The Serpents' Shadows

Chapter 1

ACRONIAN:

Acronian woke up in an alley with one thought, Beacon. He didn't know where he was, why he was there, just his name and 'beacon'. But what was 'beacon'? His head was bandaged except for his right eye, a thought came to him again and he could hear faint voices in the back of his conscience. "Clear out the rest if the subjects, STAT! That's an order!" Came a female voice, he didn't recognize it.

His right eye hurt, a lot. He couldn't figure out what the words meant, he stumbled out of the alley clutching his stomach, he felt sick. Acronian shambled into the light of a light post next to a store and took a good look at himself, black bandages covered his entire head except for his eye... it was a green snake's eye. His chest was covered with a semi tight black shirt, which tucked into a pair of grey pants, held up by bandages covering his stomach. More of the same bandages covered his arm and sleeves. He wore a dark grey cloak with circular rips at the end, and a circular, device seemed embedded in his back, near the base of his neck in the middle of his spine. His hands were covered with midway gloves.

'Where am I?' Acronian thought as his emerald eye looked all around, he noticed a gleaming object from the next alley way. He knew instinctively that this would help... whatever 'this' was. He walked, or stumbled, and seemed to reach it in a matter of seconds. He picked up the object and looked at it curiously. What he had in his hands was pair of thick, heavy sheaths, joined at the middles by a circular rotator, it almost looked like the indents matched the ones on his device in his spine. It also had thin compartments filled with belts of blue shotgun shells in crisscrossing packs that looked like they went around the chest area. He didn't know how he recalled what was on his back, but he knew these were his.

He pulled out a gleaming katana blade from one of the sheaths, unsure of whether he remembered them or not, they seemed somehow familiar. He sheathed the blade and tried putting the contraption over his shoulders, the straps fit perfectly over his chest, and then he heard a loud click as the sheaths lined up with the device on his back and attached. Instantly, memories on how to work the scabbards filled his head. It was all connected to his brain, though how it got like that he had no idea.

He remembered to calibrate it, the right one spun 180 degrees back and forth on demand and it's twin did the same after that. Next was the guns, he drew the two swords and dry-fired the four guns, two out the top, and two out the bottom. When he was satisfied he gave the mental command to have his sheaths transform into two shoulder mounted shotguns. Their black carbon fiber finishes glinting in the dim light of a lamp-post. He dry fired them before finishing his calibration by transforming them back to sheaths and inserting his blades into them with practiced ease. He didn't remember where they were from, but he definitely knew he was no stranger to them at this point; he had been using them for a long time it seemed like.

The thought crossed his mind again; beacon. He decided to go to a nearby shop with its lights still on, it was probably very late at night. The signs on the window said "Dust sale!"; he had no idea who the fuck would want to buy dust. The door chimed as he opened the door and entered the shop, the first thing he noticed was the many different colors of crystals lining the walls and under the glass counter for display. The old-ish looking guy behind the counter looked up from his ledger, he did not look at all surprised by the sight of a sword wielding, bandage covered, snake-eyed teenager walking into his shop.

"What can I do for you lad?" He respectfully inquired, but he was not prepared by the kids' answer.

"Y-you're not surprised by my eye?" Acronian asked in return, surprised.

The man gave a hearty laugh, "Good heavens no, I've seen worse, although that eye is rather intriguing. You are a snake Faunus, yes? Don't see many of those around." He said.