Fire and destruction. He felt an odd and sick sense of dejavu. It was as though he had lived through this before. He didn't know how. He didn't know when. He just didn't know. He just knew he had to survive this. He stumbled about, unsure of everything. Where was he? It was a city. At least, it used to be a city. It was destroyed as though someone had dropped a nuke or something on top of it. He sure hoped not. He didn't want to deal with all that radiation.

The man found it odd that he could remember that but not his own name. His tanned skin held up to the heat rather well as he moved about. He needed to survive. He needed to find other people and help them. Should he help? Yes. His instincts flared at him to help. A small part of himself was annoyed at that voice, but he ignored it. Yet he found no one else about. Just dead bodies at best. He inwardly sighed. He was going to die alone, wasn't he?

His hand raked through his white hair. He was not going to die. He was sure of it. He had survived worse, hadn't he? Hopefully he did. Otherwise he was all but fucked about now. If the smoke didn't kill him, dehydration and hunger would. He needed to find a way to escape to find help. His eyes couldn't help but gaze upon the corpses strewn about in the destruction. It made him sick to his stomach. Could he have saved them? From what? He didn't know and he wouldn't dwell on it.

Yet that's when he heard the crying. Without a second thought, he went out of his way to find the source. He was going to save someone other then himself even if it killed him. Okay, that was counterintuitive but still. A sudden urge filled him to help them. Perhaps they could lead him to safety as well. It never hurt to try.

That's when he found her. A stumbling woman who seemed as lost as he did. She had brown hair that framed her beautiful face on top of her curvy form. A lesser man would be caught like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck if they saw her. He wasn't. He quickly moved to her side, noticing she was holding a bundle of something in her arms.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

She took a few seconds to turn her head to look at him. She blinked a few times before shaking her head, "No. I don't think so. I could be wrong though."

She sounded confused and he couldn't blame her. No doubt anyone would be a bit shell shocked after a disaster like this. Perhaps that was what was wrong with him. Why he couldn't remember anything. He just hoped it would come to him soon enough. Living a life without a memory wasn't something he was thrilled about.

"Let me help you," he touched her shoulder and looked down. His eyes widened as he stared into the face of a little girl. The girl looked up at him curiously. For a moment that's all they did before he gave a small wave. "Hello there little one."

She immediately started crying.

He apparently wasn't good with children. Who knew?

The woman blankly blinked before sighing, "I just got her to shut up. Could you not scare her?"

"Sorry," he said before frowning. "Is she your daughter?"

The woman was silent for a moment before shakily moving forward, "I dunno."

His eyes widened, "You don't know?"

"Do you know?"

He was silent for a moment before shrugging, "I don't know who I am so I don't know."

"Neither do I," she answered. "I… I just need to get somewhere safe."

"Then let me help you," he held her close to himself as he aided in their walk. Little did they know that their destinies would become intertwined from here on out.

In another location away from the destruction, the sounds of breaking could be heard from an office room. The room, located almost at the top of a skyscraper, was currently being 're-decorated' as someone threw the furniture about haphazardly in their blind rage.

"So close," the man kicked a broken chair. Two men in black suits and glasses watched him, with a third watching with a smirk. "So close to my goal and those fuckers ruined it. Why did I have to trust them with the project? Oh yeah, I know. Because they were the only ones with access to the materials I needed. Gah! I'm such an idiot."

"Sir," the third man who looked leaner and younger than the other two. He was of asian descent with red blazing hair. "I don't think the furniture had anything to do with the explosion so you can stop torturing them."

"I'll do what I damn well please," the middle aged african man snarled. "We had a chance at a break through. A way to get back what was taken from us. Yet they decided to fuck with the Witchblade and its all gone. This is why we don't deal with non-magi."

"Kind of hard to do that in this world," the other man spoke, shooing the other two agents away. They left them in silence, "Don't worry. I hear the Witchblade is hard to destroy."

"Oh yes," the former rolled his eyes. "Because that's what is important. Not all of our research, aid, and resources just destroyed. It'll take us years if not decades to get back to square one."

"Perhaps," the younger man nodded, "Or perhaps we could take the Witchblade for ourselves. Cut out the middleman."

"The Witchblade is useless to us."

"But it is a good source of energy," the younger man smirked. "Like that which no where else can be found on this version of Earth."

The older man huffed and rubbed his chin, "Well we could do that but our business partners won't like it."

The younger man shrugged, "Then we let them find it first. Once they do, we'll go in and nab it. Make it look like terrorists or an accident. In the meantime, we have enough of our research and resources to make due and complete at least some aspects of the project."

The older man grinned, "An excellent suggestion. I should have thought about that. Yes, that sounds like a plan."

The younger man grinned as he held up a cigarette to his face. Then he snapped his fingers and a flame appeared at the end of a finger. He used it to light the cigarette and take a puff, enjoying the taste of it. "Do no worry, Trenton. On the honor of my family, I, Hector Maki, will ensure our victory in this coming battle."

My third entry into Alex-Kellars art contest. Hopefully I can do these two shows their just dues. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and leave a comment. They are always greatly appreciated. Until next time, take care.