UNSC Spirit of Fire here with Chapter 1 of Kampfer: The Journey! It's slightly longer, but this is where things start to get interesting. Enjoy!

Intro to Kampfer

May 9th, 2014

Phoenix, Arizona

"Finally, the weekend has arrived! Time to figure out how to use this freakin' bracelet!" I said to myself as I walked through my campus to the parking lot, my backpack slung over one shoulder. Fridays were half-days at my school, with release at 12:05 rather than 2:50, and it came as a relief to all.

"Hey, you! Red hair," a girl's voice called me from behind. I turn around. "Yeah, you!" She ran towards me. I watched her as she ran. She was quite pretty. Bleach blonde hair, a skirt that barely met the school's standard, shapely body, rather well-endowed…

Blue bracelet. A Kampfer? Shit. I act nonchalant as I walk toward her, meeting her as she came to a stop.

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Virgil. And you are…?" I say politely as I offer her my dominant right hand.

"Kyra. I need to talk to you about something…" she trailed off.

"What's on your mind, Kyra?"

"Well, you live alone, right?" she asked, blushing slightly at the question.

"Yes, why?"

"Could I maybe pass the afternoon with you there? I'll explain on the ride over."

"Now hold on, Kyra. I just met you, I don't know you, and you-" I was cut off by her suddenly wrapping her arms around me, her head buried in my chest. I'm taken aback, my hands held above my shoulders in shock. "Hey, Kyra, this is a little overboard, don't you think?"

"Please? I promise I'll be good!" she said cutely. I loosen up a bit.

"It's not a matter of good or not. Why are you so intent to get to my house?" I ask.

"Because you have that nice house near a private park, and I think it'd be a good place to talk."

"You're being very vague."

"My friends will meet us there. We just want to talk to you. That's all," she pushed against me harder, her whole body against mine. I tighten back up. "But it's too far for me to walk, and taking the bus is scary, so I thought you could drive me. After we talk, you won't have to do anything else with me." She started to shake, and I was barely keeping it together, starting to blush a little.

"Alright, I'll drive you. Could you let go of me now?" I asked.

"Yay!" she jumped away, a triumphant smile on her face.

Jesus Christ…. I thought.

"Follow me. My car's this way." I said.

"Ok!" she bounced along off to my side, still smiling. We arrive at my car, and she finally stops bouncing.

"Nice ride!" she said cheerfully.

"Thanks," I say as I open the trunk. "The door's open. Hop in."

As I take my seat behind the wheel, she's looking intently at the dashboard and the control panel by my right leg.

"You drive a stick?" she asks excitedly.

"I do."

"Oooo, you must be good with your hands."

"You may want to buckle up." I said as we pulled up to the intersection from our school to the street and waited for a chance to turn in.

"Why's that?" she asked defiantly.

"Because I drive a little…crazy."

"Oh please, you think I've not driven in-" The sound of my engine revving cuts her off as we snap around the turn into the street, hitting 25 MPH by the end of the turn. I hear her shriek as the needle nears 50 not 2 seconds after the turn, and I swap from second to fourth gear and slow down to 40.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. This little rally car has some serious punch."

"Yeah…" she stammered, slowly reaching for her seat belt and locking herself to the chair.

I pulled the car into the garage and turned it off as we got out. I walked to the trunk and grabbed my things before leading her inside.

"Thanks…for the…ride." She said, barely putting the words together.

"From the looks of it, you'd rather have taken the bus."

"No, that was actually a lot of fun. Just….different. No one's made my heart beat that fast before," she clung to my arm. "The girl who gets to be with you will have the best relationship ever!"

"You grab a lot, huh?"

"Just to guys I think are cute. Why, is it a problem?" she looks at me and smiles.

I honestly can't say no, considering… I thought. I swallow nervously, which makes her giggle as she lets go.

"When will you friends be at the park?" I ask as I set my bag down by my desk. She sits on my bed, smiling.

"After nightfall." She said nonchalantly.

"After….nightfall?" I stammer back. Her smile gets wider.

"Mhmm!"

"Ah. Alright. In that case, I have a question for you."

"Yes?" she bats her eye lashes at me.

"The bracelet on your wrist. You're a Kampfer, aren't you?" her demeanor changes from bubbly to serious instantly.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, I am too. But I'm Green. You're Blue. Is that what you and your friends want to talk about?"

"Yes, and a few other things. But I'll let Linda handle that part of the talk. How'd you come by a Green bracelet?" she asked.

"No idea. I saw 2 girls fighting, a saber against a pistol, one got killed, the survivor charged me, and I killed the survivor. Next thing I know I wake up with this." I respond. Not the whole truth, but still the truth.

"The girl with the pistol was my younger sister, Amy. That White bitch targeted her, waited for her to go off on her own, and went after her."

"Did Amy make it?"

"No." her voice started to shake as she looked at the floor.

"Kyra, I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" A tear fell to the ground. "It wasn't your fault. I let her run off. If I hadn't done that, she'd still be alive, or at least we'd both be dead. Why did I let her go?" Her hands flew to her face as she began to sob. I looked on, somewhat lost on how to respond.

Staring never helped a thing. I thought.

I got up, walked to my bed, and sat down next to her, an arm around her shoulder. She started to cry, leaning against me.

"You'll be alright." I said calmly.

"How do you know? You don't know what it's like to lose someone important to you!" This comment strikes me, and for the first time in ages, I looked at the double picture frame on my desk, inside of which rests a picture of my parents, and another picture of my uncle and his girlfriend.

"I do. While it's not the same situation, I have been where you are. But I realized that I still lived, and so I vowed to live my life for them. That's how I know you'll be ok," I say as I look back down at her and she pulls her gaze up to me. "Because you'll come to do the same." At this, she cries all the harder, clinging to my arm in her sadness.

It's been a long time since I've been there, but I'll never forget it. Because it made me who I am. The memory of something the Moderator said came to me: "Stand up and fight." I smile, sitting there while Kyra cried on my arm.


I finished my homework as the dying afternoon sun filtered through the blinds on the window my desk sat under. Finally free, I leaned back in my chair, stretching my shoulders before looking over the sleeping Kyra on my bed.

She'll be there a while. Perhaps I should let her be. I stood and quietly left, shutting the door behind me before walking a short distance down the hall to another room. The inside had a tiled floor and uneven foam panels all over the walls, door, and ceiling for sound-proofing. There were no windows, and nothing was on the floor except 2 speaker, an 8-speaker fridge for bass and another 12-speaker fridge for guitar, a number of effect pedals on a board, a Line 6 POD HD 500 channel board, and a guitar rack, upon which sat 5 guitars in all, 2 electric basses and 3 electric guitars. Next to the rack was a single guitar stand with a 12-string electric acoustic guitar.

I closed the door behind me and walked over to the acoustic, pulled the strap over my shoulder, and grabbed a pick from atop an amp. My eyes closed for a few seconds as I cleared my head, and I began to play, the guitar vibrating and reverberating the sound, creating a grand, sonorous tone that filled me with focus and peace. At some point I had opened my eyes, but I did not notice when it happened, such was the trance I was in, losing myself in the music. The world around me stopped existing, and only three things mattered: myself, the guitar, and the sounds we made. Eventually, the song came to a close, the pick in my hand strumming the final chord.

I looked up in complete surprise when I heard hands clapping and saw Kyra standing by the door. She must've come in while I was playing.

"That was beautiful." She said, enchantment in her voice.

"Thanks." I say sheepishly, not used to people hearing or complimenting on my playing.

"What's that song called?"

"I made it up. It has no name."

"You improvised that?" she asked in shock. I nodded yes and turned around to put the guitar back on its stand, and the pick back in its holster. I heard giggling from behind me.

"What?" I ask as I turn around.

"The girl that ends up with you will have the best life ever." She smiled at me, and I blushed like hell and looked at the floor. "Wanna go to the park? My friends should be there soon."

"I thought you said they'd be there after nightfall." I said, confused.

"The sun's almost down. Nightfall is upon us. Let's go!" she cutely said.

"Man, time flies. Alright, let's go." I responded. I take the lead down the hall and turn to enter my room.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"I've gotta get something. One sec." I walk over to the book shelf and grab the Remington again.

This knife saved my ass. You're my default, my fine friend. I thought. I quickly lock it to my hip, move back into the hall, and lead her out the back door to the fence, which I thoughtlessly and effortlessly hopped.

"Um…" I heard from behind me.

"What's up?" I said as I turned around.

"Well, my skirt is gonna be what's up if I try to hop this…" she said nervously.

I don't think I'd mind TOO much if that happened, but she does have a point.

"Don't you have shorts on underneath?" I asked, instantly feeling stupid for asking, the look she gave me not helping.

"You think a playful, sexy girl like me has time for shorts?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Sorry. Let's see here…" I look up and down the fence for a gate, but since the park is private property, there wasn't one. I look out into the park, checking to ensure its emptiness. "There's no one out here. And I won't look."

"Alright, I suppose I have no choice. If I catch you, I'll kill you." She stated.

"I got it." I said as I turned to face the park, watching intently for activity. I feel a tugging at my left shirt sleeve, and look to find Kyra standing there grinning.

"That was fast." I said.

"And?"

"That's it. You were fast." She looks at me in a way that makes me brace for a hit.

"How would you know? Did you try to look?"

"No! No, no, no I was watching the park, I promise! I don't want to get slapped!" I take a step back. She just giggles at me and goes bouncing off into the park. Having narrowly avoided death (again), I sigh and follow her.

The sun is peaking out the horizon now, and the sky is red with its dying light. The greenery of the grass and trees and the rather attractive girl walking ahead of me completes the image nicely. Something catches her attention, and I heard her gasp in excitement as she went running off behind a tree to her left, squealing with delight. I run after her and round the tree myself and my eyes took in the sight of a few large towels on the ground, some food scattered around, and 4 other girls, 1 with a Blue bracelet, and 3 with Red. Kyra was busy hugging an older woman, the other Blue Kampfer – a tall, simply gorgeous woman in a semi-classy short dress with dark hair and bright eyes – who held her back with a motherly smile upon her face.

"Is that him?" one of the Reds, a charming red-haired girl, asked.

"No, he's just some guy. Of course that's him!" another Red lightly shoved the first playfully. I suddenly found the other Blue woman standing in front of me, her face rather close to mine. I tighten up and take step back.

"Hello, Virgil. My name is Linda. It's so nice to meet you," She says lightly as she smiles that warm smile and holds out her hand, which I delicately shake. "I'm stronger than that, you know."

"I'd hate to harm such a beautiful hand." I responded. She looks over at Kyra, who blushes a bit.

"You spent the whole afternoon with this guy? And you didn't do anything? Bad girl," She looks back at me, pats my hand, and slides away to take a seat on the towel. "Why don't you join us, Virgil? The food is good, and you'll get 5 girls to yourself. Not bad, eh?" She teases. I blush slightly as I walk over and take a seat.

"I hate to ask, but how do you know about me?" I ask Linda.

"Amy, the girl you saw last night, saw you kill that White Kampfer. Just after you left, I found her lying there, and she started moaning about a, 'Mark Virgil Holiday' and how important you were. Kyra goes to the same school, and so recognized the name and offered to find you. I'm Elise, by the way." The third Red Kampfer spoke. The black-haired, dark-eyed girl looked short for an American, though she was just as captivating.

"I see," I glanced over at Kyra, who looked visibly saddened at the mention of her sister. "So, what's the deal? What do you need from me?"

"As you might've guessed, we've stopped fighting each other and have become quite close. However, these White Kampfer which have only recently begun to show up are incredibly strong, and our combined efforts barely put up a fight. Your combat skills are allegedly quite high. We could use your help." Linda said.

"You have my full cooperation. Only one problem." I said. Linda raised an eyebrow at me.

"What's that? You want a reward for helping…?" she winked, a playful smile on her face.

"Eh, no not a reward…" I stammered.

"Oh?"

"No, ma'am. The world of the Kampfers is new to me. To be honest, I don't know how much help I could be to you."

"What do you mean? You killed a White Schwert-type Kampfer on your own using just a knife. You could be of great help to us."

"Schwert-type?" I asked, cocking my head. "That's German for sword type. Are there other types? And are all the names in German?"

"Yes to all. There are 3 types of Kampfer: Schwert, or sword, Gewehr, or rifle/firearm, and Zauber, or magic."

"Aha. Got it. What type are you, Linda?"

"I'm a Zauber-type, as is Kyra here. Elise and Katie are Gewehr-types, Hannah is a Schwert-type." She pointed to each girl as she mentioned them.

"And what am I?"

"You don't know?"

"Nope."

"Well then, let's find out. You seem good with knives; perhaps Hannah can take a few swings at you and see what happens."

"Any pointers?" I asked as I stood up with the second Red Kampfer, Hannah.

"Focus on the fight." Linda winked and indicated an area where Hannah and I could spar. We walked over and stood apart. Hannah's little Asian frame began to glow Red, and when the glow dissipated, her short, black hair was incredibly long, her eyes had changed from brown to gray, and her slender body took on a more athletic build. Something began to form in the air in front of her, and when she reached out to grab it, it turned into a dagger with a brown leather-wrapped handle, a short cross-guard, and a long double-edged blade that smoothly came down to a point. She flicked it at me, holding it forehand.

"You ready?" Her voice had gone from that of a playful student to that of a mature woman. In response, I pulled my knife, held backhand, and took a fighting stance, with the pommel by my face, angled downwards, and my free hand just above my sternum, while my legs bent and my body leaned forward over my right leg.

"Come at me."