Author's Note:

To start off, this story is written by two people. It started off in the form of a roleplay but as time went on we realized it made a great story, the characters became well-developed and we wanted to share it with you. Any feedback will be appreciated as chapters are added. Once we have a good amount of positive notes, I will be uploading more chapters. Some of the story is edited from the original version we created together to create a better flow because granted, even though we write similarly, we needed to make sure it sounded like it was from one point of view. Thank you!

Chapter 1 - Introductions

Bakers Point Apartments, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 2012 A.D., Early Morning

The alarm clock went off and Simon reached over and hit the snooze button. He knew he set the alarm for 6:30 AM and he thought it was too soon. Groggily, he rolled over and embraced the other person sharing his bed. His eyes closed again and he sighed. At the same time, the eyes of Katsumi Matsumoto cracked open.

Kat, as she preferred everyone call her, looked back at the face of her lover. She, too, heard the alarm but unlike Simon was ready to get up. She had wanted to go to the big Asian culture festival in Chicago for almost all of summer break and she was happy that Simon was going to share in the experience with her.

She kissed Simon playfully. Simon's eyes opened again. "Hey," Kat said.

"Hey, gorgeous," Simon replied.

"Aren't you going to get ready?" she asked.

Simon yawned. "I will," he said, "but I didn't get much sleep last night. Not that I'm complaining."

Kat grinned, hearing that remark. "Well," she said, "How about I get some breakfast and, once it's ready, we eat, get cleaned up, and then we'll be awake enough to go?"

Simon smiled. "Okay." Kat got out of bed and retrieved a silk robe. As she fastened it around her body and left for the kitchen, Simon drank in the sight of her leaving before he fished a set of basketball shorts from off the floor and made himself decent.

Millenium Park, Chicago, Illinois, Early Afternoon

Sounds of traditional Asian music was all around the happy couple. They made their way through the various midways, sampling the cuisine and traditional crafts. They took in the sounds of bands as well as wandered through the festival.

Near the perimeter, Kat said, "I'm glad you came along with me. None of my previous boyfriends ever wanted to come."

Simon smiled and said, "I'm glad you wanted me to come along. I do love you, after all."

Kat rolled her eyes. "Simon Roberts, we did it last night. You're only this sentimental when you want some."

Simon chuckled. "I'm just playing around, Kat." He kissed her on the temple as they continued strolling along.

As they walked, something caught both of their eyes. Kat and Simon both glanced across the street and saw a figure in the alleyway. "You see that?" they asked each other almost simultaneously. The figure disappeared into the shadows. They have seen Alice in Wonderland enough times to not follow strange creatures, but they still looked both ways and crossed the street. They ducked in the alleyway and saw no one there. There was no fire escape to speak of or any other means of exit.

"He's gone," Kat remarked.

"Yeah," Simon said, "and I know this sounds weird, but that guy seemed familiar."

"Yeah," said Kat, though they both knew they had never seen that guy before. "Maybe we should go..."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Simon fall onto his knees. Kat rushed to his side with a scream. "Come on, get up. Get-"

"I feel dizzy, that's all." Simon reassured her as he attempted to stand back up. He stumbled and fell back onto his knees, holding his head in his hands.

Kat soon felt the dizziness hit her as well. "But we need to get back… back to the... the festival." She watched as the world around her became black and that was the beginning of the journey neither one of them would ever soon forget.

The Streets of Munich, Germany, September 1st, 1941 A.D.

"Diese verdammten Amerikaner sagen, sie wollen die Neutralität aber während unserer Art werden immer ermordet?*" Klause Lang whispered under his breath. "Ich denke, wir Fairness gegenüber den Blinden zu verlassen**,"

"Stop it!" Ingrid Maurer responded quietly but harshly enough to stop Klause in his tracks. "You know that if they hear you then we are going to be hurt, right? We could even be taken to Auschwitz with that behavior," She patted down her black coat, fixing her newly sewn Jewish star the Gestapo made them wear and stared up at Klause's face with her piercing blue eyes. "And, by the way, since you know English, it would be the preferred way to discuss such trivial matters without being in jeopardy," She started walking again.

Klause folded his arms, biting his lower lip in wonderment. His brown eyes stared at her in almost amusement. "You have never called me out on it in public before..."

"That is when we did not have our lives at stake, Klause," she interjected without looking back at him.

Before long, they started walking next to each other in sync, rushing to get back to their individual homes. The street lights were beginning to pop on as they passed them, signaling that the dark was almost completely here.

"My apartment is not that much farther away from here. If you want to stay tonight then you can. Everything is beginning to become more and more eerie as more and more of us are being captured," Klause glanced at Ingrid with a sad expression.

Ingrid shrugged her shoulders, pondering the invitation. "I think I will-"

"Hey!" a voice called from behind them. It was enough to frighten the two of them to a stop. "Sind Sie Jude? Sie sollen im Inneren jetzt sein!***"

"Do not turn around," Klause said and grasped Ingrid's hand. "Ich werde dich beschützen.****"

They started walking again and the voice continued shouting relentlessly behind them to stop. When they didn't adhere to the voice, footsteps were becoming louder and it wasn't just one pair. "Pick up your pace," Ingrid said, flashing her blue eyes back to see three Nazi soldiers breaking out into a run, shouting. "Klause, run!" she yelled, dropping his hand and cutting down an alleyway.

In a quick sprint, Klause followed across the road and into a dark alley. As he tried catching his breath, he noticed a dark shadow figure up ahead of them near a brick wall. "Ingrid! Do not-" he said out of breath. "They are -" he dropped to his knees, feeling his head become heavy and stars clouded his vision. "Do not... surrender."

Ingrid managed to make it a few more paces before she, too was down on the concrete. "I cannot..." she whispered, her voice quiet and shy. Her dark brown hair draped over her eyes as her head dropped in the gravel. Within moments, a force more powerful than even the Gestapo could produce, overtook them both, leading them down a newly constructed path. Little did they know that they would never be the same people again.

* Those damn Americans say they want the neutrality but during the time our kind are getting murdered
** I guess we will leave fairness to the blind
*** Are you Jewish? You're supposed to be inside by now!
**** I will protect you