Cyril and Maria are seated on the sofa eagerly waiting for their father to spill the beans.
"It was around the time we had Cyril. We were young then, but we were exceptional as we had already secured positions in the Pact. We, that is your mom, myself and the whites, were dispatched to bring in a Family of Noble bloods. Those bloodsuckers get stronger the longer they live. So this is how things went down..."
Eighteen years ago, the younger versions of Joan, Arthur, Hannah, Louis and an unknown man stand on a cliff hidden in the uncomfortable embrace of the bushes, looking down at an abandoned factory.
"Did you bring the Recovery Bracelet along?" Hannah asks Joan.
"Yeah. Here but the Third gave me just four, saying: this is the best of all we have in stock now."
Hannah jumps out of the bush into the open and the rest follows. They are all in sketchy black outfits. "Really!? We don't stand a chance against our main target and you couldn't even complete this simple task!"
"Well, that's why I'm here." The unknown man speaks. He appears quite manly as he has a stature built like an athlete. His hair is dyed blue and he keeps staring at the other three simultaneously with his dark eyes. He seems to be the oldest among them.
"When will you stop flaunting your power around, Damien?" Louis asks. "Being a Hybrid doesn't make you the strongest in the world, you know?"
"But as your senior, it makes me the strongest amongst us."
"Huh! So you say." Arthur lets out. "Like I said, as your rival, I will surpass you in a month."
"*Scoff* Hannah, how many times has he made that statement?"
"Give me a sec. One-two..." Hannah starts counting with her fingers. "...approximately fifty-nine times."
"And what is the score on our duels?"
"Fifty-nine to zero. Seriously, Arthur, you have to understand Damien will whoop your ass every time. Just...!"
"Now-now!" Damien interrupts. "Let's meet here after we wrap things up then you can scold him all you want."
"Okay, Damien. Let's prepare for the mission. Hannah, Damien will use your bracelet."
"What!? Heck no! I am vulnerable you know?"
"But you are a Howler, you heal faster than any of us here. Plus it's your fault for getting only four bracelets."
"How so?" Joan asks. "The Third gave me four of those and you expected me to question him? Sorry, but I can't get fired."
"As selfish as ever, huh?"
"Well like I always say: always think of one before two."
"Now-now. Don't argue over something like this." Damien tries to pacify. "I will be fine. I'm a Hybrid remember?"
"Like he said," Arthur says, "it doesn't make you the strongest in the world. Plus though you are a Hybrid of Noble and Caster blood, the latter overshadows the prime. A Hybrid can never have the abilities of both parties. You just get a little boost. Like how you have only super hearing and smelling."
"You forgot the boost in strength. Anyway, enough with the lecture, let's go clap some booty." Damien says. "Joan, can you give everyone a bracelet?"
"Sure. They are right here." Joan dips her hand in her pocket and then brings out three sparkling bracelets. Everyone except Damien takes one.
"Okay," Damien says and moves to the edge of the cliff. He looks down at the treey and rocky terrain of the base. "We are not letting a single one of these wusses escape. Are my clear?"
"YES!" They answer in unison.
"And your Scent masks are available?" They nod in response.
First, without the slightest of hesitancy Louis and Hannah run pass Damien and jump off the cliff. Joan follows and then Arthur moves closer to Damien. He rests a hand on Damien's shoulder and then says,
"Recently I went for a fortune telling. It always talks about me but this time it didn't though it will affect me should it come to pass. She said: a good friend, a good foe, one which you keep close at heart, known for his power, the source of his weakness, pride, that shall conceive his demise." He walks pass him and flips off of the cliff.
"Tsk! Kids these days," Damien says and leaps off of the cliff as well.
A few moments later, Damien meets up with his gang hidden beside a van nearer the factory. Though they are not on the premises of the factory, they are right outside the metal fences of the factory.
"Joan, will you do the honours?" Damien asks.
"Woah-Woah! Hold your horses." Louis intervains. "There are cameras all over in case you have not noticed. She can't just go and cut a hole in the fence, it can be wired."
"You think too much. This factory is old. Plus it is more fun when the bad guys know we are coming. That way, they will be well prepared."
"It is old but there is electricity. We don't even have any clues about our enemies!"
"Now-now! Don't get all emotional. Let's do it your way then. Right after..." Damien jumps over the fence without warning. He lands on the other side and then immediately whispers a spell which was too fast and too quiet to hear. Like stairs only he can see have appeared, he starts to run and eventually he is off the ground. When he is high and close enough to the factory he jumps and lands on the factory's roof very softly that it almost makes no sound.
"That arrogant fool!" Louis exclaims. "Come, let's go in." He tells the rest.
Joan causes her claws to come out and she makes a hole in the fence. They make their way through to the factory and they stand on guard by a door. Suddenly, Damien drops before them.
"Okay, so plus Dante there are eight enemies. Their race? Not sure."
*POW* Louis lands a heavy punch on Damien's jaw. As if everyone was thinking of doing the same thing, they don't intervene and just watch.
"Are you trying to get us killed!?" Louis demands.
"Huh...? What a jaw-dropping punch if I do say so myself. You still haven't learned a thing from me all this time, huh? Do you think I will put you in harm's way for my delight? Dante already knows we are here and you are a fool for not realizing that. 'If your enemy has the advantage, try and even things up before combat'. How many times have I got to tell you this."
"It is just as you have said!" A masculine voice speaks from inside the factory. "Come on in, I won' bite... much."
"You heard him," Damien says. "Let's go."
They open the door and wander into the factory. The moment they walk in, their eyes automatically turn to a single man in the factory. He is black and is seated so high on a stack of wooden boxes in his black tank top and jeans. His chest-length dreadlocks swing around every time he moves and he gazes menacingly at them with his red beaming eyes which are visible even behind his dark shades.
"D-Dante..." Arthur unconsciously says as the only thing that was running through his mind was survival.
Joan stretches her hand and grabs Arthur's. "Let's keep our cool." She then thinks to herself, 'I feel it as well. It's like I'm in a pool of adrenaline. I can feel sweat slowly trickling down my back. It is confirmed now, we can not defeat him. Look, we all got cold feet just from seeing him.'
"Be strong!" Damien encourages. "We can win if we work together."
"Are you sure you are lying?" Dante asks teasingly and jumps off the box. He lands with a slight bend and his dreads get misplaced in his front. He throws his head back to move them back and when his eyes befall his prey again he vanishes like the wind. He reappears before Damien and before he can react, Dante takes hold of his face with a firm grip. "Awww! Too fast for you?" Dante asks and makes a swift 360 turn and hurls Damien through two concrete pillars then into the wall. He doesn't fall down from the wall and gets stuck there like taxidermy. "Hope I didn't kill him?"