Halflight

When the Clock Struck Twelve

Tony woke up, groggy as hell. He looked around, his eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering through a curtain over to his left. He got up, and slid out of bed, putting on some shoes he found on the floor. He looked down to see he was wearing a red and black tracksuit, and he wondered who had undressed him. He went into the bathroom, and, washing his face, thought about the masked man from last night, and the guy who he had seen...before blacking out.

'It had to be some kind of drug.' he thought, taking a deep breath. He had to find answers, and he had to find out if his sister was safe. And image of the masked man, with a dagger between his face flashed into his mind, and he wondered if he would end up the same way. He shuddered.

Shrugging it off, he got up and walked out of the room.

As he opened the door, a ball flew across the hall, inches from his face. He looked over to see who it was, surprised to see a young boy, about seven, balancing the ball in the air...

Without touching it.

He went over to the boy, who had short, red hair and freckles scattered around his face. Tony crouched down, hoping to find out a few answers from him.

"Hi." Tony said.

"Hello, who are you? I haven't seen you around here before." replied the boy.

"Well, where is here? Oh, by the way, I'm Tony." said Tony.

"I'm Fit-Fittttsgerrrald, but you can call me Fitz, it's a whole lot easier to say. This is Doran castle, but how'd you get here if you didn't know it?"

Tony thought for awhile, not sure whether or not to tell the kid about his kidnapping. He seemed nice enough, but after all, he was just a kid.

"I hit my head and got brought here to recover." he lied.

"I don't see any bump." said the boy, standing on his toes to try to see Tony's head. He only made it up to his shoulders.

"It's gone now",he replied quickly. "Oh, how did you do that thing with the ball?"

"You mean this?" asked the boy, using his powers to push the ball down the hall, where it ricocheted quickly back into his hand. " I used Kinetics. Can't everyone? Can't you?"

Tony used his powers to send the ball flying towards the wall, but put a little too much power into it. It flew into the wall, lodging there. The wall cracked around it. Fitz snickered, then he looked scared.

"Uh oh", said Fitz, turning away."You better come with me. You do NOT want to be here when they find that."

Fitz turned around, and quickly waddled down the hall. With no leads, Tony decided to follow him.

"When who finds it?" he asked, trying to keep up with the fast-moving kid.

"The clerics." replied Fitz.

"Clerics?"

Fitz stopped abruptly, turning around.

"Don't you know anything? The clerics, the healers and maids around here. They clean and run the infirmary." He gestured to two guards who walked past them in perfect sync.

"Those are the mercenaries, the guards and fighters. I'm gonna be one when I grow up, cause I got skills for days. Last is old man Darius in the forge. You don't want to mess with him. He has a bunch of arms...like an octopus, and is always in the forge making and enchanting weapons. He's pretty boring." He made a gesture like an octopus, and then turned and kept walking.

"Oh, almost forgot." said Fitz. He stuck his hand out, in the direction they came from. Tony heard a slight whizzing, then the ball flew around the corner and into Fitz's hand, where it steamed from the speed. The boy didn't seem to care, because he kept walking. "Can't leave evidence." he said.

"So... who's in charge?" asked Tony, still curious.

"My parents...well, my sister. She's your age. About your height too. She's the Halflight."

"Halflight?" asked Tony. This was a new name, something unfamiliar.

"Damn it man, sit down." said Fitz, losing his patience. He sat down, and landed on air, hovering as if he was sitting on a cloud. Tony imagined a seat below him, and sat down, surprised he didn't land on his ass.

"Now, listen. I'm not gonna repeat this, because you seem like a bum. B U M bum. Are you a bum Tony?" he asked.

Realizing this kid was his only source of information, he shook his head slowly.

"Good, then I shouldn't have to repeat myself. The most powerful Kinetic is known as the Halflight, a warrior who is unrivaled in smarts and strength. She just looks like an ordinary girl though... The wolves and the bats have Halflights too, but they are friends of ours. The rest of them... are pretty much evil as hell. GOT IT?"

"Yeah, I think I do." replied Tony, completely understanding.

"Kay, time to go see my sister."said Fitz. pulling him down the hall.

Castle Doran is just that, a castle. It has a wide, open courtyard, and Pillars all around, on the outside. It is set upon a tall cliff, on the coast of Seattle, where the sky is always gray, and the rain falls like hail.

Inside the castle, however, looks like a hotel. It has rooms for everyone, where there are high-tech entertainment systems, an indoor pool, and a ballroom, where the residents of the castle throw epic parties. It has a forge and a dungeon, like any other castle in the world. It also has a set of penthouse suites for the Royalty.

Tony was led to a huge,ornate door, which Fitz blew open using Kinetics. Inside was a huge unmade bed, with over a dozen pillows thrown over it, a long table of makeups and perfumes, and a flat-screen which took up most of one wall. Underneath it was a set of gaming systems, and a huge stack of movies which almost touched the 14 foot roof. A cleric was cleaning in the corner, but when she saw the boys she left immediately.

"Guess she's walking the stag again...." said Fitz.

"What stag?" asked Tony.

"When we were smaller, we had a white stag that she kept as a pet. She was really close to it, and it died a few years ago. She used her kinetics to...bring it back. If a Halflight has a fond enough memory of something, the Halflight can recreate it based on those memories, but better. The stag came back as a huge one with giant, curling horns. She always takes it out for walks, when she's not here, or walking around." said Fitzgerald, out of breath. He flopped on his sister's bed, tired of explaining things to the bum next to him.

Tony had a pet too. His cat, Leo, which burned in the fire that killed his parents. He thought of it, and immediately his memories of the cat he spent all his time with bubbled to the surface . He shed a tear.

"HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THAT?!" screamed Fitz, backing into a corner. Tony opened his eyes, and he almost jumped out of his skin.

A giant, flaming leopard stood in the room, laying on the floor. It was see through, like it was made of energy, and it roared as it yawned lazily. It stretched, and razor-like claws popped out, ripping straight through the carpet.

It got up, and walked over to Tony.

He ran.

It chased him, pinning him to the ground. It purred calmly, looking at him.

"Leo?!" asked Tony. The cat laid on his belly, crushing him. "Good to s-ee y-ou too..." he gasped.

Leo got up, and strolled back into the room.

"WHOA!!!" yelled Fitz, jumping up from his seat in the corner. "You're a Halflight!!! I thought there was only one!"

"There is only one." came a voice from the door. From the person who spoke were eyes as cold as ice. A leash hung from one of her hands, which was balled into a fist. A giant, silver stag was on the other side of it, glaring at Tony.

Somewhere, a clock struck twelve, and it's tone reached everyone in the castle, vibrating them slightly.

The Halflight had arrived.