Three years ago…

Chase stood behind the front lines of armored police vehicles, with soldiers aiming their guns at a stone building. His blue eyes staring at the scene, trying to assess the best way to deal with the armed Black Dragon members, moving in the dark-tinted windows. But as much as he tried to focus, splashes of red kept interrupting his thoughts. The flash of a scythe's curved blade clashing with the blade of a once-heroic sword. Blood curdling screams of men, women, and children all looking at him with eyes of terrified despair. But the face that truly twisted his heart was the blank expression of Lysander’s blood-covered face, limbless body, and the sea of blood that flooded everything.

"Chase!" Something slapped him on the back, jolting him out of his mini-nightmare. "Did you hear what I just said?"

Chase nervously turned to see a slightly younger Rowan, a small growing beard with sharp green eyes.

"Uh yeah. Take out the assailants," he said.

"Yup," Rowan said.

Then another voice cut in from Chase's other side. "And DON'T forget about the hostages. We counted about nine of them but there could be more." Chase turned again to see a younger Calvin with cleaner armor.

"Right, right..." Chase nodded unconvincingly.

Calvin looked at him and frowned. "Are you sure you're up for this?" Calvin said, "I heard you went through a lot—"

"I'm fine," Chase cut in. "Let's just…get this over with." He went ahead and peaked up from behind a police car to get another visual, wanting to just push everything out of his mind and stay focused. Back to the mission, The Horizon City police had found a Black Dragon base at an old abandoned building outside of the city, and the plan was to bust the place in hopes of doing damage to the old criminal syndicate. Chase was called onto the mission after he recently graduated from Highrise, and had a good relationship with the chief of police, Rowan; it would be his first mission as a full fledged fighter but it would prove to be a lot harder after they found out that the Black Dragons held hostages, and their demands had been made clear. Despite Chase's unease, they weren't going to back down and he couldn't now. It would just be a quick run. The faster he takes them down, then the faster they'll be able to rescue the hostages, and the faster this whole mission would be finished. As long as he was quick, then they could all avoid disaster.

He spotted a dark, concealed area on the left side of the building and figured he could sneak in through a window and take them out that way. But one miss-step could alert the members and then the hostages would be dead.

He was once again reminded of piles of bloodied bodies scattered around what was once a beautiful scenery. A white party with cakes, rows of chairs, and a red carpet leading up to a green archway and a little altar under it. Flowers were supposed to rain on that day, but the only thing raining was red.

Chase shook his head again, desperately trying to shake those images out. He wasn't going to sit back again and let people die. He had to do something. Chase started moving from his position and tried sneaking behind the police cars and toward the dark area he had noticed.

"Chase! What're you doing?" Rowan said.

"I have a plan." He said.

"Well mind telling us what it is?"

But Chase had already snuck away, like a leaf in the wind.

"That boy," Rowan grumbled.

"I'm sure he knows what he's doing," Calvin reassured. "Let's just hope we're ready for it."

Chase's light skin poked out occasionally from his blue and black clothing. Soft boots that made his steps light and quiet, a dark blue scarf covering his face with a black hood to match his style. In a matter of seconds, he had managed to slink his way through the forest and was now standing before a massive stone wall. Then, grabbing something from the back of his hip, he pulled out a medium-sized black sheath in one hand and slid out a long silver dagger in the other hand. He pressed a button on the black sheath which outlined the edge and bottom of it with a sharp blade. With effectively two daggers in hand, Chase scaled the wall and shortly made it to an open window. A Black Dragon member was standing near it with an assault rifle in hand, but they didn't see him. In a flash, a dagger plunged itself into the member's neck and they collapsed, with Chase catching them before they hit the ground.

(59)

The countdown had started. Chase moved quickly, taking back the dagger and placing the member to the ground where he wouldn't be seen immediately and sneaked around in the shadows of the building.

(58)

Catching and taking out any member that got too close, one by one they fell. Flashes of a blade, slight splashes of blood, and a soft collapse. Swiftly, he made his way through the building, searching for the hostages until he reached a balcony that looked over a large central room that had several people tied up on the floor. They all looked afraid, trying to scream and cry for help through their gags, and yet again Chase was reminded of the villagers he failed to save.

(55)

Voices rang out behind him as he noticed a Black Dragon member coming up. "Hey!--" the member started to yell out but it got blocked as a dagger went straight through his throat. Chase had gotten behind him and held onto the member's neck as they slowly went limp, dropping their gun. He could feel the blood seep into his hand, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed. No, they were bad people, criminals who were putting innocent people's lives at risk. But would Lysander really approve of slaughtering them in cold-blood? Why does that matter? Obviously, he wouldn't care very much for what he had done…

(50)

Chase shook his head again, and made his way to the floor where the hostages were being kept, leaving the dead member's body. Chase was always able to kill when it was necessary and it didn't matter what Lysander thought, now if only he could believe that.

(49)

Sneaking into the room, Chase didn't see anymore Black Dragon members, especially where the hostages were except for two guards stationed far away. He figured that if he took them out he would be able to secure the hostages, and then he could have the rest of the task force come in to handle the rest. He heard a loud muffled scream coming from a young hostage wearing a sweaty but fancy black suit, who noticed him hiding. Chase cautiously snuck over; getting a better look, he noticed that the hostage was a boy, maybe early teens. Why would they have a child for a hostage?

Chase got close to the kid and took off his gag, while also raising his finger to his scarf-covered mouth in a *shhh* gesture.

"Are you here to save me?" The boy whispered.

"I am, are you hurt?"

The boy shook his head. "I want to see my father," he whimpered.

"I know. I'm gonna get you out of here okay, I promise."

The boy still didn’t look at ease and looked at him with teary eyes.

Thinking fast to calm him down, Chase said, “Hey, don’t panic, okay? Just, um, what’s your name? And what are you excited to do after this?”

“...My–my name is Andrew Westcoat. And I was supposed to play in a piano competition yesterday, I’ve been practicing all month. But now I don’t think that’s going to happen, so I guess I’ll just want to hug my dad and not let go…maybe eat some cookies and go to sleep.” The boy seemed to look less panicked, but he still had tears trailing down his cheek. However, his name caught Chase’s attention. The Westcoats were a wealthy family in Horizon, which wasn’t a big surprise, since the Black Dragons were probably going to use their son as ransom. But something made him uneasy.

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Chase then heard yelling near the doorway and saw Black Dragon members scuttering about, he needed to hide.

(40)

As Chase was sneaking back, trying to get to a hiding spot, he heard the click of a gun and a yell that made his heart sink.

"Hey! Sijinn's dead!" One of the Black Dragon members yelled out, alerting everyone in the building.

(39)

Chase cursed himself for not being more careful. Sijinn must've been a member he killed and forgot to hide, and now everything just got ten times harder. Speaking of which, three Black Dragon members busted into the room with rifles raised. The hostages squirmed together as one of them aimed their gun right at them, while the two scouted the room. "Why do you have your gag off?!" The Black Dragon member with a #18 name tag on their uniform shouted at the boy hostage.

"I--I," Andrew stammered.

"I thought we told you not to play around!" They shoved their gun into Andrew's forehead and knocked him to the ground.

"Yuung!" Another Black Dragon member with a #34 yelled. "Stop attacking the kid, we need him."

"Urgh, but how did he get his gag off? We stuck those in tight."

"Obviously someone's here," the third Black Dragon member with the #25 said as they continued scanning the room.

"Did someone come in here!?" Yuung yelled at Andrew again, who was just crying at this point. "If we find them here you're all dead!"

(32)

There were no other options, and that boy was suffering enough. As #25 was about to discover his hiding spot, Chase made his move and plunged his dagger into the member's chest and kept their gun away. At the same time, Chase threw his other dagger into Yuung's neck and sent them down.

(30)

#34, however, fired a spray of bullets at Chase, who used #25's body as a shield. Pulling his dagger out of the body and then throwing it #34, cutting in their neck. But the sound of bullets called many more members into the room. And right as Chase got his dagger out of #18's neck, a Black Dragon member fired at Chase, who used his blade to deflect the bullets. Unfortunately, one of the bullets deflected straight into a female hostage who fell with an ominous scream muffled by the gag, while a few bullets managed to cut into Chase.

(25)

There wasn't any time to stop, more and more guards were entering the room and Chase had no choice but to fight his way out. His eyes and a dragon marking on his arm started glowing blue as electricity coursed across his body and led up to his hand holding his blades. Like lightning, Chase charged and cut through the Black Dragon members as they fired hundreds of bullets all across the room. Hitting the walls, the floors, the furniture, and people. Chase could feel bullets piercing into his body, but ignored the pain as he let the power of a dragon push him to fight mercilessly. Black Dragon members were falling by the numbers and the hostages were also getting caught in the crossfire. By the time Chase had taken down most of the Black Dragons, he looked around at his feet as he recognized at least five hostages were dead and three more injured. Then he heard a cry of Andrew who was getting dragged out of the room and further into the building by a dark-haired man with hazel eyes, wearing a purple dragon decorated coat and a golden pistol pressed right at Andrew's head.

(20)

"Well, well, looks like you went on quite the rampage."

"Let. Him. Go."

"Why should I? What could you possibly do to me? Kill me? I'm sure you're stable enough to know what'll happen if you try to do that." The man pressed his gun harder into Andrew’s head, causing him to cry out even more.

Chase growled and took a step toward them.

(18)

"Ah, ah, ah," the man stepped back with the boy and pressed the trigger of the gun a little more but not enough to fire it. "Don't get too close. Or this kid might not be leaving this place with a head."

"The police have this place surrounded. Leave the boy, and you can go free."

"Mmmm, I have a better idea. How about I just make my escape with the boy, and you all can just forget this ever happened hmm?"

(17)

Chase narrowed his eyes, analyzing the man, the room and tried to figure out a plan. Some of the hostages were already dead and the rest injured, but he could at least try and save some, he just had to act fast.

(16)

His eyes then landed on a beeping blue light in a dark corner behind the Black Dragon member. What was that? It kept beeping weirdly and it felt like something wasn't right, but he couldn't dwell on it now.

(15)

"Well, I'm just gonna get going now and take the last hostage we need," the man started backing up and dragged Andrew with him, kicking and screaming.

(14)

"Wait!" Chase followed them but the man snapped at him.

"Do you really want me to blast this kid!? We need him but we don't need him that much buddy." Then the sound of an earpiece clicked in the room as Chase watched the man seem to listen to something and then a crooked smile spread across his face. "Well, you're in luck. I guess we don't need him after all," the man looked Chase in the eyes and pushed the boy running to Chase. "Take him."

(12)

Chase reached for Andrew, trying to move fast enough to bring him to safety. But he wasn't fast enough.

(11)

Andrew was running with tears streaming down his face as he clumsily ran to Chase but then his face suddenly went limp in shock as his body jolted unnaturally forward and soon he was on the ground, blood soaking through his nicely dressed shirt. Chase's eyes widened and he looked up to see the man with his golden gun raised right where Andrew used to be, smoke rising from the nozzle.

"NO!"

(10)

"Whoops." The wicked man said with a shrug and ran.

(9)

Anger boiled in Chase's body as the lightning erupted around him. He chased after the man with his daggers in his hand full of vicious intent.

(8)

The man turned a corner right as Chase slashed with his blade, sending a blast of lightning smashing into the wall. The man ran through a series of hallways that were narrow, keeping Chase far behind him without any ways of cutting him off. But he didn't care, Chase didn't care that he was using up so much of his own stamina and power, he didn't care about the blue light that was flashing brighter and brighter along the dark walls, and he didn't care if he destroyed the whole building trying to catch that prick.

(7)

Innocents had died today, innocents had died before, and Chase wasn't going to let another criminal go out free without punishment. Another streak of lightning shot out from Chase's hands in the shape of a dragon roaring with rage, but it also just hit the wall as the man dodged effortlessly through the hall. A red aura outlined the man in the shape of a monkey, taking form as he nimbly dodged every electric strike and slash that Chase's dragon spirit sent out.

(6)

"You're almost out of time!" The man called back with a wicked laugh that echoed through the halls. "You're gonna have to be faster if you wanna catch me!"

"I'll show you fast," Chase said through gritted teeth.

(5)

With a burst of power, Chase's veins glowed even brighter as he let out a roar and leaped at the man with lightning boosting his movement.

(4)

The man kept running until suddenly he turned around and shot Chase right in the chest with his gun, jolting him in midair and crashing to the side. The lightning coursing around him bouncing all over the walls, but never hitting the man who disappeared with a wide maniacal grin.

(3)

Chase grunted and righted himself to the best of his ability. The blue aura still covered him as he desperately hoped his soul could handle it, hoping for the dragon to carry him forward.

(2)

He wouldn't let him escape. People were going to die. People were counting on him. He limped and pushed, picking up his blades again and stumbled forward. Just a few more steps. Just a little bit more.

(1)

His breathing was growing heavier and heavier, the blue light at the end of the hallway was getting closer and closer with each flash. It felt like his entire life was being shown to him with each flash of that blue light. Born in a temple atop a dreadful mountain, training with discipline and precision, conflicted with his own expectations, finding friends, idolizing a born leader, finally understanding what happiness means, dreams of the future. Sometimes he wondered if he had made enough of an impact to be remembered and missed, but truly he wished people would just forget him.

(0)

At the last moment, Chase finally looked closer at the blue flashing light, which seemed to be a part of a long timer attached to a black device. And before he could even think any further, the device exploded. His mind couldn’t register what was happening, except just white and blue and pain. But in those moments he believed that he was gone, that his moments in the building and fighting the Black Dragon were his last. That all those people and all those hostages were dead, all the efforts from the Horizon City police were completely wasted, because of him, and he wouldn't even be alive to face any punishment. In a matter of seconds, everything was destroyed.

He couldn't hear, he couldn't move, and the last thing he saw were the masked faces of two soldiers facing him and then black.