A Daniel X Fanfic

by Sakura Martinez

Author's Notes:

I didn't have any plans of uploading this chapter yet but since I've already finished a lot of chapters for this new fanfic, I decided to just go ahead and upload it. This would be, as you all know, my 3rd fan fiction for the Daniel X book series and I decided to use the same title which the next book will have (Armageddon).

Anyways, the cover is something I made for this fanfic and the story follows where the Out of Time left off. Having said that, I hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to review after you read this! (:

Disclaimer:

I do not own Daniel X, or the characters in that story. James Patterson own the rights for them. What I do own is the idea for the fanfic and this fanfic itself.

Summary:

The final battle has begun and it begun with the loss of a life. Daniel, with Khadagh's knowledge and power, and with the rest of the drang must do everything in their power to put an end to the number one alien on The List before everyone that they care about is lost and before The Prayer puts his evil schemes into action. The battle for the universe and between good and evil culminates as The Prayer finally figures out a way to defeat, and ultimately kill, our hero. The road is tough, but Daniel and his drang are ready.

Daniel X: Armageddon

Prologue

It could have been the perfect Sunday morning, by Earth standards. The weather was neither humid and hot nor freezing cold. The sky was as blue as the sky could possibly be. There was a sort of freshness in the air that I didn't think was possible to be found or felt on Terra Firma. It was the sort of day you wake up to and think: Hey, maybe we should go out on a picnic!

And that was what came to my mind when I woke up.

You might be thinking: 'What are you doing, Daniel? Why are you thinking about going on a picnic when the world, as we know it, is in danger?'. All I can tell you is, "chill". You guys don't need to tell me about the dangers your world and the whole galaxy is facing. True, I am an Alien Hunter, but me and my drang deserve some R&R once in a while (and we mostly get those "in a while"). Besides, it was a perfect day. The sort where you feel all optimistic and doubt that anything could go wrong in the world.

Of course, I should have thought that such a peaceful and wonderfully perfect day couldn't last. I should have known, base from experience, that something was bound to come up to ruin everything. I should have guessed that a perfect day, during a time when turbulence was abundant—not only on Earth, but the rest of the universe—is just too good to be true.

But, the events that happened that day was something I didn't—couldn't—foresee.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me just give you a quick rundown on the events of that fateful Sunday...

"You've got to be kidding me," Willy said, his brows were furrowed and he had the look that said legions about what he thought of me at that moment.

"What?" I asked, confused as to why he was giving me that look. "It's not a bad idea!"

"With what's been going on? I'd say it is." Joe shook his head.

"I don't know," Emma decided to voice her opinion carefully, as if she was threading in thin ice with the topic. "It sounds like a good idea."

Willy gave a 'tcht' sound at his sister's view on the matter. Joe, on the other hand, merely shook his head in displeasure. Ever since we got back from the Undinogh mission and ever since I woke up, I couldn't help but notice how Joe seemed a bit...tamed...around Emma, as if he was worried that he might anger her or something. I also couldn't help but notice how, despite still having disagreements, Willy and Joe weren't bickering all that much any more...well, they weren't using their fists and their weapons when they are fighting—which, in my opinion, was a big improvement.

"I agree with Daniel, too." Dana said.

At which Willy snorted, "Of course you'd agree with him, Dana, he's your boyfriend."

Even though Dana and I had been together for a long while now, and even though we weren't exactly hiding our relationship or the way we feel about each other, I still had a hard time keeping my face from turning red whenever our connection was mentioned. That gives Willy and Joe enough ammunition to make fun of me. Seeing Dana turning red as well told me that she, too, felt the same way. Which only made them make fun of us even more. I swear, I'm going to pay them back from the number of times they made me blush.

"A-Anyway," Dana stuttered before clearing her throat and giving a warning look at Joe, who was snickering (Joe quit laughing when he saw her with that look), "We've been working hard the past few months, it would do us good to get some rest and recharge. It's not like everything will turn to hell in a day."

"Besides, this day is just too good to pass up!" Emma and Dana were both ganging up on Joe and Willy that it made me smile. They should know, as I do, how scary the girls can be when they don't get what they wanted.

Willy and Joe both looked at each other before they looked at me. I grinned at them. I expected as much, after all. I knew Emma and Dana would take my side when I told them that we should go out on a picnic together—all of us.

We're not being irresponsible, though. All those strange things happening on Earth? Those are either the workings of The Prayer or a consequence of whatever action we had to do in order to stop The Prayer's plans. Ever since getting back on my feet after the whole Undinogh episode, all of us had been doing all we could to weaken The Prayer and his forces. Though he had yet to send me an "official" challenge, I think we both knew that the game was on. Several times, during one of our missions—and sometimes even during our sweeps—he had sent aliens to ambush us. Most of the time we came out from those ambushes unscathed, there are times, however, when we did come out on the bruising end.

With each battle, however, I could tell that the forces The Prayer was sending were getting stronger. They were learning from our past battles and their mistakes. Though I could say the same about us. Still, five teenage Alien Hunters don't really compare against a huge army like The Prayer's. Sure, we do have Willy and Emma's parents with us still, but they usually are out on an errand—trying to gather as much forces as they could, that we do end up being the only once actually making a stand against our enemies. There are occasional skirmishes outside, in space, but those battles are stuff that we were told not to mind.

"Focus on Terra Firma," Uncle Windsor had told me before they left on their own mission. "The Prayer seems to be hell bent on getting this planet that all the others."

I agreed, because even I can see that. I have seen that ever since I started on my path of vengeance. Ever since I swore to avenge the death of my parents.

"Well..." Joe looked at Willy, scratched his cheek and then smiled sheepishly, "I don't think we have much of a choice. Do we?"

Willy sighed, before he gave in and we all began to get ready.

Willy went to get the car ready. Joe volunteered to pick the stuff we might need. And, although both Emma and Dana both volunteered to cook our food, I stopped them. Don't get me wrong, they can cook...it's just that, sometimes, they tend to, um, overdo it...to the point that you can have a guessing game in regards to trying to figure out what you are eating. Of course, I didn't tell them that I didn't want to eat another version of "Mystery Food". They would kill me. So, I just told them that it would be easier if I just "clapped" our food into existence.

Though they grumbled and questioned me as to why I would do that with our food and not everything else, they did let it go once I asked them where they wanted to go. After all, our trip wasn't something we planned. The girls immediately began a long argument as to where the best place to go was. Their choices were ridiculous, to say the least...even going so far as traveling to the Bahamas. Though, eventually, they did agree to just take a mountain hike to that clearing that we accidentally stumbled upon during one of our sweeps.

After everything was ready, we all boarded the pick-up truck. The very old, stinky, and beat-up pick-up truck.

Again, I could have made something better and cooler but, once again, I had to keep myself from using my powers. We wanted to blend in, after all, and not stand out like a sore thumb and, five kids with a Ferrari was not the way to go. And so we stuck with using the piece of junk (don't tell Willy that it is a 'piece of junk' though, he's the only one who thinks otherwise).

Anyways, we made our way to the mountainside, being as inconspicuous as five teenage Alparians could be. It wasn't a long trip, to be honest, and it didn't take as a long time to get there even though there were a couple of places where we experienced heavy traffic. I guess people had the same idea as we did about going out and having a picnic.

The actual trek to get to our hidden spot, however, took us a while—not because we were out of shape, but because Emma and Dana wanted to take pictures. Lots of them. Lots and lots of freaking pictures. When we tried to get them to stop, they argued with us that since we were already there, we might as well.

"Plus, it'll be good to have a memento of some kind," Emma had said. "Who knows when we'll be back here again."

Though we wanted to argue further, we really couldn't. She was right. Our future was too unpredictable.

As soon as we got to our clearing, we didn't waste time in setting the place up. Though we already had everything you could possibly need on a picnic, I couldn't keep myself from using my powers to give us more comfort. Of course, I only did so after I made sure that we wouldn't be compromised. No one tried to stop me, though...though people might actually wonder why we had a reclining sofa with us and how we managed to bring it all the way to that clearing—if they anyone did manage to stumble to it.

We didn't do anything there or talked about anything that was important. We just enjoyed the time we all spent with each other, exchanging crazy stories, making jokes, and basically just having a great time. We didn't stay there until nightfall, though. Even with the inhumane strength and powers we possessed, all of us knew that it was stupid and dangerous to stay at the mountains when darkness falls.

As we made our way back down to civilization, I was surprised when Willy suddenly said, "Let's do this again. As soon as we are finished dealing with The Prayer."

Everyone agreed, of course. But, there was that underlying note, and that prayer that we all be able to do so.

The car ride back to the house was a long one. Longer than how it took to get to the mountain. The traffic was twice as heavy, barely moving, which was strange, as having such a traffic jam just wasn't possible at that part of the state. That should have given me a warning signal, a sign that something was wrong. But, it didn't. I don't really remember if it was because it was—or had been—such a perfect day, or if I just didn't want to think that anything bad could happen or the traffic jam could mean anything other than something trivial.

As our truck inched forward, Willy saw a cop redirecting the route. That should have been the second warning that something was up.

"Do you think there was an accident?" Dana asked as Willy followed the detour sign, worried and maybe feeling sorry even before knowing what it was all about as we saw police lines, ambulances and a dozen of police cars all blocking the highway. Though their sirens were turned off, the blue and red lights glowed, interchanging as we passed.

I craned my neck as far as I could, trying to see what was up. I was curious as the rest of them, but I couldn't see anything past the cars and the people that were crowding around.

"I don't know," I answered.

"I hope nobody was hurt," Emma said, before she whispered an Alparian prayer asking for safety for the people involved. Don't ask me when she became religious, I won't be able to answer you.

We all grew silent for a while, as we followed the detour. The only sound we could hear were the engines of the cars, the sound of the tires hitting the rough road, and the sound of the wild—which was less noisy. Another thing that I should have picked up, should have warned me of what was to come.

And then, the sound of the forest—for that was where the detour ultimately took us—died down. There was just silence. Even the vehicles that were ahead of us and those that were behind us became inaudible.

"Is it me or do you guys feel something's...off?" Willy asked.

I shrugged before we all turned to Emma. She would know, after all, if something was wrong with the forest. She was in-tuned with all things...environmental and nature-y. Such was her powers. That and being able to control electricity and metal. Though, if you think about it, that would make sense in a weird Chinese element-thing (fire, earth, water, wind, and metal).

"I don't sense anything particularly wrong, but—" Emma began, her face scrunching up in confusion. "there is that underlying danger that the forest animals seem to feel."

"Underlying danger?" Joe asked just as Dana did.

"What kind of danger?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe some natural disaster." Emma shrugged. I remember animals having a sort of sixth sense when it comes to natural disasters and wondered if that was the case, if that was what Emma was basing the silence and the fear that the woodland creatures were feeling.

I don't exactly know what happened next. It all happened so fast. One moment we were just wondering what was up, and then we found our truck suddenly flipped upside-down, and then crashing to the trees, breaking the trunks and making everyone in the car scream, panicked.

Don't ask me how many times the truck cartwheeled. I won't be able to give you an answer to that either. All I can say is that, when it did stop doing its acrobatics, we had found ourselves outside of the truck, scattered and bruised. The truck's gas was leaking, a small fire had started as well—if the smoke coming out of it was any indication. It had as much dents and scratches as you could possibly count and the windows were all broken, all that was left of the windshield were crystalized bits and pieces of glass.

The path that the truck took while it was hurtling, created a makeshift path of destruction among the trees with only a handful of them remaining in-tact.

I quickly got to my feet and made my way to Dana, not only because she was...well, my girlfriend, but because she was closest. I wobbled as I walked, slightly dizzy. I quickly inspected her, to see if she had any life-threatening injuries. Fortunately, she was alright, save from a few scratches on her arms and her face.

"Dana," I shook her awake.

She groaned before she slowly opened her eyes. Realization dawned at her quickly as she remembered what happened and she was quick to her feet. Dana didn't ask any question, and I was thankful. I didn't have any answers but I knew that we had to get everyone back to their feet and ready to fight. Because that was what my instincts were telling me—that a fight was about to occur.

As soon as everyone was up, we readied ourselves from battle, noticing how quiet the whole world had gotten, not to mention how dark. There were no incoming cars, no vans, no people—apart from us and the dead or injured laying haphazardly around us. The only sound we could hear was the wind that was picking up, the sound of the cars burning, and the moaning, crying, and pleading sounds coming from the injured humans.

"What's the plan, Chief?" Joe asked me, the Symbiote on his arm ready for combat.

I gritted my teeth. I hated being called that and I had told him (and everyone who does) to quit with the whole "Chief"-thing but he (and they) wouldn't listen. But I shook the annoyance away. There was going to be a time, after this particular battle, that I would be able to berate him for calling me that again.

"The usual," I said. It wasn't the first time that this happened to us, but it was the first time that we were thrown out of the car without so much as a warning. "You and Emma tend to the wounded."

Emma and Joe nodded before they set to work. As I surveyed our surroundings further, I frowned. I couldn't recall our truck being hit by any weapon, or being rammed by a force strong enough to cause it to fly like it did, but it did.

Dana looked at me and she must have noticed the look on my face, because she asked, "What are you thinking about?" in a hushed manner.

"The truck," I replied, and she made a face as if to ask me 'Seriously?'. I shook my head, then continued on to explain, "I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, didn't feel any attacks coming. We should have seen anything if we were attacked. Besides, don't you find it strange that no one's passing through here now?"

Dana thought for a moment and scanned our surroundings, much as I had before I voiced out my concern to her. She noted the same things that I did and I could see questions forming inside her mind. The sense of...wrongness...permeated the air. It was all I could think about—that something was wrong—as I scanned once more. My powers hummed, ready to be used when the situation calls for it.

I didn't know why it took me so long to see what was wrong in picture—apart from the obvious disarray of things. I wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for the strange sound the wind was making as it ruffled the leaves on the trees that still stood.

The trees, they were bent. As if they tried to get away from a force of an impact. They didn't sway much, though their leaves danced as a powerful gust of wind was expelled from somewhere further in the cluster of trees. The wind brought other things to my notice, too. A smell, the rancid smell of something burning. I would have thought that it came from the vehicles that were being engulfed by flames around us, had it not been for the fact that it was the wind that brought it to my attention—the wind that came from the direction of where the trees were leaning away from.

My mind felt blank as I tried to come up with some answers to the questions that could have easily been answered by investigating the area further, but with how many were injured and how these lives were now in our care—at least, until the human authorities arrived—that was out of the question.

"Daniel," Willy came up at me, a frown on his face. "You don't think—"

Before he could finish his question, a flare suddenly shot up towards the sky. The trailing light surprised us, not because we didn't think anyone would be sending any kind of distress signals but because this particular distress signal—this particular flare—was a brand that only we would know about. More specifically, what Willy and Emma would have no problems identifying.

It was a flare that had their parents' energy signatures intertwined with it.