Chapter 1

Dark Night

"When the night comes...the shadows call your name..."

The full moon hung in the sky, bathing the hallow grounds in silvery light.

The cemetary seemed to be in order. But no one noticed the short cloaked figure standing in front of a statue of the Grim Reaper. Then again, who did? The warden lay at his feet, unconscious, his lantern broken beyond repair.

"When the night comes...nothing will be the same," the mysterious figure said.

In a small village, a young girl came back from the well, carrying a bucket of water. She was singing, her graceful melodies flowing like a river.

"When the night comes...no safety shall be found."

Skipping happily, but taking care not to spill the water, the girl rounded the corner.

A loud thud, and the bucket fell, spilling its contents upon the earth.

"When the night comes...there will be no solid ground."

A young mother lulled her newborn infant to sleep, watching as her precious son began to fall into slumber.

"When the night comes...the innocent shall sleep."

The mother retired to the bedroom she shared with her beloved husband. She couldn't wait for tomorrow. She couldn't wait to look at her infant's eyes again, eyes as blue as icebergs. Eyes that were quite common in their country of the same name. Smiling to herself, she fell asleep.

"When the night comes...a secret it shall keep."

A knife slid between the window, lifting the latch before the owner pushed them open silently. Eyes darting around as if expecting the parents to barge in, the intruder snatched the baby boy out of his cradle. Scoping the room once more, the intruder climbed out, making sure to close the window behind him. Using his knife, he performed the tricky task of reseting the latch under a minute.

"When the night comes...a promise shall be made."

"No, no! This is the wrong blood type!" A man in a white lab coat sighed furiously, running a hand through his spiky hair. "You swore you'd bring the right one this time!"

"Sorry, sir!" His companion bowed in apology. "It's extremely difficult to find that certain blood type! It almost doesn't exist!"

"If it didn't exist," the man in the lab coat growled lowly, "why do you seem to have it in your veins?"

The other man looked up hesitantly. "D-doctor?"

"Exactly what blood type are you?" the doctor asked, holding a syringe.

Understanding the situation quickly, the man answered carefully. "O negative."

The doctor turned away. "I see," he said in disappointment, fiddling with the syringe. "You can go. Just bring another with that blood."

The man sighed inwardly. So it wouldn't be his blood that had to be stored.

"When the night comes...all trust will be betrayed."

But as the man turned his back, the doctor spun around quickly, the tip of his needle jabbing into the adult's neck.

His companion fell to his knees, eyes drooping as his body fell forward, landing on the doctor's shoulders.

"Pft...it's amazing how stupid some people are," the doctor snickered, taking off his glasses and placing them in his pocket. As he stood, shifting the weight of the body on his back, the "doctor" brought out a pair of dark sunglasses, replacing them in front of his eyes. "Wear a lab coat, some glasses, and the right equipment, and suddenly, you assume I'm a doctor. Fool."

The con artist slid the window open. They were four stories up, and a tree stood across from the window. He jumped, holding the body on his shoulder as he landed on the branch. "Piece of cake," he smirked.

"When the night comes...the shadows will be freed."

Three figures appeared next to the short person at the statue. The "doctor" had thrown his victim over his shoulder; the kidnapper held the bawling infant in his hands; and the third had hoisted the unconscious girl onto his back.

"Is that everything?" the smallest of the group asked, somehow making himself heard over the baby's cries.

"The blood, the host, the replacement: we got everything," the conniving doctor grunted, shifting the weight once more.

"Now to head back to the guild," the one holding the baby said.

As the older males turned around, the smallest looked back at the statue.

"When the night comes..." he murmured, touching the end of the stone scythe.

"Niebel, hurry it up!"

The one called Niebel strode away from the statue, rushing towards his kidnapping companions as a single thought ran through his mind.

The scene cuts to Sabertooth's headquarters, where a man with dark hair and crimson eyes has left an upstart who challenged him in a heap of flesh and bones.

In a flash, Lamia Scale's guild is seen. Ooba Babasama lifts the guild stamp from someone's right shoulder blade.

Another scene cut, and Mermaid Heel's base is visible. A white furred Exceed with two tails stares out her dorm room window, watching the ocean's waves crash against the shore.

"You'll pay for your misdeeds."

Miss me, miss me not?

I do not own the fine works of Hiro Mashima.

The lines come from the poem When The Night Comes by Raven Nevermore.

So how was it for the first chapter?