Their victim was a forty year old man who preyed on those that didn't have a lot of confidence. By the time they were done with him, he had run to the police screaming about his crimes.
Raven turned to a small street he remembered from his nightmares.
Privet Drive.
"Do you want to see if they are still there?" asked Abyss.
Raven nodded. It was time to end his nightmares. He walked down the lonely street, and noted that not much had changed.
It was still a suburban hell. Every house, picture perfect. Every lawn, manicured to the finest detail. Every house had a small garden, what was in it varied.
He would have passed Number four if his feet hadn't stopped in habit.
He heard laughter.
So he looked into the window and saw the Dursley family eating dinner.
Dudley appeared to be somewhat smaller than usual. Then he realized that he wasn't nearly as fat as he remembered. He also had far less food on his plate.
"Good day at the office dear?"
"Splendid! I sold fifty large drills today."
Dudley was silent. He seemed to be waiting for his chance to say something. Finally, he found his chance.
"Dad, where's Harry?"
Raven felt weak. Of all people, he never would have guessed that Dudley would miss him. Let alone ask where he was.
Vernon grew angry.
"He's dead, remember? How many times have I told you? That psychopath killed him with the Jeffersons!"
Raven grew angry himself. Petunia and Vernon didn't even show any regret over his 'death'. Only Dudley seemed to care.
"What will you do, Raven? Shall we pass this up or should we deal with these...people?" asked Abyss, looking at the adults with distaste.
Raven was shaking in anger. Memories of how they had abandoned him in the darkness only fueled his rage.
"Shin."
Abyss smirked. While Raven rarely showed it unless they were on a job, he had some serious anger issues. He just kept them buried until they came crashing down on him.
Time to work some of it out.
Vernon and Petunia woke up to find their house in flames. Staring at them in sinful glee was the nephew they had always believed to be dead.
Next to the 'dead' Harry was a girl with black hair and blood red eyes. Her hair was in long braids down her back, and her clothes looked like something from Victorian times.
Raven grinned, and they screamed. They were far more terrified of him than they were of the flames.
I'm back, dear aunt and uncle. I'm back to drag you to hell!
Dudley was sound asleep, unaware of the living nightmare his cousin was inflicting on his parents. When he awoke, he would find a note from Harry, and it would change the way he acted forever. It was a simple note, but the very words themselves struck him to the core.
"Thank you for caring, cousin."
Dumbledore looked at the two birds who had flown with Harry's letter. Both of them were badly singed for some reason. He took their answering letters and cursed.
"Harry and I have no intention of playing your game, old man. And if you think he'll listen to you, after what you did, then you you have another thing coming.
I will not lose my Pawn to a King such as you. At least your Queen has more sense."
He could sense the underlying hint in the letter. Pawn, King, Queen...whoever wrote this was obviously talking about chess.
So he had played a poor move and failed to capture a pawn did he? Who had turned Harry into their piece?
Abyss smirked when she saw McGonagall leading the first year muggleborn students down the alley. She would wait for a little while before she approached her.
"Hello Ms. Minerva McGonagall," said Abyss. McGonagall was having a drink after dealing with children all day.
"Hello miss...I'm sorry if I don't recognize you. I'm afraid the names are always a blur until the sorting."
"That is quite alright. My name is Alyss. I was wondering if you were aware of what happened on November the first, ten years ago."
McGonagall stared at her. That was the day they left little Harry on the doorstep with little more than a thin blanket to keep him warm. She had argued very strongly against such an action. Hagrid had been too busy bawling.
She gave the girl another look. Her clothes were very out of date, but not completely out of style.
"Who are you?"
"I am the one who rescued your supposed savior. Would you like to know what leaving him at that house did to him?"
She slowly nodded. She always had a bad feeling about the Dursley home. But Albus would never listen to her, and after she tried to check up on him, he quit allowing her to listen to the reports.
She left the bar after buying two more bottles of scotch. She would need it to go after Albus. The things she had seen happen to that poor boy... it broke her heart. However, she wouldn't do it until she saw the boy safe under the school. Hogwarts protected it's students.
Dumbledore felt a shift in the wind. Something big had occurred, and he had the unpleasant feeling that the tide was turning against him.
He knew it had to do with McGonagall, after the glare she sent his way at dinner. The resulting silent treatment only confirmed it.
Abyss had her chess set out. Raven gave it a cursory glance...until he noticed a new piece on her side.
"Who's this?"
"I have secured a Queen. It won't be long before the others fall into place."
Abyss's chess set was unusual, yet he always knew which piece was which.
On her side was himself and a few others. Some were other powers who followed her for her protection. Others were people who willingly decided to worship her.
Raven always wondered why his piece was a Knight lined in silver.
Then there was the other side. Abyss always scowled when the other side gained a new piece.
The bishop, King, rook and five pawns had always irritated her.
The king was an old man with bad taste in colors. The bishop was a large man who appeared to be half giant. Two of the five pawns had bright red hair, one had thick glasses and looked like a bug, one was part goblin, and one had streaked dirt across it. The Rook was a man with greasy black hair and a hooked nose.
Whenever Raven brought up the subject of the other side, Abyss would scowl and say "Bunch of hypocrites, the lot of them."
On their side was a Knight, six pawns and now a Queen.
He was the knight, he knew that much. The Queen was someone he had seen escorting a large group of children down the alley earlier. But the pawns looked very familiar to him.
One was a large dog with blue eyes. Another was a tawny wolf with warm amber. Then there was the pale blond child, the platinum blond boy, a pair of twins, and a piece that looked reminiscent of Oz from Abyss's favorite series. When asked about that piece, Abyss told him it represented the minor Powers that served under her.
In the middle of the board were a few pieces up with no color at all. Abyss would smile at them and say that they were players that were up for grabs, as it were.
And she intended to get them.
September first, 11:00
Abyss and Raven watched the children get on the train. Among there were the red heads that were on opposite sides of the board. The twins spotted them and grinned. As agents of Chaos, they thrived in the darkness. Their parents were misguided followers of the Light. Once they were on the train they waved. But not to their parents.
Raven and Abyss smiled and waved back.
Then Raven turned to Abyss with a cheeky grin. He coughed and said "I promised you a special vacation didn't I?"
Abyss turned to him. Raven had been promising for over a year that they would go on a special vacation, just the two of them. She had taken it at face value and never thought about it.
"What about it?"
Raven's grin widened.
"I contacted one of my friends in the Outer Plane, and you won't believe what he found."
"Hmm?"
"It's the Abyss. They found an opening in the Outer Plane."
"Eh? You're kidding, right?"
"Nope. You know my theories about anime, right?"
"Yeah yeah. Some of it is generic, but the beginnings of such ideas must come from somewhere. You said that about Sailor Moon, and I still don't believe you."
"Some of them are a generic representation of other planes of existence. There are countless theories of other realms. So where do people come up with the ideas for the truly original ones?"
"What of it? Surely you don't mean...?"
Raven held up a victory sign.
"Chaos found the dimension where the writer came up with Pandora Hearts. He said the place was stuck in a reoccurring loop that restarted every time someone read or saw the series. He also said that this covered half of his favor to us," he grinned.
Abyss was smiling now. She wouldn't mind losing half of her favors to Chaos if he indeed found that world.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!"
Raven and Abyss cheered. They vanished from the platform into the dark shadows.
As Raven investigated the alley one last time before their trip, he wandered into the owl emporium.
His eyes were drawn to a beautiful white owl with gray spots. She appeared to be asleep but he knew better.
"How much for this one?"
"That one? She would scratch you half to death before you walk through the door! How about a barn owl instead?"
Raven walked up to the white owl. She gave him a long look. He held out his hand, and allowed her to choose. If she agreed, he would take her with them.
She hooted, then flew to his arm. The shopkeeper stared in disbelief.
"Ten galleons," he managed to say. Raven tossed him the appropriate coins without a backward glance.
Abyss was grinning wildly when she saw the owl.
"I can't believe you found another piece!" she said with a large smile.
"Eh?"
"That owl is a piece of the board. Which part do you wish to play, Miss?"
The owl, which Raven decided to name Hikari, flew to the board and studied it carefully. She pecked at the bishop piece. The one she touched flashed and became a woman in white. Her eyes were a golden color that seemed to stare at everything and nothing.
"Welcome to the fold, Hikari," said Abyss. Hikari went back to her master's shoulder.
Dumbledore stared at the instruments. Something had changed, and he knew it wasn't in his favor.
The Dark side had gained a new player. His board was out, and he cursed.
Sirius, Remus, Lovegood, the Twins, Harry and McGonagall had already chosen the opposing side. The boy was obviously the Minor Powers of Darkness. Now there was a new player in the game. A woman in white.
He never could figure out what made him take an ordinary Wizard's Chess board and turn it into this. A board against light and dark.
So far he had the more powerful pieces. But the shift was causing an imbalance. He needed to add more to his side. He must win this game!
Abyss spun in a circle as she inhaled the scent of home. The Outer Plane was the only place she could be herself. Her powers were not bound, but they were observed in the mortal realms. She always had to be careful what she did.
Raven masked her presence enough that she could move about, but he couldn't mask her entirely. The Power of Light, that hypocrite, always watched her. He knew that she had stolen his younger pawn and was furious about it.
Here, she ruled. Here, she could not be touched under the covenant made before time began.
"So where is this plane? I'm bored!"
Raven laughed.
"Chaos-nii, where are you?"
Chaos appeared. He loved taking the form of a black cat from hell. For some reason though, he always treated Raven like a little brother. And Raven treated him like he was his older brother. Abyss didn't mind, since Chaos served under her.
"Hello, little Trickster. Ready to have fun?"
"Always, Chaos-nii."
"That which you seek is this way."
Raven followed Chaos like a puppy. Abyss always had to make sure Chaos's twin, Trouble, didn't bother her little one. He tended to follow him far too often, bringing news of Raven to Chaos.
He also gave him grief, often drawing too much attention. Abyss had done her best to remove the spells that drew him to Raven, but it was no use. Somehow they kept finding him.
"How have you been Abyss?" asked Chaos. He was good friends with the dark power.
"Having some fun. Last month the King made his play."
"Oh? How did he like the reply you sent him?"
"How the hell should I know? We decided against going, remember?"
Chaos smirked.
"Who's idea was this trip anyway? You seemed to be having fun in the human world."
"Raven has been dead set on exploring another world. He's the one who came up with this idea."
Chaos laughed, and it sounded like bells.
"Sounds like the little Trickster."
A light appeared before them. It was a doorway to another world. Abyss rarely wandered into those doors.
Light always limited her power unless she was willingly invited. It wasn't worth the headache she would get from that limiter.
"Raven first. That should prevent 'that' from being applied."
Raven walked through without stopping. Hikari rode on his shoulder the entire time. Abyss walked after him, and Chaos bounded last. He closed the door, which vanished.
Abyss didn't feel different in any way or form. She ran to the nearest reflective surface and when she realize there wasn't a mark of any kind on her, she started cackling.
"I'm free! The Light can't touch me!" she cried.
Raven looked at Abyss in amusement.
"What's with her?"
"Light often limits her power in the mortal worlds. He doesn't care about me, a Minor Power, but if she gets out, she causes panic. It usually appears as a mark or the like."
"Ah."
"Poor Abyss always had to suffer with that limit to leave the Outer Plane, so she didn't bother to leave. Light can be a real ass sometimes."
"I agree. It's rather rude to limit her power when she's done nothing wrong. It's not Abyss's fault that most people can't handle her presence," said Raven.
Chaos grinned. Raven was his favorite human. He accepted the darkness for what it was, and never tried to change it. It was this simple fact that allowed him to use Abyss's gift.
Then he realized something was on Raven's chest.
"Raven...what is that?"
"Hmm?"
Raven pulled aside his shirt to reveal a bizarre tattoo. It was very familiar.
"Damn that man! He placed the seal on you instead of me!"
"I guess this makes me an Illegal Contractor, doesn't it?"
Suddenly Abyss grinned.
"It means he doesn't realized what he's done. He must have mistook you for me. You know what this means, don't you?"
"What?"
Her grin split her face in half.
"It means we can travel more often. If the seal is placed on you instead of me, then I can use my power to protect you."
Chaos turned, and looked surprised.
"The door is gone. I can't sense it's presence at all."
"So does that mean..."
"We're stuck here?"
"Apparently. Wait, there's a note where it's supposed to be."
A white sheet floated down.
Raven read it.
"If you insist on meddling, then I won't let you back. I will never allow you to ruin my plans!
Light."
"That bastard. He allowed us to find this place so he could seal us in!"
Chaos grinned evilly.
"Even he knows he can't keep you in here forever. That door will reappear again."
"Wait, so all we have to do is go through the entire time line of the series and we can go back?" asked Raven, realizing what Chaos was getting at.
"Exactly. Which means you need to become part of the plot."
"I will work with the Will of the Abyss then. Chaos, you and your brothers shall play the part of Raven's Chain. I want you to gather forces so we can get rid of any surprises Light sends to stop us," said Abyss.
"Easy enough. They were getting bored anyway."
Chaos whistled. Six cats appeared, each a different color. They faced Raven with a smile and said in one voice...
"The Anarchy Brothers are at your disposal, Lord of Darkness."
Raven smiled widely. He adored the Anarchy brothers.
"In that case... Let the games begin!"