Chapter I - Awakening
Rize City... The biggest city in the world and home to some of the greatest minds Earth has ever seen. One of these minds, in fact, was the reason that we have been made aware that there is an alternate world that cannot be seen by normal means and runs parallel to our own world: the Dreamscape. In the Dreamscape, dreams manifest into beings that represent the strongest emotion in the dream they were born from. These beings are called vibes. Normally vibes are peaceful, however there are those who are born from the bad dreams as well... These are, ironically, the nightmares and if they are strong enough, they can posess the human who dreamed them and become a Vibrant, increasing their power ten fold.
Thankfully, these nightmares and Vibrants are constantly under watch by a special police force that have the power to enter the Dreamscape and take them out. These brave men and women are called Seekers and their team is called the Nightmare Eradication Squad, or NES. This team was first founded ten years ago by a scientist and seven others who discovered the Dreamscape and became the first Seekers. Of the original team, only three remain alive and well-known today, two are missing, and the rest have been killed in the line of duty.
In fact, my father is actually the commander of Rize City's NES. He's not just any Seeker either, he's an Origin! One of the first eight! One day, I'll join him as a Seeker and stop the nightmares! We will become the most powerful team NES has to offer and everyone will know my name! Shir-
"Shiroji Akihiko! If you fall asleep in this classroom one more time I will write you up!" Someone shouted, causing Shiroji to look up lazily, drool on his chin.
"Aw come on Miss Zanders... Everyone knows this topic anyway..." he replied, yawning and wiping the drool off his chin. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her thumb and index finger, a teacher's version of a facepalm.
"Oh really? Then tell me, what is the name of the device that allows a human to become a Seeker and how does it work?" She replied, smirking at him. He surprised her by walking up to the touch-screen board and started drawing what looked like a smart phone only it was designed to fit on your wrist.
"The name of the device is called the Particle Converter, or more commonly known as a ParCon. As its name describes, it converts our physical bodies into a spiritual form that allows us to enter the Dreamscape. As to how it does this, nobody knows since that information is kept classified." He continued to draw pictures on the screen to demonstrate his explaination. "Did you honestly think that the son of one of the Origins wouldn't know this stuff?!" Miss Zanders' smuggish expression quickly turned into one of pure annoyance.
"Okay then, how about you explain this to us then, since you're the expert. What was the name of the scientist that founded NES?" She knew she got him this time. He knew a lot about the gadgets and the Seekers themselves, but she knew that he always failed to grasp the history of the subject. His silence was enough to satisfy her. "That's what I thought! Now sit back down and start paying attention. For everyone's information, the scientist's name was Sosuke Neroku. Now turn to page five hundred and thirty four." She told everyone, waving an arm across the screen to erase the drawings as he walked away. She stopped, however, when she saw the words "Evil Hag" with an arrow pointing at her. She turned around furiously, the class laughing once they realized what Shiroji had done. One of his classmates even held a hand out to give him a high five, which Shiroji accepted with a smile.
"THAT DOES IT, SHIROJI!" She screams, pulling out an incident sheet and writing him up. After she was finished, she walked over to him and slammed the paper on his desk and pointed to the door, his usual signal to leave the room. It was common knowledge that he and Miss Zanders hated each other. Well she hated him for some reason, but he suspected that it had something to do with the fact that she used to have a crush on his dad, but he turned her down. This leads him to believe that she tries to get even by giving him a hard time any chance she gets. He just sighed, grabbed the paper, and started walking out of the classroom.
As he walked down the hall, he passed the trophy case where he couldn't help but stare at the shiny gold badge in the front that said, "Kizuru Akihiko - Rize City Matrial Arts Champion year 2437." As he stared at it, he couldn't help but cry to himself. Kizuru was Shiroji's older brother who joined NES as their father's partner. Sadly, the nightmare he was supposed to destroy took over his girlfriend's body and became an abnormally powerful Vibrant. He refused to fight back and eventually the Vibrant killed him and his girlfriend in an explosion and escaped. There was nothing left of his body.
The bell rang, signalling the end of the day and bringing Shiroji back to reality. Figuring that if he didn't want to be murderd tomorrow by Miss Zanders, he would still stop by the office before leaving.
As he walked into the office the secretary looked at the paper in his hand and didn't even say anything and just pointed him to the door behind her, knowing the routine with him and Miss Zanders. Shiroji just nodded and knocked on the door before walking in. Mr. Roswell, a man in his late fifties with graying brown hair and always wore a suit, was sitting behind his desk and rolled his eyes as Shiroji walked in.
"Okay what did the devil send you here for this time buddy?" He said sarcastically. It was also known that Mr. Roswell wasn't very fond of Miss Zanders either, however he can't fire her due to the fact that she was still a decent teacher. Shiroji just sat in his usual chair and sighed.
"I swear she just hates me... although I have to admit I DID sort of provoke her this time..." He told him, handing him the incident sheet. Surprisingly enough, Mr. Roswell just chuckled.
"Did you really call her an evil hag?" He asked him, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. When Shiroji nodded, the principal just laughed. "I couldn't agree more!" This made Shiroji smile too. This is why he liked Mr. Roswell; he had a cool, down to earth attitude and acted more like a father figure to his students than anything else.
"I swear that woman needs to get laid..." Shiroji said aloud. "Sorry sir!" He added, remembering that Mr. Roswell was still the principal, no matter how cool he was. He just smiled and shook his head as he wrote something and handed it to Shiroji. It was his detention schedule for next week. "I take it you bumped down the punishment for me again?"
"All you did was call her an evil hag... and yet she requested detention for nine school days... I would bump it down to just two days, however considering the size of your file I can't really go much lower than four."
"That's okay sir. I appreciate what you could do." Shiroji replied with a smile.
"Just promise me one thing, Shiro..."
"What would that be?"
"Please please PLEASE try to stay out of Miss Zanders' hair! I know everyone hates her but I can do with some peace for a little bit." He answered, winking. Shiroji promised he would try to stay on her good side, although that was nearly impossible, and left to go get his stuff from his locker.
As he walked home, he couldn't help but notice that he absentmindedly took a detour and was now walking down the road where his brother was killed. He found himself walking over to the oak tree in the park down the road, which still had scorch marks on its bark from the explosion. He just sat against it for a little while, depressed and staring down at his reflection in a puddle next to him. He had short blonde hair and brown eyes and had an earring shaped like a crescent moon in his right ear that used to belong to Kizuru. There used to be two, however this was the only one found after the explosion.
"I swear Ruru! I will join NES and kill that Vibrant! I will make it pay for what it did to you and Jessica!" He stated, clenching his fist so tight that his fingernails dug into his palm, threatening to cut him. After sitting there for about a half an hour, he starts to leave when something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye next to the tree. Picking it up, he notices it looks like a ParCon, however it looked old and didn't have a brace for his wrist. Thinking that he would show it to his dad, he put it into his backpack and started to walk home.
Along the way, he noticed a couple of men in uniform running towards a house nearby, both wearing ParCons on their wrists. In an instant, he saw them transform, donning armor and weapons, and rushed off. Curiosity getting the better of him, Shiroji hops onto his skateboard and follows them, eventually stopping in front of the house on the corner where an older woman was wreaking havoc on a car in the driveway.
An incomplete possession... He thought, watching as the woman went berserk, smashing every inch of the car with a baseball bat while a man, apparently the husband, tried to take it from her. A poor decision since even a partial possession from a Nightmare could increase the strength of the human it possessed considerably. She proved just that when she grabbed him and threw him onto the car effortlessly. She then prepared to smash his head in with the baseball bat, only to have it shot out of her hand by one of the Seekers. While the shooter distracted the woman, the other Seeker snuck up behind her and attempted to take her down and remove the Nightmare before she could become a Vibrant. Sadly, the woman smacked him to the ground and forced the shooter to take aim and fire.
It was only a warning shot to get her attention, however, allowing the other Seeker to grab her and pin her down while using his ParCon to exercise the Nightmare, his hand glowing and pulling a ghost-like thing from the woman's body. Once out, the Nightmare took its true form: a phantom-like figure that reminded him of a ghast from an anime that he watched a while back. Once it was detached from its host, the shooter took aim and fired once more, lodging an energy bullet right in the center of its head and killing it. Nodding in approval, Shiroji continued on his way back to his house.
As he got home, he walked upstairs to his room and got on his computer to check for his homework assignments. When he found that he didn't have any weekend homework, he went over to his bed and put his headphones on, just laying there as he shook his foot to the beat of his favorite rock group "Shine." Eventually, he falls asleep with his headphones on, unaware of the eerie glow from his backpack...
The next morning he went downstairs to find his dad, only to find that nobody was home. Thinking that this was wierd for a Saturday, he looked over to the calender to see today's date circled with the words "Sierra's Party 1:30pm." He then looked at the clock and saw that it was already a quarter after one.
"Holy crap I completely forgot! They could've woke me up!" He said, rushing to his room and grabbing a new shirt and throwing his shoes on. He was so frustrated that nobody came to wake him. Sierra was his best friend since they were five, which was about twelves years ago. Finally getting his shoes tied and throwing on a hat, he snatches his backpack, which had Sierra's gift in it, and his skateboard up and runs outside, throwing the skateboard down in front of him and jumping on it to give him a little extra speed as he rushed to Sierra's house.
Weaving around people, dogs and trees, he pushed himself as hard as he could to ensure he wasn't late. He even knocked someone down as he made a sharp turn.
"Holy crap I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?!" He asked, holding out a hand to help her up. She had violet hair and deep crimson eyes. As she grabbed his hand, he felt a chill down his spine as he stared into her eyes...
"I'm okay... thanks..." She said quietly, walking down the road without another glance back at him. All Shiroji could do was stare after her...
"Must be new in town..." HE said aloud, shaking his head violently as he hopped back onto his skateboard. "Crap! No time!" He shouted, looking at his watch and learning that he only had about seven minutes left before he was late.
Taking one last turn, he could see balloons tied to a mailbox, the telltale sign of a party, and increased his speed once more. As he got to the driveway, he stopped and bent over, catching his breath.
"I made it!" He said to himself as he stomped the back of the board, making it jump into the air so he could catch it as he walked up to Sierra's front door. As he walked inside however his sister gives him an evil glare as she walks over to him, although her blonde hair tied into a ponytail and cute blue eyes it made her seem a little less intimidating
"I was starting to think you were dead!" she yelled sarcastically. "I tried to wake you up for an hour before we left! AN HOUR!"
"Sorry I fell asleep with my headphones on. Why didn't you just come in?"
"The door was locked so I couldn't." She replied, poking him in the chest with every word.
"Sorry Becky. I'll be more careful not to lock my door anymore." He said apologetically. Becky just stared at him, as if deciding what to do with him. Eventually she turned around and started to walk off.
"I'll let it slide this time." She told him, walking into the kitchen. Chuckling and shaking his head, he looks for Sierra. After about a half an hour of asking guests about her, he comes to find that she hasn't talked to anyone all day. Worried, he goes upstairs to find her standing on the balcony. As he approached her, however, something seemed off about her. It wasn't like her to be away from her friends when they were over. Finally, he walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump a little.
"Everything okay?" He asked her, staring into her green eyes that complimented her long naturally colored pink hair that was tied back in a single braid. She looked at him, shadows under her eyes suggesting that she hasn't been sleeping well recently.
"Yeah..." She told him, however he wasn't convinced. "Really I am. I'll be downstairs in a minute." Feeling that maybe he should tell his dad about this, if he was even here, he went downstairs and asked Becky where their father was. When she told him that he had to work today, he swore.
"Why, what's wrong Shiro?" Becky asked him, concerned.
"It's about Sierra... she looks like she hasn't slept for days." Shiroji replied, worry written all over his face. Becky's concern turned into panic as she whispered to him.
"You don't think... it's a Nightmare... do you?"
"It could be... Call him, will ya? I forgot my phone at the house. I'll go check on her." He told her as she pulled her phone out to call their dad. This is bad... IF that's true, a house full of people with a Nightmare on the loose will be a catastrophe... He thought, rushing over to the stairs. He barely made it half way up the steps when a gust of wind pushed him back downstairs, scaring the guests. Suddenly Sierra starts coming down the steps, her hair flowing behind her out of its braid and her eyes pupilless. It seemed as if the wind was spiralling around her.
"Dammit! EVERYONE GET OUT!" Shiroji shouted, making everyone run for the front door as he ran towards the back door, making Sierra, who was obviously possessed by a Vibrant, slowly follow him. As they both got outside, Sierra started to transform: White feathered wings sprouted from her back, her eyes turned completely red, two smaller wings sprouted right above her ears. Her fingers turned into pointed claws and her feet into talons. Finally, her body sprouted green feathers and a purple upper armor that mostly just covered her chest and lower armor that looked like a solid version of a bikini.
"Feeling brave, boy?" Sierra said, although her voice sounded as if there were two people talking in unison. The one voice was hers and the other was slightly lower pitched and more elegant. "Pitty... You are quite handsome too..." She said as she raised a claw and attempted to strike him, only to be tackled by a man in a blue bodysuit with a long black sleeveless jacket with blue trim that was long enough to reach his ankles and silver gauntlets, boots, and helmet that had a single blue gem on the forehead and a blue visor. On his waist was a triple longbarrelled handgun and on his back was a scythe. Shiroji recognized the man at once.
"DAD!" Shiroji exclaimed.
"Shiroji run! It's too dangerous here! Get everyone away!" His dad told him, grabbing his scythe as he began to fight Sierra.
"Don't hurt her, Dad, and be careful!" He yelled as he ran through the house only to stop when he heard what appeared to be static coming from his backpack. As he opened it, he noticed that something was glowing inside and dug around for its source. Finally he pulls out the ParCon he found and stares at its screen, the code "007-M3G4" was flashing on the screen. After staring at it for a minute, he looks back into the back yard to see his dad having a hard time with Sierra, then back to the ParCon.
He knew what he had to do...
Shiroji raised the ParCon into the air and pressed the button on the side, which he noticed every Seeker does to Shift into their Seeker Form, and becomes engulfed in a black aura. It felt as if he was being torn apart and pieced back together as a white body suit formed on him, then armor as black as night started to form starting with his boots, which had knee guards that ended in a point facing upward, then his gauntlets which had the same design elbow guards as his knee guards, then upper body armor with a violet gem in the center with a red scarf that trailed behind him wrapped around his neck, and finally the helmet which was more of a mask really, covered his lower face and forehead, had two blades that connected at a point at the center of his forehead and curved towards the back of his head, growing in size until they reached the upper back of his head where they just stopped suddenly, and a violet visor. His short blonde hair was now bleach white and spiked back. He had a blaster holstered to each thigh and strapped to his lower back by the waist was a short sword. He looked toward the back door and started to head back outside.
Outside, Sierra was starting to get the upper hand on Shiroji's father as she had arrow after arrow rain down on the yard, distracting the Seeker as he spun his scythe to deflect them. Despite this, however, an arrow still pierced his shoulder.
"Had enough yet?" She said smuggly, concentrating the wind into her hand and now holding a rapier which she pointed at him. He just smiled.
"Please, don't insult me. You must be new if you don't know who I am. I'm the commander of Rize City's NES team! Shota Akihiko, codename Reaper!" He said, twirling the scythe in his hand, cutting the arrow as he did so, and bringing the blade down in front of him. "Now how about you tell me your name."
"I am Garuda the Gale! And yes I have heard of you, just never had the pleasure of fighting you!" She said, almost as if she was enjoying the fight. She rushed at him thrusting her rapier at his chest, but he easily blocked it with an upward swing of his scythe. He spun around and swung the blade three times in succession at Gale, missing each strike, but suddenly pulls out the gun and fires with a bang that had the equivalent of a small explosion and a blast to match it, hitting her in the chest and sending her flying back into the fence. Once she regained her composure, she disappeared in a flash and reappeared above him , stabbing rapidly from the air as she descended. Shota dodged just in time only to find her right next to him and stab him in the arm and pinning him down into the ground as the bloody blade sunk into the ground. She raised her other hand and the wind formed a spear.
"I must admit... I am slightly disappointed. I was expecting more from one of the Origins... even if your powers are supressed in the real world." She said, bringing the spear down towards his throat, but it was knocked out of her hand by an energy blast coming from the house. Both Gale and Shota looked over to see the source of the attack: a man in midnight black armor pointing a single blaster at Gale, red scarf flowing in the wind.
"That's enough! I will be your opponent now!"
