, always.

Prologue

Cold. Hard. Rough.. Pain

But not the kind of pain that hurt. Just a dull ache, like a body rising from the dead.

Unghhh. groaned a weak and confused voice from a body that looked more dead than alive.

Moving her head ever so slightly, the body released another groan as if releasing the darkness the gripped her soul as tightly as her vision. But as the darkness began to fade, she could she varying layers of pink. A brain fogged by endless sleep refused to acknowledge anything beyond the physical.

The ground beneath her was hard and cold. Dewy wetness coated her skin in the chill air. Somewhere nearby the engines of a million cars roared in her ears. Pain ached from hours of motionless. No one knew how long the body had lain there or when it had first appeared. Nor did anyone care. In some places people were too used to such grisly sights of death to even notice anymore.

Ever so slowly, the body's eyes began to open. Even at nothing more than slits, she was blinded by light so radiant and so powerful as to be painful. But as her body twitched spasmodically in shock thoughts returned with a vengeance. Her body twitched as jumped in the throes of the agony of returned life, returned thought. But they were not thoughts. They were memories. Memories of something so powerful they threatened to destroy her body along with her mind.

Light. Oh God its so beautiful. Its so bright. Its happening again. I'm living it all over. Its all there. I was..I was.everything. Nothing. I'm dying. I'm dying again. Again. Not again.. thought the body blindly.

Alive.

As if whispered from another part of her subconscious, she suddenly knew that she was alive.

Alive again..

But.the light.the sounds.the visions.the feelings. she thought numbly, feeling these things tearing away from her the life once more.

Alive.

No. Its over. I'm alive again. I wont let myself do it again.

With a convulsive gasp the body filled its lungs with bitter, burning air. In a violent spasm that sent her muscles bunching painfully, she arched her back off the ground. Thrashing against the tide of memories in her mind, the body slammed back into the ground writhing in agony.

NNNNOOOOOO!!

In that last violent, passionate cry, all motion ceased. As if falling back into the depths of darkness and death, the body lay seemingly lifeless. Shallow, ragged breaths moved in and out of lungs that burned with renewed life. A heart that should have long ago stopped, stuttered painfully within a fluttering chest. Scraped and bloodied from the inner battle, the body lay silently. The faintest of twitches curved the pale lips ever so slightly before she serenely allowed the darkness of sleep overcome her once more.

This time without fear..

Half a continent away, five young men froze in utter and terrifying shock. Above them the afternoon sun shone brightly illuminating a gorgeously sunny day. In the midst of such natural beauty, none could resist the urge to enjoy the day. One sat with his nose buried in another one of his endless string of books as he lounged in the shade of a great tree. Out in a clearing of grass nearby two other boys had been engaged in a lively game of football that had been more than a little rough. A fourth stood beside a grill cooking what smelled to be a delicious lunch for the group. And yet a fifth danced in a seductively deadly circle with an unbelievably long sword.

In a unified gasp of pain, the five froze as they felt a mental and emotional agony not unlike what they had endured not so long ago by the hands of another. In their minds a scream of mixed rage and determination sounded like the cry of a million deaths of innocence. As quickly as it had happened, it was gone leaving the five young men in confusion. With faces paled to corpse-like quality, the five men looked to one another. Eyes locked from one to another in silent askance, unable to comprehend what had just happened, but certain it did not bode well. Given past experiences, they could easily guess as to what was to come.

The unspoken answer to each ones question was found in the eyes of their comrades. Ones deeply blue eyes that had of late taken on a carefree and hopeful glint of life suddenly darkened noticeably as shock was replaced by mixed anger and determination. Beside him the gentle, playful eyes of another young man widened in disbelief and disappointment. To the far left these two, the icy crystalline eyes of their sword bearing companion paled as understanding and acceptance serenely took the place of momentary fear. Beside the grill food forgotten the sea green innocent eyes of the cook took on the silently deadly look of the oceans of the Arctic as an all too familiar cold rage began to tickle the back of his mind once more innocents lost. And, in the gentle shadows of the tranquil tree, another mans gentle blue eyes that reflected so much life and intelligence phased into frighteningly noticeable visage of death promised by the cunning that lie within.

One at a time, each young man nodded to what they knew to be true. Each knew in his heart and spirit that something had begun this day. Little did they know what kind of nightmare they were about to embark upon or the fate Destiny had yet to plan...