Prologue
10 Years Earlier
Dana Mercer sat up, gripping her self all over, not sure of where she was. She slowly began to calm as she looked around saw she was in a lab, an IV tube connected to her left wrist. She fingered it, intrigued by how it got there, how she got here.
She felt a pang of sadness and remorse shoot through whole system as she looked up at the hooded figure that had just entered. He saw she was awake and immediately rushed over, his hood falling back to reveal a face that tickled her brain. "Dana, your okay." He said, relief flooding out with his words. He pulled her into an awkward embrace her eyes still darting around, looking at her odd surroundings.
"Where am I?" Her voice sounds odd to her as she asks this of the man who currently had his arms wrapped tightly around her.
"At this lab of... Well, it's a long story. I'm just glad you're still alive, Dana." His blue eyes, glazed over because of the virus he carried, met her own, causing him to gasp. Her eyes where glazed over also, their once beautiful brown now fading into the white. He steps back, his arm drooping lazily at his sides.
Dana's face shows her confusion and concern as she steps toward the man, but immediately jerks back because of the IV. She frowns at it, her eyebrow furrowing before an enlightened look hits her eyes. She reaches for it with her other hand, pulling it out without even the slightest little spurt of blood as she does so. The man seems slightly shocked by this, inching back ever so slightly. He hadn't wanted Dana to face what he had to; even if he couldn't remember everything from before Blacklight, he still loved his sister.
"Dana, are you okay? Do you remember who I am?" He asked, stepping towards her timidly. He had prayed that Elizabeth Greene had lied when she said Dana was, "one of us." Unfortunately, his findings were proving otherwise.
She scratches her head lightly with her left hand as she tries to remember. Finally, a memory flashes forward of her and this man looking over a computer. She doesn't quite remember what they were talking about, but she remembers his name at least. "Alex," Dana murmurs. "Your name is Alex. What am I doing here, Alex?"
Alex groans inwardly, readying himself for the long and tedious explanation. He sits down on one of the examination tables, his head in the palm of his right hand. He watches as Dana sits back down, her curiousity sitting plainly in her now dull eyes.
"It all started with Mercer..."
3 months later
She dashes down the empty street of her hometown, heading towards her current home. She leaped over a charred tank shell, landing gracefully on it's other side before beginning her run anew. She passes by a group of Infected, speeding up so they hopefully won't notice her. But her wish isn't granted as they turn and begin to chase after her. She groans silently before propelling herself, grabbing onto a ledge of the building, flipping over and landing crouched. She begins to dash up the side of the building, but another figure jumps down beside her.
"Again, Dana?" Her older brother, Alex, teases, chuckling.
"Don't say it never happened to you," Dana growls back, her left arm quickly shifting into something that resembled a sword. She marvel at how easy the changing has come to her, the black and red sword easily replacing her arm.
"It seems to have come easier," Alex nods to her arm, his matching hers.
"Yeah," She says before propelling herself over the edge of the broke and beaten balcony. She lands with a thus on the pavement below, leaving an indentation in the road that was covered with odd weird red stains, as if it was bleeding.
The group of Infected seemed to freeze temporarily as her brother landed beside her, a dark and menacing face replacing the kind one Dana was used to. Alex had developed a reputation among both humans and Infected, most now refering to him as 'Zeus,' but to Dana, he will always be Alex.
She is ripped from her thoughts as an Infected charges her, forcing her back a few feet. Dana growls, then skewers the annoying zombie on her sword. She yanks it out, the body crumpling backwards. She looks up at her brother who is currently consuming the last of the Infected. She watches as his spine seems to leave his back, splitting in two before wrapping around the messy Infected, pulling it into a mess of red and black that was once her brother. Finally, after another moment or so, the red and black mess reforms to display her brother once again.
Alex walks over to where Dana stands by a single, motionless body. Alex feels a smile spread across his face as he goes up to her, her left arm normal once more. He wraps his right arm around his little sister, scruffing up her short brown mass of hair. She gives him a scowl, but her glazed over eyes betray her true emotion: joy.
It was an odd existence, the one they two shared. But, it was filled with happy moments, and they'd rather face them together instead of alone. The two walk down the bloodied street, in their own little paradise. Ever since Dana's awakening, the Infected seemed to be dying off, no longer having innocent humans to feed upon as those who could escape had. Anyone who hadn't been able to escape was either eaten, infected, or died because of nuclear radiation from the atomic bomb the military had tried to drop on Manhattan.
The two strolled leisurely to their destination, not quite caring who saw them: Blackwatch had left the city months ago. When Blackwatch had left, Alex and Dana had discovered something they never thought to find: others just like them. They were headed to their group home at the moment, an old abandoned theatre somewhere near Broadway. As the two now hooded figures strolled along, someone else crept out from the shadows of and alleyway, pursuing the two. This person also wore a hooded leather jacket, much like the other two. This person, an obvious male because of their build, crouched down, letting out a low growl. In a second, the other two were both crouched in a predatorial manner, circling around the stalker. Suddenly, the two males collided rolling around in what turned out to be a play fight. The female stood up, her hood falling off as she laughed.
"Nice to see you, Apollo," Dana called, using his code name.
"Missed you, Artemis," 'Apollo' comes over to Dana, wrapping his arms around her waist as his hood falls away, revealing a shaggy black mess of hair over Asian complexion.
"Watch your hands, Uso." Alex hisses protectively, coming up to pat the young Japanese male on his back, right above the dragon stitched into his black leather jacket.
Uso simply rolls his eyes, leaning down to kiss Dana who stood a mere two inches shorter than him. "Whatever, Zeus," He mumbles through the kiss that causes Alex to shudder.
"Are we going to go or what, Apollo?" Alex questions, his foot tapping in annoyance. Uso simply waves him away, his lips still locked with Dana's. "Uso Uragiri," Alex begins to scold, stumbling slightly over the foreign name. "You better watch yourself." Alex begins to stroll down the barren street once more, his hands in the pockets of his dark blue jeans. He looks around his city, albeit over run with zombies of all sorts, but it was now his to take care of. And Alex Mercer vowed to do anything to save this place, no matter what.
Dana and Uso began to walk after the man in the hooded black leather jacket with a tiger embroidered on the back, fingers intertwined as they strolled along in silence. Uso's eyes dart around warily, constantly on the look out for more of the mindless Infected, or worse, a Hunter.
Dana can't help but notice Uso's unease, and it makes her want to laugh, strangely enough. She steers him toward the sidewalk, hoping it might just help calm him a little. Once they both are on the sidewalk, Uso somewhat at ease, she leans against him, a small smile on both of their young faces. They stroll along like this for about fifteen minutes before soft crying catches Dana's over sensitive ears, causing her to stop in front of an old apartment building.
"Dana, what is i-" Uso's question is cut-off as Dana shoves her free hand over his mouth. She relinquishes his other hand and motions for him to follow and be quiet.
The both jump as they hear a squeal, then run through the open door, charging towards the noise. A series of deep-throated laughs and childish giggles causes the two lovebirds to freeze, both quite confused at the moment. Another bout of laughter showed them there was more than likely nothing harmful in the building, so they both untensed and proceed up the flight of stairs. They are both startled by what they see:
Alex is tickling the hell out of a little red-headed girl wearing a bulky leather jacket just like all of theirs, a white 'I love my Daddy' t-shirt, grey skinnies, and black, blood-covered converse. The girl's hands, that she uses to try and push Alex away, are covered in blood, along with her face.
"Zeus," Uso inquires, pulling Alex away from the tickle fight. "Who is your little friend?"
Alex looks confused for a second before realizing who Uso is talking about. His face becomes serious, to no ones surprise, as he answers, "She says her names Alice."
The little girl, Alice, is now cowering behind Alex, her head peeking out from behind his back. Dana looks at her chubby face, marveling at all the freckles the little girl possess. Dana's eyes lock with the child's, and she is forced to hold back a gasp, not wanting to startle the child.
Alice's eyes are glazed over just like the three adult's who occupy the room with her.
"My name," The little girl mumbles, her voice like bright bells chiming. "Is Alice Greene. But most people call me Eon. I'm five." She states the last part proudly before cotinueing to cower behind Alex.
Dana steps forward, kneeling down so she can be eye level with the little mess of fire red hair hiding behind her older brother. "I'm Dana, Dana Mercer. Why are you here? Where are your parents, Alice?"
"Eon," The little girl corrects, stepping out from behind Alex, his hand messing up her hair slightly. "I ran here to get away from all the bad people and the monsters. I've been hiding here ever since. I was staying with my dad, I think. It's all really fuzzy. He left me at his apartment, said he had to do something, but he didn't come back. He sent some of the people he worked with to get me, but I didn't want to go. They had big guns and it scared me. So, I ran." The girl gave a little whimper, causing Alex to pull her to him ever so slightly. "The next thing I can remember is waking up in an alleyway. That was about three or four months ago." She grabs onto Alex for no apparent reason, seeming to find comfort in the man that frightened the shit out of others.
"Well, don't worry, Eon." Uso says, stepping forward. "We'll keep you safe. Promise."