After watching Karina drive away I turned around to Amber who was shaking. "It's really c-c-cold." She said shaking.

"Connect, please."

My belt said as I scanned a ring over it to get a blanket for Amber as well as the first aid kit. Amber looked at me weird, "What's that for?" She asked. I lifted her shirt up a bit to see blood slowly dripping from her stomach down. The cut wasn't that bad but I still had to bandage it up. "I noticed the blood when our fight came down here. I'm going to wrap a bandage around it. The cut isn't deep and will heal up soon but I have to stop the bleeding." I said to her. I told her to stretch her arms out which she did so I could properly wrap the bandage around her. Once I was done she put her shirt down and I placed the blanket around her. "When Karina is home which should be soon, I'll get the bike and take you back to your house so you can get into some fresh clothes." I said to her.

A few minutes went by and I used my Connect Ring to grab my bike and had Amber hop on. Once she was on Amber wrapped her arms around me and held on as she guided me to her place. The location of her place was close to the local Wal-Mart which was about a mile down the street from the fight. Once we got over the railroad tracks Amber had me pull into this apartment complex and we went to apartment number 010. "You live by yourself I guess?" I asked her as I walked her up to the door.

"My mom and I lived here. Then last year something happened to her and it's been just me." She said in a low tone. She opened the door and we walked inside. The kitchen is the first place you see which is connected to a beige carpeted living room that only had a sofa up against the wall on the left side, and a TV on a glass stand in the middle of the room on the far right side. If you kept walking straight you'll run right into a big closet. On the right side of the closet is a bathroom in a corner and in between the bathroom and the closet is Amber's bedroom. Amber walked into her room and closed the door. I took my shoes off in the kitchen and looked around at the photos she had hanging on the walls. Amber then walked out of her bedroom with some clothes in her arms, "If you want you can hang out here for a bit." She said. I ended up sitting on the sofa and I realized how extremely comfortable it was. Before I knew it I ended up falling asleep.

(Wiseman's Viewpoint)

I heard noises in my cave as Kamaitachi returned after I sent him to do his assignment. "Master Wiseman I've brought the family from that fire caused by Phoenix as you requested." He said to me. I got up out of my bed and walked through the curtains to introduce myself to the next breed of Phantoms. The family that Wizard had saved earlier were brought to the cave. I saw the chubby white male with dirty blonde hair and freckles on his face being forced to his knees along with his wife who had long brunette hair, a scar on her forehead, and then I saw their child who had a well combed black hair, white, and looked to be about ten years old.

Their son was crying and frozen in fear, the mother who didn't know what was going on, and the father who tried to keep a brave face. All of them had some signs stating that they struggled against Kamaitachi, "Hello Gates." I said to them. I walked up to the kid and picked him up, when I did the father quickly got up off his feet and went to attack me but my weasel phantom summoned out a chain sickle and wrapped it around his leg and pulled him backwards causing him to fall on his face. "I would refrain from any sudden movements. Humans like yourselves are far too weak to do anything in the situation that you are in." I said as I walk with the child fighting in my arms. I turned around facing the parents, "I can tell that this kid is not a Gate and will not produce a Phantom, but after having one of my subordinates carefully watch over you three since the fire I've been told that he is what keeps you two's hope alive." I looked at Kamaitachi and had him come over to keep the kid still. When he did I walked over behind the parents and placed my hands on top of their heads.

I noticed that these two would make wonderful Phantoms, "Kid you live in a world where there are two races. The first is you humans who are destructive to your own kind. You kill each other for some impersonal gain, I lost someone close because you humans wanted something that belonged to us and you people took everything I had away from me. I lost my wife and daughter because of the greed that humans have and as me being the first Phantom I will wipeout the human race and from the ashes of this world, I will create a world where Phantoms reign and make a utopia for the monsters and I will be there God. Anyone who can't turn into a Phantom will be killed on the spot. All of you hold onto your little glimmers of hope to keep you alive but what you guys fail to realize is that your hope is extremely fragile. Like your parent's for example, your parents cling onto you to be a better person than they were and for you to make a name for yourself." I explained to the child.

The parents were fighting back, "How the hell do you know what we want from our kid?! Leave our son out of this!" The dad said. I leaned closer to their ears and whispered softly, "I have the ability to know what you're thinking as long as I can touch you." I said to them.

I looked up at Kamaitachi and he took out a chain sickle from his hand and placed it underneath the kid's throat. "Your child will die and you two shall despair." I said holding onto the parents. Suddenly the dad broke free from my grasp and ran towards his son but before he could Kamaitachi sliced the kid's throat as blood quickly ran down his body as it collapsed onto the floor. The dad finally got to his son's corpse before a chain sickle severed his head off from his body. The mother started forming purple cracks on her body at the loss of her family, "Now you see the pain I was forced to endure. When you've been taken hostage and you can't do anything. Watching the people you love die and feeling worthless all of the while. Now despair and give birth to a new Phantom." I said as the mom's cracks rapidly formed all over her body then something ripped out of her back as a Phantom was born, then the dad began to follow suit.

The mom's phantom looked Medusa but instead of a hair full of snakes the entire face was just one reptilian yellow colored head with big fangs. Her body was mostly red and yellow shoulder bits. The arms had a black line running through the colors and her entire chest was a mixture of red and black. Her claws were made to be extremely sharp, and she had a black tail coming out her back. "What is your name Phantom?" I asked. The lizard like serpent looked at me, "The name is Hydra, Master Wiseman." I laughed as I knew how powerful this Phantom would be and as I succeeded in creating it. The next one to follow suit was the father. Purple cracks formed all over his body and then something jumped out its back. The Phantom looked like a giant moth with a bronze chest plate, bronze arms and dark grey nails. It had these insect like tendons going up its ankle to waist area. Wherever there wasn't any armor it had this light grey puffy fur and the face was that of a flying insect with green eyes. "What's your name Phantom?" I asked.

The creature made this buzzing noise as it looked at me, "The name's Manticore." It said back.

I looked back at the dead body of the child that was bleeding out in front of me, "I will dispose of this body outside the barrier. Kamaitachi, I want you to get them to know their roles as new Phantoms and have them get used to their abilities and to fighting." I instructed him. He bowed down to me and I reached down and picked the boy up in my arms. I began to walk outside the cave and around the forest. I looked around to see the forest bustling with life. I had walked about half a mile out until I came to a hole in the ground, "This hole that once led that cave exploration has been destroyed. But I can still make use of it to leave corpses in." I said standing over the entrance. "To think that Dragon was buried underneath here all these years and in my reach. Was it fate that Travis found his powers here? Or was it something more?" I thought as I stared at the boy in my arms.

"Soon child when I've begun the Holy Night, and turned every human into Phantoms, I will give back the life I stole from you. Until then you must rest knowing that you're parents are dead, and that you can never rest in peace." I said as I dropped the body into the hole. I looked all the way to the other end of the forest, "I will revive the people I lost, and the people that have died in a world where humanity has exceeded evolution. As long as the ring-bearing magician and the primordial mage are alive I can't move my plans into motion."

I began to walk back to the cave as I heard a camera shutter and I stopped walking, "So someone has walked into this forest and through my barrier huh?" I said as I turned around. I saw a tall dark brown male with black hair and dressed like he was a member of a gang. I began walking towards the male who then turned and started running away from me. I then shot out a purple ball of energy towards him and it ended up bouncing off his shoulder causing him to fall to the ground with a piece of his shoulder missing and blood gushing out, "Who are you to have walked into my barrier?" I asked the injured person. I could tell he was a Gate and if I were to kill him he would become an extremely powerful asset.

"I'm not inclined to tell you shit!" The kid said with some spunk.

I was now standing over him and I stepped on his arm that was the opposite of the wound. I then began to kneel down and picked up the wallet that had fallen out of his pockets, "You're Terrion White huh?" I was amazed to see how fortunate I was today. The kid was now terrified to see me having him pinned down and I raised my hand up in the air with my fingers together, "Give birth to a fantastic Phantom." I said to the kid as I plunged my fingers in his throat as Terrion died instantly and I pulled my hands back.

Purple cracks rapidly formed and then something black and furry emerged. The monster had buff black furry body, grey claws, big red eyes, its mouth was about half a foot out with big white fangs, it's ears pointed straight up and the creature stood about six foot tall which was the second highest Phantom I've created. The creature had this blood red chest plate and shoulders pads. I watched as this creature howled up at the sky and then transform back into its human form, "What is your name Phantom?" I asked the kid.

He looked at me with nothing but anger on his face, "The name is Lykos. This werewolf will serve you Master Wiseman for freeing me from this shell that I've been in for so long." Lykos said to me bowing. "Now that I have a werewolf on my team I'd love to see how Travis will fare against my army now." I thought. I turned around to take Lykos back to the cave with me and have him train with the others. "Soon my army will rise and the mages will fall along with the rest of humanity. Now it's time to get ready to move onto phase two."

(Travis's Viewpoint)

I awoke on the couch to see Amber laying on top of me just staring at me, I was shocked as I moved a bit too far and ended up falling onto the floor. Once on the floor I had my arms wrapped around her to keep her from falling or getting hurt, "I'm sorry about that you scared me. I didn't realize I fell asleep, how long have I been out?" I asked.

Amber had this smile on her face, "About thirty minutes now. Fifteen minutes ago when I got out of the bathroom you were moaning and then screamed the words help me. I came out into the living room seeing you were having a nightmare and I calmed you down. You started to calm down right away and then I lay on top of you until you woke up. You really scared the heck out of me." She said. I knew I had the same recurring nightmare over and over again.

I looked down to see that she was wrapped in a big towel, "Umm I'm guessing you didn't get a chance to dress up did you?" I asked.

She leaned herself backwards until she was just sitting on me, "Does it make you embarrassed? I mean we are dating aren't we?" She said. I never really came out and asked her out but after hearing this I think she already knew, "I haven't even taken you out on a date yet." Amber then leaned forward as her face hovered over mine, "Then we are going to have to fix that aren't we?" She said as she stood up and walked back to the bathroom to finish getting changed. I walked to the kitchen and got a glass of water, "I'm not sure if I'm ready to date. But maybe I should give it a try." I thought to myself.

I heard Amber call out to me from the bathroom, "Want to tell me what nightmare you were having? If I remember correctly, the day that monster attacked me while you were on the hill at the park, you were having the same nightmare correct? Maybe you can conquer it by talking about it?" She suggested. I walked back to the couch and sat down, "Maybe I should since I've only told one person plus I think I can trust Amber."

I invited her to sit next to me, "I was eight years old when this happened. I had a friend named Mark Boger and he was mostly my only and best friend. We had been friends for about a year and a half and I lived on this street call Winthrop in Toledo Ohio. The neighborhood I grew up on was mostly gang infested and this one had its own gang that would always terrorize me or beat me till I couldn't stand. I lived in fear of this gang who picked on me the day I moved there. My parents were always busy leaving me alone with our neighbor Rose Greene. She was a kind old lady who loved to watch me. One day while Rose was asleep and my parents were out I went outside because I didn't want to be cooped up in the house. The gang leader Terrion White who was fifteen at the time, had started doing his normal routine of beating me to a pulp. That's when I saw a kid with dirty blonde hair, white skin, blue eyes, run up and push him off of me. He took me back to his place and had his parents help patch me back up. His name was Mark Boger. It felt nice to have a friend who'd watch out for you. Our friendship was great for those two years, but then one day Mark and I were playing hide and seek and I had to hide. I went hiding in his fenced in backyard. Sometime had passed and I wasn't sure where Mark was. I think about half an hour had passed. I decided to go out looking for him and I walked from the fence to the roadway in between his house and his neighbors."

I ended up stopping the story there as I began to choke up, "Hey babe what's wrong? Are you okay?" Amber asked me.

I didn't want to continue this story but I felt like I needed it off my chest so I went back to finishing the story, "There I saw Mark with tears going down his face as he approached me and shoved me on the ground. I had gotten back up to see Terrion walking with a couple members of his gang as they swarmed around me and started beating me one by one. I was on the ground covered all over in bruises and blood coming out of my mouth. I asked for Mark to stop this but all he said was "I'm sorry." As he punched me in the face three times. My screams reached his parents as they yelled out the window causing the gang to quickly leave. Mark stood there and I got up to only leave running back home torn apart at the core as my best friend sold me out to the gang. About a week went by from that incident and I saw Mark playing outside, I had avoided him this entire time and I approached him filled to the brim with hatred. I came up behind him without noticing and shoved him on the ground. When I got him on the ground I began punching him in the face. He was telling me to stop but I wouldn't listen, he reached for my throat and began stabbing his fingers into it but I ignored the pain as I grabbed him by the throat and slammed it up against the pavement. I yelled at him asking why he did what he did and then I noticed that his hands fell to his side and he started to black out. His family came running and pulled me off as his mom called 9-1-1 and he was sent to the hospital. I never heard from him again."

I realized that telling this story was hard on me because I had severely regretted what I had done. I began bursting into tears as Amber sat on my knees and put my face against her chest, "You're okay Travis, and everything will be okay." She said in a whisper. It was hard for me to open up like this again, "It's why I chose to stay alone for so long, I was afraid of making friends only to be hurt again. I didn't work on myself because it was just me and my parents. I refused to have friends because I was afraid of them stabbing me in the back." I cried a bit more as Amber still kept me embraced.

"I'm sorry I normally don't tell anyone about that. I try to keep that part of me to myself." I ended up starting to dry my tears and I had Amber get off of me as I went to the kitchen and splashed some water on my face. "I wonder what's going through her mind now knowing this part of me." I thought in my head. I grabbed a sheet of paper towel that was next to the sink and dried my face with it. When I turned around I saw Amber standing in front of me.

She started walking slowly to me as she put her hands on my chest and moved them up to my neck, "You've been through so much pain. I can relate to that and as long as I'm near you, I won't let you suffer that pain anymore. If you should I'll stay by your side through it all." She said softly. My mind became exceedingly calm the closer Amber got to me and then her hands wrapped around my neck and I bent down as she kissed me and all of the sadness and pain I had to experience again suddenly vanished and something warm took its place. "Maybe us being a thing won't be all bad." I said as I picked up Amber and pinned her against the wall as we kept kissing. The feeling I had was something I had never felt before and I ended up getting lost in that emotion. Suddenly I put Amber down so she could stand and she grabbed my hand as she started walking me to her bedroom, "You seem like you could use some fun." She said to seductively. Once we got into her bedroom, the door behind me closed and the next couple of hours became the best time of my life.