The Rise Of Hawk

The Rising Sun

                                                 "Chapter One"

The dim shining light from the moon casts a mournful gaze across a practically destroyed warehouse. A crater starting from inside the warehouse cuts through the earth like a large gash that digs its way into the side of a nearby hill. Burn marks litter the area. The embers still burning, like glowing red gems in the night. "Wow" A light whisper escapes from a small teens lips. A large man almost collided into the teen. "That is one big hit." The small teen pushes him back with a hmpth. "John! Watch where you're walking." " Oh, sorry Mia." He quickly replies, turning his gaze to the destroyed earth. "For us it is....I'm sure whoever took it is fine." Pipes up another voice, hoarse in nature, his knees slightly weak. A slender hand rests gently on his shaking shoulder. "You ok Hawk?" He looks down into her bright green eyes that do not hide the concern she has for him."I'm fine Rose. Just...." he pauses and looks at the battlefield. "The Atlas League were here. Remember Titan City?" John nods. "It cost a whole city to bring Dominus in...." Mia puffs her chest up. "It wasn't Dominus' fault that happened." Rose and John scoff at her remark. "Not this again Mia. Let's just get in there." "Whatever!" Mia snaps back and begins marching straight to the warehouse. The others quickly follow behind her. As they take their first step onto the warehouse grounds Mia and Rose pause. Mia perks up first. "Uhh....guys. We need to be careful. A very powerful demon was here. He used alot of power. He might have weakened the veil." "Ok. So little demons might spawn?" Hawk casually states. "With sharp claws that can cut us to bi..." Mia pauses. "Fuck you Hawk. Not all of us can turn into smoke." Hawk chuckles and Rose shakes her head. "Can we focus on the task at hand?" Hawk and Mia nod. The group walk further. John gently opens the door to enter through while everyone else just walks through a hole in the wall. John shrugs and walks through the door. The warehouse is dark and the group feels a heavy energy weighing on them. The inside of the warehouse is full of broken high tech computers. Also an odd looking device, that looks as if a person is to be strapped onto the tubes darting out of it. It seems to be used to either drain or inject fluid into someone. Hawk wanders over to it and stares at it as John begins searching over some rubble. Rose places her hands on the ground and the earth begins to shift ever so slighty. Mia places a small hand on her shoulder and begins chanting in an unknown language. John and Hawk stare at the two dumbfounded. A dark red gleam begins to emit from Mia's delicate hand. The red shroud slowly envelops Rose. Her chanting stops suddenly. A red flash blinds the two boys. As vision slowly returns to normal the once destroyed warehouse now resembles a regular warehouse, apart from two pitch black figures walking around. One of a short shapely woman and the other a thin lanky man. The boys shift their gaze across this strange warehouse. The stature of a dark haired man comes into view. With his hands in his pockets and frustation painted clearly on his face, he quickly snaps around to the black figures. A single hand rises up and points with all his authority at them. In the blink of an eye, the short woman dashes across, halting beside the dark haired man. Blocking a hit from an unknown figure. This pitch black figure, a huge imposing man, just as fast as the woman, moved. He throws a second punch. She blocks this. The force of the blow sends her darting backwards. He surges forward not giving her a second to rest. The large man throws a punch. It connects despite the womans best effort not to be. The hit sends a massive shock wave that shakes the very ground they're on, destroying the warehouse in the process. Not even a second after, the lanky man grabs this imposing man by the throat, lifting him off the ground and throws him across the hallway, like he didnt weigh a thing. The man rolls a few times making the ground shake slightly each time his large frame comes into contact with it. He stands up and flings dust off his right shoulder. Another large pitch black figure slowly floats down to the left of him. He stays hovering just a few inches off the ground. A flaming figure smashes through one of the walls and glides to the right of the huge man, hovering just a few inches from the ground. The dark haired man begins to glow bright red. Once he realizes what is happening. Dark crimson flesh rips through his torso. A massive arm is the first out. Blood begins to pour out in large spurts. A second arm tears its way out. With one of his large demonic arms he tears off the remaining skin like a suit, revealing a large demon covered in in thick tense mucsles. Two horns adorn his bald head. It smiles showcasing two rows of ultra sharp teeth that line his jaw. John gags slightly when he notices the demon has no lips. Flames leap from the demon. Large clawed hands swirling the flames into a sphere. The world pauses as the demons pitch black eyes dart to the two boys and bears down onto them. "Didnt your father teach you not to pry into others personal business?" Its voice echoes. The world snaps back and forth as if its being torn to pieces. One final heave and the view of the world shatters like glass into darkness. The destroyed warehouse appears again. Hawk rubs his eyes and turns to the two girls. Mia is laying flat on the ground breathing deeply. Rose kneeling close to her. "Mia... Mia!" She shakes the small girl a few times. Mia flings up and dusts herself off a bit. "I'm fine. I'm great. Good. Good" She takes a deep breath. "We should go. That demon was connecting to this location. Its possible..." She begins to walk backwards towards the door, "That he might just, a teeny wheeney possibility, that he could..." She waves her hands around. "Teleport here".Light pierces through the window, like blades cutting through the darkness. The warmth of its radiant light gently touches a young mans face a slight grin crosses his lips. His eyes flick open, showing deep hazel eyes that rarely miss a detail. They shoot to the window and he flings out of bed. Bolting at full speed, he stomps over to the window. With a single hand, he tears open the window, causing a loud bang. He launchs half his body out, taking in a massive breath of the cool morning dew and basking in the light of a new day. "I've missed you sun." He whispers to himself, with a voice that could calm a charging bull. He turns around and rushs to get ready for school. He's stopped dead in his tracks, letting out a yelp. His father, a lanky man with glasses, is staring him down. With a strong voice that could convince the bull to charge again, "Hawk don't slam things in the house. It's 6am in the morning. Your mother is trying to sleep." Hawk looks down sheepishly. "S-sorry. I was excited. It's my first day." His father places a wirey finger up against his lips then dematerializes into a smokey plume that seeps through the floor boards without a sound. A sharp ding rings out and Hawk grabs his phone from the bedside drawer. noticing two missed calls he swips them away and foucses on a text from Rose. He doesn't bother reading it, he just calls her. She answers almost right away. A squeaky voice calls out. "Hawk! I'm coming over. Make sure your ready, I'm not being late again." "Since when am I ever late Rosie?" retorts Hawk. "I've been late because of you since I was eight." Hawk sighs. "Trust me, it's a new year for me. I'm not gonna be that same guy from last year." "I hope you don't change to much" replied Rose in a weak voice. "Don't worry. I will still be the same Hawk... just better. I gotta go." They both say their goodbyes. Hawk quickly gets ready and makes his way down stairs. He sees his mother, a youthful looking woman with a hourglass figure and a smile that could charm anyone, her bright green eyes staring at her phone. Though this time Hawk notices the dark circles around her eyes and a large bruise on her shoulder being covered by her dressing gown. "Did I wake you?" His mother slowly looks up with a mmm...."No son. Not at all. Last night was a rough night is all." Hawk looks to the left of his mother for a few seconds. "Dad looks fine..." His mother stands up and slowly walks towards him, her height barely above 5 foot, Hawk towers over her like his father yet he still feels small in her presence. "Honey, since when has your father ever got hurt?!" She gently places her hands onto his shoulders. Hawk doesn't say a thing. His mother sighs. "Just like him you can turn into that smokey stuff." She waves one hand around then punchs her self on the collar bone. "Me on the other hand.... weellll I gotta dodge. Don't worry about me I'm strong." She flexs a bicep then gently leads Hawk down to the table. "Being a hero sometimes means taking that big hit that you know is going to hurt and you take it with a smile." She lightly taps the table with her fist. "It's for all of them out there." She looks down, for a fraction of a second sorrow appears on her face, until her smile is back and her chin is in the air. "We are powerful son. If you have the power to do something good, then you have a responsibility to do it." Hawk sighs, having heard this a million times by now. "I know, but it don't make it any easier to see how much of a toll it has on you. Dad is fine. He always is, but you...." He pauses, worry creeping into his voice. "You always have a new cut or bruise... You always look like you havent got any sleep... I'm just worried about you. You're not Fortis." His mothers face falls into a blank stare, her finger rapidly tapping the table. Hawk grabs his mothers shoulder softly and she almost jumps out of her skin. "You ok mum?" She nods her head slowly. "Yeah... Yeah I'm fine. Just tired." She grabs her forehead. "You should get to school. I need sleep. Love you son." She kisses his forehead and he instantly rubs it off. "Ahh, gross. I'm not a kid!" His mother does not respond. Just walks off slowly. Hawk stares at her intensely. A ding snaps him out of his trance. He quickly looks at his phone. A text from Rose again. "SHIT!" He bolts towards the front door then halts mid way, turns around and grabs his bag and out the door he charges."You screwed up Alice." Hawks mother is in a pitch black room. The only thing visible is herself and her spouse. His coarse voice echoes. "They weren't meant to be there." She looks down and grabs her left arm, trying to comfort herself meekly, replying "Thats what I was told... I'm sorry." The lanky man slowly walks towards her like a predator stalking its prey. With a single finger he gently pushs her chin up until their eyes meet. The finger slides to her shoulder, making her large bruise visible. The darkness in the room begins to fade, until a tidy room becomes visible. "Alice the infomation needs to be right. We walked right into a trap.... You got hurt. You could of been killed." He stares at the bruise. "I hate that I couldnt stop that hit in time. I was too slow. I should of known. The signs where all there" Alice places her hand onto his chest. "Dunkel, none of us saw it coming. We both trusted Dolos." A light chuckle escapes from Hawks father. "With a name like that, it should of been even more obvious." She hugs him and he kisses her forehead. "Next time I will make sure you don't get hit... I hate seeing my darling in pain.""You're late Hawk!" Her usual soft voice nowhere to be found. Hawk rubs the back of his head while looking down. "Ahhh, sorry about that. Mum looked hurt." Rose pokes his chest roughly. "Seriously?! Your mother is Kriegerin. It would take a mountain to bring her down. Stop worrying about her." Hawk looks back at the house. "I think she ran into that mountain last night." Rose slaps Hawk on the shoulder gently. "I'm sure she will be fine. We though. We won't be. we are late again" She begins to walk towards school. Hawk replies weakly. "Yeah. She'll be fine.""Oh god, it's Mia." Rose whispers under her breath as Hawk and her walk through the schools iron gates. A short chubby girl with brightly coloured hair, dressed in the most expensive brands, squeals at the sight of the two. She runs over. Stopping just before colliding with Hawk. "Hawk! You missed the huge fight down town last night. I tried calling you!" Hawk looks at her confused. "Ahh, yeah. I was studying. Must of dozed off." He rubs his chin. "Well, come on. Spill the beans. What happened?" Mia takes a deep breath. "Fortis Titan and...." She takes a deep breath. "....Firefly." She places her hands on her chubby cheeks. "He's so dreamy. Wasn't a chance he was gonna get hurt." Hawk coughs. "Ok, fangirl. Get to the point." "Ok, ok. Slow down. Let a girl dream would ya. There was others too. The whole head of the Atlas League were there." Both Rose and Hawk look at each other with wide eyes. "Why would the Atlas League be here in okmore?!" Roses voice full of dread. Mia clicks her tongue. "Don't care. I just wanna meet Firefly... He's doing a autograp tonight. Come on. You've gotta come with me!." They both sigh and nod together. She grabs Hawks and Roses hands and jumps up and down. "Thank you. Thank you..." She leans in. "Wouldn't want to go with losers now, would I?" Rose sighs and Hawk chuckles. "Ok. I got to go but." She points at Hawk and Rose while walking backwards. "Tonight. Six o'clock. Burger Reds" She lets out a woo before returning to her larger group of friends. Rose looks at Hawk. "Maybe thats where your mum was last night... She is apart of the Atlas League." Hawk looks up to the sky. "If they were here, it must mean some real nasty people were there. " "This is where we spilt up. I will see you after school." Rose replies while giving Hawk a quick hug.Hawk is staring at his work sheet, having not answered a single question his mind occupied by the so called battle that happened last night. A sharp bell cuts through the school grounds, snapping Hawk out of his deep thought. He stands up, grabs his work sheet and drops it on the teachers desk, walking out the door, without so much a word. He quickens his pace down the now crowded school halls to where he believes Rose will be. Reaching near her usual spot, he stops in his tracks, his entire body begins to feel like its being drained. His eyes falls onto Rose talking, with the largest grin his ever seen on her. His eyes dart to the person she's talking to, some nerdy looking guy, thin, glasses, books in his hands. A walking stereotype and Hawk hates him. Hawk strides over to them, stopping just a little too close to the guy, staring him down. "Hawk, this is William... Hawk!" She slaps Hawk in the chest. Hawk slowly turns his head until their eyes meet. "Say hello to William." Hawk keeps his eyes on Rose. "Hello, William." Rose just stares at him confused. "Uhh, William. Will have to catch up with you soon." "Yeah, no problem. See you later." William slowly backs off then twists around and speed walks off. "Who's that?!" Hawks voice full of venom. "My new study partner, cuz you keep dozing off before eight. Uhh, what the hell does it matter who it is anyways?!" Rose turns around and storms off. Hawk stares at her while she walks away. He places a hand over his face. "What the hell was that." He sighs and heads home.Hawk slams open the door, throws his bag inside, walks in and slams the door behind him. He storms over and jumps over the couch, landing on it, grabbing the remote. He flicks on the TV. As he watches, he rubs his face, looks to his left and jumps out of his skin. "HOLY SHIT!" He jumps off the couch, his dad is sitting on the couch. Hawks eyes widen in horror expecting to be punished. But his father simply taps the couch. An order to sit back down. Hawk slowly sits back down staring at the TV but paying no heed to it at all. "Hawk." Hawk gulps . "Are you ok?" Hawks heart drops. He can not fathom that his father is asking him if he is ok. He's never done that. "Umm....yes???" His father rubs his chin. "Why did you say that like it was a question?" Hawk lowers his head. "I feel... odd....Like things that wouldn't effect me...." Hawk begins to wave his hands around. "Like I saw Rose talking to this pipsqueak and I just wanted to.... I wanted to drain the life out of him with my hands." Hawk looks to his father who's dead eye staring him. "Are you sure thats the feeling you are getting?" Hawk looks at him confused. "I think. I dont know. Maybe I'm tired. I just wanna sleep all the time." Dunkel stands up. "Hawk, you are just a exepriencing a normal teenage thing." clearly a lie hawk thought to himself. Alice walks into the room munching on popcorn. She stops. Hawk and Dunkel stare at her as popcorn falls out of her mouth. "What?! I'm hungry." She raises an eyebrow. "Why are you two staring at me?" Dunkel walks around the couch and leans in close to her, whispering something, Alice's face lights up in shock. Her bowl of popcorn falls to the ground. Dunkel grabs her arm and nudges her towards their room. "Hawk. Go out for dinner. There's money on the bench. Me and your mother need to talk." The two enter their bedroom. Hawk rubs his head. "What the hell?!" He stands up and gently turns his feet into a smokey plume that hovers his body just a few inchs above the ground. As silently as he can, he glides over to his parents room and places an ear up against it. At first he can't hear much, only light whispers "about time" is all he could make out. Just as Hawk pushes his head closer, everything suddenly goes dead silent. His hand reaches for the door knob. Slowly he grips around it tightly and thinks to himself. "This is a dumb idea." He opens the door quickly. What he sees he's not quite able to be comprehend, he sees a void like abyss. The room no longer exists. He doesn't see through it. As much as he is unable to see. He blinks rapidly, then rubs his eyes. "If I keep looking at that I'm going to go insane." He turns around and slowly closes the door. Grabbing the money off the bench, he heads to the Burger Mart, a local fast food chain.The sun has began to set, turning the sky a dim red and orange, shining over an almost empty parking lot. Hawk stands across the road staring into the sky. He's taken out of his trance by a high pitched voice screaming right next to him. "Hawk!!" He almost jumps out of his skin and then turns to face the annoying munchkin. Mia wears the largest grin he has ever seen. "Careful. You keep smiling like that and it will freeze there." She scoffs. "Hmpth. As if that would be a issue. You're just jealous that I'm always happy." Hawk chuckles. "Alright, alright. I will admit, I am a little." He puts his two fingers just slightly apart to empthasise how much. Mia giggles. "Is everyone else coming?" Mia asks inquisitively. Hawk shrugs. "John is working til 6 tonight, so he should be available." "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I meant Rose." Hawk shrugs. "Hawk, she already told me you scared off William." Hawk tenses. "Fuck Willaim! Why is he better?! Nerd isnt smarter than me." Hawk snowballs into a rage. "I'm the top student in the school!" He points a single finger with authority at himself. Mia's hands fly up defensively. "Woah, Chill! You are just busy alot." Hawk breaths in deeply. "Sorry. I just.... It's dumb. I've been her study partner since...." He waves his arms around. "Like ten or something." Mia mouths Wow mockingly. "How does he not know?" She thinks to herself. Hawk shakes his head. "Lets just get something to eat before we go see Firefly." Mia nods softly and grabs Hawks hand. "Come on." She drags him into the burger joint. They walk in and the place looks as generic as it can. The restaurant is empty apart from one unkept looking middle aged man sitting alone in the corner. "Jeez, get a wife." Mia snickers, covering her mouth and giggling. Hawk chuckles slightly aswell. Mia slaps Hawk on the arm gently. "What? You said it!" retorted Hawk. "At least I tried to hide it" Mia emphasised. They reached the bench, a well defined teen, in the Burger Mart uniform making a large burger, looks up and smiles. A sort of innocent smile you see only on children. He calls out. "Guys! I'm almost done. Just finishing up this meal." His voices high pitch not matching his body at all. "All good, John." Hawk quickly responds. John finishes the burger and places it on a tray with a large drink and small chips with dipping sauce. He walks passed them to the middle aged man. "Sir. Your food." He places it down and sits with the man. "I heard things are not going to well at the cafe..." The man nods. "I've given your resume to my boss and put in a good word for you. He said he wants an interview tommorow." John pulls out his wallet and hands the man fifty dollars. "Have a shower and a haircut." The middle aged man looks up at him. "Why are you doing this?" John shrugs. "If I can make just one persons day a little bit better, then ive done pretty good." The man looks down. "Anyways, sir. I gotta clock off. See ya next time, yeah?" John lingers waiting for the man to reply. The man looks up at him. "Sure..." John nods and tells the man, "Take care." He walks passed his friends and into the back. Not long later he comes out in a singlet, jeans and a duffle bag. John and Hawk fist bump. "Hawkie! Been to long since our last sesh." Hawk chuckles, "We went yesterday." John nods. "Yeah. Been too long." John nods at Mia. She barely waves back. Her eyes darting to her phone. "Whats the plans for tonight? I didn't get the full details." Just as Hawks about to open his mouth Mia shouts. "NO!!" Hawk jumps. "Woah. What happened?" Mia sighs and places a hand on her chubby cheek. "Firefly has cancelled." Her whole body sinks. Hawk and John look at each other and just shrug. Conveniently Rose walks through the door. She finds a a four seated table and waves them over. "Come on Mia." Hawk says, tapping her gently on the shoulder and leading her to the table. Everyone takes a seat. Rose places a finger on her mouth telling the group to not say a word. They all lean in and she softly whispers to them. "We should check out that warehouse. The police have just been removed." John looks confused. "What warehouse?" Hawk looks just as confused. "How do you know the cops are gone?" Rose puts her hands up. "Shush no questions. I've got connections" She raises her eyebrows twice suggestively. John and Hawk still look confused. Mia pipes up "is that a sexual thing?" Rose jumps back in her chair. "NO! What the... Why would it be sexual?" Mia shrugs. "You did the eyebrow raise thing." It's Roses turn to wear the look of confusion. "What... its not sexual. It's like hey, I know stuff." Mia, John and Hawk all shake their heads. Rose's face drops. "God..." She hides her face with her hands. Mia starts laughing. "Oh my god. You idiot. Who have you been doing it to?" Rose just shakes her head back and forth. "N....n....no one. Just......" Rose trails off. "Forget it. The warehouse is clear tonight and no one is covering what happened there." Rose finishes. Mia nods. "There's been no release of what exactly has happenned. No media post. Nothing. It's like they wanna keep it underwraps." John rubs his bicep. "Uhhh....maybe that means we shouldn't go there if the police put up a barrier." Hawk cuts John off. "Nah, we go. I need to know what happened. Mum never tells me anything." John stares at Hawk for a few seconds then sighs. "Fine. But no fighting. We can't go hurting anyone already there." The other three nod and then Mia slaps her hands together, startling the group. "But first, a girls gotta eat."The girls harshly stomp their feet into the charred earth as they rush towards the chinlink fence. The shortest stops first. Rose almost knocks her clean off her feet as they colide. "Watch it Rose! I'm sen.." She's cut off by three claws swiping towards her face. She leans back losing balance as the claw slashes her across her chubby cheek, drawing blood and knocking her a few feet backwards. It trails down the claws. The creature, standing as tall as the girls knees, licks its bloodied claw with a manic smile on its lipless face. Sharp jagged teeth jut out in strange angles. It screams as it charges Mia, the blood bringing it to frenzy. Rose quickly raises her hands, a light golden light emits from her hands and a dozen golf ball sized rocks levitates into the air. She pulls one hand back and thrusts it foward. The rocks launch towards the little monster. It leaps to the side and slashs at the rocks smashing a few into smaller chunks. One manages to clock it right across its ragged teeth. Blood splurts and three of its teeth drop to the floor. The thing holds its mouth as blood begins to drip out. Its golden eyes stare at Rose with a new found hatred. It yells at the top of its lungs and leaps towards her. She steps back and slams her hand onto the ground. Her golden aura spreads over a small area in front of her. The creature lands with its full body weight onto the area. Its large feet sink into the ground, down to its knees. Rose falls backwards panting hard, sweat dripping from her brow. The angry little monster squeals and screams, thrusting itself back and foward unable to get out of the ground. Mia stands just outside of its range and begins to chant. Her hands glow red and strange symbols start to circle her hands. The letters slowly reach out and place themselves on various areas on the struggling demons body. The letters glow brighter and brighter until the vison of the demons is gone. The light fades and its no where to be seen. Mia falls down and places her hands on her face. "Ouch! Fuck, why did i do that?" She begins to poke her cheek and winces in pain each time. "You ok?" Rose asks. "Nah, Rose.. I'm just peachy. Look at me. I'm gonna be ugly!" Rose looks down. Her eyes fall to Mia's feet as a few tears fall next to them disapearing as quickly as they came. The two boys have only just reached Rose. "What happened?" John's voice full of concern. "Nothing!" Mia quickly turns around and hides her face. Hawk leans over and gently helps Rose to her feet. "Mia.. Its ok. You were amazing." His large hand gently rest on her shoulder. Mia shrugs his hand off her shoulder and bounces to her feet like lightning and bolts off sobbing softly as she went. "We got attacked by a small demon.. It was sorta my fault. I bumped into her." "Don't blame yourself. If myself and John were faster you two wouldnt of had to fight it alone." Hawk quickly retorts. He hugs her a little tighter. "It came out of nowhere. How would you have known?" Rose nods her head slowly. The three leave.