Chapter One: The Awakening of a Hero
I don't want to tell anyone this. They might think I'm crazy... but… I've been having these really weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this real? Or not? Are we all trapped in one big dream?
A young boy's eyes burst open. He blinked several times before groaning and picking himself up off of the floor. He rubbed his eyes and examined his surroundings. He was sitting on a circular platform. He could see his reflection in it.
The boy appeared to be the age of fifteen. He had short, blonde hair that was parted to the left. On his part, he had a stubborn little cowlick. He wore an old, brown bomber jacket with a large number "50" on the back of it that he claimed to belong to his great-grandfather during World War II. He had on a white t-shirt and blue shorts with it, along with a pair of worn-out sneakers that had seen too many summer days. His name was Alfred F. Jones.
"Where am I?" Alfred muttered to himself as he looked around.
So much to do, but so little time.
Alfred snapped up straight. He whipped around, looking for the source of the voice. I'm
"Who's there?" he called out into the blackness.
Take your time, young one. Do not be afraid.
Alfred spun back around. "Afraid of what? And who says I'm afraid?"
The door is still shut. Step forward.
Alfred raised an eyebrow. "What door?" There was no response. Confused about to do, Alfred took a step forward. Nothing happened. He kept walking until he was in the middle of the platform. Suddenly, three pedestals rose from the ground in front of him.
Power sleeps within you.
A shield appeared on one of the pedestals. It reminded Alfred of his favorite superhero's original weapon design. Stars and stripes.
If you give it form…
A wand appeared on the second pedestal. It looked like an ordinary brown staff with a glowing blue crystal woven into the top.
It will give you strength.
A sword appeared on the final pedestal. It had a white-silver blade with a red guard and a blue handle.
Choose well.
Alfred looked around for the voice's owner. Once again, there was no one. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The boy turned back towards the pedestals.
"Choose one, huh?" he said. He took a few steps forward. He went to touch the sword.
The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.
Alfred looked for the voice again. No one. He shook his head. Courage sounded good, but he felt like he was brave enough already. Destruction didn't sound good to him at all. He walked to the wand.
The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin.
Alfred didn't try looking for the disembodied voice this time. He was growing use to it. He laughed a little be.
"A wand? Sounds like some fairy tale," he remarked. He thought he was strong enough already. While the wonder part sounded good, Alfred didn't exactly want to cause ruin. He walked over to the shield.
The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all.
Alfred looked down the line. The voice had told him to choose one. He didn't exactly like any of them, but he had to choose. Alfred reached out and took the shield in his hands. It shimmered before disappearing into the air.
Your path is set. Now, what will you give up?
Alfred looked at the two remaining. In his mind, this felt like a hard decision. But in the end, he reached out and touched the wand. Like the shield, both the wand and the sword shimmered and vanished into the air. Alfred jumped back a bit.
You've chosen the power of the guardian. You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the path you choose?
Alfred didn't have to think twice to answer the question.
"Yeah!" he called out. Suddenly, the pedestals before the teenager crumbled, and the platforms began to shake. Alfred did his best to stand right up, but it was no use as the platform crumbled below him. He began falling. Alfred yelled as he fell. His screams ceased, however, when his descent slowed.
Alfred came to land on another platform. He looked around, still gathering his thoughts after his sudden fall. He shook his head and groaned.
"What's going on?" he muttered. Before he could say anything else, the shield he had chose appeared on his arm.
You've gained the power to fight. Use this power to protect yourself and others- no matter who they are.
"I've always had the ability to fight. And I can protect who I want," Alfred shouted to the voice. The voice didn't reply. "Oh come on, I didn't make you mad, did I?" No response. "You're just like my brother when he's angry with me." Alfred walked foward, looking around.
"Now, where am I?" Alfred stopped when he looked down at the platform. A shadow appeared on it that wasn't his own. There wasn't enough light in the area to create two shadows for him.
Alfred shook his head and looked at the second shadow. It rose and formed into a figure.
The creature had a vaguely humanoid body structure. It had a round, spherical head with circular, glowing yellow eyes. It also had two long, twisted antennae sprouting out of the top of its head. Each of its hands had three clawed fingers, and its feet were large and lacked any discernible digits. Alfred walked over to it. He knelt down in front of it.
"What are you?" he said, staring into the eyes of the creature. The creature stared back at him. Alfred laughed a bit. "Aw, you're kinda cute, aren't you?" He went to pet the creature's head. The creature raised its head and clamped its jaw down on his hand. "Ow! It bites!" Alfred's jaw dropped as his hand began to turn as black as the creature. He swung the shield at it. The creature was flung across the platform and dissipated into the darkness. Alfred smiled with relief. He looked down at his hand, which had returned to normal.
"Thank god," he muttered. Alfred turned around to see more of the creatures rising from shadows on the ground. His happy demeanor faded. "Oh crap." The creatures- seeing their comrade fall- went after the one that did it. Alfred.
He reacted rather quickly. He swung the shield at the first creature to come at him. Like its friend, it faded back into darkness.
"Hit me with your best shot!" he yelled out as the creatures launched to attack him. He swung the shield again, sending creature after creature into the darkness. Alfred eventually sent them all back to the darkness.
"I didn't expect so few of them…" Alfred sighed and looked down at the ground. He took a step back. Another shadow began to grow on the floor. He got in a defensive position, ready to fight off any more of those creatures. The shadow kept growing across the platform. Soon, it reached the boy. Like quicksand, it pulled him in. Alfred struggled to get himself out, but soon, the shadow pulled him into the darkness. He struggled to breathe. Alfred clawed at the nothingness, but it was no use. He was trapped. Soon, his vision went black.
Alfred's eyes struggled to open. He groaned and coughed, taking in the oxygen.
"Damn shadow…" he muttered. Alfred pushed himself to his feet. He was on another platform.
In front of Alfred was a white door. He ran towards it. Alfred pushed on the door. It didn't open. He pushed harder, only to get he same result. The teenage boy groaned. He grabbed the door handles and pulled them open.
Alfred blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. He was in a strange, blank room. Before him stood three faces. Only one of them looked familiar. The other two belonged to complete strangers.
The first appeared to be a young man. He has somewhat curly brown hair, green eyes, lightly tanned skin. He had a grin on his face.
The second looked the same age as the first. He had messy, short blond hair and lime-green eyes. His eyebrows were very prominent and bushy. Unlike the previous man, this stranger had a permanent scowl on his features.
The third looked to be about the same age of Alfred. He had wavy, blond hair that was a little longer than average and parted in the middle. A single curl stuck out from the top of his hair. He had violet eyes that were obscured by oval-shaped glasses. This was Matthew Williams, Alfred's own brother, or at least his stepbrother in legal terms.
The door won't open just yet. I need a little more information about yourself, first.
Alfred rolled his eyes. "Well that's stupid…" He sighed and looked at the three people.
"What's most important to you?" asked the first man. He sounded like he was from Spain. Alfred hummed a little bit.
"Being number one, I guess." The stranger laughed a little bit. "What's so funny?"
"Is being number one such a big deal?"
"Hey, you're the one who asked!"
"What do you want out of life?" The second man asked. He sounded British. Alfred turned to him. He thought about the question for a minute before coming with an answer.
"To be strong," the boy said.
"To be strong, huh?" Alfred stared at the second stranger.
"What are you most afraid of?" asked Matthew. Alfred turned to his stepbrother.
"You knowthis, Matt," Alfred said. "I'm afraid of getting old."
"Getting older? Is that really so scary?" Alfred opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the mysterious voice once more.
You want to be number one. You're afraid of getting older. You want to be strong.
Alfred looked around the room. No one was speaking. He couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.
"Who are you?" Alfred yelled. "What do you want from me?! Why am I here?! What's going on?!"
The adventure begins in the dead of night. The road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits you on your journey's end.
"That sounds fine, but I really want to know who you are!"
The day the door opens is both far away and very near.
Alfred crossed his arms over his chest. "You sound like a fortune cookie." Suddenly, white light clouded Alfred's vision. On a reaction, the boy yelled. When the light faded from his vision, Alfred saw he was standing on another platform. Alfred looked around. "Dude, tell me what you're doing!" No response. Instead, more of the creatures from before formed around him in a circle. "You've got to be kidding me." Alfred readied his shield.
It only took a few swings to knock them back into the darkness. The boy smirked.
"Hey, I'm getting the hang of this," Alfred said, flipping his shield back and forth in his hands. He looked around. "Now what?"
A staircase appeared before him from the edge of the platform. Raising an eyebrow, Alfred walked over to it. He looked up to see where it headed. Shrugging, he began climbing up it.
Alfred's walk up the stairs turned into a sprint when he saw another platform. However, he slowed when he got up there. He walked towards the center of it, looking around.
The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes. And don't forget…
The voice cut off.
"Don't forget what?!" Alfred sighed and turned. His own shadow was growing, like the creatures were. It rose and twisted itself. Alfred cringed at what it became. It became a massive, muscular, humanoid with black skin. Its legs were rather short and its feet were very thin and curl upward. Its arms were quite long, and it had two relatively small, twisted wings on its back. There was a large, heart-shaped hole in the its abdominal area, which penetrated straight through from the front to the back. Its head was covered in dozens of twisted, black tentacles. Only its small, glowing yellow eyes were visible.
"You, myfriend," said Alfred as he readied the shield on his arm, "are one ugly-" Alfred didn't get to finish his sentence when the monster swiped at him with one of it's arms. He used the shield to keep it from hurting him, but the strength of the creature pushed Alfred back a little. Summoning his strength, Alfred pushed against the being.
"I think I feel my arm breaking..." Alfred dodged another one of the monster's swipes. He raised the shield and brought it down on the monster's hand. His eyes widened at the result. There wasn't one. His attack didn't do a single amount of damage. "What the H?" The monster flung Alfred into the air. The boy fell to the ground on his back. His shield disappeared.
"No!" he yelled. Alfred tried to get up, but something held him back. His arms and legs were sinking into darkness. He was being pulled in. Alfred struggled to get himself free.
But don't beafraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all. So don't forget….
Alfred was sinking in deeper and deeper. Soon, he was fully enveloped in the darkness. He couldn't breathe. Everything was suffocating him. Alfred felt like he was drowning. His vision began to fade.
You are the one who will open the door.