Fan Fiction ❯ Alpha Zone Book Two: "Chronicles of the Shooting Star Phoenix" ❯ "The Phoenix Sword Beckons!" "Darren's call of duty!" ( Chapter 1 )

Alpha Zone II: "The Chronicles of the Shooting Star Phoenix"

Episode One: "The Phoenix Sword Beckons: Darren's call of duty"

By Sir Aaron Rowell

In the beautiful suburban township of Aurora Heights, a glorious early-summer night darkened the sky. In one of the town's many homes, however, one particular citizen was not faring well. Darren Hawk, teenage martial artist and one of the disciples of the "Shooting Star Fist," was not having a very restful night. For the last three days, Darren had been having disturbing dreams.

Once, years earlier, Darren had dreamt that he was his own ancestor, Emperor Dregga. This time, though, he was a knight for another kingdom during a much different era. As in the earlier dream, the man bore a resemblance to Darren, except for a few details. The man whom the teen portrayed in his dream wore a leather uniform with some padding. His long dark brown hair was lighter than the teen's own black and instead of Darren's own fiery orange eyes, his were crimson red. In his dream, the knight confronted an evil wizard.

~~~Dream Sequence~~~

Barely visible against the dark and moody midnight skies, there stood an ancient and sinister castle built into the mountain. Inside this cold, dark palace, two figures were engaged in mortal combat. The battle had gone on for what seemed liked hours, without either one gaining an advantage over the other. It seemed to Darren to be a typical confrontation between good and evil. The evil figure stood six feet, five inches tall and was dressed in long flowing robes; obviously a battle mage with dark powers. He had icy blue eyes that could freeze a person with a single glare. Though bald, his exotic looks seemed pretty cool. His good-hearted opponent however, was quite different. He stood, six feet even, dressed in leather mandarin-style uniform; indicating that he was probably some sort of warrior or a Knight of some kind. His devilishly red eyes showed a fire and righteousness that would intimidate anyone. His dark brown tresses were tied into a single top-knotted ponytail that reached halfway down his back.

The heroic Knight skillfully fended off the evil mage's energy blasts, using his broadsword for a shield. Unscathed, the Knight countered by firing an energy blast of his own from his magical blade. The mage, trying to strike at the hero with his staff, was thrown to the ground by the power. The battle quickly began to go in the Knight's favor after he reflected the aborted blast back into the mage. The Mage tried to strike back by creating a summoning spell, but his staff was knocked out of his hands by the Knight.

"It is over, Quinn," cried the Knight as he pointed his sword at the mage's face. "Surrender now, or taste cold steel!"

The mage, Quinn, chuckled as he held a dagger behind his back, "If you wish. I yield."

"Good. Now drop whatever you have behind you."

"Oh…you mean…THIS?" yelled the mage as he threw his poison-tainted dagger at the hero. Predictably, the dagger missed its spot as the Knight ducked out of the way. Using this as a diversion, the mage teleported behind the Knight and traced a symbol on the back of his neck. However, the mage did not avoid the Knight's sword, which pierced the mage's midsection.

"Burn in hell, monster. I have won this fight," the Knight triumphantly announced. The mage laughed, his voice rising hysterically. The Knight turned to the evildoer with a questioning glare, "What the hell is so funny?

You're dying, you evil scum."

"I know. But before I go, I must give you my last words," chuckled the mage as he began chanting in some other language.

The Knight felt the back of his neck incredulously as the symbol started to spark its way into his flesh. "What in the nine gods is this?! IT BURNS!"

The mage chuckled, his laboring breath making the sound more ominous, "I have given you a curse… A curse that has no cure… It is my final gift to you!"

"You… BASTARD!" cried the Knight as he lopped off the dying mage's head in retaliation. Victory had come with a heavy price and the hero finally felt its backlash.

The man felt some odd changes beginning in his body. His teeth started to grow long and sharp. His arms and legs started reforming as his head shifted. The change itself grew more painful with each passing second. Hands and feet turned into feline paws as his whole body started growing fur. Before long, the knight was not human any more. In place of the once-heroic knight lay a giant saber-toothed tiger with coal black fur and crimson tiger stripes. As he saw his reflection in the mirrored wall of the room, the knight-turned-tiger let out a furious, inhuman roar.

~~~End Dream Sequence~~~

Darren sat up in his bed in a cold sweat. It was a dream, mused the young man as he looked into his alarm clock. 4:00 AM. It was another weird dream, almost like the one of Dregga. He felt an odd vibe course through his body as his fiery orange aura ignited. The sword, thought the teenage martial artist, my sword is calling for me. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Darren got up from his bed and dressed. Soon, he left the house on his dirt bike, heading for the signal that beckoned him. About 35 minutes later, the dark-haired teenager made it to the outskirts of Aurora and entered Lumina Valley, a small township located right outside of the metropolis.

It had also been home to Darren when he was very young. His parents had decided to keep their old house when they moved and still used it occasionally as a summer home. Darren used it as a place to vent or train in solitude. Pulling up outside, he noticed a strange orange glow coming from the summer home. After parking his bike, the teen entered the house. What he saw was not short of amazing. It was his broadsword-the "Phoenix Blade"-giving off a dangerously bright orange aura. What in the blue hell is going on here? The teen thought curiously. As he grabbed the handle of the sword, Darren found himself falling into a dimensional portal.

"Whoa! Am I still dreaming?" cried the teen. Falling deeper into oblivion, he suddenly passed out.

As he regained consciousness, Darren found himself in unknown territory. First of all, the realm had many different platforms surrounded by a background that was decorated in points of silver that looked a hell of a lot like stars. The dark-haired teen grew anxious. He muttered to himself, grumbling, "Wherever the hell I am, I don't think it's Planet Gaia anymore, that's for sure."

"That is correct, young one," a cheerful feminine voice remarked.

"Who's there?"

"Turn around, boy, and see for yourself."

As the dark-haired teen turned around to see the owner of the voice, he gasped in surprise. The speaker was a very tall female, at least 6 feet and two inches in height. She wore a long beautiful gown and her long aquamarine hair fell all the way down to her ankles, despite the fact that it was pulled back in a hundred little braids. The young man decided that she look no less than enticing, if not exotic, her sea green eyes and deep caramel skin adding to the impression. Somehow he felt a familiar vibe about the woman that he could not quite place. The one thought that came through Darren's mind clearly as he stared at the woman was, Good lord, she's so freaking hot! Giggling at the teen's reaction, the woman spoke, "You like what you see, no?"

"Wha--? I mean… Who are you?"

"My name is Freia Firewing," answered the tall woman. "But you may call me LadyHawk, Darren."

"You know my name?" asked the shocked teen.

"Why, of course! I know a lot about you and your redheaded companion, young one."

Darren started. "How?"

"Right now, that is a secret."

"Okay, but I would like to ask you one more question."

"Why you are here, am I right?"

Darren nodded.

"I have brought you here because you and Mia are the chosen ones who will become my Avatars."

"But why?" asked the dark-haired one. "I'm only a freaking teenage boy!

I'm not that special."

"On the contrary, my dear Darren, you and your little girlfriend have exceptional abilities that are worthy of my guidance."

"Okay…so in other words, you want to teach me and Mia your style of combat?"

"Yes, among other things…such as show you powers that you wouldn't believe. I know you two are anxious to find some good competition."

"Damn right I am! This is an offer I won't refuse. I'll go for it!"

"Excellent! Now there's one little thing you two need to do for me."

"Like what?" Darren wondered.

"There is a continent inside my world that is being oppressed by a renegade Sorcerer. I want you to take your part in helping a band of freedom fighters oppose this threat."

Darren smacked his face in frustration. "Good grief, I knew there was a catch!"

"I know this seems a bit much, but if you play along and help the freedom fighters I'm sure that you and your lady will get the competition you need. It is such a shame that ones such you would waste your potential like this," Ladyhawk murmured, shaking her head.

Darren thought to himself, Hmmm… if I play along with this weird lady's task, she could train me. But that would mean that I would have to risk my life to save people I do not know. Man, this is so confusing… Then it hit him. His pride as a martial artist surfaced. Wait a minute. Master Rei and Master Bruce always drilled into me that it is a great duty, helping the weak and defenseless! Still, I will have to think about this some more, mused Darren, as he came to a conclusion. "Ma'am, I'll think about this offer. First and foremost, I need to get a second opinion from Mia."

"Oh, I see," the woman replied. "Call upon your sword when you two have made a decision."

"Thanks. We'll let you know soon."

"Oh, and there's one more thing you must know before you go. I informed Mia of my offer earlier. So, when you see her again, you can talk freely with her about it."

"Well, thanks." Darren chuckled, "You may be cute, but you sure are too weird for my taste."

The woman giggled as she waved her hand in front of the teenager, sending him into a dimensional portal. The trip to his home realm was short-lived as he came to in his summer home. He looked out of the windows. Seeing that it was nearing dawn, Darren placed his sword on its resting place on his wall. He picked up his keys and exited the house. Was that whole conversation a dream? Mused the teen questioningly. Did I just pass out when I touched my sword? Something weird is going on, and I'm going to get to the bottom of this! He yawned as he rode his dirt bike through the streets.

Darren made it back into the suburbs of Aurora Heights by daybreak; the foggy peace in the township felt inviting to the young teen as he reached his house. Stretching, the eldest son of Terra and Leon Hawk entered the house. There was a smell of pancakes and bacon in the air that made the teenaged fighter's stomach growl in anticipation. He saw his family at the table eating their breakfast.

"Hey Darren, your `girlfriend' is in your room waiting for you," announced

Terra as she served Brandon his flapjacks. "What have you been doing all night? She came in earlier, looking for you."

Oh shit, she must've had that conversation with that woman, Darren thought.

He replied, "I've been training at the old house; nothing serious. Anyways, I'll go see if she's okay."

"You better," warned Leon. "She looked upset. I think she might be mad at you."

"Oooh! Mimi-chan's going to whoop his butt," laughed Brandon as he stuffed a large bite of pancake into his mouth.

Darren walked downstairs into his basement den, to find a familiar someone sleeping in his bed. Mia was dressed only in her dark-haired boyfriend's t-shirt and a pair of boxers. Her vibrant red hair spilled untidily over the pillow. The dark-haired teen crawled in bed next to her and whispered, "Hey, Mimi. It's time to wake up."

"Give me five more minutes, Poppa," yawned the semi-sleeping redhead.

"Hmmm… Let's see if this'll work." Darren closed the space between himself and Mia as he gave her a tender kiss. The redheaded fighter woke, reacting to the kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. Opening her emerald green eyes, Mia calmly asked, "Where have you been, you dumbass? I was looking all over for you."

"Sorry, but for some reason, that sword called me," the young man said, scratching his head. "And when I got to the summer home to see what was going on, I fell into a dimensional gate, which led me to this weird chick named…"

"Ladyhawk? It's strange-that person talked to me in my dreams. Did she offer to train you as well?"

"Yeah, but she said that we had to help a group of freedom fighters"

"Weird… That's exactly what she told me…"

"Well," started Darren, "do you think we should do it?"

"Well, it would be a chance to get stronger… Maybe we should talk to

Master Rei."

"Sound like a plan." Darren smiled as he gave Mia another kiss. After they shared a third kiss, the two young lovers went back upstairs to join the others for breakfast.

End of Episode One