Welcome to Gaia! ::

Darkness is falling in the land of Acirema (a- KIR- ima). The king has just been murdered, and the Heir has been in an unknown location since birth. Its a race against time before the dark creatures, and perhaps something more sinister, take control......


(A story of how the RP was supposed to go before someone *cough* tiffany *cough* said it was a f**** stone..... amoung other screwups.)

Chapter 1: The Red Haired Girl

Whit sat at the bar, playing with his drink and staring off into space. He yawned loudly, and shook his head side to side, trying to stay awake. The bar was a place you could go if you didn’t want to be noticed. Whit liked that, he didn’t like being noticed, even though his shock of white hair made him easy to pick out in a crowd. In truth, there wasn’t another person that looked like him. His hair stood out strait from his scalp, and was a solid block of pure white. His pupils were unusually large, so big in fact that only two tiny rings of color a millimeter wide around them served as his irises. All in all, an unusual character. But here, unusual didn’t matter, as long as you could pay for a drink.

“Whit, old buddy, how ‘ya been?” a voice asked from behind him.

A lanky, slightly pale man collapsed into the stool next to Whit. He wore a dark suit coat with long tails, and a top hat.
“Long time no see, Jack.” Whit said
“Since when have you had a twin?” Jack asked, his speech slurred.

Jack was obviously pasted. Whit stared at his drunken friend for a moment more, and then went back to his drink. Jack promptly passed out. Whit glanced at him and rolled his eyes. He got up, stretched, and then hoisted Jack onto his shoulders. He tossed a few coins on the bar, and began to trudge towards the door, Jack’s arms dangling limply over his shoulders. Just then, a girl with bright red hair rushed into the bar. She knocked over a table, and skidded to a halt right next to Whit. She quickly ran behind him, and put her hands on either side of his shoulders.

“Right, there!” she said. “Okay, now don’t move.” she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Who the hell are you?” Whit asked. “And why are you touching my passed out friend?”
“I’m not running from the Organization!” she giggled nervously. “Gotta go.”

She ran into three chairs and a table as she moved across the bar, sitting down in the first empty seat she could find.

“Hi, I’m Zero!” she said to the man, sticking out her hand.
“Ace.” the man said, acknowledging her with a nod.

Whit followed the girl briefly with his eyes, and then started for the door. He was interrupted this time by a screaming nun.

“The dark creatures, they are attacking the church!” she wailed.

Whit turned on his heel, and walked back towards the bar, placing Jack next to him. He massaged his temples, it was going to be a long night. Ace jumped up.

“I’ll go help.” he declared, and walked out of the bar and into the night, pulling out his weapon.
“Me too, but I need a drink first!” the red haired girl said.

Whit gazed lazily around the bar again, until his nearly black eyes fell on a shadowy figure standing in a corner. The figure must have noticed Whit’s stair, because he beckoned Whit over. Whit hoisted Jack up onto his shoulders, and walked over to the table where the girl was sitting.

“Hey remember me? I’m the guy whose head you used to black yours. Could you do me a favor and watch him for a minute? Thanks.”

Whit dumped the still unconscious Jack in her lap, and then strode over to the mysterious figure.

“You.” Whit hissed at the man.
“Is that any way to greet an old friend?” the man asked. “And please, call me Beverly.”
“Friend?” Whit asked sarcastically. “Last time I saw you, you were trying to kill me.”
“Water under the bridge old friend.” Beverly assured him.
“Why are you here?” Whit asked.
“Ah yes. Well, see that girl over there?” Beverly gestured to the red haired girl. “Well, she’s rumored to have something to do with the king’s assassination. I’m here to bring her in.”

Whit cursed under his breath. If Beverly wanted this girl, then that means the people he worked for wanted her too. That meant she must have done something big. It also meant she was in danger.

“You know...” Beverly was saying. “I could always use a little help. What do you say? The pay is handsome, even split two ways.”
“Yeah sure I’ll help you.”
Whit drew a knife and slit Beverly’s throat.
“When hell freezes over.” he said.

Whit cleaned his blade on the inside of Beverly’s coat, and propped him in a leaning position against the wall. He strode quickly over to where he had left Jack with the girl. He bent down to pick up Jack, and whispered,

“We need to get out of here, now.”
He shifted Jack onto his shoulders, and Jack moaned.
“Where am I?” he asked.
Whit let him down. “In a bar, we need to go.”
Jack moaned. “I really need a drink.”
“That’s how you passed out last time.” Whit said.
“No, not beer, blood.”

Whit nodded. He knew from their travels together that Jack was a vampire, and he knew that their thirst was inescapable. Jack didn’t like to kill people for blood if he could help it, and only did he felt they deserved it. Whit unhitched a few empty vials from his belt.

“Here, Beverly’s in the corner, he’s dead.” Whit told him.
“Beverly is here?” Jack asked.
“Was.” Whit corrected. “I slit his throat. He was after you.” He said turning to the girl.

But the girl was passed out dead away asleep. Her back rose up and down gently as she breathed. Whit shook his head, and turned back to Jack.

“He was after her. We need to get out of here, and fast. Go collect your blood, I’ll get the girl.”

Whit scooped the red-headed girl up on his shoulders, waited a few moments for Jack, and then left the bar, edging around a dark woman who passed by them on their way out.

Clarissa sighed heavily as she sat down at the bar. She gazed around the room with an air of distaste. She could tolerate humans, barely. But these people.... She shook her head and turned to the bartender. The portly man waddled over to the women.

“What’ll it be lassie?” he asked her with a wheezing cough.
“White wine please.” she said calmly, staring off into space.
“Whaddya tink we are lassie? All we got is beer.” The bartender told her.
“Fine, a beer then.” Clarissa sneered, and then went back to blankly staring.

The bartender turned to waddle over to the tap, and then froze. He clutched his heart, and began to wheeze and cough. He fell over to one side, and reached his hand out to her.

“Help me.” he whispered in between gasps.

But the she either did not see him, or did not care. Clarissa
stared into space, and the world around her seemed to stand still. The rest of the bar was too noisy for anyone to notice the old man’s discomfort. Knowing that he was on the verge of dying, the man reached into he pocket and removed a small parcel wrapped in corse cloth. He extended his arm again to the women. With a start, she realized that the man on the floor was dying, and that he was trying to give her something. She took the small package from him, and stared at his convulsing form.

“Give it to her.” he whispered over the noise.
“What? Who’s her?”

But the man closed his eyes, and died quietly. She remembered the package in her hand. She lifted it up into the light, and unwrapped it slowly. The flickering light inside the bar glinted off the small metal object. It was a medallion. There were words in a language she did not understand around its outer edge, and there was a peculiar symbol in the center. Clarissa quickly stowed the medallion in her pocket, and stood up. She left the bar without another glance back.

A little ways down the street, Whit stopped and turned to Jack.

“So, where are we going?”
“I don’t know, I was following you.”
The was a soft moaning coming from behind Whit.
“Where am I?” The red haired girl asked softly.
“Oh, you’re awake!” Whit said. “Finally..... Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’ve been looking for you EVERYWHERE!” The girl yelled, pouncing on Whit and proceeding to crush him in a bone breaking hug.
“What the- Hey! Can’t- breath- STOP!” Whit roared.
“Wait a minute, you’re not.....Alex.....” The girl said.
“No.” Whit said gasping for breath. “I’m not. My name is Whit.”
“I’m Zero!” the girl said brightly.
“Yeah, ok.” Whit said. “Listen, there was this guy after you in there.” he said pointed back to the bar. “And he said you did something, could you tell me if he was- hey!”

Zero was walking away from them in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going?” Whit asked her.
“Well, I’m going to help out at the church.” Zero said matter-of-factly.
“But I need to ask you something!”
“Good bye.”

Whit’s hands fell to his sides, and he watched her go, and then turned to Jack.

“What, you’re not going to follow her?” Jack asked him.
“You know what happened to me.” Whit said.
“And what does that have to do with anything?” Jack asked.
Whit produced a small dart. “It gives off an odor only distinguishable by dogs, and me.” Whit smiled.
“Oh, you have a heightened sense of smell now do you?” Jack said.
Whit flashed him a grin. “You know it, follow me.”

Though the stars were covered by clouds, the moon shone bright and full as Whit and Jack walked though the city streets, following Zero’s path. With only Whit’s nose to guide them, they followed a route so complicated, they knew she must have been trying to lose them.

“Do you think maybe she got lost?” Jack asked after almost ten minutes of walking.
“What makes you say that?” Whit asked in a whisper.
“We’re right back where we started.” Jack said.

Jack was right, the two had stopped right in front of the same bar they had been in earlier. A dark skinned woman exited, and walked past them without a glance. Jack followed her with his eyes for a moment, and then turned back to face Whit.

“Did she say where she was going?”
“Yeah, to the church.”
“Woah! You didn’t tell me that!” Jack said accusingly.
“Weren’t you paying attention?” Whit asked.
“You act like I ever pay attention!” Jack retorted. “Besides, the point still remains, me vampire. Vampires and churches don’t go well together.”
“Really? I thought all the cross stuff was crap.” Whit said.
“It’s not.” Jack said. “I’m not going.”
“Oh come on!” Whit chided. “It’s not like we’re actually going inside the thing, just looking around.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Jack muttered under his breath.

Just then, a giant chunk of stone and shingles landed a few yards to their left, making a small crater in the dirt road.

“Is that the church steeple?” Whit asked aloud.
“I’ll be needing that.”
Zero appeared behind them.
“Ahhh!” Whit and Jack yelled.
“How did you-?”
“Excuse me.”

Zero side stepped them both, and walked over to the steeple. As if she was picking up a pencil, she reached down, and lifted the entire chunk with one hand, lifting it over her head. She gave Whit and Jack a small wave, and walked off.

“Oh yeah.” Zero said turning back. “I wanted to return you’re dart.”
She tossed the small metal object to Whit, and he caught it. Zero turned on her heel again, and marched off into the night.
“Are we going to follow her now?” Jack asked, regaining his speech first.
Whit closed his mouth manually with his hand. “Yeah,” he said weakly. “Just follow the bobbing steeple.”

Minutes later, Whit and Jack crept up the steep hillside on which the church stood. Zero had ran up a minute ahead of them. Crouching almost to the ground, Whit and Jack positioned themselves behind some low bushes to watch the action. A horde of dark creatures were battling with a single figure. Whit recognized him as the man who had gone to help the nun earlier. All the dark creatures appeared to be wearing the tattered remains of habits, and he concluded that this ambush must have been a trap. But did it have a specific target?

“What’cha guys looking at?” A voice asked from behind them.
Jack yelled, and Whit jumped a foot in the air at the unexpected sound.
“What the-?”
Zero smiled brightly.
“Why are you guys back here?” she asked.
“What, but you were....” Whit stammered, pointing back towards the church.
“You guys are really slow.” Zero told them. “Why were you following me?”

Whit took a deep breath to regain composure. “Because, like I was trying to tell you before, I’m trying to figure out if you killed someone or not.”
“Oh, I kill lots of people.” Zero assured him. “I just don’t remember any of it.”
“Now that’s a bunch of-” Jack began.
Whit cut him off. “But this particular person was really important.” he pressed.
“I only kill important people.” Zero said.
Whit sighed heavily. “It was the recently deceased king.”
Zero stared at him blankly.
“Old guy, wears a crown? Died about a month ago?” Whit said.
“Why do you want to know if I killed someone like that?” Zero asked quizzically.
“Because if you did, there’s an enormous reward for your hide.” Whit said. “Everybody will be after you.”
“So, what’s it to you?”
“Well, I don’t know, I...” Whit trailed off. “You know what? Never mind. I hope I won’t be seeing you.” Whit said, and started to walk back down the hill.
“Okay, I’m gonna go help that guy now.” Zero said, and she ran off towards the dark creatures.
“Okay, that was like, a complete waste of time.” Jack said.
“Yeah, well, just forget about it.” Whit said.
“So.... what now?” Jack asked finally.
“I don’t know, go to the tavern and sleep?” Whit suggested.
“No, I meant about that Zero girl.”
“What about her?”
“Well, if she did kill the king.....”
“We’ll come back tomorrow morning. If the dark creatures killed her, well turn in the body for gold.”
“But what if the body’s not there?”
“Then I hope we never have to see her again.”
“But if we just....”
“Jack, no. I am not going to tail some little hyperactive brat just so I can get money, it’s not worth it.”
“But it’s a LOT of money.” Jack reminded him.
Whit shook his head. “Be my guest. But it must be three in the morning by now, I need some sleep.”

Whit and Jack walked in silence the rest of the way to the tavern. They parted ways for the night, Jack to make the best of the darkness hours, and Whit to sleep. The next morning, Whit would check the church, and then as soon as darkness fell again, he and Jack would be on their way to who knows where. Meanwhile, Clarissa scoured the streets, looking for someone who knew what the medallion was for, what the strange markings meant, and what purpose it could possibly serve. The rest of Acirema slept that night, unaware of the events that were soon to be set in motion.




[[katlyn: i really liked this chapter. all good stories have a good beginning]]

Chapter 3: Coordinates

Later, Whit, Jack, and Zero were crawling though the ventilation ducts of the post office, trying to be as quiet as possible on their way to the back room, where the big world map would most likely be held. When they finally reached the room, Whit removed a grate in the duct, and they all dropped through silently. The map was spread out on the floor, covering at least a third of the room’s floor space. The rest of the room was littered with random file cabinest.

“Okay, Zero bend over.” Whit whispered.
Jack repressed a laugh, and Whit smacked him on the arm. Jack rubbed the spot where Whit had hit him tenderly, and he went off to see what else was in the room.
“You can just sit down on the map.” Whit said.
Zero slid down into a split over the big heading that said ‘Acirema’ . Whit looked at her and shook his head.
“How can you do that?” he asked, he face peering closely at the coordinates though the half light.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were checking me out back there.” Zero whispered playfully.
“Yeah, whatever.” Whit said.
He moved off on his hands and knees to find the coordinates. After a minute or so of searching, he called Zero over.
“There.” he said, pointing to a small island no bigger than his finger tip on the map.
Zero felt strange. She knew where that island was, she was sure of it. But where.....oh no.
“We can’t go there.” She said suddenly.
”Why not?” Whit asked her.
“Because, that’s an Axis headquarters.” she said.
“So?”
“So, are you crazy? You can’t make me back there!”
“So, you wouldn’t go back under any circumstances?” Whit asked her.
“Hell no!”
“Hmmmm....”
Just then, a wailing siren started to go off.
“I think I tripped something!” Jack called, running towards them.
“We have to get out of here.”

Jack leapt back into the duct, and then held down a hand to help Zero and Whit back in. The crawled hurriedly towards the outside. Once they reached the outside again, they paused for a moment. Whit could here pounding footsteps.

“What now?” Zero asked.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to that island.” Whit said.
“What?!?” Zero exclaimed.
“Well, see you around Zero.” Whit said.

He took off in the direction of a shipyard, Jack following closely behind, leaving Zero standing dumbstruck in the alley. Whit hopped the shipyard’s fence. He looked back and forth quickly, trying to find the easiest ship to break into. He spotted a small two man vessel, and stole aboard. He and Jack cut the ropes, and Whit stared the motor. Whit was sweating from the rush to the shipyard, so he threw his trench coat in the seat next to Jack, and took the controls. The ship rose silently into the air, and then turned towards the coast. Whit stood at the wheel, directing the airship along at an easy pace.

“What were those coordinates again?” Whit asked, “I wrote them down on a slip of paper, they’re in my coat.”
His answer was a giant blow to the side of the head. Whit shot sideways, and he landed face up, with Zero standing over him. Whit sat up slowly, and spit. It was red with blood.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked angrily.
“Making sure you don’t kill yourself!” Zero yelled at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“That island is too dangerous for you, you’d both be dead within five minutes!” she said angrily.
“We’re not helpless you know.” Whit said.
“That’s what they all say.” Zero said, turning her back. “I guess I’m gonna have to stick around until you stop being so stupid.”

Whit groaned loudly, and thunked his head against the ship’s deck.

“I still don’t understand what’s so bad about these Axis people.” Whit said.
Zero sighed exasperatedly. “They’re just bad news, okay?” she said.
“Well, what did they do?” Jack asked.
“Well, for starters, the preformed harmful and damaging tests on innocent children. That’s why am I the way I am.”
“They preformed experiments to make you really annoying?” Whit asked her sarcastically.
“No! My god.... No, that’s why I have the super strength and stuff.” Zero said.
“Oh, right....”

“Besides, knowing them, Axis is probably there waiting for us.”
“Now you honestly can’t be that paranoid.” Whit said.
“Well, considering I have a homing beacon implanted in my flesh.” Zero said. “And that they can track me anywhere using it, I’d say yeah, I can be paranoid.”
“Look, all we’re doing is seeing what’s there, and then we’ll leave.” Whit said.
“I can already tell you what’s there!” Zero exclaimed. “Axis, but they’re inside the mountains that ring the island. Those could take forever to cross.”
“That’s why we have an airship?” Whit pointed out.
“No, the peaks go to high. Besides, they’re rumored to be inhabited by dragons and all sorts of nasty creatures.”
“You know.” Whit said, almost thoughtfully. “For someone who can’t remember anything, you’re sure doing a good job now.”
“They only erase memories of missions, duh.” Zero said. “And the rest I only remember if I want to. Like say if, oh, I don’t know, I don’t want to go somewhere?” she said, yelling the last few words.
“We could always drop you off you know.” Whit said.
“Where? We’re over an ocean!”
“My point exactly.”

Zero sighed heavily, grumbled something, and stalked off into the corner, and sulked. The ride was silent for a few more minutes before Whit spoke again.
“You know,” he said, “I’ve always found sulking to be more effective when you’re not five feet away.”
“Shut up!”Zero yelled.

The trip lasted several days. In that time, the moods on bored didn’t get much better. If anything, they got worse. Zero refused to talk to Whit, and a conversation with Jack only last about a minute, his attention span was too short. Whit and Jack shared the piloting duties, even though Zero would have probably refused to help, Whit didn’t want her steering them off course. Near sunrise on the third day at see, a small dot on the horizon appeared, presumably the island they were looking for.

By noon, the dot had become a full scale structure, complete with beaches, a few palm trees, and the gigantic, all-encompassing mountain range Zero had described. Whit took them in at a gentle curve, completely surrounding the island once before landing on a beach. The three all hopped out, and Jack and Whit began to drag the airship inland. Zero sighed and shook her head, and picked the entire thing up with one hand, and placed it well past the tide line.

“So, what now?” Jack asked.
“Well, we find a way to get to the other side.” Whit said.
“The easiest way would be to blast through.” Zero said.
“Using what?”
Zero eyed Whit’s belt. “What substances do you have with you?”
“You could always go with potassium fires.” he suggested.
“But that might now be powerful enough.” she said.
She drew a vial of her own, full of green liquid. “Here.” She said. “Mix this with your potassium concentrate.”
“Whit did as she said, and the new mixture fizzed slightly in the tube, and turned turquoise.
“That should do it.” Zero said.
“How powerful is it?”
“Watch.”

Zero jerked the vial so that some of the liquid splashed out. Upon contact with the rock, there was a giant boom, and a cloud of dust. When the dust had cleared, there was a giant crater in the cliff face, and rubble was strewn everywhere.

“Okay, this is what we do.” Zero said, “You pour, I’ll clear some of the bigger boulders, as well as close the path behind us, so nothing will come in behind us.”
Whit nodded in response, and they went to work.

About half an hour later, they had gone strait though the mountain to the inner area of the island. There was about a hundred yards of flat country side, and then a dirt path began, and then broadened, running though the center of a small town. The far side of the town was masked in mist. The three walked forwards slowly, keeping alert for any people. But halfway down the center street, and there was still no sign of a single person.

“It’s like it’s abandoned.” Whit said. “There is noone here.”
“Funny,” Zero said. “Last time I was here, this was a thriving community, with a bunch of families. Some even had small children.”
“When was the last time you were here?” Whit asked.
“I think, I think I lived here.” Zero said, gazing around the empty streets.

“Well,” Jack said, peering though a window. “Despite what you may remember, there is defiantly noone here.”
“That’s really strange. I mean a whole town just gone missing?” Zero said. She turned to Jack and Whit. “What are you staring at?”

Whit and Jack simultaneously pointed strait forwards.

“What is it.... oh, that.” Zero said dejectedly.

It was a humongous mansion, easily six stories high. It looked old and ornate, with giant stone steps leading up to a carved set of double doors three times their height. Giant stone lions lay on either side of the front steps, seeming to guard the entrance. Zero rolled her eyes.

“Okay guys, we saw the giant building, we can go now.” she said.
Whit turned and smiled. “I wanna go look inside.”
Zero sighed “There’s nothing in there, trust me.” she said.
“I think you’re just scared.” Whit told her.
“I’m not scared!” she whined.
“Then come on.”
“No!”
“Fine.” Whit said, “Wait for us out here.”
“I will.” she said, crossing her arms, facing away from them.

Whit beckoned Jack, and the walked towards the mansion. When Whit was about to push open the doors, they creaked open of their own accord. Whit glanced at Jack. Jack shrugged, and they continued forward. There was a long hallway that went off to either side.

“Let’s go right.”

They disappeared from Zero’s view around the corner, and then she was alone. Zero crossed hers arms more tightly, as if to put more emphasis on her pout. But noone was there to see it.

“How dare they, calling me scared.” she huffed.
There was a soft rustling in the bushes to left.
“Probably just the wind, or a squirrel.” she said to herself.
The bushes rustled again.
“Maybe I should just see what’s taking them so long. Yeah, I’ll do that.....”
Zero stood up, and started to trudge towards the mansion. A bird called loudly.
“Guys, wait up!”

Whit stopped after a few yards. The hallway had started to get darker almost the moment they stepped away from the door. They had only taken a few paces, and now it was almost completely black. Neither he nor Jack had any means of light, so they had stopped, confused as what to do next.

“Guys?” he heard Zero’s voice call.
“We’re over here!” He called to her. “Finally decided to come?”
“I was wondering why you guys are taking so long.” Zero said.
“We were only here for a few seconds.”
“Yeah well, what are you guys doing here anyway?” Zero asked.
“Trying to look around?”
“No, the lights are off can’t you see?”
“Well, we were just trying to.....”
“And you’re in the wrong hallway besides.” Zero said matter-of-factly.

She strode off in the opposite direction. Jack shrugged.
“She does know more about this place than us.” he reminded Whit.
Whit sighed and nodded. They both quickened their pace to follow Zero. She was standing a few feet past the doorway, gazing at a wall.

“What, I thought you said there was another hallway here!” Whit said.
“There is.” Zero replied.
“No, there’s not, just a wall, stupid.”
Zero sighed. “And you call me stupid. There’s a touch panel in this wall that opens the hallway.” she explained.
“So why didn’t you use it?” Whit asked accusingly.
“Wow, you really are a moron.” Zero said. “You need finger prints to open it, I don’t have any!”
“I would ask, but I don’t really care.” Whit said. “Okay, where’s the panel?”
“Right there.” Zero said, pointing to a spot on the wall. “Now put your hand on it.”
“Like this?” Whit asked.
“No! Oh my..., here.”

Zero grabbed Whit’s hand. She placed it so that each of his finger tips were placed on a small indent in the wall.
“Nothing’s happening.” Whit said.

“That’s because you have to want it to open.” Zero said.
“Well how do I do that?” Whit asked.
“How the hell should I know?!” Zero retorted. “Feel something, anything. But compassion works the best.”
“What if I just massage it with my finger tips?” Whit asked.

Zero smacked him over the head.

“Hey! Jeez, have a sense of humor.”
After a moment, the wall in front of them retracted into the ceiling revealing a large hallway. Whit glanced at Zero and Jack, and then started forwards. Zero abruptly pushed him out of the way, and took the lead.

“I actually know where we’re going.” she said.
“And where would that be?” Whit asked.
“The power core.” Zero told them.
“Why would we need to go there?” Jack asked.
“To turn on the lights, duh.”
“But I like the dark....”
“It’s not sunlight, you’ll be fine.” Whit said.
“Shut up.” Zero said. “And don’t worry Jack, it’s not sunlight, you’ll be fine.”
“What? I just said that!”
Zero flashed him a devilish grin. “Well, you wanted me along, didn’t you?”
“Actually, no, I didn’t.” Whit said.
“I’m hungry.” Jack said.
“Shut up.”