Chaotic Worlds: Book 1

Chapter 2: Loss

Disclaimer: The name Van Fanell is based on the character Van Fanel from Escaflowne while the cursed zombies is a plot concept from X by CLAMP. The organization Mithril in this fanfic is based on Mithril of Full Metal Panic. Van's powers are based on Edward Elric's (Fullmetal Alchemist).

Universe 1566

"Oh damn," muttered the tall stranger as he watched the cards he knew to be scouts for the Chaos Legion materialize and change right in front of his younger brother and his friends. They were cursed zombies, nothing more than enchanted, mindless soldier grunts summoned by a competent Warlord. Yet for grunts they were amazingly adept in combat and were the perfect soldiers. They were expendable. They didn't question orders, following the orders of their master right to the letter. They showed no mercy. Most frighteningly, they were endless. Disintegrate one, and two more would take the fallen one's place. As long as a Warlord kept summoning them, they would keep coming. The tall stranger cursed involuntarily. The Legion had sent at least 50 cursed zombies to subdue the five teenagers. He didn't know if they could handle even 5. He had no backup, his mission was to just observe the five teenagers from a distance. Nonetheless, he couldn't stand there and watch. From his pocket he took out an earpiece and fixed it to his right ear.

"This is Captain Van Fanell. Five of the chosen ones are under attack by cursed zombies, numbering at least 50. No sign of the Warlord and I can't sense the bastard either. I'm moving in to take down the freaks."

"Roger that Captain. Good hunting out there, sir."

Jake was quickly running through his mind all the options available to them at that moment as the strange beings slowly surrounded their small group completely. Running away was out of the question, not with 50 freaky suits cutting every single escape route.. They had to fight. He had joined Ken's morning trainings every weekend since the two had known each other so he was fairly confident of his own skills. He wasn't worried about Ken who had kept secret his martial arts prowess from almost everybody he had met. While almost all the students at their school thought that Ken Fanell was just another geek without a social life, Jake knew that Ken did not fit that stereotype at all. He knew that although Ken was considered a typical bully magnet with his big glasses, oversized clothes and his schoolbag bursting with his books, he was anything but that. Ken just maintained that image simply because he felt like it. On their first day of high school a few bullies had waylaid Ken with the intention of roughing him up. Jake had quietly watched from a distance, smiling, as Ken had quickly dispatched of his would-be bullies with a few well-placed throws then walked off, dusting his hands while whistling some anonymous tune.

It was the girls and Matt who he was worried about. They didn't know how to fight.

"Matt, Rachel, Cassie. Do any of you know how to fight?"

"No," answered Cassie tersely.

"No, but just let them come at me," Rachel snarled, always the feisty one.

"Not really, but I can throw a punch as well as the next guy," Matt grinned his typical happy-go-lucky grin.

"Fine. The three of you between Ken and me. We're gonna charge through, then make a break for it. I'll take point. Ken, cover our rear. Take out as many as you can without losing sight of us. The rest of you follow me. If this plan fails, Ken and I'll hold as many as we can while you three run and get help. Use your bags as weapons. No arguments, just do as I say."

"No problem, leader-man," smiled Ken. "Should be a piece of cake, hey?"

"GO."

Immediately Ken and Jake sprinted in opposite directions towards the strange men in black, both preparing to swing out with their bags. The other three hesitated a moment, taken aback by their friends' sudden actions. Then they ran after Jake.

At that very moment Captain Van Fanell of the peacekeeping organization Mithril was leaping from rooftop to rooftop in the direction of the five teenagers. Van Fanell was the next in line to take over the leadership of this powerful organization that maintained peace secretly not only in this dimension, Universe 1566, but also various other dimensions from his father. He was only 21 but had earned a well-deserved reputation as one of Mithril's elite metahuman agents, the Preventers. A well-rounded fighter, Van was a very able and competent leader who had served his family's organization well since young. Nobody disputed his recent appointment as their head's right-hand man and the next in line to take over. Captain Van Fanell was wearing a black overcoat over a simple outfit of a white shirt tucked into black pants. A black silk tie, slightly undone, hung loosely from his shirt collar. As he moved closer towards the group, he watched the fight with interest.

The intelligence he had received had been right. His younger brother Ken and the young man Jake Turner were indeed as good as the reports said, Ken more so than his friend. No doubt their father had taught his younger brother well. His friends had potential too, more so than he ever had at their age. Even the great distance between them at that moment could not hide the untapped raw potential that the five had. They were indeed among the chosen seven, the seven individuals known in legends as the Seven Seals. All the more reason to get to them in time and assist them. Van increased his speed.

Meanwhile, Jake had plowed into the mass of black suits in front of him, losing himself in the deadly dance of lashing fists and snapping kicks. Cassie, Rachel and Matt had followed him, showing themselves not averse to dealing out a bit of damage themselves. Ken brought up their rear, fighting more ferociously than he ever had. He couldn't believe just how fast he was moving, how hard his punches and kicks were hitting. He had never fought like this before. The zombies, as that was what he thought of them, seemed to move so slowly. Just as his father had taught him, he kept his movements simple and efficient, allowing himself just a few flashy moves. As the zombie in front threw a punch directly at his face, Ken dived forward, rolled, then launched himself upwards with his arms, his body in a handstand position. His legs, already straightened and tensed, slammed directly into the chin of the zombie who had tried to punch him. He then rode the momentum of his attack, using the face of the zombie as a landing cushion, and jumped forward; following through that attack with a spinning back kick that connected with four more zombies. Crowing, Ken raced off to rejoin his friends as the zombies staggered.

As the group waded further into the cursed zombies, each grew aware of small, subtle changes happening to them. They could sense, almost predict, what the beings were going to do next. The flex of a muscle as an arm drew back for a quick jab, the slight shifting of legs getting ready for a roundhouse kick, all these were simply obvious to the five. To them, the zombies were practically telling them where to hit and what to avoid. Their panic going down and their confidence rising, the five friends pushed further to the edge of the mass of zombies.

They were brought back down to earth by the sudden realization that they hadn't actually hurt the zombies but only delayed them. While they had fought well, Jake and Ken were beginning to tire unlike the zombies who looked as if they could hunt the five down to the ends of the earth. Salvation came in the form of Van who announced his sudden arrival with a flying kick that caught all the combatants unaware. The zombies backed off a slight distance, wary. They knew him, could sense his power. Van took advantage of the zombies' hesitation and immediately knelt down, pressing his palms hard on the ground, concentrating. Ken and his friends could only watch, shocked, as a strange translucent white light began to envelope him A circular seal inscribed with various undecipherable markings was slowly etching itself on the ground on which Van was kneeling, with him at the centre. Slowly, Van Fanell rose and slowly, a long spear rose out from the ground under his right hand.

Van didn't give the zombies any chance to attack. As soon as his spear was out, he grasped it then swung it in a wide arc in front of him, instantly vaporizing five zombies. Then he charged into the rest of the zombies as Ken and his friends looked on in disbelief, mouths gaping.

When the dust had settled, every single one of the zombies had been eliminated. Van walked towards the Chosen Ones, briefly running them over with his eyes for possible injuries.

"You kids alright?" he asked.

"Yeah we're fine thanks so much for your help really appreciate it," blurted out Rachel at top speed, hearts in her eyes as she gazed dreamily at the handsome, cool-looking stranger who had appeared out of nowhere. Beside her, Cassie was wearing the same face as she swooned at Van.

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad I could help," he replied, smiling gently at the two girls, eliciting lovestruck sighs from both. Matt tried not to throw up his lunch, looking repulsed. On the other hand, Jake and Ken were observing the newcomer warily. While they could not deny that the stranger had saved them, he was still an unknown stranger who could be just as dangerous as the zombies.

"We were in quite a pinch there so we're sincerely grateful for your help," said Jake in a calm, measured yet cautious tone. "That doesn't change the fact, however, that you somehow took all those…things on your own easily using some weird technique. The way I see it, you're as much a threat to us as those freaks were so you're gonna have to excuse us if we don't seem to trust you outright."

"Who are you, and what were those things?" asked Matt.

"They were cursed zombies, mindless enchantments conjured up by a powerful sorcerer," replied Van, pointedly ignoring the question about his identity. This was not lost on the three guys who decided not to go further. However, the look on Ken's face instantly changed from wariness to open hostility. "And there is no time for further questions. You must go. If the enemy knows that only I was around to help you, they will send more reinforcements to finish the job."

"Why did they come after us? What's so special about us that they had to send about 50 just to kill us?" asked Ken, finally breaking his silence and making no effort to disguise his anger.

"There isn't time for that, Ken. Now go home."

"How the hell did you know my…" started Ken, but the stranger had suddenly vanished right before their very eyes. The girls were shaking their heads, trying to come down from the temporary high of having a drop-dead gorgeous stranger smiling charmingly at them while Matt was staring in disbelief at them. He still looked slightly nauseated. Ken was stewing at the stranger's reluctance to tell them more while Jake was lost in thought. Abruptly, he suddenly turned around to face Ken, taking him by surprise.

"What?"

"So who was that guy, Ken?"

"How should I know? I've never seen him before?" Ken snapped back.

"Hey, cool it. I'm just asking you a question. No need to bite my head off." At this Ken visibly sagged, the anger withdrawing away from him.

"Sorry. But like I said, I've never seen him before. Why?"

"The way he talked to you, it was as if he knew you quite well. And if you guys didn't notice, he looked a lot like you. Like an older version of you maybe. Hey…you don't have any older brothers do you?"

"No, I'm the eldest in my family. You sure he looks like me?"

"Yeah."

"Man this is too much to deal with in one day. Weird dreams, then weird zombies, then weird people. Yeesh. At least that bugger told us something useful," quipped Ken.

"Yeah? What's that?"

"That we should all just go home…" Ken's voice trailed off as he realized something. A terrified look came over his face.

"Hey, what's up with that look on your face?"

"Home…" said Ken, dazed. "Oh shit, my family." Then he ran off as fast as he could back home.

"Hey, Ken where're you going! Hey, wait up!"

"How did it go, Van? Is your younger brother alright?"

"Ken's fine, Dad. I managed to get there in time the zombies could do anything serious," replied Van into his earpiece as he headed as fast as he could toward the Fanell residence ahead of Ken. "Looks like you taught him well Dad. He can really fight. Hell, I'm positive he's better than I was at his age."

Back at his house, Karl Fanell chuckled affectionately. "I suppose he gave you a hard time, then. Where are you now, son?"

"Heading back to the house. I think Ken's probably doing the same thing. Dad, is it true? Are the Chaos Legion really gonna try and kill you right now?

"I've no doubt about it. How are things at headquarters?"

"Brian just contacted me, says everything's ready for you and the rest of the family. How're things on your side?"

"We're ready to leave. You mother and I just finished explaining the situation to your younger siblings. They're a bit shocked, to say the least."

"I just bet." Then Van heard a series of explosions over his earpiece. "Dad," he said urgently. "You gonna be all right?" He was worried, and rightly so.

"Yes. We're going now," his father replied in an equally urgent tone. "We'll be fine, son. You just keep an eye out for your younger brother and his friends. They've got a lot riding on their shoulders. Especially Ken and his friend Jake."

"All right. Be careful, Dad." The connection cut off, Van landed on the highest branch of a nearby tree and watched anxiously as a series of explosions rocked the evening and a house not far away began to blaze.

As soon as they heard the explosions, Ken and his friends ran even faster towards the direction of his house. Just over the horizon, a sinister red glow lit up the evening sky. Ken's heart caught in his throat. The feeling that all the strange things happening to him that day were connected to his family had only intensified the moment he had heard the stranger tell him and his friends to go home. To compound his fears, he'd noticed that the sudden red glow in the sky was coming from the direction of his house. The other four had noticed it too, but were clueless as to why Ken was looking even more terrified at the sight of it, with the exception of Jake who had a hunch.

"That ain't no normal sunset, man," panted Matt as he struggled to keep up with Ken.

"It's not a sunset. It's something else.," began Jake as they neared a corner road leading to Ken's house. "I think it's a fire," he finished as they turned the corner and were greeted by a house fiercely burning. Residents had evacuated their own houses for safety and they were now staring silently at the inferno from a safe distance. In the distance, the blare of fire engines could be heard as the five simply stood there shocked.

Ken let out a soft moan of anguish. "No…not my house…not my family. I gotta get in there." He moved to his house when he was pulled back roughly on the shoulder by Jake, who shook his head somberly.

"What are you doing, Jake! My family's in there! I gotta get in there, I gotta get them out!"

"You'll be burnt alive, you fool, the whole place's on fire! The fire department will do its job!"

"NO! It'll be too late, dammit! I can help get them out, I can do something!"

"There's nothing you can do, Ken! Let the experts handle this!

"Let…me…GO!" With that Ken pulled free from Jake's grip and ran towards the inferno that was his house. Jake looked at Matt, who nodded. Both then gave chase to Ken, Matt running slightly faster. Ken never noticed his two friends tackling him from behind, so preoccupied was he with trying to save his family. He did, however, register the punch to his left cheek that Ken gave him.

"The hell was that for!"

"To wake you up," replied Jake angrily. Then more gently, he continued. "There's nothing you can do right now, Ken, you have to realize that. Your parents may not be in the house, they could've gotten out. You just need to calm down."

"No…my family…they're gone, guys. I don't know how, I just…know it,' replied Ken managed to choke out over the tears running fast down his face. Having nothing to say about that, The other four just stood around Ken as he sobbed quietly, mourning the loss of his entire family.

Author's notes: Hope you liked reading the second chapter. As always, positive reviews are most welcome. I'll try to have chapter 3 up ASAP.