Darker Than Black [Phan AU]

2.

Dan could feel little beads sweep past his skin. He was all alone, and felt like he was floating. No one was near him, only a black sky to keep him company. Which way was up, which was down, there was no way of telling.

The beads brushing past him were gradually growing in size. A wind had begun to blow, and the directions were becoming easier to distinguish.

Dan blinked. As his eyelashes lifted up, the scenery had changed. The black had faded and in place was a star speckled sky. Tall trees outlined his view, reaching for the lights in the sky. His body felt increasingly tired, but he knew he had to get up.

He lifted himself up, staring at his surroundings. A forest outlined him, hiding dangers and secrets. Moonlight danced across the grass. To his right, the man who had brought him there stood tall and stoic. The dagger he wielded was in his hands, cyan and violet swirls evaporating around it.

"Where are we?" Dan mumbled, rubbing a hand on his head.

"A forest" The man responded.

"Why are we here? Or even, who are you?" Dan lifted himself off the ground, facing the other.

He stayed quiet for a second. "You can call me Phil. I was ordered to bring you here because we need you."

"Who's we?" Dam questioned, confused by this whole ordeal.

"My clan, tribe, family. There's five of us." Pause. "We need to move now, no more talking." Phil turned towards Dan, sheathing his sword. The mask was still hiding his face.

Dan hesitated, before following Phil. They walked in silence, surprisingly no awkward air between them. Throughout the forest, no animals called.

Ten minutes had passed before Dan could see little specks of light ahead. There were about 8 of them, glowing and flickering in the air. They grew brighter as the two of them walked on.

Small, shabby houses appeared out of the gloom, illuminated by the torches that stood just in front of them. Dan wondered whether that was a fire hazard or not.

50 metres away from the closest building, Phil stopped. Dan nearly tripped at the sudden cease of movement, quickly regaining his balance.

"Why did we-" Dan began but was quickly silenced by something red and white passing his face. It struck the tree next to him, and he saw it was a 6 of hearts card.
Phil spun towards the direction it had came from, drawing his sword. A stick breaking and that's all it took for him to leap over the small shrub in front of him and pointing his weapon towards a tree.

Dan stood in shock. He didn't know what to do, didn't know whether to run or stay, whether to yell or be silent. Before he could make a decision, Phil spoke.

"You have to be more quiet than that. You'd be dead in seconds" he called out to the void.

Unexpectedly, a throaty chuckle responded. Dan called hear the grin in it. It was borderline insane, rising in pitch every so often. It resembled a clown laugh. It died down after a few seconds.

"Ah well, I tried didn't I?" The voice spoke back.

"You didn't try hard enough. Now show yourself or I will attack" Phil responded

"Fine, fine fine."

Behind the tree Phil had his weapon pointed at, a man stepped out of the gloom and into the moonlight. Phil sheathed his weapon, staring directly at the new figure.

The man had a mask similar to Phil's except it only took up half of his face. It sparkled midnight black, nostalgic, green eyes shining like gems on it. A brown curled mess sat upon his head. He was dressed in a suit, maroon, with a neatly tied bow. A deck of cards flicked from hand to hands. Split across his face was a wicked smile.