A.N.: So, here we are, reading this story that is my first published fanfic. I'd like to give you guys a few warnings and stuff before you start.
1st, this fic will contain some GerIta, and a little SpaBel.
2nd, this fic will caontain swearing, like the other 99% of fics on this site.
More warnings will be added in later chapters.
Much thanks to LHawk for being my beta!
A world of "justice"
A world where the government controls how you live, whether you are a normal human or not.
A world where people have to live up to the cruel government's standards, or risk their lives, no, throw away their lives breaking "rules", some of which still remain unknown.
And what happen to the people that break these rules?
"Well, to say it bluntly, they are dragged down to The Dark."
That was how Feliciano's grandfather explained the way of life in this world. Feliciano was 9. A little young to be asking these sorts of questions.
"But Grandpa, what did he do? Why was he dragged down?" The young boy was beginning to feel scared. Dark, ominous chains had just emerged from nowhere and grabbed the man like a starving dog that had found a vulnerable piece of moving meat.
Would it happen to him?
"The person that was…taken, was probably doing very bad things a lot." Grandfather explained as carefully as possible. "In a sense, justice caught up to him, and he paid for those crimes."
Feliciano only felt a little better. Sure, he himself almost never did bad things, but who knew what these people considered bad.
"Count your links."
"W-what?"
Grandfather was looking tired, as it was late at night, yet he continued to speak.
"There are some things about our ruling government that are never supposed to be spoken of, but you need to know. Some secrets need to be shared." He had his grandson's full attention. Good.
"Long ago, people wanted less crime. They took it to the politicians, who took their words the wrong way. The people said 'Do anything' and the politicians went to some high rank Specials."
Feliciano didn't need an explanation on what a Special was; he was one himself.
"Working together, they created a system called Chain Links. When a person does something bad, they get a link, whether they know it or not." the old man noticed Feliciano dozing a little, so he decided to bring the talk to a close.
"When a person has collected 100 Chain Links, some….thing comes and drags him down to The Dark. I'm not sure what happens there though." That was a lie. He knew exactly what happened. But nobody would want to scare poor little Feliciano like that.
"Go to bed now, I can tell you're tired." Feliciano nodded groggily and trudged off to his room. Poor, innocent Feliciano, who everyone perceived as too weak to handle anything.
It was a few mornings after the talk.
Grandfather was gone. People had told him that he was in a better place, but with the new information, he couldn't bring himself to believe them. The comfort in their words was lost on him. Although he was a small child, he understood what had happened.
Grandfather had done a bad thing.
But his grandfather was the nicest man he knew. Feliciano couldn't think of anything that he would do wrong. He knew how it happened, but now, he wanted to know why. And the only people he could think of that knew would be the government, like his grandfather had said.
Right?
Feliciano was now 20, making him the second youngest person in the Government Special Agent Force (GSAF). However, he was always too scared to take any missions above street patrol, and people always teased him for it. Lovino, his older brother, had always reprimanded him for this, because he had to take odd jobs to support them.
The younger brother had come home one day to find his brother sitting on the old, torn apart couch they had picked up a few weeks ago. Lovino was horribly quiet. On the stool in front of him were the familiar folded papers of bills.
"We're in deep shit" Lovino said. After a minute of silence, Feliciano sat on the couch too, only to be yanked over by his collar, eye to eye with his brother. "Listen, we're in really deep shit right now and you're no help whatsoever."
"Th-then what do I need to do to he-"
"Listen to me. Take the next damn job they offer. I don't care how much of a fucking pussy you are, but take the very next job that pops up so I can pay these fucking bills. Got it?"
Feliciano had started squirming. "Okay, okay! I promise! The first thing I get!" he exclaimed as he panicked.
And that promise would take not only him, but others as well, on the journey that nobody would forget.