The only thing Light could comprehend at the moment was pain. Sharp, throbbing pain.

He knew someone was talking to him, but he couldn't tell who; the blow to the back of his head still had his ears ringing, and he hadn't bothered to open his eyes, for fear of any light exacerbating his pain further.

"Light, god dammit, wake up," a female voice called out from just above him. He was aware that he was being shaken now. "We need to get out of here, now!"

Light cracked his eyes open slowly, biting back the pain that his friend was causing with her jostling. "Natalie… stop shakin' me…"

"Not 'till you get up," she exclaimed, staring at him with a an angry slash annoyed slash terrified expression.

"Can't," he muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Leg's broke." Natalie groaned in exasperation, and Light chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. Kinda fell and landed wrong."

"Of course you did," she said tersely, holding her hand out. A soft blue aura extended from her hand towards his legs, seeming to be looking for the injury. "Oh, of course it was the femur. Naturally."

"No need to sound so annoyed, Nat," he groaned, feeling his friends telekinesis pull at his leg slightly.

She ignored him, her face screwed up in concentration. "This is gonna hurt. A lot," she said, moving one of her fingers. With that little action, Light's world became pain as his femur was readjusted.

Light couldn't help but let out a very loud spout of quite colorful language, silently praying that the pain would be enough for him to black out. He wasn't as lucky, of course.

Natalie winced, lifting Light up a few inches with her right hand, her blue telekinetic aura taking care to keep his leg steady, while her left made a sort of slow swiping motion, a more solid blue concave platform forming underneath him.

It took a couple of minutes for Light's breathing to return to normal, and he glared at Natalie. "I do hope you'll warn me next time you do that..."

"Well, here's to hoping I won't have to," she retorted, standing up, the platform moving along with her. She smirked at Light's yelp of surprise, making sure that he couldn't see it. "Anyways, we need to get the hell out of here. There was a giant explosion in the air a few minutes ago."

Light nodded, looking around at the factory-turned-laboratory. There was no one else around; and judging from the relative silence around them, the firefight outside had stopped. "Let's get back home for now. I gotta splint my damn leg."

She started walking, her arm kept outstretched to keep ahold of the platform she had created. "You gonna be able to drive?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

He gave her a thoughtful look. "Should be. Might need your help t'keep my leg steady, though."

She rolled her eyes, starting into a slow jog. "That won't be an issue. Just don't push yourself like you normally do."

Light chuckled, laying his head against the blue platform. "I never do."

"Sure, you don't." The sarcasm was almost tangible. She looked up to the sky as they reached Light's motorcycle, looking up at where the bomb had exploded. There were no signs that something had happened, but she knew otherwise. Something was off with the air now, as if it were slightly thicker.

She helped Light get onto his bike, making sure to not stress his leg any more than it already was. She got on after he was made comfortable, using her telekinesis to keep his leg steady as he took off down the gravel road back to the city.

It was nearly three in the morning when Light pulled into the garage. To his embarrassment, he had to ask Natalie to help him to his room. She did, but with no small amount of poking fun at the teen's expense. She was silent as she took care of his leg, administering the splint as if she'd done it a thousand times.

She gave his bed a light pat. "Right. Hopefully that heals soon." She glared at Light. "Don't do anything to exacerbate it, eh?"

"Exacerbate?" Light chuckled, shaking his head. "Since when do you use words like 'exacerbate'?"

"Since one of us has to be the brains," she retorted quickly. "You're the brawn, it seems, so that job's mine."

"Pfft, as if," Light muttered softly, then louder. "It's late, y'should get some rest."

"Will you be okay if I leave you?" Natalie asked, walking over to the window and opening it. She gave a little motion with her hands, another solidified blue aura forming between their houses.

"I should be alright. Jus' get some sleep, would you?"

She waved him off, climbing out of the window onto her platform. Turning around, she gave a little wave to Light, closed his window, and left.

Light sighed, his upper body flopping onto his bed. "Where the hell did we go wrong?" he asked himself, closing his eyes.

-Asgard: 2 ½ years earlier-

-Riven-

Riven was in a state of panic. A massive earthquake struck the town an hour ago, which had activated a fault line that hadn't had any activity for hundreds of years.

Now, there was a giant gorge in the middle of the city, and mayhem on the streets. Police were already overwhelmed, as the station was now at the bottom of a three-mile deep chasm, along with most of the officers.

Outside help had been called in, in the form of a semi-environmentalist group called Faro's Call. At almost quarter of a million strong, the group, led by a man named Cauldur Vendetta, was slowly pushing back the groups of rioters and malcontents while administering help to the injured.

The man himself was helping just as much as he was giving orders, if not more so. He and a few of his men had just finished rescuing a pair of teens from the wreckage of a house on the border of the gorge shortly before the land gave out.

The boy awoke first, shaking his head.

"Are you alright, kid?" Cauldur asked, the worry clearly evident in his voice. He was answered with a nod, the boy looking to his friend.

"Is… Is she alright?" he asked quietly. "When the house started shaking, I pushed her down and pulled the table over us."

Cauldur looked to his men, one of them giving him a nod. "Be glad you've got quick reflexes; she'll be alright." He stood up, holding out a hand to the teen. "What's your name, kid?"

"Light," he answered, taking Cauldur's hand and allowing himself to be lifted up. "What about yours?"

"Cauldur Vendetta, leader of Faro's Call," he stated, with no small amount of gloating. He chuckled as Light looked up to him with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, couldn't help myself." He turned around, clapping his hands once. "In any case, when your girlfriend there comes to, what say you two help out a bit? You two are some of the luckier ones."

"She's not my girlfriend, and I'd like to think it wasn't luck, but good reflexes on both our parts," Light replied quietly. Cauldur turned back to him.

"Whatcha mean, kid?"

"Nat is a flyrokinetic. Just before the house started caving in, she put up a shield around us. It must've taken a lot out of her, though; she's never been too good with that ability."

Cauldur was even more interested now. "Oh, she has kinetic abilities? How exquisite."

Light looked at him as if he was crazy again. "We both do, though mine are much less helpful in a pinch."

Cauldur put his hand on Light's shoulder. "Follow me, kid. I wanna talk to you."

"But what abou-"

"Your friend will be taken to the medical tent. She'll be okay," Cauldur said, his gravelly voice calm and comforting.

Light allowed himself to be steered to the largest of eleven tents set up at the entrance to the city. It was surprisingly full of technology and people inside. "What is this?" he asked, looking around in awe.

"Faro's Call's mobile base-of-operations," Cauldur quickly replied, as if he had received the question thousands of times before. He led the teen to a small desk in one of the corners of the tent, taking a seat behind it and motioning for Light to sit in the one across from him.

He did, but it didn't stop him from looking around.

"I'll cut right to the chase, Light," Cauldur started, and the teen looked directly at him for the first time since entering the tent. "What are your abilities; yours and your friend's."

Light squinted his eyes at the man. "Is there any reason for me to tell you?"

Cauldur chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "I suppose not, though you've already told me of your girlfriend's ability. Besides, I thought I'd offer my help; you two have issues controlling your powers, right?"

Light looked down. "I do. Natalie's a natural with hers."

"I can help with that, Light. Faro's Call has people that can help you learn how to control your powers and use them to their maximum potential."

Light looked up at him skeptically. "Even naturally destructive powers, like fire and electricity?"

Cauldur nodded. "We have many talented pyrokinetics and electrokinetics."

Light mulled over the option for a few minutes before coming to a conclusion. "I'll join, but I don't want Nat to know."

"Why not?"

Light sighed and looked to the ground. "I just don't, okay?"

The older man chuckled and stood up, extending a hand over the desk. "Alright. She won't know."

Light looked up at him, standing up and taking his hand, shaking firmly. "Thank you, Cauldur."

-One year, three months later-

-Two months after Malefor's death-

-Daylight Automotive; 12:29 AM-

"Oi, Light! Wait up!" a voice called from behind him. Light turned around, smiling as his friend, Reinhardt, jogged up to him, panting softly. "Jesus, man… You deaf or somethin'?"

Reinhardt was an eighteen year old cryokineticist that Light had become great friends with during his time with Faro's Call. Though young, the man did have a fair few extra pounds on him, no doubt due to the amount of sweets he consumed.

Light chuckled at him. "What's up, Reinhardt? Usually you only run when there's donuts or something involved."

"Yeah, yeah. Fuck you too, man," Reinhardt muttered under his breath. "Remind me to freeze your toes next time I see you."

"You know damn well that your ice doesn't affect me, just as my fire does jack all to you."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed, waving it off. "Anyway, is there somethin' up with Cauldur? The missions the past few months have been getting a little less… helpful."

Light nodded. "Yeah, so I've noticed. He's been keeping to himself a lot more, too."

"He's starting to be a far cry from the self-proclaimed 'Hero of Riven', isn't he? You know, the bombastic, ever-present helpful asshole he used t'be?"

"He wasn't an asshole," Light said, instinctively defending the man who had turned his life around. What Reinhardt was saying was true, though. The previous few missions have been almost heinous. Theft of scientific equipment, gun cartels, general lawlessness. Nothing like what Faro's Call was when Light first joined. Back then, everybody was helpful; no one was any kind of selfish. These past few months, things have gone a bit downhill.

"I'll go talk to him, Rein," he said, mind off in thought, now. "See you at school, tomorrow."

Reinhardt replied, but Light didn't hear him. His mind was going through all the things that had been uncharacteristic of his friend, especially the seclusion. Cauldur was everything but a recluse.

He made his way to Cauldur's office, not hearing the voices coming from the room until he knocked on the door, the voices falling silent.

"Who is it?" Cauldur asked angrily. Another odd thing; he never got mad. Terse, yes, but never mad.

"It's Light. Can I come in?" Cauldur made a few hushed noises before opening the door, his hair looking messier than ever, his eyes sunken. "Sorry, was I, uh, interrupting something?"

Cauldur shook his head, then dragged Light into the room by his arm. " Actually, perfect timing, you have. You can be stealthy, right?" Light nodded, looking at the man warily. "Good. Meet me at the garage at twenty-one-hundred hours. No questions." He pushed the teen out of the room, slamming the door closed, leaving Light more confused than ever.

Light left his quarters later that night, still deep in thought as he made his way to the garage. Cauldur had been acting odd, much more so than he normally was. He was usually energetic and slightly eccentric, but now he kinda scared Light.

He sipped into the garage with almost a full three minutes to spare. Turning on the light, he sighed as he saw his yellow and blue racing motorcycle. Cauldur had taught him how to drive, and had even gifted his own motorcycle to Light.

The teen was jerked out of his thoughts by the door he had just entered coming open with a loud bang! Cauldur stepped through, not bothering to close the door behind him as he walked to his own vehicle, a black 1970 Mustang with a vivid blue jagged stripe on each side.

He got in the car, chuckling to himself as he started it, the muscle cars signature engine revving to life. He called over to Light, "You gonna ride with me or follow?"

Light answered by straddling his bike and turning the ignition, the low hum of its electric engine completely drowned out by the classic car. Cauldur reached up to his dashboard and tapped a button, the garage door opening slowly as two fog machines whirred and a fan into action, creating a somewhat atmospheric effect.

"Dammit, Cauldur, you've been watching too many old racing movies!" Light yelled at him, but he was drowned out by the loud rev of the engine. He glared at Cauldur and could see him laughing before he pulled out of the garage. Light followed, his motorcycle silent compared to the great beast his boss was in.

They drove for about an hour, following the back roads and unused service roads that the earthquake last year made useless. Cauldur pulled to the side, rolling down his window and motioning for Light to pull up to the side.

"What's goin' on?"

His boss reached out of the window, a small silenced pistol in his hand. "Take it and follow my lead; no questions. Got it?"

Light nodded, taking the pistol and giving it a quick routine check before stuffing it into his beltline. Cauldur rolled up his window, his engine roaring again as he continued driving. It took the better part of another hour for them to reach Riven, due to having to circumvent the newly formed gorge.

Cauldur slowed as they entered the city, his engine purring softly. Two streets, and a left, then another five streets, and two rights, and they were at their destination. Cauldur got out of his car, stopping long enough to grab his own pistol and two cloth masks.

Light was looking up at the house, certain it was familiar, though it could have just been the darkness of night messing with him. He caught the mask Cauldur tossed to him, watching his boss put it on.

"What is this, Cauldur? We look like two-bit thieves!"

"Shut up and put the mask on," Cauldur growled, pulling the slide back on his pistol. "There's a very important object in this house that Faro's Call needs to further its goals. You will help requisition it, by giving me backup."

"So the solution is to steal it?" Light asked, baffled that his boss was suggesting such a thing.

"Make a few people mad now, save thousands, maybe millions, later," he answered simply, walking up to the door and fishing out a set of lockpicks from his back pocket. In under a minute, they were inside, Light having put his mask on as Cauldur worked.

The instant they crossed the threshold, the lights snapped on, a soft alarm echoing throughout the house. Cauldur swore under his breath and moved to the alarm box as if he'd walked this house a thousand times. The alarm stopped.

For a few moments, Light didn't move. Neither did Cauldur. He was still two steps from the box when the alarm shut off. The next thing Light knew, he was being forced to the ground, a deafening explosion of gunfire coming from the base of the stairs, stopping just as quickly as it started.

He looked up to Cauldur, who had tackled him to the floor. "Double barrel," he muttered softly. "I got it. You look for something that'd probably have a small cylindrical object." He gave Light a pat before getting off, pulling his pistol out from the back of his jeans.

Light stood up and began looking around, feeling more and more like the house was familiar as he easily navigated the lower floor. He reached the kitchen and looked around, his heart sinking as he saw a photo above the sink. He turned around, seeing Cauldur aim towards the stairs.

"Cauldur! Don't shoot!"

Light couldn't yell out fast enough, and Cauldur pulled the trigger, sending a burst of three rounds into the stairwell. A yell of pain followed, and then there was silence again. Cauldur walked up to the stairs, keeping his gun at the ready; Light was standing in the kitchen in shock. There were two blackened holes in the stairwell where two of the high explosive rounds hit. The third was embedded in the man who shot at them, his light blue pajamas slowly staining red.

"Continue looking, Light," Cauldur muttered, kicking away the shotgun. "I'm going upstairs."

Light couldn't reply. He knew who's house this was, and he knew the other two residents would be upstairs. Cauldur started walking up, nonchalantly aiming his gun at the woman who was about to start walking down the stairs. She let out a shriek, but didn't run away.

"I'm here for the transmitter; where is it?" he asked smoothly, his grip on the gun tightening.

"D-downstairs… in…in the s-silverware drawer," she stammered, her fear plainly evident.

Cauldur smiled at her, his thumb flicking a switch on the pistol. "Thank you," he said politely, just before pulling the trigger, sending an explosive round directly into the woman's head. He then turned around, walked down the stairs, and pushed past Light, quickly checking through all the drawers for what he was looking for. He let out a triumphant sound as he put a palm-sized cylinder into his jacket pocket, turning around and starting to leave the house.

"You coming, Light?" he asked, his demeanor seeming much brighter than it was before. "After all, this is a triumphant day for Faro's Call, now."

Light would call it anything but triumphant. He knew who's house this was; who Cauldur had just killed; who he would probably kill if she showed up. "Let's go," he said softly, his voice breaking. He walked out after Cauldur, getting on his motorcycle and speeding to the automotive factory before the older man even got his car started.

Author's Note:

So, yeah, there you go. First chapter written completely from scratch, and over 3000 words. Sorry for the delay, some things came up. Hopefully, it's of quality, though I'll let you guys be the judge of that.

I don't actually remember if there was any backstory on Natalie's parents in the original story, but in this one, they were scientists working on a method to jump through space.

There will be a little more to this backstory subplot in chapter 8. Each chapter will be either human-based or dragon-based, until, of course, the two sides collide.

Also, there's a bit more to Cauldur's personality, here. Not entirely unrelated to the song I linked in my profile.