Disclaimer: I don't any of the songs (in late chapters) or characters in this story.

Italics = thoughts

Chapter One: Rising Out of the Ashes

It was a stormy night the lightning flashed and the thunder boomed in a wild maelstrom of light and power. This set the tone of the gruesome scene. The corner of this city lied in ruin the highest skyscrapers were in rubble and the entire scene looked as if a meteor hit the city and in a sense for some.... it did. Five shadowy figures were in his line of vision, a tall bulky form of a man that had sparks flying from his body. Another one was off to his left he had an outline of an elf but that was impossible there were no such things. On his left helping the first figure had a foreign sense to her, her eyes were glowing a neon green that cut through the darkness, but the figure right in front of him had most of his view, then again he wasn't really looking at anything he was broken just like the crumpled form off to the side of his vision. The woman in front of him had a dark and mysterious presence she was on her knees as well with him trying to get him to come around out of his stupor.

Out of nowhere a pair of hands, her hands, were on his shoulders talking to him in muffled tones ones that he couldn't make out then the hands reached to the temples of his head. His mind was crumbling guilt, hate, and sorrow quickly driving him into madness. Her hands were now on his head and she began to chant there.... was a struggle of the minds and his finally snapped but her presence brought him back then there was a moment when he felt something a....a veil or covering slide from his face, but there was resistance and then a bright light enveloped his vision as the young woman in front of him started screaming

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO----"

"OOOOOOOOOOOO!" the scream of the dream melted into his own voice yelling and in doing so waking him up with a jolt, he realized that he was bolt upright and his dagger was out from underneath his pillow menacing the empty space around him.

He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his medium length jet black hair Just a dream he thought that dream he corrected himself.

Letting out another sigh he laid back down on his bed and gazed out his apartment window at the early dawn of the city people were rousing from their beds to begin a new day. His gaze went to the dagger still in his hand. It was a magnificent blade obviously not factory made it had a cast pewter handle very plain at the beginning but when you got to the hilt of the blade it was quite extraordinary the hilt had a bird of some sort spreading it's wings while a firestorm erupted from the wings to snake around the back of the hilt and weave its self into the flawless stainless steel blade with engraved flames on the blade. It was one piece of the few he had always had with him to unravel his clouded past.

The vision reflected in the blade of the dagger hadn't changed a whole lot since he last remembered then again he could only remember the previous five years of his life everything else was a haze. The same black hair was evident but he grew it out from the short spiky hair he had five years ago. His face still the same and he still had the steel grey eyes.

That's the fifth time this week this dream won't leave me alone, he thought this dream plagued him for years now, but was steadily getting worse. Pushing the blade back under his pillow along with the dream out of his mind he set about his new day. Pushing aside things wasn't anything new to Tim McCloudhe had done it a lot over the years.

His first memory was waking up out of a black unconsciousnessin an old alleyway his clothes and body in a wreck his shirt (or what was left of it) was slashed and was crusted with his dried blood His pants were in a similar state. He was barefoot and his head felt like it was split all the way to the bone, he staggered out of the alleyway to find him self on a place called McCloud street. He sat down hard on the curb to stop the endless spinning of his head slowly it stopped and he tried to think clearly about what was going on, and then it hit him..... he couldn't remember who he was. He started to panic, but somehow calmed himself down and he thought about a way to remember. Realizing he was sitting on his wallet he pulled it out, but didn't have much luck all he found was an ID with only his first name Tim, and a card to an account at a bank in the city. He checked him self into a local hospital to get help for his wounds and after a week was back on the street. The people at the hospital gave him a pair of sweat pants and an old t-shirt to get him started. The first thing he did was go to the bank to find out about his identity, but unfortunately he couldn't find anything. He did find how ever he was apparently in good financial status the bank account was apparently set up by him a few years ago, but without any personal information except for his first name Tim. Seeing nothing but dead ends he set about finding the needed essentials food, clothing, and a place to live.

Seeing as money wasn't a problem he set out to a local clothing shop to buy some things to wear and new shoes also. He then set about the city to look for a place to live, he checked out many apartments, but they were unwilling to have him be a tenant seeing as he only looked about sixteen and had no parents. He searched most of the day and thought he would have to get a hotel for the night, but the last place he tried was the one for him. The apartment was big very big it was a penthouse suit and offered many modern comforts. It had a higher level platform from the wood floor below it the walls were a brick with a white drywall that ran all the way to the kitchen area, it was dotted with various pieces of furniture and it split off to the two bedrooms and bathroom. It had a great view of the Jump City bay and the bridge crossing it. An old couple ran the building and said he could have it for a fair price too so he took the offer and began his new life there.

He spent two of the last three years trying to find who he was, but to no avail he ran into deeper ends and more questions. Soon he gave up trying which he didn't do very often, but he had no choice he had to get on with his life. He tried to go to school, but he soon found out that he didn't need it he could already pass college which he did at seventeen and got his major in criminal justice. He tried to work at the local PD, but they rejected him because he was to young. So for the next few years he worked at a small grocery store in town that was attached to a closed down bar. He got the job (even though he had enough money to live comfortably for the rest of his life) so he could have something to do. In his spare time he would help the store's owner John Levier and his son Percy rebuild the old bar to start a second business as a club/café for teens. He also found a new thing that interested him the guitar he practiced so much him, Percy, and a friend of Percy's joined up and had a band called Night Fox which attracted a lot of business to the club. His life was good now today was his last day working at the store and tomorrow he would start his new police job.

I better get going after all I have a job to keep up for another day before my new one starts. He thought, and a little while later clad in a pair of loose fit blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt he rode off down the street on his motorcycle to the store.

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A/N If you want please review this is my first fic. I know it starts out slow but it will get better I promise.