The Night Corps

Chapter 1 - kill the dealer

Keanu fought for control, but his body seemed to go on autopilot. He staggered over to the man and collapsed to his knees. The man took a needle out from the sleeve of his cloak and fiddled with it between his fingers, while the silhouette of the Samaritan ran through an alleyway and disappeared onto the street. Keanu was left with no help and a crazy man holding a deadly drug.

"You'll pay for this." Keanu spat in a menacing voice.

The mans confidence seemed to flutter a touch at the surprising tone and Keanu felt his body gain control a little bit. However, as quickly as the feeling came, it was gone.

The man raised his hand and Keanu's body went with it. "You are an extraordinary fighter, but that is not enough to compete with people like me. People who wield an Imperial Arms."

Keanu's face contorted with anger and he gathered just enough strength to lash his arm out and connect with the man's nose. As soon as it happened, Keanu regained control of his body. He lunged forward and punched the man wickedly in the jaw before kicking his legs out from beneath him. The man crashed on the pavement and snarled.

"Hidden technique: nightmare." The man muttered.

Suddenly, Keanu was surrounded by a large number of people that he knew, and they were all held at gun point by unrecognisable men. One girl in particular with dark red hair and glasses was staring at Keanu blankly. Keanu took a step towards her, but couldn't go any further than that. His leg was chained to a pole.

The unmistakeable sound of a gunshot rattled Keanu's skull behind him and he turned to see a little girl dead on the concrete. Keanu gasped. It was his little sister.

Shaking with fury, Keanu charged around the pole and was once again kept at bay by the chain. He whipped his head around as another innocent friend was murdered.

What is this? Keanu put both hands on the sides of his head. Is this a nightmare? Is my opponent making this happen?

Realising that the images before him were fake, Keanu calmed down and watched as the rest were killed one by one. Then, the image swayed like a ripple in a pond and Keanu was standing in the same courtyard as before. The red-eyed man was hobbling away, rubbing his jaw. As soon as he heard Keanu approaching, he quickened his pace and disappeared in the shadows.

Keanu dashed after him but faltered halfway through an alleyway. The hellish visions kept flashing across his mind, distracting him, making him dizzy. He stopped for a second, leaning against a wall, before running at a slower pace toward the man.

Keanu met him in another alleyway lit by a street lamp overhead. "Stop right there!"

The man turned around and spat blood on the brick wall beside him. "Get lost little boy. You're no match for me."

He flicked his wrist and a needle shot out from his sleeve. Keanu moved his head to dodge it just in time but wasn't prepared for the follow-up. The man was way faster than Keanu had predicted and was suddenly inches from him. He stuck another needle in Keanu's neck and retreated back to his original position.

"Ugh!" Keanu coughed up a tonne of blood and fell to his hands and knees. He could feel his entire body burning, as if lava had been tipped down his throat. His vision went fuzzy and colours kept flashing before him.

"Chameleon..." Keanu whispered, because that's all he could manage.

The man began to laugh. "Luckily for you, my first test subject, this drug won't kill you. Unfortunately, it'll be a lot worse."

Between spasms of pain and coughing up blood, Keanu heard a third pair of feet enter the alleyway. From the distance of the sound, he must've come from behind the man.

"Am I interrupting something?" Asked an innocent-sounding male.

"Not at all!" The man said, still facing Keanu who spat in his direction. "Just the birth of a miracle."

Something metallic was unsheathed. "I'll be quick then."

The man had just enough time to turn around and catch a glimpse of his attacker before he was sliced in half through the waist. A wave of blood drenched Keanu and through his blurred, colourful vision he could make out the shape of a boy no older than him covered in white. He was holding something metallic (the light was bouncing off it) above his head, splattered with blood. With a quick wave of his arm, the blood left his weapon and decorated the wall beside him. Then, he replaced the weapon in its massive sheath strapped to his back before rushing over to Keanu.

"Listen." He said in a surprisingly calm voice for someone who'd just sliced a human in half. "You're going to be in a lot more pain unless you allow me to take you to a safe place. My friends and I can remove the drug from your system. After that... I suppose we can draw that conclusion once the damage has been dealt with."

Keanu's vision and hearing had been dramatically impaired in the few minutes he had been introduced to the drug. He couldn't see a thing, only a pair of neon blue eyes surrounded by white and a few specks of red. His bad hearing had only made out the words "pain, safe place, remove and damage." From this, Keanu assumed that the arms carrying him belonged to the boy and that he was taking him to be cured.

"Don't worry." The boy said, stepping over the two separate parts of the drug dealer. "My friends really are quite nice once you get to know them!"

Keanu had just come to the conclusion that this boy was, on some level, insane when his vision went completely red and he blacked out from the pain.