[ComicGuy89]

Chapter 1: Chance Meetings

The rain was pouring hard and fast on the city of Stella. Thunder and lightning took turns punctuating the otherwise dark night sky. Howling angrily, the winds beat against the sides of buildings and slapped the torrential rains onto the streets in waves. Though the roads were bustling with people just a few hours ago, they were now empty and quiet. As the newscasters had completely failed to predict the magnitude of the thunderstorm, people were ill-equipped to leave the safety of their homes even if they wanted to.

The only sign of life was a man huddled in the corner of an alley in Beacon Port, a suburb of the city. This man drew his jacket close to shield his face from the rains. Hours earlier, at Stella Penitentiary, the man had seized the jacket from the guard’s corpse after having choked the life out of him. Although the jacket was a poor fit, and not nearly sufficient to protect against the raging storm, it would have to do.

He cursed the rain, cursed the prison, and cursed his very existence. It was as if life felt compelled to throw insult after insult at him, laughing cruelly in the process. What use was there escaping? He had no idea where to go, no plan to put into action. He knew he would eventually be caught.

Still, trying anything was better than sitting in that cell, like a wretched slave robbed of any will or agency. The man remembered being tormented and taunted daily by one particular guard. He remembered the laughter, the beatings, and above all, the insults. Hatred had etched the laughing face of this guard in his mind, and he had made it a priority to fatally silence him the moment he got out of his cell. Never mind that it had cost him precious minutes to escape or drawn the attention of another guard, he felt he needed to do it. The second guard was the one with the jacket, and it was a pity that he had to be killed too, but a guard was a guard. They were all complicit in his enslavement. They all had to pay.

Something tugged at the man’s heart. That was not true. People didn’t have to die that night. Was he a murderer now?

The winds were now dying, gradually becoming still. The storm had seemingly lost its anger and energy. Even the rain had subsided somewhat.

“Yes, you’re a murderer,” said the man out loud to himself. “You’re scum now. Might as well embrace it. You don’t deserve to live.”

“Maybe you don’t.”

The man jumped to his feet, startled. The high-pitched voice had come from young boy, who was leaning against the wall opposite the man.

“Of course, don’t die just yet,” said the boy. “We have need of your body. After we’re done with it, we’ll graciously grant your wish.”

The boy was dressed in a black robe, with a hood that covered most of his white hair. He looked extremely bored. His eyes peeked out from under his hood and they deeply unsettled the man; they were like gaping black holes, cold and empty.

“Who’re you?” asked the man cautiously. “How come I didn’t hear you walk in?”

“You’re a pretty good specimen too, for our first host,” said the boy, ignoring the man. “Yes, you’ll do very nicely.”

“Listen kid, I don’t know what you’re doing out so late in this rain,” said the man. “But you don’t want to be here. I’m not a safe person to be-“

“Hush.”

“What-”

“I said hush!” interrupted the boy, taking out an alien, ornate staff. “Enough talk. Let’s not waste time, we have much work to do. So just lie there and give in, it’ll be much easier on you.”

At this, the man felt his blood boil hot. He would not be mocked and ignored by this kid. Or commanded. He had had enough of that at prison, he did not escape to have to take this from anyone, ever again. He would be willing to die before being stepped over.

“NO, I WILL NOT KEEP QUIET!” he shouted. “I will not be ignored by some kid!”

A smile curled on the boy’s face. His dull eyes, however, remained unchanged, creating an unsettling effect.

“Feisty, aren’t we?” said the boy. “At least this first one will be fun. It really doesn’t matter what you say, you know? There is no use resisting.”

The boy just wouldn’t stop! Blind rage filled the man as he lunged forward. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, except shut that boy up. Tear his mouth off. Something.

However, halfway through his jump, he was suddenly jolted backwards and held in mid-air by an unseen force. The man saw that the boy was now pointing his staff at the man, and its tip was glowing a bright red.

The man felt his limbs go limp as he began losing control of them. The boy was taking over his mind. Slowly, he felt his will slip away. His anger subsided, replaced by a feeling of complete abandonment, of despair. It took considerable effort to try just to fight back. What was the use resisting, would it not be better to simply give in?

The boy was now back to his original bored expression. “I feel I must thank you for that bit of fun. Unfortunately, as I said, there is no use resisting. You are hardly a match for us Nihil, being the weak, nameless human you are.”

Nameless? Weak? Rage reawakened like a roaring dragon in the man’s chest.

“N-No more!” the man said with difficulty, struggling against the bind that kept him in the air. “I will not … I will not be looked down upon!”

While the boy’s expression was unchanged, there was a hint of alarm in his voice. He arm trembled as he struggled to hold on to his staff.

“That’s not possible! This has never happened before!”

The man fought against the invisible grip some more. He could feel his senses return to his limbs.

“STOP!” shouted the boy. “I COMMAND YOU!”

All at once the man felt a great surge of power flow through him. With one push he broke free of the boy’s hold on him and knocked him away with a great force of power. The boy slammed against the wall and dropped his staff as he fell to the ground. The man realized that though he had not actually made physical contact with the boy when he struck at him, the boy was still knocked back.

Curious, the man made a grasping movement with his hand and lifted upwards, and saw that the boy was being lifted up by his robe, too.

He could control the boy.

The man smiled. Time to turn the tide. He gestured with his powers and telekinetically brought the boy close to him. Drawing the boy’s face close to his own, he stared triumphantly into the boy’s eyes. They were still cold, empty and soulless on his emotionless face, but this did not bother him. He had won.

“Now kid, let’s have a little chat.”

*

“Nadia, come! I want you to prepare this salad.”

Jolted out of her daydreams, Nadia turned around to face her manager, Sally Guinto.

“Uh, maybe I should stay here,” chimed Nadia. “You know, the front needs watching and all.”

“You can watch the desk just fine from the kitchen, “said Sally. “Besides I’m sure Sharon is more than capable enough to handle the outside.”

Sharon smiled weakly at Nadia and she groaned. Nadia knew Sally was right; it was the mid-afternoon, so customers to the café were few and there was ample time for kitchen work. She still hated doing it.

“Honestly Nadia, you need to pull your weight around here,” began Sally. “Otherwise, what am I paying you for?”

“Yeah, well this stuff is hard!” said Nadia. “I just keep forgetting all these steps. Like, what are we supposed to put in this? Mesclun leaves, onions, peanut sauce, what else?”

Sally sighed.

“You’re not even trying. Look, even Sharon has mastered this already, and she’s only been here two weeks.”

Sharon was now mysteriously busying herself with the canned drinks, looking everywhere except at Nadia’s eyes. She glowed a light shade of pink.

“And you’ve been here, what, 3 months now? Maybe we should have kept you on that trainee badge.”

“But I don’t come here as often as Sharon. I’’ve got classes 3 days a week and it’s been-”

“No, no excuses! Now come, I won’t repeat this again. Start with the mesclun leaves, then add tofu-”

“Sally, I’ve got a tea order!” interrupted Sharon.

“Nadia, you go do it. Be quick, don’t want customers to fall asleep.”

Nadia ignored her manager’s quip as she went over to the coffee machine. She thought it was funny that the only thing she knew how to operate on the coffee machine was the tea brewing, since that only required pressing a button.

Nadia privately admitted that she wished she knew how to work the portafilters and make fancy lattes. However, she remembered all she had to learn: times and temperatures for frothing the milk, the right proportions of espresso to milk and the art of preparing the right shot for brewing.

“Nope, too much work,” she said under her breath.

The tea finished brewing.

“Eh, Sharon, who’s this for?”

“That girl over there by the corner.”

Before she could move, Nadia suddenly felt Sally breathing down her neck. She would have jumped of fright if she was not already used to Sally doing this.

“Nadia, ask the girl if she wants cake,” whispered Sally slowly. “We've got a coconut slice that’s a week old and we need to get rid of it”

Nadia didn't have to look to know that Sally’s eyes were glued on her as she walked over to the girl. She was a pleasant-looking girl, looking like something out of a postcard. Nadia could have sworn that she had seen her somewhere before. She was reading a newspaper, and the only thing ruining the pretty postcard look of the scene was newspaper’s headline: “SON OF RICH TYCOON ESCAPES FROM PRISON, TWO MURDERED”.

“Green Tea?” asked Nadia.

The girl looked up.

“Oh yes, thank you.”

“Just to let you know,” Nadia glanced at Sally who was now fixing the salad, but still eyeing them from the corner of her eye. “We’ve got some really nice coconut slices today, would you like some?”

“Oh no, no, thank you, it’s been too much today.”

The girl took a sip of the tea and went back to her newspaper. Nadia stole another look at Sally, who was now chopping onions for the salad. If she dragged this conversation on, she could avoid having to do that salad.

“So err, I have always been a fan of coffee myself. But I guess you like tea, huh?”

“Hmm, sorry?” asked the girl. She clearly thought the conversation had ended. “Uh, coffee, it’s not too bad, but I prefer tea. Calms the nerves you know. Or so they say.”

Sally was now digging the fridges for the ranch dressing. Nadia needed just a few more minutes, but she had already run out of things to say. As she stared nervously at the girl (who stared back in confusion and what seemed like gradual alarm), her mental gears clicked and she remembered where she had seen the girl before.

“Hey, you’re that exchange student!” she exclaimed. “Mac-, Ma-, MaKenner? MacKinnon?”

“McKenna, Rose McKenna,” said the girl, looking a little uncomfortable. “What’s your name?”

“Nadia Chen! We’re Comm 101 classmates!”

“Yeah, I remember you now. You were sleeping when Mr. George called your name.”

Nadia blushed.

“Well that was a boring ‘lecture’,” said Nadia, forming finger quotes. “I always hate these stupid introductory lessons. 40 students in the class, and we’re supposed to listen to all of them introduce themselves? No one’s going to remember anybody.”

“Hmm, you’re right. Don’t really like those too …”

There was a brief moment of silence. Then, Nadia shot out her hand, hoping to shake Rose’s.

“Anyway, pleasure to meet you! I hope we get to be awesome friends this term!”

Rose stared at Nadia’s hand with a somewhat worried look on her face. It then dawned on Nadia how awkward Rose must feel, being pressured into introductions in a public area. It’s just as bad as Mr George insisting on everyone introducing themselves.

Luckily, Rose smiled, reached out and shook Nadia’s hand.

“Pleasure’s mine,” she said. All the anxiousness seemed to have faded from her face and Nadia felt relieved. Rose seemed very polite and friendly.

“So, finished your homework yet?” asked Nadia. “It’s a bit strange isn’t it, that bit about writing about our dreams, you’d think this was lit-“

A booming voice came from the kitchen.

“NADIA! WHAT’S TAKING SO LONG?”

Nadia jumped a bit; she knew she had dragged it out too long. Gripping her serving tray tightly, she gave Rose a panicked, please-help-me look. Rose look at her puzzled, wondering what she was supposed to do, before smiling in understanding.

“Why thank you Nadia, I think I’ll have that coconut slice after all!” said Rose audibly for Sally to hear. “Thank you so much for recommending it to me!”

“Of course!” said Nadia loudly. It wasn’t necessarily the most convincing display, but it would have to do. Grinning at a scowling Sally, she walked to the display fridge. She made sure that Sally didn’t see her pass over the week-old coconut slice and take a fresher one instead. Then, she gave Rose the slice and whispered to her,

“Cake’s on me, thanks for that. It’s a fresh slice too.”

“What, no!” said Rose. “Here, let me get my wallet.”

“Seriously, it’s fine,” said Nadia. “Now I better get back before Sally freaks out.”

She walked off before Rose could say anything. Rose hesitated, but as she could do nothing, she smiled and dug in.

Nadia felt in her gut that this was the beginning of a great friendship. She just knew it. Maybe Mr. George’s classes were going to be fun after all.

*

“ARRGH!!!” screamed Nadia in frustration.

She glared angrily at the Metro Stella train as it lumbered off into the horizon. Shouting again, she stamped her foot, as if vainly hoping that by doing this, the aluminium snake chugging off into the distance would suddenly hurry back.

Passers-by stared at her as they walked past, some discreetly, others visibly shaking their head in disapproval. She paid them no attention, as she was more concerned with deciding what to do now that she had missed the train. The next ride home would be in an hour.

As she pondered her options, she caught the transit officer eyeing her with suspicion. There was no point in sulking and screaming, so she left the station, grinning apologetically at the officer. Outside, she caught sight of a bus to the city. She could use the bus, and she would probably reach home faster than waiting an hour for the train. But getting to her suburb would require changing buses twice. Nadia didn’t know which buses to take and she was not about to find out.

In the end, she decided to wait it out in the nearby park. Nothing better than lying on the grass, for a little shut eye. It was about a quarter past two in the afternoon, and the park was empty. Most people had left for their afternoon activities or (Nadia frowned) had caught the train back to the city. She stretched her arms and laid down on the ground.

“Ah, what a nice feeling!” she said out loud to no one in particular. “I sure hope I don’t fall asleep as I really need to catch that train!”

“Meow.”

Nadia sat up. Gazing back at her, was a cat. It was a rather handsome short-haired tabby, with large curious eyes and a beautiful coat of striped black and grey. It was carrying a tiny little messenger bag.

Nadia blinked. A messenger bag?

“Hey there kitty,” said Nadia to the cat. “Why’re you carrying that bag?”

The cat simply stared. Nadia thought she saw the cat furrow its brow in annoyance.

“What an expressive kitty you are! So, what’s in that bag?”

Nadia reached out to grab the bag. The cat quickly clutched the bag and hissed at her, baring its fangs.

“Alright, alright, you can have that bag,” laughed Nadia. “If only my phone wasn’t flat, I’d take a picture, you’re an adorable sight!”

The cat looked annoyed again. Nadia thought it was simply too cute.

“So, how’s your day been, kitty? I just missed my train so that’s annoying, but it’s no big deal. I wouldn’t have met you otherwise. Met anyone new today?”

“Meow.”

“Oh you did, did you?” said Nadia, as if she understood the tabby cat perfectly. “Who was it? I met this friendly girl today, turns out she was my classmate! I’ve just got a really good feeling about this meeting, you know. I don’t know anyone else in Comm 101, and it’ll be so dull without anyone-“

The kitten turned and began to walk away. It looked exasperated, but an exasperated cat with a messenger bag was just about the most hilarious thing Nadia could imagine.

“Go away then!” said Nadia, laughing. She laid down once again and closed her eyes. “Can imagine why you’re annoyed though. Pesky humans, always being so rude and intrusive.

“Anyway, this is clearly what boredom has pushed me to: talking to cats. What am I doing talking to a cat? Cats can’t talk.”

“They never will with that attitude,” answered a voice.

Nadia jolted up at once. Who said that? There was no one in the park, was she imagining voices now? Could it be … no, the cat was gone too.

Wait, was she seriously considering talking cats? Talking cats? It was all cute fun to pretend to have a conversation with the cat, but this was going too far. Yet, who else could the voice have belonged to?

She glanced at her watch and groaned. There was half an hour left for the train. Feeling a little bit unnerved with the park, Nadia decided to take the long way back to the station.

“Definitely no such thing as talking cats,” whispered Nadia to herself as she stood up and patted off the grass from her shirt. Had she bothered to look up, she would have seen that very cat perched on a tree branch, staring intently at her while clutching at its messenger bag.

*

The sun was shining on the pearly white sands of Beacon Beach. Nadia had taken off her shoes and was enjoying the feel of the hot sand creeping between her toes. Okay, maybe it was a little too hot, but that also meant no one was there, and that fact made the scenery so much more enjoyable.

Suddenly, a loud, piercing roar went off in the distance behind her, startling her. She turned and look down the length of the beach that she had just traversed. There was no one there, no possible source of that dreadful noise. Nothing except-

A shadow blocked the sunlight from Nadia’s eyes. Seemingly out of nowhere, a black and grey, furry object came colliding into Nadia’s face.

“Ouch!” she cried. “What on earth-“

The furry object had now grown claws that were frantically gripping her face. Nadia winced hard as they dug into her cheeks and she knew that attempting to remove the fur ball would severely scratch her face. But what else was she to do?

“Get off!” Nadia panted as she grabbed the back of the fur ball and pulled hard.

Surprisingly, and fortunately, the claws relinquished their piercing grip on her face. As she pulled the object away, it shouted back,

“You again? Let go! Don’t you realize this is an emergency? What are we gonna do, a Nihil and not a single Garde for miles-”

The fur ball was talking! She had barely any time to register this shock when she realised that the fur ball was that cat with the messenger bag!

“Wait … you!”

The cat had one paw outstretched, pointed directly at Nadia’s nose.

“You! Yes! Yes! I can smell that scent! You’re Garde potential!”

“Wha-, me?” Nadia blinked, not fully taking in the words as she struggled to make sense of all that was going on. That voice earlier, that was the cat?

“Yes, yes, you! Look, there’s no time! I feel I’ll regret this, but you’ll just have to do. Grab this!”

The cat opened its bag and took out a red orb. It thrust the orb into her open palm. Why did the cat have an orb? And when did she open her palm?

“Okay, now just concentrate and think hard on your heart’s true calling!” the cat said.

“My heart’s what now? Wait, weren't you that cat in the park? Was it you that-”

The distant unknown thing roared again. This time it sounded closer. The cat turned frantically to look at the roar’s origin and proceeded to grab Nadia’s face again. Its eyes widened in what looked like a mix of frustration and fear.

This can’t be real, Nadia thought.

“LOOK, WE DON’T HAVE TIME! Just think of whatever! What do you love the most?” the cat shrieked.

A brief thought flashed through Nadia’s mind and immediately the red orb in her palm glowed bright. It glowed brighter and brighter until it seemed to envelope her. She dropped the cat, but it seemed unfazed, now clapping its paws in excitement.

“It’s working, it’s working!” the cat cried.

“Kitty, wait, what’s happening?” asked Nadia frantically.

“Shush! Let it do its work!”

The glow felt warm, even invigorating. Nadia calmed down. She found the feeling very curious, like waking up after a good night’s sleep, tucked in warm sheets on a chilly winter morning. This sensation lasted for what seemed like a few minutes until the glow finally subsided. She almost felt disappointed by its passing.

Nadia could then feel strength pulsing through her limbs. Her mind was awake, alert … energized! She felt like she could do anything, tackle the world, jump up a building and scream from its rooftop. As she was wont to do when she felt particularly energetic, Nadia did a few punches in the air in front of her and that’s when she realized was wearing detached sleeves that followed her arm and ended in cufflinks. Cufflinks? She looked down and saw that her entire outfit had changed.

“What is this?” she exclaimed.

She appeared to be wearing a barista’s outfit. Or at least something that approximated it, as she didn’t think a barista would wear something so bright and shiny. So ... yellow? Sally would not approve. As she reached to scratch her head, she took notice of an enormous beret on her head, decked with a large, shiny bow. Weird, but by this time she felt positively immune to weirdness.

“Okay, that was totally not what I was expecting.” the cat muttered. “What are you even supposed to be? But we’ll just work out the details later! Are you ready?”

Nadia had completely forgotten about the talking cat. But there were more pressing issues in her mind.

“Ready? Ready for what? How did this happen, kitty? Why am I wearing this? Why do I feel-“

Another deafening roar punctured the air and the source was finally visible. A large, lumbering four-legged creature walked into view, as if straight from hell. It certainly looked demonic enough, with spines protruding from its back, four sets of sharp claws and large tusks that looked like they could tear into bone. A pair of bloodshot eyes, hungry and insane, completed the hellish look.

“R-ready for that!!” shrieked the cat. “Look Garde, it’s now or never, please for the love of all that is good, try something!”

Strangely enough, Nadia did not recoil in fear. In fact, she felt that earlier sense of eagerness and confidence grow. Her fingers closed into fists, ready to engage. She could take this monster!

Wait a minute, what was she doing? Did she have a death wish? That monster looked like it could devour cars! The rational person would run, as fast as her legs could carry her, in the opposite direction, fleeing from the rampage this monster was surely about to cause. From the carnage and the destruction that would certainly come.

Nadia’s train of thought came to a halt. The carnage and destruction. People would be in danger. Lives would be threatened.

She had to do something.

“Come now, Nadia, you never did care that much for rationality, did you?” she whispered to herself.

“Huh? Who’re you talking to?” asked the cat.

Nadia looked at the cat. “Stay back, kitty. I’ve got this.”

“Wait, wait, do you know what to do?” asked the cat.

Nadia didn’t care. This was exciting! As her lips curled into a smile, Nadia braced herself for a run.

“I’ll just figure it out, kitty, no worries,” she said, grinning.

Yes, this beast looked like it could kill her in a single swipe. But it could murder countless others too. It mattered not whether this energy she was feeling was all in her head or genuine strength, Nadia felt that she had to take this chance. It made no sense, but at that moment her intuition felt very, very real to her.

The beast leapt towards her and she immediately took off, fists braced and ready to punch.