Disclaimer: I do not own Prototype or Familiar of Zero

A Second Chance

Prologue

They call me a killer, a monster, a terrorist. I'm all that...and more.

Alexander J Mercer stood on the rooftop of an abandoned building. He had no idea here he was. He had no idea who he was. Alex Mercer was dead, he was the doppelgänger that replaced him. Alex Mercer was just a face he wore.

The infection of New York had in finally come to a close. With Ragland dead he had been free to assist in the cleanup of the city, from the shadows of course. The new head of BlackWatch had come to an unspoken agreement with him and chose not to pursue him. With nothing to do he had chosen to travel the country, wandering from place to place, by knowing where he was heading, with no goal in sight.

Alex clenched his fist tightly. With the death of Dana shorty after the end of the infection he no longer had any ties to the human world. He was a virus after all. What was his purpose? What more did he have to strive for?

He felt the familiar regret welling up inside him as the memories of all who he had consume whispered at the back of his mind. While some had deserved to die he hated himself for it. He couldn't help it, it was his nature. To eat, consume, devour. Even on his journey of self enlightenment he chose to only consume the scum of society, that only served to darken his mood more and more as dark thoughts began to dominate the whispers of his mind.

He didn't deserve to live, not after all he had done, not after all the pain, suffering and death he had caused. But he couldn't die. He survived a nuclear explosion. He couldn't drown, he couldn't starve. It was a cursed existence. He wished he could just die.

"My name is Tiffania Westwood."

Alex looked around in shock but there was no one there. He could have sworn that he heard that out loud. He shook his head, maybe madness was finally overcoming him, he had he memories of hundreds of people after all.

"Pentagon that governs the five powers summon the familiar that's bound to me."

No he wasn't going mad, he clearly heard the words out loud but he couldn't pinpoint the source. sending out a hunter pulse he found the closest person over a kilometer away. Where was that voice coming from?

Suddenly a green portal appeared before him, just beyond the ledge of the roof. The scientists in his head began screaming about how it was impossible. Squashing the noisy thoughts aside as he done many times in the past he stared at the portal curiously. He felt...drawn towards it. As if by entering it he would find the answer to all his questions.

He grinned to himself. There was nothing to lose. A second chance awaited him. Taking a deep breathe, unnecessary for him of course, he leapt off the side of the building.

There was a flash of blinding white.

Xxxxxxx

"Hey partner, looks like he has some skills." Derflinger commented.

"Shut up. As if I care." Saito fumed, staring at the their before him.

He was livid. They had tried to hurt Louise. His Louise. He wasn't about to give in. He glared at the huge robed thief. The other thief had gotten away with whatever they had stolen and this one states behind to buy him time. 'Jack' the other thief had called him. Jack held a huge flail in one hand, hefting it easily.

Saito wasn't going to be so easily intimidated. He had gone up against an army before after all. With a war cry he charge forward. Jack shifted his footing and smung the heavy flail. Ducking under the defense Saito slashed at Jack with Derf, ripping the cloth but barely missing the flesh.

"You're pretty good. But!" Jack twitched his mace, a piece of rock from his demolished golems levitated, compressing into a small ball before smashin into Saito's gut.

"Urgh!" Saito groaned out, falling onto his knees in pain.

"Now then. Perhaps I should pay you back for all the troubl you've caused us." Jack stood over Saito menacingly.

Saito looked up, tears of pain clouding his vision. The red tattoos on Jack's face were visible this close. Saito smiled. "Now!"

"What?" Jack shouted in surprise before looking up to see a grinning Louise.

"Explosion!"

The air seemed to compress before him exploding in a flash of blue light. However his reflexes were fast and he conjured a stone wall to block th emajority of the attack. Saito on the other hand had no such defense and the resulting explosion blew him off the roof they were fighting on.

As he fell a green portal flashed into existence below him.

Xxxxxxxxx

"Thank you for agreeing to help me Professor Colbert." Tiffania bowed to express her gratitude.

"There's no need for such formatities Miss Westwood. As a teacher it is my duty to help students wherever possible." The balding teacher smiled. "Now please walk to the centre of the courtyard, a large space is necessary in case you summon something large as yor familiar.

The buxom half-elf nodded and went to the assigned spot. She was feeling nervous, she would be summoning a familiar, a lifelong companion of a mage. Although she had managed without one for so long seeing how her friends interacted with their familiars she wanted to experience it for herself, the invisible magical bond shared between two living being. "I'm ready."

Colbert began his instructions. "Summon servant isn't that difficult a spell. Concentrate and call out your yet-to-be-seen familiar from your heart."

To be honest his intentions weren't as noble as he had made them out to be. Although it was part true the main reason he agreed to help was curiosity, as a void mage herself he wanted to see what familiar Tiffania would summon. Would it be another human? Would it be from Saito's world?

Tiffania closed her eyes and reached within herself for the magic she had. Raising her wand she pointed it toward the sky. She began reciting the incantation Colbert had her memorize earlier. "My name is Tiffania Westwood. Pentagon that governs the five powers summon the familiar that's bound to me."

Light gathered at the tip of her wand and a giant green portal appeared over her head.

They waited with baited breath as they waited for the arrival of the familiar. A shadow dropped from the portal and landed on its feet before them.

Tiffania gasped in surprise. It was a human! A strangely dressed human to be precise. He was dressed in a black hoodie, a white shirt peeked out from under it, and a pair of blue tattered eyes hidden under the drawn-up hood. It worked! She her own familiar!

Colbert on the other hand was not as ecstatic as her. To his trained soldier senses he felt alarm bells go off the moment he laid eyes on the familiar, he gave off an aura that immediately told Colbert that he had taken many lives. The aura of a killer. He was jolted out of his thoughts as the familiar spoke in a foreign language.

"I'm sorry I don't understand you." Tiffania replied.

Suddenly they heard screaming and looked up to see a falling Saito heading right for them.

Xxxxxxxx

Alex was surprised to say the least. Not only had he been instantaneously transported, which was impossible according to all the scientists he had consumed, but he didn't recognise the location or dressing of the natives either.

He stared at the balding middle aged man before him dressed in blue robes and holding a staff and the busty girl beside him dressed it a white blouse a short purple skirt. Wait were those pointed ears?

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" He asked.

The two stared at each other in confusion before replying in a language that wasn't English. It sounded familiar for some reason.

Suddenly he heard screaming and looked up to see a boy with a sword in hand falling straight towards him.

Just as he was about to jump up to save the boy the robed man did something strange. Waving his staff he shouted a strange word and the wind began to pick up, forming a mini tornado that caught the boy and carried him to the ground. What the hell was that? Magic?

As he watched them talk animatedly he finally realized why what they spoke sounded so familiar. They were speaking French! Focusing on his memories he sifted through them to find those that knew French.

"Professor! You've got to do something! There were two thieves, one of them got away with whatever they stole but the other is still up there with Louise!" The boy was frantically shouting, words slurrin together.

"Calm down Saito. Take a deep breathe and slowly tell us what happened."

"There's no time!"

With his enchanced hearing Alex could hear cries of help coming from the roof.

"Let go of me! Saito help me!"

Alex looked back towards the arguing trio. He sighed, there was no way they would be able to get to her in time.

"Leave it to me."

The three suddenly stopped talking and looked at him. The boy, Saito, appeared to have just realized he was there and the other two seemed surprised that he knew their language.

He pooled biomass into his legs stenghtening them and with that he jumped. He felt a manner of self satisfaction as he registered the shock on their faces. He easily cleared the roof and landed silently. He saw a burly hooded man roughly holding a young girl with pink hair by her arms. That must be Louise. In that case...

He tapped Jack on the shoulder.

"What the-" Jacks surprised exclaimation was cut off as he felt himself lifted up and thrown over the side of the building.

"W-who are you?" The pinkette asked nervously.

"A friend." Alex held out a hand to her.

As she took his hand he lifted her up and placed her on his back. Ignoring her screams of fear he proceeded to jump off the roof. Although he could easily survive the fall he didnt want to injure the girl so he manipulated his biomass to absorb the shock. The ground cracked from his weight as he landed.

Saito rushed over and helped Louise get off his back. The girl was shaken but unharmed. The other two stood behind staring at him in shock.

"Are you alright? Collin asked, handling Louise carefully, as if afraid she would break.

"I-I think so." She managed to stammer out.

"Thank you. I don't think we've met?" Saito looked up at Alex.

Alex on the other hand ignored him. He walked over to where Jack was recovering from him fall. At the last second Jack managed to break his fall by manipulated the ground to make it soft.

Jack raised his flail high above his head. Alex raised an eyebrown in confusion, he was still meters away. His confusion was answered when a huge column of stone rose up behind jack, forming a giant flail. Swinging the flail down the giant stone flail followed suit. Alex made no move to dodge the attack.

"Watch out!" Tiffania yelled in fear of her familiar's safety.

Raising a hand however, Alex effortlessly blocked the attack. The ground cracked under his feet but he stood strong. Flexing his arm he pushed back on the stone causin it to crack and crumble..

Jack's eyes widened in fear and Alex lifted him by the collar as if he weighed nothing. He raised a hand, about to deal the finishing blow.

"Stop!" A shrill voice called out.

Pausing Alex turned back to see the blond girl with pointy ears shifted nervously. "Are...are you going to kill him?"

Alex tilted his head in confusion. "Yes. He tried to kill me. Isn't that how it works?"

"W-well. Could you please spare his life? No one was hurt after all." The girl was so scared she looked as if she was going to pass out.

Alex considered his options. He could kill the thief, but he didnt know the laws here and he didnt want to alienate any allies in this strange land, the twin moons in the sky hadn't escaped his notice. Besides he was impressed at the girls courage. Not many would dare to try and stop him after seeing the things he could do.

He dropped the thief who just lay on the ground, relieved to be alive.

The blonde girl spoke up again. "Are you human?"

Alex grinned. That was the question he had asked himself so many times before.

"No. I am something less than human...but also something more."

Xxxxxxxxxx

A/N

Hey guys. Please read this author's note.

This is just something I whipped up in response to all the reviews on my other story infection in halkeginia about how they wanted Alex to be the main character.

That being said I have no main plot/idea of how this story will play out. Only the stuff in the anime which I can develop upon. I may or may not continue this story depending on the response to it so please include your thoughts in a review. If you have any ideas please feel free to leave it in a review or pm me about it.

No I am not giving up on infection in halkeginia. It has and will continue to be my main fic, I have the main arcs and plots all planned out for Collin and company so please accompany them on their long journey ahead.

I decided to make Alex tiffania's familiar as I didn't want to write another fic starting from the exact same point as my other fic as it would just be plain boring. Also its interesting to pair them up seeing as tiffania is such a gentle spirit, how will she react to alex's more... disturing habits. Besides I don't want to take any ideas from the other and use it for this story. Any thoughts?