-- Chapter 01: “Welcome to the Slaughterhouse”--

Teru was not happy. Had anyone been in the immediate vicinity, they would have been able to tell, they would have known Teru was not happy. One minute he had fallen asleep in his bed and the next he awoke to find himself in the middle of nowhere...literally. A barren, gray wasteland stretched out for as far as the eye could see. Blackened trees stood crooked against the wind in the parched earth upon rolling hills. He'd been wandering for about an hour when he realized that maybe he wasn't the only one there. Perhaps the calling of his name was a hint.

"Teru! For God's sake, wait up!" The man turned to find a familiar face, albeit red from the work out of trying to catch up to him.

"Hisashi? What the Hell are you doing here?...What the Hell are we doing here?...Where's Izumi?  Where's Ami?" [1]

"I don't know...I don't know...and I don't know..."

"All those 'I don't know's are beginning to worry me..." the pair turned and saw another man approaching. "But perhaps I can answer one of them..." The strange man looked over his shoulder as a woman, smudged by dirt, her hair mussed from an obviously hard landing, ascended the crest of a knoll. Her dark eyes brightened upon seeing the other two at the foot of the hill.

"Hisashi!" she cried and ran towards him. Leaping into his arms, she covered his face with kisses as they fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. "Thank GOD someone found you! Where have you been?!"

"Nice to see you too Izumi...Ano...I've been...looking for you...too..."

The woman sat up on top of her lover and looked down at him. "What the Hell are we doing here?"

"I'm...not sure..."

"K'so...what are you good for?"

"Ano..."

She sighed and kissed him again before hopping off and looking up at the other man who had brought her. Bowing, she said, "Thank you, sir. Would you mind telling me who you are so that I know who I'm thanking...?"

The man smiled and nodded at her, "I'm Ken...I'm looking for some of my own friends but...I don't see them anywhere..."

Before the four could continue their "intriguing" conversation, they were interrupted by a cry from above and watched as a cotton-and-denim-clad form fell from the sky, landed with a thud, and rolled across the landscape, slamming particularly hard into a dying tree. The man hissed and rubbed his head while he sat there for a minute before standing up and dusting himself off. His dark eyes blinked open and he shouted in the direction from which he had appeared, "Bitch! Next time, toss me in here a little harder, won't you?!"

He glanced at the others present, who stood wide-eyed, staring at him, and smiled. "Konnichiwa." The only response he received was a nervous wave from Izumi who was huddled against Hisashi.

The man's smile broadened as he walked passed the group before turning around surprised they hadn't followed him. "What? Let’s go."

"But..."

Gesturing to the landscape, he cut in, "You'd rather stay here? It's a bit morbid but..."

"No...that's not what I meant."

"Then come on..." and with that, he continued walking.

Teru sighed. He was still not happy...but at least now he had someone to blame if he got lost.

"Teru? Where are you going?"

"With him," the man huffed, pointing at the other's retreating form .

"Why?"

"...You do realize who that was, ne?"

"Ano..."

"I recognize his face but I can't put a name to it," Izumi answered for her husband. "And what does that have to do with you following him?"

"Because that was Yu~ki from Malice Mizer. The fact that he and Ken, who's in league with L'Arc~en~Ciel I do believe..." he continued after receiving a nod from the other man, "...are here means that there could be more people we know where he's going," Teru concluded emphasizing by nodding in Yu~ki's general direction.

"I can see the reason there..." Ken replied, walking beside Teru. "Let's get going. I'd really like not to stay in this place for much longer; it gives me the creeps. Say, Teru? Wherever we're going, do you think they'll have any cigarettes? I'm dying for a nicotine fix..."

*****

Mana sat on the boulder, which he had currently laid claim to, and watched the goings-on with a cold indifference. Yu~ki was leading warriors from the northern wasteland, Kozï was escorting miscellaneous gothic pretty boys from the west, and everybody else for one reason or another had decided to go toward the luminous blue-flamed bonfire J had erected. Like moths to a flame...just like last time...and the time before that...and before that...

"Congratulations J...you're first spell of the century was a textbook casting..."

The other man turned to him and replied, "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not...You do realize that as soon as they get here, they're all gonna want explanations to all this..."

"All in good time my friend...all in good time..."

J snorted derisively and Mana sighed. It seems people haven't changed...

"How has the first phase gone...?" Mana turned, quickly masking his surprise at being caught off-guard, to find himself face-to-face with...

"What? No 'hello' Gakuto? I'm hurt..."

"Mana..." the younger man growled.

Always so demanding... "The first phase has gone well. Everyone seems to have arrived relatively unharmed. Disoriented, bruised, and filthy, but unharmed. No one's dying due to blood loss or shock...yet..." Mana trailed off as he watched Gackt walk to the edge of the pinnacle, a younger man following him.  Together they watched the others approach in silence with evident melancholy.  Mana took this chance to study the youth at Gackt's side closer.

His dark hair whipped about his slight shoulders, caressing the pale skin of his neck.  His dark eyes were wide, drinking in every detail of his desolate surroundings.  Perhaps this is the guitarist I've heard so much about.  Rumors spread like wildfire and as such become distorted beyond recognition, but maybe this still holds some truth...  The youth turned his doe eyes from the bleak horizon to rest them upon Mana.

The man regarded the younger apathetically.  The youth blinked and shivered as he felt cold chills run up his spine as the elder's eyes bored holes into his mind, his soul.  Mana smiled.  Didn't expect that, did you?  Vampyres tend to have that ability...Mind reading and thought-projection and all...

The young man's persona changed suddenly from youthful, fearful innocence to a more menacing visage.  Suddenly, Mana found his head filled with two voices: one, a man's - the youth's he thought - the other, a woman's.  Don't mock me.  The voices wove over and around each other, echoing, overlapping, violently stabbing his thoughts.  You have no idea who you're dealing with...  With that, the young man turned back to look upon the horizon and the forthcoming soldiers.

Mana gasped and stared.  "The Hell...?"  I don't remember...  Closing his eyes, he sighed.  It appears things have already begun to change...  Mana smiled softly and sat back to wait.

*****

Dusk. Hues of crimson bled into those of lavender. Mist swirled above the barren landscape. Unfamiliar constellations sparkled in the sky. Unfortunately, the ethereal beauty was lost on Kohta who sat huddled at one of the many multi-colored bonfires littering the surrounding area.

So far, he was having one Hell of a shitty day. Falling through some dimensional portal brought on by demonic, winged cats and wandering around with the rest of Pierrot for hours in a deserted wasteland before deciding that following everyone else to the mystical, magical blue fire was possibly a good idea were not his ideal day-off activities. Once there, he counted God knew how many other bands present - the number eluded him at the moment - but being as weirded out as he possibly could have been in twenty-four hours, Kohta had simply shrugged and collapsed in front of the nearest fire. He sighed and watched the neon green flames flicker in the twilight as chaos slowly began to break lose among those present.

Sparks flew between the men and women present as voices rose to a deafening pitch. Tensions were building. Kohta could feel the energy, causing the hair on the back of his neck to rise.

"SILENCE!" The fires flared at the sudden outburst. Kohta toppled backwards as the colored flames leapt high into the air. Finally, silence reigned. The utter stillness in itself was deafening. All eyes flew to the man standing on the rock outcropping in front of the gathered crowd.

Gackt's clothes whipped about his lithe frame, blown by a sudden gust of wind. The air surrounding him crackled with barely restrained power. His eyes glared down angrily at the crowd, glowing sanguine before returning to the habitual blue. Kohta blinked a few times. That did not just happen...

"Do you want answers?!" A reverberating 'yes' answered him. "Then shut the Hell up!"  Stunned silence met his outburst.  Gackt glanced back at the shocked members of the now-disbanded Malice Mizer and stated casually, "All yours."

Kozï muttered a quick 'thank you' as Gackt returned to sit with his lover amongst his band members. With a deep breath, Kozï ascended the pinnacle. "Well...what is it you want to know?" Immediately, the voices rose again. Kozï shrank back by instinct.

"That, my friend, was the wrong question to ask a mob of panic-stricken mortals..." Mana trailed off, glancing at Yu~ki who had plugged his ears against the onslaught of noise. The feminine man turned to Gackt.

The younger man's azure eyes were beginning to flash between light blue and the demonic red glow. The air about them was beginning to crackle with the force of his brewing anger again. I hate how he changes back and forth so easily...  Mana reached forward and let his fingertips brush lightly against the other's forehead. Gackt jerked backward as if burnt. His eyes snapped up to glare at the other, a snarl perched upon his parted lips. "Let us handle this...Gakuto..." At the emphasis on his name, the vocalist blinked rapidly before collapsing into his lover's waiting arms.  The dark haired man's eyes locked with Mana's for only a second, but it was enough - Gackt was in good hands.

With that confirmed, Mana whirled and stalked up to his befuddled friend. "Kozï! For God's sake, shut up before they start throwing guitar picks, cigarette butts, and drumsticks at you. You're a terrible public speaker when it comes to things like this," he stated matter-of-factly.

Kozï arched an eyebrow. "At least I don't have stage fright..."

"I know what you said, you ungrateful bastard!" The other two turned to regard Yu~ki who still had his ears covered. "I read lips very well."

"I'm sure," Mana said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, Yu~ki?"

"Hai...?"

"Go call up your task force. We're going to need some place to sleep and apparently the guys down there aren't very interested in pitching tents."

Yu~ki sighed and stood up, knees popping, and groaned. Dragging his leg and hunching his back, he sneered, "Yes, Master..." He limped away from the light of the bonfires, his form dissolving into the darkness.

Kozï blinked and turned to Mana who sighed and rolled his eyes. "He makes a very good Igor, ne?"

Mana laughed darkly before returning his gaze to the crowd below.

*****

The men and women sat in a circle around the fire blazing in the center. Its flames undulated in shades of red, blue, green, and gold in the fading light. Shadows played, casting an eerie glow upon the faces of those present.

They all knew each other - or at least recognized each other's face - but they still didn't know each other. That will be resolved in time, thought Gackt, taking Masa's hand in his own.  The guitarist had been quiet this whole time, which struck him as odd.  Usually, the young man would ask so many questions so fast it would make his head spin, and then he'd struggle to reply as best he could.  Shock?  Perhaps.  Maybe Masa was just absorbing as much as he could now and the torrent of inquiries would come later.  Gackt gave the other's hand a squeeze, trying to reassure him.  Without looking up, Masa gave a coy smile and threaded their fingers together.  Gackt sighed.  Keep your thoughts here and now Gaku.  Questions have yet to be answered.

Right on cue, Ren piped up.  "So where exactly are we?"

"Yeah," added Toshiya, who sat a yard or so away. "Are we still in Japan?"

"Well...yes. But not the Japan as you know it," replied Yu~ki.

Jun, who sat near Kozï, questioned, "Did we travel through time and some global holocaust occurred while we were all sleeping or something?"

"K'so...I missed it," muttered a frustrated Kyo who sat across the circle, glaring into the fire.

"Well, no Jun-" began Kozï.

Kyo perked up and interrupted, "Oh good - then I didn't miss it."

Ignoring the pierced vocalist, Kozï pressed on, "But...I do believe we skipped over a few dimensions..."

Without warning, Kirito stood up, startling those around him, and demanded to no one in particular, "Someone please enlighten me as to what the Hell is going on and why we're here and where precisely 'here' is."

At this point, Mana saw it fit to take part in the conversation. "Where are we? The Marrshrieq."

Kirito blinked a few times before responding with a satisfied 'ah...' and plopping back down the ground.

"The 'Marrshrieq?'" Ken inquired. Mana nodded. "And that's Vampiric for...?"

"Rsurrix [2], actually," Gackt said.

Kohta muttered from his position next to his brother, "I am so confused...and I hate being confused..."

"You're not alone..." Takeo reassured his band mate, patting him on the back.

Mana sighed and rubbed his temples. Foolish mortal men... he thought, growling in the back of his throat. Kozï picked up the line of discussion.

"The 'Marrshrieq' is 'Rsurrix' or 'Demonic' for 'The Last Ground.' This is where we are to be pawns in the gods' chess game."

Toshiya was the first to stand up on behalf of the perplexed crowd. "Explain for the stupid people present, please?"

Gackt chuckled. "It's not a hard concept, Toshiya..."

"I know, but..."

Gackt nodded and held up a hand, silencing the other man. He waited for silence to reinstate itself before beginning. "You're all familiar with at least the idea of the Apocalypse, Armageddon, Judgment Day, the End of the World, and whatnot...ne?" The reply was a resounding, inaudible 'yes.' "Well, the battle between good and evil goes hand-in-hand with the Apocalypse. 'The gods' chess game,' as Kozï refers to it as is the battle between the universal forces of good and evil. You follow so far?" A more hesitant, 'yes' answered him. They can sense where this is going. Instinctively, they know. "We'll be fighting with the forces of good...for the continuation of the world as we know it...for humanity." An unnerving stillness met him. "Look around you." As if hypnotized, they complied, staring into each other's eyes, unflinching. "All those within your line of sight will be your friends, your family while you're here. Get to know them. Hold them close to you. Cherish they're lives as much as your own. They'll be saving your ass more times than you could possibly imagine." And with that, Gackt lapsed into silence.

Mana turned his eyes to meet Kozï's. On the same somber note, shall we explain the awakening, or are their mortal brains fried?

Kozï arched an eyebrow before replying. You speak of them as if we were never one of them.

Forgive me, my friend, but seeing the world end time and time again does that to a Vampyre.

Especially to one of your eminence, apparently... Mana turned away at Kozï's harsh criticism. Ah, Mana...Gomen nasai...I didn't mean it that way...

Even after all these years, Kozï, you still haven't become nearly as bitter as I have. Thank God for small favors...

Lucky me. Yes, let's explain the awakening. I'm sure their 'mortal brains' are still hungry enough to devour some information yet. Perhaps we should ask them if they're up for it first?

Mana let his eyes refocus on the pallid features of the people sitting around the fire. "Have you all digested that food for thought? We have much to discuss before morning." Those who were not stunned into a catatonic state nodded mutely. "Alright...  You now know where we are and why we're here. We have to explain another aspect of this soiree - awakening.

"When a mortal 'awakens,' it means that they remember everything they had experienced in their past lives, mainly those involving the Battle. It could be initiated by something as traumatic as one's own emotion or the death of a loved one to something as simple as a familiar string of words.

"It can be, in extremely rare occurrences, painless. However, more times than not, it hurts like a bitch. The speed and intensity of the images is blinding; it burns into one's memory. Some people seizure, their bodies unsure of what to do to compensate for the pain. Unfortunately, there's nothing a bystander can do-" Mana stopped short as commotion from the head of the circle interrupted him. All eyes - at least those that were not already riveted to the cause of the turmoil - followed his gaze. "Ah...see exhibitt A, minna-san."

Masa had collapsed and was, at the moment, flat on his back, shaking violently. His eyes rolled back into his skull to show the whites. Unearthly screams ripped from his throat echoed across the clearing. As the man writhed in incessant agony, the others could do little more than stare in grotesque awe.

Gackt was the first to act.  Shaking off his own initial shock, he wrapped his arms around the trembling man.  "Hush Masa..." The pitiful creature screamed and thrashed in pain as the other struggled to restrain him. Tears of blood rained from his eyes and he thrashed in desperation against Gackt as if the touch of the other's hands set his skin ablaze. He was burning in a delusional pyre.

The younger's screams began to die only to be replaced with strangled sobs and, in turn, with piteous whimpers. Slowly, the ethereal sounds and convulsions dwindled until finally the man's body stilled. Gackt looked down at his friend. "Masa...?" he asked with trepidation.

"Masa is not here. He is too weary to speak..." the young man in Gackt's arms replied in a cavernous, female voice. Those close enough to hear the change in the man's tone stared in shock and slowly backed away.

Gackt swallowed, the fear in the air was bitter. "Who is this then?"

"It does not matter..." Masa - or the thing inside him - sounded sad as he turned his head to the side to regard the people around the fire. "Seeaira kora Maikai...[3]"

Gackt bit back the fearful gasp of shock that fought to escape from between his lips. Rsurrix? On mortal lips? Blasphemy! Who are you who have no fear of the Dark Lord and dares to place his dialect upon a mortal tongue? He pulled Masa closer to him. His body...it's so cold... He pressed his lips against the younger man's ear and whispered urgently, "Come back to me Masa...onegai...?" The guitarist turned his hollow eyes and blood-streaked face to Gackt to look upon the other man with a frightening, frozen apathy. With a groan, Masa went limp in the vocalist's arms and at last lay still.

*****

Masa drifted back to consciousness. He wasn't sure how long he'd been floating in the black abyss, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave its soothing embrace. His limbs were weighted down by some spectral force, his eyelids heavy from exhaustion. But he was warm and therefore, he reasoned, safe. It was at this point he heard them.

Voices. Off to the left, speaking in earnest, low tones. He recognized them but in his present state of stupor could not collect his thoughts to identify them. The dialect itself was strident, more like the baying of a dog or the hissing of an enraged cat rather than some human language. It made his ears ache. As the voices grew more urgent, the words lurid, Masa whimpered and drew back from the torment of the alien tongue.

The speakers ceased their bickering instantly.

K'so...caught... he berated himself. But then...

"I'll stay here with him. You go look after the others..." The rich bass wrapped around Masa's mind, entwining him in a web of solace.

Thank God it's you Gaku. Masa heard the swishing of fabric as the other person departed. He sighed and opened his eyes and came face-to-face with Gackt. Feigning a smile, Masa tried to sit up but was quickly halted by the other man's hands on his shoulders, pressing him back onto the - bed? cot? - whatever it was he was lying on.

"Don't get up - you're still too weak," Gackt muttered, sitting back as Masa rearranged his position so he could watch his friend. Eventually, the vocalist continued. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck...or something..."

Gackt laughed quietly. "That's because in a sense, you have been. Awakenings are a lot like that..."

Masa groaned. Then all of it was real, it wasn't just a dream. K'so...Wonderful... "I remember..."

"'Everything,' I know," Gackt finished.

"I remember...my clothes, my hair, my skin...on fire...burning...Kami-sama, Gaku..." Masa's voice broke as he flung his arms around the vocalist's neck as soon as he came close enough and cried into his shoulder. "Please don't let that happen again...don't let me burn. Onegai? Not again," he begged.

"No, not again...never again..." Gackt held his friend to him. Eventually, his tears subsided and Masa slid down to lay on his back in Gackt's lap, trying to control his breathing. "Better?" Masa nodded. "You know your role then...?"

"I can see things before they happen and-"

Gackt blinked.  "And...?"

"Nothing," Masa muttered, quickly covering his slip.

Gackt sighed and wiped away a stray tear that had escaped from between the other's dark lashes.  They sat in silence until...

"When did you awaken Gaku?"

"When did I...?" inquired Gackt, taken aback.

Masa nodded. Gackt leaned back and thought, trying to remember. His hands drew lazy circles on the other's chest. "Possibly even before I met Mana and the others. But I have no recollection of physical pain. I don't remember experiencing anything like you just did..."

"How do you know you've awakened then?"

"Because I...I saw things, heard things, dreamed things no little kid should ever experience. All my dreams, my nightmares...they're coming true...and have been for at least four centuries."

"Do you fear those dreams?"

"I used to...not anymore..."

"Why not?"

"What good could my fear bring? All hell is about to break loose, Masa. We can't afford to let any more chaos than what is to be expected tear us apart from within. Do you understand?" Masa nodded. Gackt sighed before he continued, "Try to sleep, you'll need your strength."

Masa curled up and sneaked a glance at the vocalist. Gackt sat staring off into space. "The web has been torn: there are too many holes that need to be filled. We haven't enough pieces yet to the puzzle..."

Masa curled up and closed his eyes. Darkness took him again and he fell into a fitful sleep.

[1] - Izumi = Hisashi's wife and Ami = Teru's wife.  She's not in this chapter, but don't worry - we'll see her as well as many other Significant Others in future installments.

[2] - Rsurrix = Pronounciation: (Near silent 'R')-s-urr-i-cks = The main "magik" language used in this series; the "language" itself is pretty much impossible to write out since it's just a bunch of hissing, growling, and snarling, but luckily, some of it is possible to romanize.  Mages, necromancers, and those of celestial and demonic beginnings are the only ones able to pronounce it correctly.  (c) -Britts-

[3] - Seeaira kora Maikai... = Pronounciation: see-air-ah ch (as in 'school')-ore-ah my-ky = Rsurrix for "You are the Dead..." (c) -Britts-