"Once upon a time, there was a man who died.The man's work was the writing and telling of stories, but he could not defy death."
Ley lines, you ask? What an exciting thing to discover, to realize that not only was I creating stories, but that I myself was part of a much larger story. You see, ley lines are the puppet strings of Fate, we must all dance to her tune when she pulls them.
Sometimes though, Fate pulls too hard, and the strings get knotted. These knots act as a gravitational force, meaning that as more unusual events happen, even stranger stuff will occur, even if Fate has lost interest already. More interestingly, these knots tend to occur in cities.
London, for example. So many things happening all the time, so many stories beginning to unfold. A hundred years ago, the King of Vampires was captured, a death god walked the streets a few deferential paces behind a mortal doctor, all the while brushing shoulders with another mortal doctor linked arm and arm with the World's Greatest Detective.
"Just then, a murmur came from somewhere. "This is great!" said the old man who was supposed to have died."
But that was long ago, and the stage I've set up for Fate's entertainment is almost ready. Come in and see for yourself!
Tuning Note-1988:
A female, caught in the gawky awkward stage between the girl with a skinned knee and the composed, iron-willed female she will become, stops for a breather. Though not much of one. It's dusty in the air vents, and she can't risk being caught by coughing… Not now. Not when she's so close to her goal. At least, she hopes so. Her father had always forbid her to play in the lower levels of the basement.
But her protection, her imagined knight in shining armor, is…a corpse? She blinks her eyes-this can't be right. "If this is a joke, it's a rather poor one. Oh Father, this is supposed to protect me?" She doesn't want to die, but all she can do now is wait for her uncle to find her.
Bereft of hope, it's not until the bullet connects that she realizes fully this basement cell might be it. She could die here.
But the corpse shifts, and six fountains of blood later, it-no, he kneels before her.
"What is your bidding, my master?"
Her dungeon. Her servant. Her midian, no-life king.
A child just old enough to understand what the universe has taken from him, and the pain and loss it means, stands in the rain. He doesn't quite get why his mother and sister have to go in the ground now, while his dad is away somewhere digging other people out of the ground. Shouldn't his father be more concerned with keeping his own family out of the ground instead?
What he does understand is that facing reality without them is going to be painful, too painful. He doesn't want to deal with it anymore-anywhere but here! Better to listen to that malevolent crooning telling him to go to sleep, and not to worry. The voice will take care of everything.
A heavy feeling settles over the funeral party. To those in tune enough to feel or see, there is now a dark miasma floating around the boy.
Welcome to my show! I've spent countless hours putting things together just so, so sit back, and listen to these instruments.
Ah, but don't blame me. This time though, these instruments were so willing to join in, I didn't have to do much of anything.
But enough from me-the orchestra has finished tuning, and the knot has formed, and my best piece to date is starting. Let's see how well these players hold up.
1998-Overture
A smiling man with unnaturally-dark black hair paces around the city looking for his Young Master. For although he is familiar with the place he was summoned to, it holds no familiar people, only memories.
The teenager stares unendingly atthe person genuflecting to him. What a troublesome thing to happen right before he leaves for Japan.
Haruka finally lifts his head, not quite sure what this silence entails. The stare continues, perhaps uncomprehendingly, he worries. Still, no movement. Then, Haruka notices the slight movement-his new young master's hand is caressing the large golden ornament hung around his neck.
Its too much pressure really-he'd rather not deal with it.
Haruka's eyes meet his master's, and with a start, he realizes they have changed. They are narrowed in cold calculation, and a smirk is prominent. The tengu shivers, feeling the change in the air as something malevolent settles into the waif-like body. The miasma in the air is chocking, and the pressure is immense. Haruka shows no sign of it though, hypnotized by the eyes of one Bakura Ryou.
The aura created by the restless soul even piques the interest of the otherwise- engaged No-Life King. He marks the direction it comes from, and plans to investigate. But first, he has some housekeeping to do. A priest in Cheddar was converted into something monstrous some months ago and has created numerous ghouls. But more importantly, finally, he might have found her. A cohort: someone worthy of being his draculina, and someone equally willing to serve his master.
The smiling man ignores the odd looks he receives in the toy store. Granted, one does not normally see a tailcoat in modern London. But he is still both a demon and a butler, and his Young Master would be so angry if one of his servants was not dressed properly. After all, what type of Phantomhive servant would he be if he wasn't even dressed properly?
Hitching a ride on the other demon's figural coat-tails is a cross-roads demon. It makes its meat –suit grin broadly. A young teenager, certainly not innocent, but still now irrevocably and forever tainted by the deal struck. Patricide and matricide, all in one tiny package. Wonderful. An 'accidental' death for her parents and 10 short years of living in return for eternal damnation. Masters will be pleased.
And in some Unplottable land in Scotland, a creature wakes from its slumber. Its been so long since it last had a meal, and children are not even that filling. But who has woken it, it wonders?
Who has summoned me, wonders the impeccably dressed demon butler.
Who has awoken me, wonders the newest servant of a long-dead King of Thieves, and his other half.
The No-Life King has no such question, for he knows who his master is, and revels in the knowing.
In another ley line "knot" across the pond, a creature stirs.
The Mayans predicted that in the year 2012 certain parts of the world would be so overrun with ley lines that the very fabric of reality would tear. This would lead to the apocalypse foretold by the stars.
I do hope that isn't the case-I don't know where I would find another wonderful stage such as this. And I have worked so hard to set things up just so behind the scenes. Ah, but this time will be different. I learned my lesson in Germany-growing hands back isn't easy, you know. And changing ducks to girls and back again is simply too time-consuming for the fast-paced plots this era demands.
But we'll see, won't we, my beloved audience? See if the stage is worthy of these tools, and see if the tools are worthy of the stage.
A/N: Ugh, I'm sorry. The narrator (who is a character) has such a hard voice to pin down witout overly referencing the anime he's from.
Anyway, this is un-betaed beyond belief, but it's been sitting on my computer for ages, and I wanted to just post it. I know I'm missing some bits, and taking liberties with others. Still, if something seems very off to you, tell me so I can hopefully fix it. This also possibly the start of an insane multiverse crossover, so if you see a bunch of connections between series, or want to see a character/series/plot acknowledged, or added, tell me!
Also, I'm leaning towards using the opening sentences/lines of anime, cartoons, basically anything with a definitive and recognizable starting narration in the beginning. Got any good ideas-tell me! Please?
First person to get all the references gets an internet cookie.