A/N: You guys have no idea how excited I am for this story. Everyday I've had work since I posted the prologue, I've brought in my Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Good versus Evil notebook and I've written down ideas, scenes, characteristics, etc. The only other story I've ever done that with is my Kingdom Hearts story that isn't even written up or close to being posted, so you can imagine all of the work I'm pouring into this. I hope that you all enjoy it even more now knowing that I'm taking a lot of care on how I want to go about writing this. Also, the Steve in this story is Steve Austin. I just thought I'd make that official, but I'm sure some of you have probably already figured that out. Anyway, here's the first chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! R&R.

Chapter One: Captured

"How long until we reach the nearest town?"

It had been four days since the cougar incident, as John called it, and they were currently making their way through Taback forest. At least, that's what Steve called it, so that must be its name. Of course, something like that wasn't all that important, but what if John ever needed to consult a map? Steve was the one who took care of the maps and directions, but he wasn't going to be around forever. Hell, John didn't even know what they were searching for, or if they were even searching for something. All that he knew was that, since before he could even remember, he had been in Steve's care and he trusted the man with his life and that meant trusting his directions. If Steve didn't think it was important enough for him to know what they were looking for, then John had no right to complain about it.

"We should be arriving there before the day ends."

"And what kind of town is it exactly? Is it like that one town we stayed at where everything was made of wood and stuff?"

Steve chuckled at John's natural curiosity. Outside of that town that they once stayed at, all John really knew was the outdoors. The older man did his best to keep the blonde away from society, although he knew that, someday, John would encounter his own kind. But considering the state of things, taking John into a town too often would be bad. This situation, however, was dire and he needed to show John, to teach him, before it was too late. There was so much that John didn't know yet, about his kind, about the world in general; hell, John didn't even know that he wasn't human. He had to be eased into these things; spilling it on him all at once could be devastating.

"No, it's nothing like Wayward is. The town we're heading to is much larger and the buildings are made of steel. It took the citizens a long time to construct it and since it's a densely populated area, we have to be careful."

"But I thought you said that not many towns were made of such material. That a long time ago there was a massive storm that destroyed a lot of life on the planet."

"I did say that, but you forget that the survivors of that storm were knowledgeable people; they knew how to construct, how to lead, how to create. One of the things that that storm succeeded in was installing fear into people and that's why not many towns are made of steel. The survivors knew how to reestablish life as they knew it to an extent and they documented all that they knew. The rest they left to us. Now, shut the hell up and keep walking or we'll never reach Maynard in time."

Sighing, John continued his march onward, mulling everything Steve had just told him in his head. Years ago, Steve had told him about the Earth's rage and the storm that created the world they knew today. He had a lot of questions that, for some reason, Steve couldn't answer, but that never really bothered him too much. And now they were headed to a town that was rare, a town that was made of steel and metal and concrete, one of the few towns on the planet to be made of such things. John wondered what it'd look like, how it'd smell, what he'd seen, and what he'd feel once he got there. Looking down at his own appearance, he frowned slightly. Ever since he could remember, Steve had forced them to move around to the various forests and wildernesses that the world contained. It wasn't often that he got to sleep in an actual bed and, in all honesty, he preferred his sleeping bag for it was one of many things that he had become accustomed to.

So deep in thought was he that he didn't even notice that Steve had stopped walking and, as a result, he bumped into the older man. Muttering a small sorry, he walked around to Steve's side, looking up at the man, a question about to fall from his lips. It stopped, however, when he saw the look of panic, worry, and rage that had plastered itself on his friend's face. John wasn't sure if he should speak or not because it looked as though Steve was concentrating, but John's senses were sharper than his, so why not just ask John to see if anything was up. Before John could do it himself, Steve had pushed his away from his side and was yelling at him.

"John! Run! Get away from here!"

"What? Steve, what the hell are you talking about? Run where?"

"Toward Maynard. I'll follow you! Just run God damn it!"

Without a second thought, John tore off from his stop and bolted dead ahead. Vaguely, he could hear Steve's own fast footsteps following his and panic seeped into his being. Why had Steve yelled at him like that? What was going on? Were they being chased? And, if so, who, or what, was chasing them? All too soon John received his answers because from out of nowhere he was tackled and sent on the ground, being pinned by a heavy body above his own. Struggling, he tried to escaped but found it impossible for the person on top of him had cuffed his wrists behind his back and was forcing him to stand up. Once he had a good view of what was going on, John saw that both Steve and himself were surrounded by a dozen men wearing nothing but black with scarves wrapped around their heads hiding a majority of their hair and face. All that he could see were the eyes save for one person, who was grinning wickedly at John, nodding in triumph, his yellow teeth showing. Just looking at the man made John's stomach churn and he tried to back away, but found that he was being physically restrained by someone else as well as being cuffed.

"Who are you people?"

"Stalkers!" Steve's voice called out and John looked to his left only to see his friend restrained in the same way he was. There was a cut above his left eye and blood poured down Steve's face, however it didn't look life threatening.

"Stalkers?"

"Yes. They hunt bounties for profit, bringing them in dead or alive."

"That's enough from you, baldy." The Stalker whose face was showing punched Steve, causing him to stumbled back a bit before he returned his intense gaze back to John.

"I've been looking for you for quite some time."

"Why? What have I done to be wanted? I've committed no crime!"

"You're very life is a crime! My boss has been searching for you and your kind for many years, and now that I have you, I'm sure he'll be more than pleased. Especially considered what exactly you are." John's blue eyes narrowed; nothing the Stalker was saying made any sense to him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, boys. We're going home."

Jerking forward, John was led by the two Stalkers restraining him as they followed their leader and the others back from whence they came. Steve was still stumbling and it took him a few minutes to recover from the punch. John wished that he could be up and beside the old man, but he was a few feet behind, following the rest of them. They continued marching towards the Stalkers' home, confusion and fear spreading throughout John's body, not knowing exactly what to think or do. There had to be a way out of this…There just had to be. On they walked, not stopping, not talking, just walking. John didn't know how much time had passed, though it felt like forever, and his wrists were starting to hurt. Again, the endless questions popped into his head.

Who were these Stalkers? Why were they after John? Hell, why was there even a bounty on John? He hadn't done anything illegal or criminal as far as he knew and Steve was the only person he had ever known so he couldn't have wronged anyone. And yet, someone knew of him and had been wronged in some way by him, and now they wanted him, dead or alive. A shiver ran down his spine; this was all so damn confusing! It frustrated him to no end, and all he wanted to do was run away from these people and go…somewhere. Anywhere, as long as it was away from them.

Then, from out of nowhere, one of the Stalkers restraining him loosened his grip. Shocked and nervous, John looked over his shoulder at the fallen man to see an arrow sticking out of his heart, blood slowly dripping from it. He had no time to think about it for long because the second Stalker that was restraining him met the same fate as his friend and panic erupted over the group. While the two restraining Steve backed away from the group, the rest of them drew their own weapons: knives, swords, bows and quivers. They were under attack and their assailants were nowhere to be seen. To John's right a blur flew down from the treetops and landed on one of the Stalkers, killing him instantly due to his head colliding with a rock rather harshly. Another blur came swooping down and right before John's eyes a fight broke out. It was a seven on two battle, but the two, a tall raven haired man and a shorter blonde man, were winning. The Stalker leader ordered the two who were restraining Steve to assist them, but they too were easily defeated and put to rest. Armed with only swords and their bare hands, the two fought on until only the leader was left. With one look, the blonde nodded towards Steve and, obeying the silent order, the raven haired man went to his aid and released him. After Steve was freed, the mysterious man approached John, his green eyes connecting with John's blue.

"Who… Who are you?"

"A friend. I'm here to help you John." John shivered at the accent, but was pleased when he felt his wrists being freed. Once they were, he ran over to Steve to check on his friend. Crouching down, John watched along with Steve as the shorter blonde fought the Stalker leader and won, slashing his throat and grimacing as the body fell onto the ground.

"That…was annoying. You wouldn't believe how annoying these fuckers are. You'd think that they'd learn, all things considered, but no, they don't."

"Who are you?" John's voice rang out strong and true and caught the blonde's attention. With a smirk he stretched, cracking his spine while his friend stood beside him, his pants slowing down as he calmed himself.

"I, my friend, am Chris Jericho. And this young..uh, 'chap' is Wade Barrett."

"Chris, Wade! What are you two doing here? I thought I told you not to follow us anymore?" A look of mock hurt and shock appeared on Chris' face and he walked over to Steve holding out a hand to help him up. Steve took the hand and grunted as he lifted himself up off of the forest floor.

"We weren't following you… For a while. But Wade knew that something was going on yesterday afternoon and we ran like hell to catch up to you guys."

"I forgot that Wade's senses were stronger than John's… Sorry. But now that you've killed these fools, the rest of their clan will be after us! Did you ever stop to think of that?" At Steve's tone and raised voice, Chris flinched and frowned, realized spreading across his face.

"No… I didn't think about that. Shit. And we're near their home, so they probably already know-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Chris was struck in the arm with an arrow and he roared, grasping the wound, glaring off in the direct that the Stalkers had been walking in. Countless figures were fast approaching them, armed and angry and hell bent on revenge. Steve growled and pushed Wade and John in the opposite direction, shouting at them as he drew his own weapon.

"Shit! Well boys, looks like our introductions are over. Wade, take John and lead him to Maynard; you know exactly where he needs to go! Move it!" With a stiff nod, Wade grabbed John by the arm and led them away from Steve and Chris.

"This'll be a bit uncomfortable, but given our current circumstance, we need to move fast. Just hold onto me and you won't be to overexert yourself."

John was confused, but before he could ask what Wade meant, he was lurked forward and was running faster than he had ever ran before. Everything around him was a blur; everything was green and brown and undefined and John just wanted to know what the hell was going on. His hand held onto Wade's tightly, fearing what might happen if he let go. As he looked down at their joined hands he realized that Wade was making them run fast, faster than John had ever run before. It frightened him; there was no way a normal human being should be able to run so fast. What the hell was going on? Too much had happened over a short period of time and running as fast as they were didn't make processing it any easier.

Expertly, Wade dodged trees, bushed, boulders, and anything else that got in his way. Such skill and yet the raven haired man made it all look so easy, it astounded John and he felt a little envious of the man. Some of Wade's talent must have seeped into him as well though because John was dodging just as expertly even though he knew damn well that, had this been one of Steve's training exercises, he wouldn't be dodging anything like he was doing currently. They had been running so fast that the only sounds John heard now were pants and grunts and the scenery passing by quickly. He had no idea how long they had been running, but John knew that it must've been for at least fifteen minutes if not more and he was thankful, for once, that he didn't tired out easily.

It wasn't too long before Wade slowed down and then stopped entirely, looking around and listening carefully for sounds of approaching footsteps. John listened as well and was glad to find that the only sounds he heard came from the wildlife that resided in the forest. Good, that meant that those Stalkers weren't close by…for now. But what about Steve and that other guy, Chris? Were they okay? Did the Stalkers capture them? As if he were reading John's mind, Wade spoke up his green eyes locking with John's blue ones before he looked away quickly.

"They'll be fine. Steve and Chris have known each other for a long time, longer than I've know Chris. If anyone should be afraid, it's the Stalkers."

John nodded and leaned against a nearby tree. Wade paced around for a spell, listening and looking about before he nodded to himself and motioned for John to follow him. Although he didn't know the other man, the blonde followed him nonetheless, feeling safe with him, safe enough to trust him not to kill him anyway.

"Considering the Stalkers interruption, it'll take another day to reach Maynard. Don't worry; I'm a skilled fighter both with my weapons and with my bare hands. Besides, judging from the look of you and how Steve is, I'll bet that he's trained you a bit on combat." John nodded.

"Yeah, he's made me do exercises and stuff. I never really understood why though."

"To hone your skills of course. John…what all has Steve told you?" Slightly puzzled by Wade's question, John looked up at him before returning his gaze forward as they continued walking.

"Well, Steve told me about how the Earth created a massive storm that destroyed a lot of life. He told me that there are very few towns made of steel. He taught me how to hunt, cook, forage, and survive off the land. And, according to him as well as my own observations, I've got good senses, better than his in fact. I've been with the guy ever since before I could remember. I have no idea who I was before that though, and I've never really asked him about it. Why do you ask?"

"…Only curious is all. I need to know where you stand on everything. John, it's just you and me now, and we've got to work together if we're going to avoid those Stalkers and find out what Steve wanted to teach you. I know for a fact that he had other plans in mind for you and I know that all of those plans will be revealed once we get to Maynard. All of your questions, and believe me, I know you have questions, will be answered there as well. For the time being, our arriving at our destination is of utmost importance."

Wade stopped walking and turned to face John who, in turn though a bit reluctantly, turned to face the raven haired man as well. Staring into John's bright blue eyes, Wade saw fear, uncertainty, hesitation, and confusion. Such a look made Wade frown; he hated seeing that look on John's face, but he knew that he had to focus on the mission and bringing John to Maynard.

"John, I understand that everything that just happened to you is hard to comprehend. Within no time at all, you've been kidnapped and separated from the only person you've known. But please trust me. We're more alike than you know John, and I promise that we'll get through this together. You're not alone; even if Steve is gone, I'm here and I'm your friend. Just…trust me."

Looking into Wade's green eyes, John saw nothing but honesty and truth and he knew that, regardless of what his mind told him, he had trusted him the moment he met him. Biting his lower lip, John nodded, flashing the taller man a brief smile before speaking.

"I trust you Wade. Really, I do." Wade smiled and nodded.

"Good. Now, let us be on our way, shall we?"

And together, they continued walking through Taback Forest, heading towards the one place that would give them the answers to many questions: Maynard.