A/N: Chapter update. Enjoy.

CHAPTER ONE

THREE SLICES OF LIFE


"Professor Siegfried, it's happening again!" a lab assistant shouted. Inside the observation cell was their latest specimen; V-7 was dying. V-7 was a middle-aged man that they had dragged off the streets for experimentation. He thrashed about violently on the cell floor, with blood streaming from his ducts like tears. His skin was slowly turning an ugly grey colour, like rotting flesh, interspersed with patches of red on his face and forearms. Smoke was now spewing heavily from his ears and mouth, as though a fire was burning its way out from the inside out, and likely was.

"Ahhhhhraaaaooouuuu!" V-7 screamed with a mindless, agony-ridden howl.

Outside of the cell, the scientists ran about in a panic, trying to figure out a solution to prolong the subject's life. "All of you, shut your mouths, you're professionals, experts, now kindly act the part!" snapped an irritated voice, thick with authority, they all turned towards the speaker; he was slightly above average height and had a warrior's build, which conflicted with his apparel as a scientist. He had black hair and bronze skin, his eyes were golden in colour, and his features had a subtle wildness to them.

"Sir, V-7 is having a violent reaction to the original's cells. His body just won't adapt, the transplanted cells and aura are rejecting him," said the lab assistant who had called for him.

"I see...that's a pity," Siegfried murmured absently, pushing past the throng of scientists and researchers. Reaching the cell, he crouched down, watching the unfortunate subject in his final moment of agony. Siegfried was calm, showing none of the panic the others had. "I had hoped that you would provide me with better results than the last five, goodbye V-7," he said quietly as the subject died, his last words garbled and unheard. Siegfried stood, turning to face one of his assistants, a petite, mousy haired woman. "How many injections did V-7 receive and remain stable after the skin graft and transfusions?" he enquired.

"Four, sir," she answered.

"That's one less than the last subject...so does the person's will-power really affect the reaction to the change?" Siegfried wondered aloud for the others benefit. All the experiments shared blood type, race, and gender with the original donor, and yet rejection and death always eventually occurred. "For our next specimen we will need someone with far greater physical and mental strength. Evans, go kidnap someone."

Young Evans, who was shuffling through a table of paperwork, looked up, startled. "Shall I go immediately?"

"Yes now, and take two security personnel with you. Be back with a suitable candidate within the next four hours."

"Right, I'll be on my way," Evans replied, abandoning his paperwork with a relieved flourish and all but sprinting away to commandeer some muscle.

"Alright people, stop standing around and gaping like idiots and get back to work!" Siegfried demanded, loudly clapping his hands together for emphasis. Scrambling about, they returned to their many duties. 'Looks like we'll have to use V-1 for the primary exhibition after all, that twit won't be happy...' Siegfried thought sourly, before going back to his own work. There was no time to waste, and he couldn't use his secret experiments or methods for the exhibition, or the Elders would find out. 'How troublesome...'


"Is it just me or are all of our missions lately about stopping faux-contractors?" Andrew complained, as he relaxed comfortably on the couch in their lounge.

"They've gotten better with the process, so obviously there's going to be more of them," Alex replied, who was wearing his usual Hawaiian shirt and jean shorts. He continued typing away on his laptop, his eyes never leaving the screen. "No matter how many we kill, Magistas and their allies will just make more."

"So who's hiring us this time?" Andrew asked, not pleased to have another mission so soon, having only been back home for a few hours since his last mission.

"The NPA," Alex answered, sitting down next to him, while continuing to type away. "It seems there's another faux-contractor causing trouble in their area."

"The National Police Agency...that's in Japan, right?" Andrew asked Alex for confirmation, he received a nod in return. "So why are they asking for our help?" he continued.

"It's pretty far I'll admit, but they're running low on their own contractor-mages, so the NPA is hiring us to do the job instead."

"So what's the story?" Andrew enquired.

"Initially they were investigating a serial killer in Osaka; they were close to issuing a warrant for his arrest, when suddenly known contractor-mages started appearing among his victims. In response they sent their own contractor-mages to arrest him, however they've since vanished."

"Do you think Magistas or another group are using this guy to hunt for parts?" Andrew wondered grimly, as Magistas could graft flesh and blood from a contractor-mage to another person, and thereby duplicate that power without making a contract with an angel or demon. They were known as faux-contractors. Andrew knew of this process from bitter experience. Many who underwent the process died horribly, as the stronger the power, the more likely it was that the new host would be rejected and eaten alive by the original donor's aura.

"The bodies of those other contractor-mages were later stolen from the police morgues, so it's likely," Alex answered, turning his laptop around so that Andrew could see the screen. It showed several photos of a dark-skinned Asian teenager, some depicting him fighting. "Jinhai Leawa, Taiwanese by birth, seventeen years old, currently living in Osaka, Japan."

"That's pretty young," Andrew remarked. "So how do they want me to handle this, dead or alive?" he asked, roughly scratching the side of his face. Inwardly hoping that it didn't require him to kill another kid. It had been five years since the war with Magistas, and in that time, Andrew had burned through much of his hatred, having killed most of their elite forces, along with several cities worth of people. He knew of course that Alex could read his mind, and awaited his response.

"Fortunately for you, the NPA wants us to arrest Jinhai in order to interrogate him about the source of his powers, and then imprison him for killing their operatives. However contractor-mages and faux-contractors are not easy to lock up, as you well know."

Andrew nodded. "I understand, so they want to make use of my unique abilities, so that he can be imprisoned long term. How much are they paying us?"

"Ten million yen," Alex replied, closing his laptop. Ten million yen was worth slightly less than a million dollars by the current exchange rates.

"Talk about cheap, but I suppose I haven't a choice since you've already accepted their request," Andrew muttered irritably, however he knew that the police had limited funds in their budgets which weren't already assigned for specific purposes.

"That's the spirit," Alex mockingly acknowledged, ignoring Andrew's tone of voice. "You can start first thing tomorrow morning; I've already booked you the plane ticket."

"I guess I'll go pack then," Andrew sighed.

"Andy, don't forget to bring a tooth brush like you did last time," Alex teased as Andrew left the lounge; Alex knew how much Andrew hated having his first name abbreviated.

"Stow it, Alex."

'This is a chance to confirm if Siegfried is involved again,' Alex thought, as his mind turned to less trivial matters.


"I'm not sure I can go through with this Daigo-kun, why must we use your sister in the ritual?" Reiko asked of her husband, her voice stressed and face fatigued.

"Because if we use someone else, we can't guarantee the results, you know that. I've worked hard to keep my sister from getting close to men so she remains in the state that we need, the presence of a blood related virgin is needed for the spell. Don't forget Reiko, the summoning will not kill her. Reina is simply the catalyst we need," he tried to assure her. Daigo's voice was hoarse, yet it carried the strength of authority and deeply entrenched belief.

"I know, but still..." she protested. Reiko knew that they had to do this for their future and safety, but to use a family member as a pawn for it, just seemed so wrong.

"Look I know how you feel, I really do – But if we don't summon Incubo before Siegfried finds us, then everything's over. Let's just get it over and done with while we can," he insisted, placing a hand on Reiko's shoulder to comfort her.

"Fine, but if anything happens to Reina-chan, I'll leave you, I promise you that!" Reiko declared, staring at him, her eyes resolved.

Taken aback by her sudden words, Daigo sighed in defeat. "Fine, then I have nothing to worry about, let's go." Leaving the backroom, they headed out onto the shop floor of their family owned bookstore. The shop was currently devoid of customers. Their shop consisted of two floors, with long, heavy bookcases running down in numerous columns. In some respects, it resembled a small town library. They soon found her, shelving new books at a swift pace. Natsume Reina was a tall, somewhat broad shouldered, yet slender girl, with long black hair, and faintly Eurasian features, their mother was from France. "Reina-chan, thanks for holding the fort while we were getting things sorted out back," Daigo said smoothly with a smile.

"No problem Nii-chan, I've nearly finished putting out the new stock," Reina said, smiling back as she continued with her work. Shadow Force had been one of new books that arrived, and was the newest installment in a series she particularly liked, Vampire Attack, she was looking forward to reading it on her next break.

"Good to hear, it'll get busy soon, so it's best to get these things done when we can," Reiko said, trying to keep her face stoic and failing to ignore the tight knot in her stomach, knowing what would happen next.

"Oh Reina, could you help me out the back real quick?" her brother asked casually. Reina stopped what she was doing, regarding him briefly, he didn't usually call her away mid-task. But she had no reason to be suspicious.

"Yeah, sure thing," she said, and after setting down a stack of novels, she followed him out into the stockroom. Without warning, something struck Reina heavily across the back of her head. She tumbled to the ground, her mind blank, and her eyes glazing over. Daigo crouched down beside his sister. Carefully he scooped her up in his arms. Reiko sadly regarded Reina's unconscious form.

"I've locked up the store, we won't be disturbed," she told him.

"Good, do you have the Grimoire?"

"Right here." Reiko pulled out a large, dusty book from behind a nearby stockroom shelf. It was bound in wrinkled, aged leather, and its cover was engraved with complex symbols and lines, which interconnected to form a magic circle. A duplicate circle had been painstakingly painted onto the floor of their stockroom using Daigo's blood, who had been stocking up over the last week via blood packs and storing them inside the fridge in their garage. The summoning required enough blood to be fatal, if drained all at once, that is. Thank you modern era. He gently laid Reina at the centre of the circle, being careful to avoid smearing the mostly dry blood.

"Then let's get started with the summoning ritual," Daigo declared, as light shone from his fingertips, while both the book and the blood circle began glowing with an eerie red glow.


CHAPTER END