The Samaritan couldn't control his shaking. One minute he was walking into a dark alleyway and the next, he was gagged, knocked out and tied up. What could he have done wrong? Those very words echoed in the mind of an early teenager prowling the rooftops, looking for an opening to strike. He had followed the Samaritan, predicting his capture and therefore locating the operations centre of his target organisation: a highly dangerous drug dealership that sold nightly rounds to anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path. This boy was determined to undermine the business and teach those men a lesson.
"Well, well. What do we have here?" A raspy voice disrupted the silence.
From between the dark forms of two armed men, the owner of the voice emerged. He wore a dark cloak and his chalky hands were twiggy and wrinkled. The boy cringed on the rooftop and lowered himself down a drainpipe for a closer look. He caught sight of the mans face and gasped. Blood red eyes scanned the Samaritan from under the hood. Other than that, the man's face was white and chalky, matching his hands.
"Oracle, I need you to search for a drug dealer with red eyes." The boy whispered into his phone.
A girl's voice laced with a German accent answered. "I'm on it, but that sounds ridiculous. Although, compared to what we've come across lately... I suppose it's not that strange."
The Samaritan was fully conscious now and cowered at the sight of the abnormal eyes. "Oh, goodness! Please, I beg of you! Take my money, take whatever you want! I'll cooperate!"
"Silence!" The red-eyed man coughed. "We only want one thing from you."
The Samaritan struggled against his ropes, clearly showing some fight left in him. "You all think you can run this place? Like you own it!? You're wrong. This city has not fallen to such standards."
"You are clearly delusional." Creepy guy said, his voice low and croaky now. "This city is a joke. This city... is not even a city. It's a playground for men like me. Now, you will abide by my rules or suffer dearly."
At his last few words, the two men behind the man raised their weapons and trained them on the Samaritan. He twisted and fought against his bindings but they wouldn't budge. The boy, now concealed in the shadows behind a brick wall was listening and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"Keanu?" The girl's voice whispered. "I don't know the mans name, but he is exactly who we are looking for. He works for the imperial army and sells the drug 'chameleon.' He's responsible for the deaths of an unfortunate amount of people."
Keanu clenched his fist in frustration. "Thank you, Oracle. I must go now."
Everyone in the city new how dangerous Chameleon could be. Apparently, it induced powerful illusions in the minds of its users. Without another word, Keanu slid the phone into the pocket of his jeans and slipped soundlessly into a shadow against the wall. He slowly edged his way along until he was situated behind the armed men. Then, he dashed forward with remarkable speed and performed a series of kicks, punches and throws that left them sprawled unconscious on the pavement.
The red-eyed man now turned to the boy with (if possible) an even scarier look. Keanu felt his gaze burn into the back of his skull and he suddenly felt dizzy.
"An interruption?" The man croaked. "Quite irritating. Fortunately, you my dear boy, are in luck." He snapped his fingers and the ropes around the Samaritan unraveled and disappeared into the shadows. "You get to replace this kind gentleman and try my latest edition of Chameleon."
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.