FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Well! This is my first story in a loooong while. I suppose you could call it the prologue, the pilot episode, the beginning of the end. Don't worry if this one seems a bit confusing, it will make sense in the next installment, which I am currently writing!

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Hell on Earth

Jasper stumbled along the wet streets of New York City. Specifically, he was stumbling along the wet streets of Mott Haven in South Bronx. It was dark, and the streetlamps lit the streets with a dull orange glow. It was raining steadily, like a fine mist that could soak you to the skin in a matter of minutes. No sane person would be out in weather like this. Unfortunately Jasper wasn't one of the sanest persons around. He was an exchange student from England, but certain circumstances had led him to staying in America...permanently. The reason for this was due to his "attacks". These peculiar events had started happening not long after he started at New York University. He was a student in Chemistry, and was hoping to get a PhD in the subject. He had been looking around some of the museums in the city before school started. The episodes began happening after he visited the American Natural History Museum. There was a section about fossils and other types of rocks and stones. One of the new exhibits was a dark purple amethyst. The geode was split into two halves so the glittering purple crystals could be seen. The peculiar thing about this amethyst was that a perfectly spherical emerald was set in one half of it. It looked like the amethyst had fused with the emerald, locking it in place. It was the summer at the time, and while Jasper was wondering around the museum, a summer thunderstorm hit the city. Lightning had struck the Museum, shorting out the power. Jasper had been in the geology section at the time. When the museum went dark, all the Americans and tourists immediately panicked and began shouting and running around. This was probably why Jasper was the only one to notice the soft greenish purple glow coming from one of the displays. He had gone up to it and looked at the amethyst. The amethyst crystals were glowing faintly, as was the emerald. He'd reached out and touched the glass. A bolt of green and purple light leapt from the stones, through the glass, and into Jasper's finger. It was like being electrocuted. Jasper screamed and the light vanished from the stones. Jasper dropped to the ground just as the lights came back on. He stared at his hand, watching the light slowly fade away.

Soon after this, he began to lose it. He couldn't keep his mind focused on one thing. He would randomly jump as if startled, even when there was nothing there. His first attack happened during class. He had been sitting at his work bench when it happened. He had been working fine, when he just stopped. He had slumped in his stool and his arms went limp. His head hung forwards, his shoulder length hair had hung in front of his eyes. When someone noticed, they informed the tutor, who pushed his way through the crowd that had grown around the human. When the Anifeil had put his hand on his shoulder, Jasper reacted. His arm moved blindingly fast and gripped the bat's arm. He looked up, and it was as if his face was totally obscured by shadow, only his eyes and insane grin could be seen. Now Jasper wasn't a small human. He was six foot three, with broad shoulders and chest. He never worked out, but was naturally strong. But this was something different. He stood up, still gripping the tutors arm. His eyes were wide, the pupils contracted to black dots in a sea of grey (grey being the colour of his eyes).

"Jasper...Let go of my arrrRRRGH!!"

The tutor had tried to get Jasper to let go, but Jasper squeezed and twisted. His grin widened as he snapped his tutors arm like a dry twig. He began laughing, but it was not ordinary laughter. It was high pitched and mad.

Jasper had woken up after that in a prison cell. He had no idea what had happened, but his throat hurt, and his eyes itched. When they questioned him, he couldn't understand what they were saying. How had he assaulted three people, seriously injuring all three? Surely he would have remembered. As the questioning continued, he felt increasingly uncomfortable. After about an hour of questioning, it happened again. He went completely limp, and only reacted when he was touched. This time he rammed the detectives head through the two way mirror and escaped the police station. He had come to in an alley way on the other side of the city, and this time he remembered what had happened. This was too much for him and his already threatened mental state and his mind snapped.

This was almost three years ago now, the manhunt for him had long since ended, but there was still a warrant for his arrest. This didn't concern him now. He tripped over his own feet and collapsed in a heap. He lay face down for a few minutes, before struggling to his feet and moving on. He became acutely aware of the sounds of footsteps behind him. If he had been a sane person, he wouldn't have felt a sense of panic or dread. But he didn't, he simply staggered into a lamppost and mumbled something to himself, then giggled. He was about to move of again, when a hand grabbed his soaking hair and slammed his face into the lamppost. He also felt something thin, sharp and pointy poking him in the ribs.

"Stay still, and don't call nobody." A harsh voice said.

"Do you know..." Jasper began, but his head was slammed into the lamppost again before he could finish. He felt something warm running down his face from his nose. He licked his lip, and tasted whatever it was that was flowing down his face. It was salty and had a familiar metallic tang.

"Oh dear..." he mumbled, and his body went limp.

The mugger was slightly startled when his victim went totally limp, so he decided to assert is authority by slamming the humans head against the lamppost again. As he pulled Jaspers head back again, he heard laughter. It started off as a quiet chuckle, but it slowly rose in a mad crescendo, until it was piercing and insane. The thief found himself looking into the upside-down face that was obscured by shadow, with only the eyes and manic grin visible.

"What 'da fuck?!"

These were the last words he said before his head was grabbed by two insanely strong hands. The mugger was lifted off his feet by his head, and brought up over Jaspers head and down into the pavement with a sickening crunch. Jasper then grabbed the barely conscious attacker by the front of his shirt.

"Fear is the mind killer!" he said, smacking the hyena across the face, sending a spray of blood across the street.

"Do you fear me? I would fear me!" Jasper laughed, beating the hyena across the face, splattering blood in all directions.

"Hey...guess what?" He said with a giggle "I put the 'laughter' in 'Slaughter'!" He shrieked, bursting into fits of hysteria.

He dropped the nearly dead hyena and wondered off down the street, weaving along the pavement and the road. He staggered backwards and into a parked car, smashing a window and denting the door. He laughed and staggered down the road.

°°°

Jessica Johnston was, to put it bluntly, a pimp. In fact, she was THE pimp. She controlled all the prostitution in the city of New York. She had started her career as a street girl, and managed to work her way up the sleezy hierarchy. She had bought a small block of apartments in Mott Haven, and converted the top floor into her own personal palace. On the outside it was a cheap looking, dirty building, but on the inside it was like a five star luxury hotel. The lower floors were used by her best ladies and gentlemen. The elite, as it were. Jessica was just as powerful as the crime lords and the mob bosses in her own way. It was rumoured she knew all of her workers names, and that was a lot of names to remember. Most of the time, her prostitutes could work without having to fear muggings or rape, because if you mistreated one of Jessica's workers, you would wake up the next day with certain body parts missing. Highly specific body parts if you happened to be a man. At the age of forty three, she had retired from selling herself. She sat back in a comfortable armchair and looked out of her window at the rain. She swirled the wine in her glass as Led Zepplin played quietly on the sound system behind her. She was still very attractive, often mistaken for someone I their early thirties. Although aging was less obvious if you were a collie. She stroked her silky black headfur and sighed. She hoped Jasper was alright. She often worried about him on nights like this. She often had some of her workers keep a special eye out for him, in case he was wondering by. She let her mind wonder back to the first time they had met. One of her workers had been attacked by a couple of drunken thugs. Apparently they were about to rape her, when a figure appeared in the mouth of the alley where they were. They couldn't see his face, only his eyes and mad grin. He had walked down the alley slowly, giggling quietly. One of the men went to deal with him and found himself slammed into a wall with both his arms broken and a dislocated shoulder. The other man had tried to run, but Jasper had grabbed him round the waist, lifted him up and suplexed him into the floor. The prostitute had been scared at first, until she saw he no longer looked insane, but very tired. She could see more of his face now, not the most handsome man in the world, but reasonably attractive. The girl had brought him to Jessica, told her story and left. Jessica looked after Jasper until he was back to full (physical) health. It became clear to the canine that he wasn't quite all there. His clothes were tattered and dirty, and he was almost dead from exhaustion and hunger.

A knock at her door made Jessica blink. She had dozed off. She shook her head and stood up; adjusting her dressing gown. She walked over to the door and opened it. One of her male workers was standing there supporting a very wet Jasper. He had blood running down his face, and blood on his knuckles.

"What in gods name happened?!" Jessica exclaimed, almost dragging the two inside.

She helped deposit the human in a chair, where he slumped.

"Cynthia found him lying outside the front door. Looks like he had another attack." The man said.

"Oh dear. Well you just leave him to me. You have a client at eleven."

"I won't forget." The man said with a grin, and left.

Jessica knelt down in front of Jasper.

"Jasper?" she whispered "Can you hear me?"

Jasper looked up, and blinked. He smiled weakly.

"Ah...I made it..." he said "Good to know..."

"You had another attack." Jessica replied softly.

"Really? I hope I didn't kill anyone. That would be bad bad bad bad." He said, and sneezed.

Jessica sighed, and hauled him to his feet. He was rather heavy, which was to be expected from someone his size. She managed to get him to the bedroom, where she took off his soaking wet clothes and deposited them on the floor. She lay him on the bed and went to get a towel from the bathroom. She came back and dried him off, slipping the covers over him. He lay there shivering. Jessica removed her dressing gown to reveal her lithe frame and slipped in next to him. She pulled him close against her warm body, where he curled up against her. This was not the first time this had happened, and Jessica was used to this kind of thing anyway. She was also one of the only people the he actually trusted or listened to. She suspected he had adopted her as either his mother, or at least his guardian. He let out a long sigh and was soon fast asleep. Jessica clapped her hands and the lights went out. She lay down next to him and drew the duvét up around them both. Jasper's shivering slowly subsided as her body heat warmed him up. Mad he might be, but Jessica knew he was essentially harmless. When she had first met him, she did some background checks to make sure he hadn't escaped from a mental institution. This was how she found out he was wanted by the police. Not being a huge fan of the NYPD (for obvious reasons), she chose to hide him until the searches died down. During that time he had bonded with her, and had never had an attack whilst with her. She closed her eyes and smiled, as long as he was around, she felt it was her duty to protect him. Whenever he went off wondering the streets, she always made sure she had her workers looking out for him. In short, she made sure he was well looked after, even if he wasn't fully aware of it.

The next morning the rain had stopped. Jessica awoke to find herself alone in her bed. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She sat up and looked around, Jasper wasn't in her room. She got out of bed and put on her dressing gown. She walked out of her room as she tied the sash. She looked around but he wasn't in her apartment either. She smiled to herself and walked out into the corridor outside her apartment. At the end of the corridor was a door that led onto the roof. The door was standing open, and there was a shadow cast onto the steps. Jessica walked up the steps and shielded her eyes from the bright morning sun. Squinting, she looked ahead and saw a silhouette in the middle of the roof. It was Jasper. He was standing in the sun with his arms outstretched as if he was trying to grab the sun.

"Jasper?" Jessica called out

Jasper lowered his hands and turned. Jessica saw he had a wide happy smile on his face.

"Jas..."

"The stone. It was the stone!" He said walking up to her.

"What do you mean?" Jessica said, raising a brow.

"M...My mind...Its not quite...a-allll there, y'see, so I need to find out how to find it again...So I thou...I thought I'd come up here. Y'see, I always liked high places...and-and and I thought maybe, maybe I might remember something!"

Jessica waited patiently for him to finish. When Jasper spoke, it was almost like he was rambling. He took his time, and licked his lips a lot. He also spoke reasonably quietly sometimes, often rising in volume and then rapidly dropping back down to a quiet muttering.

"Well I think you need to come inside. You aren't wearing anything."

"Hmmm? What? Oh, yeah...w-well...I had the idea, you see, while I was asleep. SO before it could get away...like my mind..." he said nodding his head to emphasise the point "I came up here to try it...and...and now I remember!" Jessica nodded and smiled as she led him back downstairs. She didn't know why, but seeing him naked always made her a little hot under the collar.

Once they were back downstairs and Jasper was dressed (in a pair of Levis and a pale pink shirt with a large seventies collar), Jessica started making breakfast. Jasper sat in a chair and fidgeted. He shifted in the new clothes and ran his finger around the collar. He looked around and spotted a large leather trench-coat lying over the back of the large red sofa in the living area. He got up and walked over to it. He picked it up and put it over his head. He wriggled around under it for a few moments before his arms slipped through the sleeves. He sat there for a few moments, blinking. He got up (the coat fitting perfectly) and slipped his shoes on. He sat down again for a few moments and tapped his hands together. He paused and looked at his right hand. He turned his hand over, and then back. He scratched his head. He was fairly certain his hand didn't used to have a scar on it. At least, not one he was aware of. But on his hand was scar tissue. He tilted his head and frowned. The scar looked like a circle with three comma shapes cut out of it. Sort of like a throwing glaive. He frowned, shook his hand and looked at it again. The scar was still there. He ran his left thumb over it, and a small greenish purple spark leapt into the air. He grinned widely, and ran out the door. Just then, Jessica came back with bagels.

"I made you...ahhh shit." She said

She ran to the window and saw Jasper running down the road. He seemed to be moving faster than he should have been, and was quickly out of sight. She cursed and ran back to her room to get dressed. As she rooted around in her wardrobe, a pair of jeans fell out onto the floor. Jessica paused and picked them up. They were the same pair Jasper had been wearing when he was first brought here. She looked down at the floor and saw a brochure had fallen out of the pocket. She bent down and picked it up, unfolding at and reading it. It was a brochure for the American Natural History museum; more specifically, the geological exhibit. She looked at the picture on the front of the brochure. It was a photograph of a large amethyst geode that had been split in half to expose a large, perfectly spherical emerald.

"The stone...The stone?!" she gasped

The exhibit had been gone since last year. The stone was probably locked up in a vault somewhere in the museum now.

"Shit shit shit!" she cursed, hurriedly getting dressed.

An hour and a half later, Jasper was walking through the grounds of the museum. He had found a pair of sunglasses in the coat's pocket and had put them on. His broken mind thinking they made him look dashing and suave, but in reality they just hid his face. He was walking with his usual gait. Slightly cowed with his head down, not quite walking in a straight line. He soon found himself looking at the spot where the geode used to be. Now there was a rather uninteresting fossil.

"Where is it?!" he hissed

One of the museum curators heard him and wondered over.

"Looking for a particular exhibit sir?" the coyote asked

"Yes...yes...the t-the amethyst....emerald geode thingy...it was here...now its not...where...where is it?"

"Oh that! We moved it for testing. It's in one of the museum vaults now. Nobody'll be able to see it except the specialists until next year I expect."

Jasper looked at the Coyote. His fingers twitched. His left eye twitched. His fingers twitched again and the curled into fists. With one fluid motion, he had grabbed the coyote, head butted him and thrown the poor canine through a display.

"Where is it?!" he roared

People were looking at him with shocked expressions on their faces. The coyote coughed and staggered to his feet. Jasper jumped towards him and grabbed him again.

"Where...is...it?" he snarled.

The coyote looked into the dark sunglasses he was confronted with and could faintly see two smouldering red dots behind them.

"In one of the vaults..." the curator moaned

"WHERE?!"

"I don't know! Please don't kill me!"

Jasper dropped the canine to the floor and turned. Two police officers that had been walking past the museum had heard the commotion and came to investigate. They had their guns drawn and they were trained on Jasper.

"Sir, get down on the ground and put your hands on your head." One of them said

"No..." Jasper snarled

"Get down on the ground! Do it! Do it now!"

"NO!!!"

Jasper ripped off his sunglasses and screamed. It wasn't a scream of rage or of anger. It wasn't a scream of pain or sadness. It was a scream of pure, uncontrolled insanity. His face was obscured by shadow, only showing his mad grin and glimmering eyes.

"Oh shit! It's him!" One of the officers said and reached for his radio.

Jasper moved impossibly fast, his coat billowing behind him. It was like time had slowed down. The officer seemed to move a lot slower, his eyes growing wide almost comically slowly as Jasper was suddenly past his gun and inches from his face. Jasper placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed down. Time suddenly sped up, and Jasper rocketed past the police officer and was bounding towards the stairs, the police officers radio skidding across the floor.

"Base, this is patrol unit one five!" The other officer shouted into his radio "We are at the American Museum of Natural History, suspect zero seven three alpha has been sighted, one civilian casualty, request immediate backup and medical assistance, Officers in pursuit!"

"Roger that one five, back up is on its way. Be advised, the suspect is considered extremely hostile. You are authorised to use lethal force if necessary."

"Ten-four base, over and out." The officer replied as they followed Jasper up the stairs. As they rounded the corner they saw Jasper disappear up into the over head galleries. Several security guards came up behind the police officers.

"You people, evacuate the museum." One of the police said to a security guard "We have a wanted criminal in the building; back up is on its way!"

Meanwhile, Jasper was speeding through the museum. He shot past startled tourists and security guards. He was running on all fours almost. His head felt like it was burning, and the scar on his hand was glowing softly. He could feel something was happening to his body as well. He could see his fingernails had lengthened into almost talons, his skin was itching too. He was coming up to another corner, but he skidded on the smooth floors. Instead of slamming into the wall he jumped, hit the wall, sprang off it and grabbed onto a pillar, leaping to the next one before landing on the floor again. If he had been paying attention he might have wondered how he had just done that, but he wasn't. His already fragile mind was beginning to break, he was being taken over by the urge to find the emerald. It was as if that was his only focus, it was like he could fee> where it was. He saw a balcony and headed for it, exploding off the edge in a shower of marble and dust. He flew out into space, somersaulted upright and dropped towards the floor. He hit the ground with an almighty crash, cracking the stone floor. He paused and looked at his feet. His shoes were already splitting along the seams. He shrugged and sat down, and began tugging them off. He stood up and wriggled his toes. He turned around and headed back into the museum. He looked around the surprisingly empty lobby and blinked. There were a lot of people wearing blue in front of him. That helicopter was also far too loud. Just then, a moment of sanity stabbed him through the eye like a shard of glass.

"fuck-a-doodle-doo!" he said and leapt to the side as bullets began whizzing past him.

He rolled across the floor and into a door, which fell open. He leapt to his feet and slammed the door. He was in a corridor which looked like it led to the middle of the museum complex. He began running down the corridor, almost instinctively dropping to all fours and picking up speed. The walls began to explode around him as the police came through the door. Jasper leapt off the walls, floor and even the ceiling, avoiding the bullets. He hit the floor again and continued along with the police in hot pursuit. Jasper thought he was probably running about as fast as a horse in full gallop, yet there were police officers were keeping up with him. A quick glace behind revealed why. He was being followed by three Cheetahs and a Black Mamba. He growled and sped up, the walls were beginning to blur now, and his mind was beginning to become fuzzy. Any shred of clarity he had once had was now gone, replaced by animal instinct. He was being chased by enemies, so he needed to escape, and reach what he assumed was a safe place.

Jasper was rapidly approaching the end of the corridor, but he knew the thing he was after was almost directly below him. He snarled, and leapt up, into the air. He hit the ceiling, tensed his legs, and leapt as hard as he could at the floor. There was a "boom" and a shower of rubble. A thick cloud of dust obscured everything, and the pursuing officers were forced to stop until the dust cleared. Once it had, they stared into the hole Jasper had made. The force of the humans impact had shattered the floor into a fine powder, smashing a hole straight through to the floor below the floor below the one he had been on just moments ago.

"Holeee ssshiiit..." the mamba said, peering down the hole.

"We're gonna need some serious fucking backup..." one of the cheetahs said.

Meanwhile, Jasper was staggering along a corridor. His head really hurt. He was covered in dust, and bits of rubble. He coughed and flailed his arms around to try and clear some of the dust cloud. He slumped against the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. He paused, and stared at his hand, it swam slowly in and out of focus. He shook his head and looked around. He had made it into the basement levels under the museum. He pushed himself away from the wall and stumbled down the corridor. He had no idea where he was, but he did know this was the way he was supposed to be going. He slumped to his knees and coughed. Wiping his mouth he got shakily to his feet and continued down the corridor. He eventually came to a metal door which slid open when he approached. Beyond the door was a large storage room. Ancient and rare looking objects were housed in Perspex boxes reinforced with steel bands around the edges and the corners. His eyes swept the room until they fell on a particular box. It housed the amethyst, and glowing faintly inside it was the emerald. Jasper walked over to it, stumbled, and fell into it. The Perspex box flew off its stand and hit the floor with a loud thunk. This did more damage to the floor than it did to the Perspex. Jasper crawled over to the box and picked it up. He turned it over and over in his hands. He was currently unable to comprehend what it was that was stopping him from his prize. He tried to reach out to the emerald but his hand was stopped by something that was clear and hard to see. He growled and flung it against the wall. It bounced off and rolled back towards him. Jasper grabbed it and began smacking it against the floor, growling and grunting all the time. Because of this, he was unaware of the SWAT team moving in behind him. They had tranquilizers and strong restraints. They moved into a semi circle around Jasper. Meanwhile, the human had stopped hitting the box and was staring intently at the emerald. Maybe if his wanted his hand to grab the stone enough, it could go through the invisible barrier?

He placed his hand on the box above the stone. The stone began to glow, and the smell of burning plastic filled the room. Jasper grinned and put his hand through the molten plastic, and grabbed the emerald. The smell of burning plastic was replaced with the stench of burning flesh. The emerald had heated to red heat and had scorched itself to Jaspers hand. Jasper screamed and reeled back, the emerald broke away from the amethyst with a crack as it stuck fast to the human's hand. He slumped back clutching his hand. His fingers had been melted to the surface of the smooth mineral. He shook his hand, trying to dislodge the stone but that simply made the pain worse. Tears streamed down his face as pain blazed up his arm, telling his brain to go into panic mode.

The human brain is an interesting thing. At the back, closest to the connection to the spine is what is called the "Reptilian Brain" or the Limbic system. This is the ancient part of the brain that evolved first. It controls the "Fight or Flight" impulses. This is the part of the brain that decides whether you fight, or whether you run. With the overwhelming amount of pain that Jasper was in, and the sudden realisation that he was surrounded by hostile creatures, his stress brain tried to do both at the same time.

Needless to say, all hell broke loose.

Jasper shot for the door, tranquilizer darts clattered on the floor behind him. The first person that tried to grab him was punched so hard in the chest that his bullet-proof vest shattered. The SWAT team opened fire, bullets thudded into the floor and walls where Jasper had been, but he jumped away a split second before the bullets hit. Jasper leaped through the air and flew out into the corridor. He felt a hard impact on his shoulder which span him round, causing him to lose balance and drop to the floor. He scrambled to his feet and took off again. Had he hung around a bit longer, he would have seen that the bullet which had hit him was made out of rubber. The Curator of the museum had made a very clear point about damage to the exhibits and artefacts, mostly involving people's jobs, and losing them.

Jasper hurtled along the corridor with the SWAT team close behind him. The pain in his hand was not subsiding, and tears of pain still streaked his face. He skidded round a corner, his shoes squeaking on the slippery floor. He headed towards the elevator at the end of the corridor just as the doors pinged open. A squad of six SWAT members came out, saw him and readied their weapons.

"On the ground! Get on the ground now!" the squad leader shouted.

Jasper snarled and raced towards them. They raised their guns and...

Jasper found himself staggering through an alley. It was night, and rain was falling quite heavily. He stared around wildly, and then was noisily sick. He wiped his mouth and then stopped. He slowly moved his hand away from his mouth and stared in horror at his hand. It was fused to the glittering emerald. His flesh was charred and black. He could even see the bones in his hand in some places. All he could do was stare at it. He reached a hand out and gently touched his hand. He felt nothing. All the nerves in his hand had been completely fried by the emerald. He let his hand fall by his side, leaned against the wall, and cried. He hit his head against the wall as rain and tears ran down his face. But as he hit his head, memories floated back. He blinked, he could feel something coming back to him, something he had been missing for a very long time. He hit his head against the wall, harder this time, and more memories came back. He began hammering his head against the wall in a bizarre frenzy. Flashes of memory flashed before his eyes as he pounded his head against the wall. Eventually his body slumped, and he sank to the floor, blood dripping down his face. He threw his head back and screamed. He remembered everything. Everything that had happened over the last three years was now lodged firmly back where it should have been. He remembered his life before coming to America, and his life during his stay. He stared down at the emerald in his hand. It was perfectly spherical and completely smooth. A drop of blood dripped off his chin and splashed onto the surface of the stone. It was like the surface of the emerald rippled when the blood hit it. Jasper frowned, and leaned forwards, so another drop of blood hit the stone. The stone began to glow with this second drop, and began to glow brighter as a third and fourth droplet of blood hit it. Jasper stared at the brightly glowing stone in his hand. He felt an odd itching sensation on his right arm (the same hand that held the stone). He rolled back his sleeve and gasped. The skin was slowly peeling off his body, revealing the muscle underneath.

Jasper felt more itching all over his body. He tore off his coat and ripped open his shirt. Patches of his skin were peeling off revealing the muscle underneath. He screamed as more and more of his skin peeled away. He tried to grab it, but it stuck to his fingers like glue. He tried to get the pink mess off, but it only tore more skin away. His eyes began to hurt and he realised he could no longer blink. The emerald grew even brighter and purple fire exploded in Jaspers eyes. He screamed and clutched at them with bloody fingers. His throat felt hot and dry. He began coughing as purple flames poured from his mouth. A sharp pain in his chest made him choke and gasp. He instinctively clutched at his chest with his right hand. There was a flash of green and Jasper looked on in horror as the Emerald seemed to dissolve his muscles and bones, exposing his heart to the air. It thumped in his chest and the emerald glowed brighter. There was a sickening crack as the emerald broke free of Jaspers hand and touched his heart; where it melted.

It splashed into molten green stone and began to slowly encase his heart. The veins and arteries around his heart began to turn green as well, as if the emerald was spreading. He could see the capillaries in his exposed flesh turning green, turning to emerald. Suddenly his chest heaved, and purple fire filled his emerald arteries and veins. It burned through Jaspers body, and he screamed again. His eyes burned and his body burned. He could feel his bones creaking and popping like they were changing as well. He stared at his hand and saw his bones were coated in smooth green emerald, his blood was now purple fire, and he had no skin. This was too much for Jasper, whose brain saw fit to shut down completely. The result was Jasper staring blankly at a wall for a few moments before toppling sideways. But he never hit the dirty floor. Something caught him before he hit the ground.

"I've got you..." a female voice said.

***

Jasper slowly opened his eyes. He felt like he had been beaten up underwater, put through a ringer, set on fire and then hit with sticks made of ice. He tried to move but he almost immediately cramped up, making him whimper in pain.

"America's most wanted finally awakens, eh?"

Jasper slowly turned his head and saw Jessica sitting next to him in a rather comfortable looking armchair.

"Jessica..." he mumbled.

"That's right, it's me." She said softly, and leaned forwards. Her soft paws slowly closed around his hand. Jasper flinched at the touch but then relaxed. Jessica had never hurt him.

"Well, it seems your skin has grown back wonderfully." She said with a warm smile.

Jasper blinked, and then his eyes widened. He sat bolt upright and nearly fell unconscious again.

"ARGH!!"

He collapsed back onto the bed, his joints were on fire, and he felt so stiff.

"Why am I in so much pain?!" he cried

"I guess emerald veins and arteries can be a little stiff at first." Jessica said.

"Wha?"

Jessica gently lifted Jaspers hand. Jasper could see the lines of his capillaries and veins under his oddly white skin. They were no longer blue or red, but faintly green, with thin lines of purple running through them.

"What the hell happened to me?!" He gasped

"That is going to take a considerable amount of explaining." Jessica said with a sigh.

A while later, Jasper was sitting in a chair wrapped in a dressing gown. He still felt incredibly stiff, but at least it didn't hurt when he moved anymore. Jessica was lying on a couch nearby.

"Tell me" she said "What do you know about the gods?"

"Which ones?" Jasper replied, frowning "Do you mean the Christian God? Or the Hindu Gods? Or Buddha or what?"

Jessica laughed and smiled.

"Oh no, I don't mean those modern religions! No, I'm talking about the religions from the time somewhere before the first ice age."

"Wait...what? What do you mean?"

Before the first ice age, and I mean the first ice age, there used to be a civilisation. This civilisation was populated by all manner of fabulous creatures such as Elves, unicorns..."

"Whoa, okay, hang on a second." Jasper interrupted "There was no such civilisation before the first ice age, let alone with Elves and unicorns."

"Will you let me finish?" Jessica said sternly. Jasper closed his mouth and tried to look meek.

"I won't go into the fine details, because they aren't important, but there was a civilisation like that way back then. That civilisation is where stories of magic and dragons come from. Most of the species on this planet are related to these older races. Anyway there's some old legend about a great hero battling the king of the demons, and the destruction the wrought was too great for the world to handle, so the old gods destroyed the ancient civilisation and brought about the ice age, imprisoning the hero for all eternity after he vanquished the demon king. Whether or not this story is true is up to your own speculation."

"So what? You're telling me that this ancient civilisation was wiped out by the gods because these two blokes were breaking shit?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know, I'm going to have to get used to you being sane." Jessica said with a small chuckle "You're quite the cynical one."

"What does any of this have to do with what happened to me?"

"I'm getting to that. Basically, to make sure the hero or the demon king never rose again, a group of the gods, known as the Neutral Ones, created avatars of themselves to make sure that the hero and the demon would never awake, and never cross paths. You are one such avatar."

Jasper sat there for a few minutes, completely silent. Then he burst out laughing.

"You...you must be kidding!" He gasped "I...I thought I was insane!"

Jessica waited patiently for him to finish before speaking again.

"I figured out that you went insane when you touched that emerald."

Jasper suddenly felt very, very cold. He realised that it was true. His mind raced back to three years ago when he first touched the emerald. He opened the dressing gown and looked down at his chest. He could see a faint green patch where his heart was. In the middle of the green patch, was a small purple glow. In doing this, he also realised that he had absolutely no body hair, and his muscle structure had changed. He had muscles where there hadn't been muscles before, and where there had been (defined) muscles, were now bigger muscles.

"Wha...what happened?!" he exclaimed

"You're an avatar. Your body will change depending on what god you are the avatar of. But there's no way to find out until your powers manifest."

Jasper looked at the collie with a very cynical look.

"Okay, that just sounds like something out of a cartoon."

"I never said it would sound serious. But trust me, when your powers manifest, you'll know about it. It may also drive you mad...again."

"What? Why?"

"Well, your mind might not be able to handle it, so you'll go mad. Or you could be the avatar of a mad god, and then you'd definitely be insane."

"Look...stop. Just stop." Jasper said standing up "This is really stupid. I think I was better off nuts."

"I thought you were cynical, but this is taking it to a new level." Jessica replied with a shrug. "I guess I'll just have to show you."

"Show me what?" Jasper said as the collie got to her feet.

"This."

Jessica opened her hand and a ball of yellow light appeared over her palm. It slowly grew in size until it was roughly the size of a football.

"Is this enough, or do you need more pr...Jasper?"

Jasper was kneeling on the floor clutching his chest. His emerald heart was burning with purple light. His white skin was covered in glowing purples lines as his veins shone with light. His eyes began to glow as well, fire so dark it was almost black erupted from his eye sockets. He threw his head back and screamed. It wasn't a normal scream though, it seemed to resonate oddly, like a beast was roaring somewhere in the background. Emerald veins were standing out in Jaspers neck and temples. He clutched at his chest and groaned. Jessica Quickly stifled the light and ran over to him. She tried to touch him, but felt her hand oddly repelled, like two positive magnets. Jasper ground his teeth and doubled over, and then it was over. Just like that it was over. Jasper collapsed to the floor, colour rushing back to his face. He rolled over and stared at his hand. It was slowly becoming normal coloured again, like blood was running back into his body, even though he could still see his veins were green with purple centres.

"Okay...I get it. There is something seriously fucked up about me."

"Are you okay?"

Jasper turned his head and looked at Jessica

"I guess I have no choice but to believe you...Even though your story sounds really stupid."

"I didn't make it up."

***

A week later, Jasper was in his own small apartment. It was still in the Bronx, but it was probably safer than being out and about now. He was probably wanted by every law enforcement agency in America. He sighed and went and sat in an old (yet comfortable) wicker chair he had put by the window. He adjusted the cushions and gazed out onto the street below. The apartment was built into an odd looking cylindrical tower on one of the old apartment blocks that Jessica owned. It was small, with only one room and a bathroom. Jasper didn't mind though, he thought it was cosy. His bed was comfortable and he had food brought to him. He had been assured that it was just until the manhunt had died down, but Jasper didn't believe it. Apparently it had taken a whole year for them to stop looking for him last time. He doubted it would be a shorter length of time this time. He sighed and looked at his hand. Nothing had happened to him since that incident at Jessica's place. Maybe there was nothing wrong with him? Maybe he wasn't one of these so called avatars? Or maybe he just needed something to boost the process. He was jerked out of his thought process when he heard a knock at his door. He got up and walked over too it. Peering through the peep-hole, he saw that it was Kashmir, an attractive Indian Python. She was his main visitor, bringing him food and just generally keeping him company. Unusually for snakes she had legs as well as a tail. Jasper found this oddly appealing, but kept that fact to himself. He smiled and opened the door.

"Hey there." He said "Jessica not got you working this evening?"

"Ah, no." Kashmir said, stepping into the apartment. She had a wonderful looking ass, which Jasper had to stop staring at as she came inside. He shut the door, and turned to face her, noting she was wearing quite a tight t-shirt, which really emphasised her nice pert breasts, which was also a peculiar feature about her (snakes and other reptiles tended not to have them). He shook his head.

"Take a seat, please." He said, gesturing to the wicker chair.

"That's okay, I can't stay long anyway."

"Oh really? I was looking forwards to another conversation about how annoying some of your clients are. Jessica doesn't really come by much. I never realised how busy she was."

"Oh yes! She's always busy. But I guess you never really noticed because you...uh..." the snake faltered

"Were insane?" Jasper finished with a grin

"Uhm, yes... I guess..."

"So what have you brought me today?"

"Hmm...Oh yes!" Kashmir had been secretly looking the human over, he was rather handsome "I brought you more bagels like you asked, and there's some bacon and eggs too. Oh, and I got you some of that cake you like."

"Great! Thanks! Well I won't keep you longer...that necessary." Jasper said, wondering why he was feeling oddly hot around the collar area. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but...why exactly can't you stay?"

"Well...I...I'm in my heat...you see..."

"Oh...well I guess...y-you'd better go..."

"Uhm...yeah...I'll...be...off..."

They stared at each other for a few moments, before Kashmir grabbed Jasper by the lapels and pulled him into a kiss.

The peculiar thing about Anthropomorphs was that it didn't matter what species the female was, when they were in heat Humans were affected just as badly as the males of that particular species, and it wasn't just limited to human males, it happened to the females as well. Some people said it was because humans are the original template for the anthropoids. Other's said it was because humans were just horny bastards. But whatever the reason, whether it was pheromones or something else, humans tended to be affected just as bad.

Jasper gripped Kashmir around the shoulders, sliding one hand down to her butt; he pulled her into him, returning the kiss. She ground her crotch against his, feeling his cock bulge in his pants. Jasper broke the kiss suddenly and pushed her away.

"Guh...no...we...we shouldn't. It's...you...maybe..."

"Y-yes...I agree..." Kashmir said adjusting her shirt blushing quite hard (meaning the scales on her cheeks went a darker shade of golden brown).

There was a moment of silence. Jasper grinned.

"There's no way you're leaving now, is there?"

"I'm desperately horny, you're male, and I know you. Like fuck am I gonna leave." Kashmir said

Jasper grabbed her and pulled her into an even deeper kiss than before. Their tongues wound around each other, saliva dripped down the two chins. Jasper pushed Kashmir up against the wall and began undoing her belt. He unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down. He pressed his hand against her wet panties, eliciting a gasp from the reptile. He rubbed his fingers against her swollen pussy, causing her to squeal and writhe. She grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it up, over his head. She then bit and nibbled at his neck and chest as he massaged her wet lips. Jasper slowly slid his body down until his head was level with her crotch, and slid her pants down. He gave Kashmir's now dripping pussy a long wet lick. Kashmir shuddered and moaned, grabbing hold of his head with both hands, holding him in place as he licked and sucked at her. Her legs began to shake as the pleasure built in her crotch. The feeling was slowly spreading up to her stomach. He placed one hand on her forehead and leaned back against the wall. She let out a deep breath as her warm juice trickled down her thighs. Jasper's tongue was driving her mad; she moaned loudly and felt herself squirt a little bit. Jasper stopped licking and stood up, causing Kashmir to make a little disappointed grunt. He grabbed her and pulled her over to the bed. He pulled off her t-shirt and squeezed her breasts. She wasn't wearing a bra, so that made things easier. He pinched her hard nipples and pushed her down onto the bed. He pulled off his own jeans and under wear and climbed on top of her. He delighted in the feeling of her silky smooth scales against his naked body. He lowered his head and sucked on one of her breasts, hard. She gasped and writhed, pressing her hot wet pussy against his rock hard cock. He ground his hips against her, rubbing her flesh against his member. It felt so good, he could not hold back. He let go of her breast and pressed his crotch hard against her. He felt his cock slid deep inside her hot depths. He closed his eyes and bit his lip. Kashmir almost screamed with pleasure as his (none too small) cock slid inside her. She clenched around him as hard as she could. Jasper steadied himself by placing his arms either side of her head, before pulling out and slipping back in. Kashmir felt her legs twitch, so she wrapped them around his waist, and hugged him round his chest. She was producing thick creamy fluid now, which splashed out over her ass and tail every time Jasper pulled out. She pressed her body to his as he fucked her, slamming is cock back into her. He angled his thrusts so his cock would rub against her g-spot with every thrust. She cried and moaned. She was out of her mind with pleasure. She was so hot she couldn't hold back anymore. She made a gurgling gasping sound and tensed. Her hot slick walls closed tight about Jaspers cock as the snake orgasmed. Her thick juices squirted out of her pussy, soaking her thighs and Jasper's crotch.

Jasper slowly pulled out with a wet sucking sound, followed by a small wave of femcum. Kashmir gurgled and shuddered. Jasper grinned and slowly turned her over so she was lying on her front. He then put his arms around her thighs and pulled her ass up, so her torso was still pressed against the bed, but her ass was spread in front of him. He bent down and licked and sucked up her juices. They were oddly sweet and sticky. He licked from her clitoris all the way up until he reached her ass. He grabbed her buttocks and licked her sphincter. Kashmir let out a loud "ooooh!" as he slid his tongue inside her ass. She was so lubed up with her own juices entry was easy. He sat there eating out her ass until he could stand it no more. He got to his knees and pressed the tip of his cock against her tight tailhole. He leaned forwards and pushed slowly. His cock slowly vanished inside her. There was some resistance, but that made it feel so much better. Kashmir was letting out gasps and moans as each centimetre slid inside her. She reached back and started fingering her pussy, loving the feeling of her own cum dripping down her thighs and arm. Her ass was easily twice as tight as her pussy, and soon Jasper was slamming his slick cock as deep inside the snake as he could. Her hot walls clenched around his member as he pushed in. He could feel his own orgasm building. She was so hot and tight it wouldn't be long before he came. He speeded up his thrusting, his thighs and balls slapping against Kashmir's smooth scales.

"Ah fuck! Cum inside me! I want it in my ass!" Kashmir cried as Jaspers cock throbbed hard.

Jasper pushed his cock right up to the hilt and gasped. Lights flashed in front of his eyes as his orgasm hit. For a few moments he couldn't breath. There was nothing but suffocating pleasure, then his cock exploded, pumping his thick hot seed inside his reptilian lover. Jet after jet of his milky white spooge filled her up. Kashmir sighed as she felt the jets of hot seed splash against her walls. It felt almost unbearably hot. He rested for a few moments, his cock spasming inside her. Jasper sat there gasping for breath, slowly pulling his sensitive cock out of her ass. There was a very wet pop and his limp cock came out. Kashmir slowly turned around and took his cock into her mouth. She wrapped her lips tightly around the base of his cock and slowly drew her head back, wiping his semen off the length of his penis, causing it to spasm again squirting small jets of watery cum into her mouth. Jasper gasped and his body shook, unable to cope with the pleasure. Kashmir finished and Jasper flopped down onto the bed beside her. They were both shaking and panting.

"That was so fucking good!" Kashmir sighed

"I know..." Jasper replied

Just then, he felt an odd sensation in his chest. He looked down and saw the skin around his heart was beginning to turn a pale white colour. It started off small and then the patch grew bigger. Jasper winced as he felt a twinge of pain, similar to a small blood clot.

"Uhhh...Kashmir?" He said

"Mmhmmm?"

"Could you do me a favour, and get dressed and get Jessica?"

"Why?" Kashmir said, sounding confused.

Jasper sat up and stared at his chest. His pecs were now completely white, his veins and capillaries showing up in glittering purple.

"Because something very bad is about to happen..."

Kashmir sat up, wide eyed "Not an attack? Is it an attack? I was told about these." She said "Is it true that Jessica is the only one who can..."

"NOW!" Jasper shouted, lurching off the bed, clutching his chest.

Kashmir looked at him and gasped. His eyes were burning.

Jasper moaned, it was like his insides were on fire. He pulled his hand away from his chest and stared at it. The whiteness was spreading, his veins becoming more pronounced. His hand began to shake. He gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes shut. Kashmir had pulled on her jeans and t-shirt, and was frantically dialling on her mobile phone.

"Get out..." Jasper gasped "Get out now!"

Kashmir didn't need telling twice. She leapt towards the door and almost hurled herself out of it, phone to her "ear".

Jasper rolled onto his back and screamed. He thrashed and writhed as the whiteness spread. He arched his back, deep purple light spilled from his mouth and eyes. His skin felt tight and restrictive, like it was too small for his body. He could feel something happening to his bones. His ribcage seemed to be trying to expand, and his spine was trying to extend. The bones in his feet creaked and ground together like they were changing too. His fingers curled into hideous shapes as unbearable pain wracked his body. He could feel the skin on his face stretching. He flipped himself onto his front, and managed to get to his hands and knees, but the pain was too much to go further. He tried to curl up into a ball, but his spine didn't deem to want to move. His feet were beginning to change. The bones were fusing and realigning themselves, and so where his ankles; his hands were changing as well. His fingers were elongating, and his fingernails were becoming dark and hard. There was a hideous ripping sound, and he felt a new kind of pain in his foot. The skin had split to reveal a large saurian type foot, with four large, be-taloned toes. The new foot was red and bloody, until emerald green scales began to slowly form over it. He shrieked as he felt the skin on his back split in several places as new muscles grew, and his spine extended itself. His entire muscle structure was warping and twisting, bending and breaking his bones with each shift. The broken bones would reform with others and become stronger or different. His skin was splitting all over now, blood pouring down his body and pooling on the floor. His screams took on a slightly muffled note as his jaw began to grind and shift. His nose and jaw began to push outwards, his forehead shrinking back. His vision went blurry as his eyes changed, all features being erased, and replaced instead with a solid purple glow. Just at that point, when his face was a warped, bloody mass of bone and muscle, Jessica entered. She took one look at what was happening and slammed the door behind her, locking it.

"Fuck...it already started..." she said

Most of Jaspers skin was gone by this point, leaving just blood and muscle. The veins and arteries close to the surface could clearly be seen as glittering emerald tubes that pulsed with purple fire. A small part of Jessica's mind was wondering where all the blood was coming from. The rest of her mind shut it up and focused its attention back to the matter at hand.

"Jasper! Jasper can you hear me?!" Jessica called out

"Yee...Yeesssss...." Jasper hissed through his warping jaws

Emerald green scales were beginning to cover his body in patches that slowly spread. His hair had long fallen out as the shape of his skull changed. There was a crunching and grinding sound and a spray of blood as a long whiplike length of vertebrae shot out of the base of Jasper's back, causing him to shriek so loudly Jessica had to clamp her ears down against her head. Muscles quickly grew out from the writhing humans back and wrapped around the new appendage, white tendons showing starkly through the bloody mess. Jasper's body was beginning to spasm now as the emerald scales began appearing in larger patches, and spreading faster. They started to spread rapidly and evenly from his feet upwards. It was like a liquid coating, covering him rapidly and thoroughly. The scales were soon around his neck, spreading up over his face, forming features on the muscular mass that was his face. He fell forwards and curled into a ball, hugging his chest. Then, just like that, it was over. Steam was actually rising from the huddled creatures back. Slowly and silently, deep, dark green tattoos were beginning to form all over his back, all around his tail and down his thighs to his ankles. They were angular lines of various thicknesses, forming Aztec style patterns and zigzags. There was a small click, and the door opened, and six people entered the room. There was a beautiful white cobra, a jet black bat, a blood red wolverine, a tall doe with opaque green eyes, a tall horse with midnight blue fur that more a white mask over one half of his face and finally a tall, powerfully built orca whose skin was metallic black with a purple sheen, his white patches seemed to be made of silver. Jessica looked up as they entered, her pupils glowing a soft golden colour. She smiled.

"You just missed the show." She said, her black fur shimmering and transforming into delicate golden threads. Her hair grew out even longer and glowed brightly for a few moments, before dimming.

"Do we know which one he is yet?" the horse said in a somewhat sinister voice

"No, not yet...but I have the feeling we are about to find out." Jessica replied

The creature on the floor uncurled itself and stared at its hands. It had long elegant fingers, but there was a strength and power there that felt like it was unmatched. Two glowing purple orbs blinked in their sockets.

"I am..." it said in a voice that seemed like two people were speaking in unison but slightly out of synch with each other "I am he who is night..."

"Oh well that's a lot of help!" the bat said gesturing "I'm supposed to be the Night."

"Oh be quiet." The cobra said "I think he's trying again."

"I...I am the patron of Darkness..."

Several eyebrows were raised.

"I am the one who draws the shadows on your walls..." the voice was growing stronger and more sure of its self "I am the one who visits you when you sleep...I am the one who makes you hear the noises at night...my power is the shadow and darkness, I am he who holds the key to your dreams, I am the one that torments you at night, the bringer of your nightmares...I am the one that plants the seed of idea in your mind, I am he that listens to your stories, the one that comforts you in your dreams, the one that terrifies in your nightmares, I am the second! Created when he that creates dreamed, I am the Lord of the Dream world....The King of All Nights Dreaming..." The King stood, his joints popping and clicking until he reached his full height of seven feet six inches. The air seemed to shimmer around him, and threads of blackness began to swirl and form around him until he was wearing a long black robe that reached down to the floor. It was perfectly fitted, forming over his broad muscled shoulders, wide chest, slender waist and then billowing out around his powerful legs. The bottom of the robe had golden vine like patterns around it, which seemed to shift and move if you looked at it out of the corner of your eye.

"...and my head really fucking hurts!" Jasper finished "Seriously, why does becoming an avatar hurt that much?"

"Jasper?" Jessica asked "Are you okay?"

"Hmm...yes...surprisingly. At least he actually explained things properly to me."

"Who?" The bat said

"You know, 'Him', the Lord of Dreams and Nightmares." Jasper said, his voice echoing oddly "Damn, that's just weird..." He continued and hummed a few notes.

He then realised something and looked around.

"Who are these people?" He asked

"These are the other Avatars of the Neutral ones." Jessica said "As am I. This is the avatar of Yslien, the Lady of All Love, Creator of True Feelings." She said, gesturing gracefully towards the white cobra, who bowed smoothly.

"But you can call me Sandy." She said with a smile

"Pleasure to meet you." Jasper said with a bow

"The bat to her left is Duke of the Night and Lord of all Shadow, Doctor of the Stars and the Moons."

"Or Richard." The bat said with a grin "Our masters are on rather good terms you know."

"So I've been told." Jasper said, and gripped the bat's forearm, Richard doing the same. A small haze of shadows sprung up around their arms. Jessica smiled again and pointed to the wolverine

"The wolverine is the Rage King, Master of Wrath and Warden of the Anger of mortals."

"But you can call me...I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU AND RAPE YOUR FAMILY...I mean...er...Johannes."

Jasper had raised a scaly brow at the outburst in the middle of his introduction.

"Sorry about that." The wolverine said with a slightly embarrassed grin "Its hard to keep the rage contained sometimes BECAUSE IF I DON'T I'M GONNA CUT YOUR FUCKING BALLS OFF!!"

"You'll get used to him." Jessica said as the other avatars burst into laughter.

"The doe is The Queen of Nature, Mother of the Earth and servant to Gaia."

The doe bowed and smiled.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord of Dreams." She said, extending a hand. Jasper gently took the proffered paw and kissed it gently.

"The pleasure is all mine." Jasper said "But please, Jasper is fine."

"In that case you can call me Susannah." The does replied. Jessica swished her tail in mild annoyance at the delay to her introductions.

"The proud stallion there is the Lord of Fear and the Master of Terror." She said rather pointedly

The horse grinned evilly and removed the mask. Half of his face was a skull, a single red pinpoint burned in the otherwise empty socket.

"Scared yet?" he said

"No...not really." Jasper said

The stallion grunted and placed the mask back over his face.

"It works better if you build up the atmosphere a bit. Name's Darion, by the way." He said

"I see..."

"Can we move along?" Jessica said "Finally we have the intimidating Lord of the Sea, Admiral of the Waters, and the Tester of men's Mettle."

"Although I prefer Aneas." The orca said, shaking Jasper's hand vigorously.

"Well, It's great to meet you all. My...well, I guess my new 'master', has told me a lot of stuff. Quite useful stuff too. It's amazing how much you can cram into a nano second."

"Isn't it just?" Jessica said

"So who are you the avatar of?" Jasper asked

"I am the Lady of Light, The Warden of the Day and the Keeper of Sol."

"I see. So the sun and the light is your domain..."

"Is that a problem?" Jessica said with a slightly confused expression.

"Oh no, it's just that my power as an avatar does not function in the light of Day, only in shadows or at night."

"What do you mean?" Sandy asked

"I revert to my original, human form in daylight." Jasper explained "Dreams occur when one is asleep, at night. That is when the power of dreams is the strongest. During the day I look like a normal human."

"What about your power as an avatar?" Darion asked

"The King said I was only able to keep one ability, and that I had to choose which one it was."

"So which did you choose YOU MOTHER FUCKING SON OF A BITCH?!" Johannes queried

"The godlike strength being an avatar grants. That should help me survive out in the big bad world."

"You know, you talk much like we all did when we first became avatars." Susannah said "You don't quite believe in what is happening, and it all seems very surreal."

"You're right." Jasper said "In fact, the only reason I suspect I haven't gone completely loco off my head insane yet, is because I'm actively willing myself not too."

"Well don't hold back on our account." Aneas said

"That's very kind of you." Jasper replied. His eyes suddenly burnt red and he grabbed his head.

"What the FUCK is happening to me!" He screamed.

***

Jasper slowly opened his eyes. He groaned and slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He was still in his room, but he was in bed. A small gap in the curtains was letting a strong beam of sunlight through. This sunlight falling on his face was the thing that woke him up. He felt the pressing urge to empty his bladder, so he pushed off the duvét and swung his legs off the bed. Just as he was about to stand, he let out an exasperated sigh as he remembered what had transpired last night. He remembered seriously freaking out, causing the other people there to try and restrain him. There was a lot of shouting, and then he could remember feeling a tingle in his hands, and a bright flash of light...something about lightning? He could definitely remember something about lightning. He stood up and blinked. There was a very large scorch mark on the wall, and another one on the ceiling.

"Oooohhhhh...fuuuuuuck..." he moaned, before staggering to the toilet

He stared at his reflection in the mirror. There wasn't a trace of any green scales anywhere on him. He looked completely normal. He stood up and stretched, clicking his back as much as possible. He wondered back into the main room and collapsed on the bed. He was still too tired to deal with anything yet. He rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. He frowned. There was a fork wedged in the plaster. He got up and pulled it out. He dropped back to the bed and sat there, cross legged. He examined the fork for a few moments, before gripping one end in each hand and pulling. The metal made a small creaking sound and stretched, then snapped. Jasper examined both halves of the elongated fork, before tossing it aside. He slid out off the bed and looked around the room. He walked over to the small stove in one corner and pulled a baking tray out of the oven. He bent it in half, then un-bent it, before crushing it into a ball of scrap.

"Well...I guess it wasn't a dream..." he said aloud.

"No...and neither was the lightning."

Jasper jumped and span around. Jessica was sitting in the wicker chair by the window.

"What the fuck?!" Jasper gasped

"What's the matter?"

"Don't DO that!" Jasper said. He looked down and saw he had crushed the ball of scrap into an even smaller ball of scrap.

"There's no point in playing around anymore." Jessica said "You have been chosen by the Lord of Dreams and Nightmares to be his avatar. Your job is to prevent Demons and the ancient evils that inhabit this world from crossing over into this plane and causing havoc. It upsets the balance of the universe."

"Okay, where the hell did that come from out of the blue?" Jasper asked

"It is your destiny now. Did he not tell you?"

Jasper thought for a moment, it did sound familiar.

"He might have mentioned it, but I guess I didn't really believe what was happening...especially when it sounds so cheesy, like something out of an eighties fantasy movie."

"I know, that's almost exactly what I said." Jessica replied with a small smile.

"So what are you doing here?" Jasper asked

"I've come to give you a weapon."

"What is it?" Jasper asked

They had some how moved from Jaspers apartment, to Jessica's. Jasper didn't quite now how, but one minute they were standing in his room, and the next they were standing in Jessica's. There had been a wrapped bundle on her bed, which the human had unwrapped. Inside the bundle were two blades that looked similar to bird's wings. Each weapon had four blades, each one longer than the last. They were curved, and swept backwards. The final blade was roughly five foot long, a considerable amount longer than the others.

"Its...I guess it's a bladed tonfa."

"Oh...Oh I see!" Jasper said, picking one up. The handle was on the side of the blade, so that when it was held the blade ran along the forearm up towards the shoulders. He looked thoughtful for a moment, before spinning the blade in an eye wateringly fast circle.

"Well, I do like them, but how do I actually use them? Spinning it in a circle is one thing, but not cutting my own face off is a completely different story."

"Don't worry. You'll know how to fight with them. I was assured that when they were given to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Several months ago, these were delivered to me by someone with a covered face. He said that they were for a certain someone, and that they would know what to do with them. I believe that certain someone is you."

Jasper picked up the other tonfa while she was talking. He looked at them thoughtfully, and when Jessica finished, he span them again. This time they performed complex aerial acrobatics, emitting a hum not unlike that of a buzzsaw. Jessica looked at him with a raised eyebrow. There was a small clicking noise, and a lamp in the corner of the room spit into four pieces.

"Oops?" Jasper said with a slightly embarrassed grin

"Oops indeed." Jessica replied, somewhat coldly

"But how do I carry them around with me? They're not exactly small."

"You simply put them away, and then take them out when you need them."

"How do I do that?"

"I don't know. You just do it, and it happens."

"Ooookay..." Jasper said somewhat sceptically, but imagined putting the blades away anyway. The blades glowed purple and vanished in wisps of purple haze.

"Oh hey! That's cool!" He said

"Now draw them."

There was a humming noise, and the blades appeared in Jasper's hands with a faint purple glow.

"Well, that's not too hard. I guess the fighting is fairly straightforward?"

"Oh yes, you just need to make sure the heart is destroyed at it'll banish most demons. Planar specific creatures are different."

"Wha..." Jasper began, but Jessica cut him off

"To make it simple, you only need to worry about things escaping from the dream world. These are some of the most powerful creatures we have fought, and they have given us real trouble."

"I guess you get things from the 'Realm of Light' or something?"

"Exactly."

Jasper looked at the collie and burst out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" Jessica demanded

"This shit is so fucked up!" Jasper gasped

***

A few nights later, Jasper got into his first fight. He had been sitting on the roof of his apartment listening to the sounds of the city, the sound of sirens in the distance, the swish and roar of cars and trucks, even the occasional gunshot. The reason he was sitting on his roof was that ever since he had become an "avatar", he had not been able to sleep. That, and the fact that whenever the sun set he would transform into a seven foot green snake thing with a black robe. Apparently there was a way to transform at will, but none of the other avatars ('freaks' as Jasper called them) had been disinclined to tell him how. While he was sitting on the roof, he'd gotten a strange feeling in his hands. A tingle that wouldn't go away. He had sat there for a few minutes examining his hands, before swinging them around in wild circles trying to get the tingle to go away. When that didn't work, he tried snapping his fingers. This caused a small child to start crying somewhere in the apartment complex opposite, so he stopped. He then had the idea that it might be some sort of compass, so he pointed the index finger of his right hand in a random direction. Nothing happened. Slowly, he moved his arm in a circle around his body, until he was pointing east. As soon as he did, his talon shone blue. He grinned and ran towards the edge of the roof. This was one of his favourite parts. He came to the edge of the roof and leapt. He sailed high into the air buildings and lights flying past below him. His finger began to glow brighter and he saw a huge jet of water shoot high into the air. He landed without a sound on a roof a couple of blocks away, barely disturbing the gravel and dirt. He could see something very large and apparently made out of water, making a very wet mess. The air around it shimmered oddly. This was because (apparently) demons and the like could only be seen by certain people (to which Jasper had quoted something from Constantine), until they could achieve a corporeal manifestation. The property damage however was definitely seen by everyone. Jasper guessed that this was a creature for Aneas' area of expertise. His question was answered when the large orca came sailing into view and punched the watery creature in what Jasper could only assume was its face. There was an enourmous splash, but the creature seemed unfazed. It showed this fact by smacking Aneas through the air with a watery tendril. Aneas vanished out of view in a downwards direction, and Jasper winced as the sound of shattering asphalt carried over the rooftops.

"Is anyone near me?!"

Jasper blinked. He was sure he had just heard Aneas' voice in his head.

"I really could use some help! I lost my harpoon and I don't know where it landed!"

Jasper blinked and looked to his left. There was a very fancy looking Harpoon lodged in the roof next to him. It was more like a barbed spear than anything else. Jasper pulled it out of the roof and smiled, he could feel excitement welling up inside him. It was his first fight with some other-worldly creature. He Ran towards the fight and leapt into the air.

Aneas was in some serious trouble. His harpoon was the weapon that allowed him to banish a creature of the Water World. All the Avatars weapons could fully banish creatures specifically to their planes. As he had lost his, he was now getting smacked around by a living swimming pool. He got up from the crater in the floor and wiped his mouth. That last one had hurt quite badly. He really hoped someone had heard him. He looked around for something he could use as a weapon, and noticed something odd. The shadows from the streetlights that were still standing were flickering and elongating. They started to form shapes, the orca's blood froze. They were images from his nightmares. The Water creature raised what must have been its head and looked around. It could feel something was coming, something terrifying...something from its nightmares. The shadows began to move on their own, as if they were reaching out for something. There was whistling sound and Aneas' harpoon came spinning through the air and landed tip first in front of the orca. Jasper soon followed, trailing shadows and grinning like a madman. His two bladed tonfa materialised in his hands and he dropped towards the creature. He hit it with such force that the ground directly below him cracked. His blades flashed, and he was suddenly on the other side of the creature, as the water spit in half, and crashed down onto the street.

"I thought you might be able to use a hand..." Jasper said, still grinning, his voice resonating like two people talking slightly out of synch.

Aneas smiled and grabbed his harpoon "Thanks. Maybe now we can send this thing back to where it came from?" he said

"Maybe..." Jasper replied.

The snake spun around and let fly with one of his blades. It shot through the air like a bullet, humming like a buzzsaw. It hit the reforming water creature, slicing off a large lump of its body. The blade arced through the air and back towards Jasper, who caught it with a metallic smacking sound. The lump hit the ground and splashed, but it didn't reform.

"How the hell can you do that?!" Aneas exclaimed

Jasper grinned and raised his arm. The blade exploded with dark shadows, the edges of which took on a slightly purple tint.

"I am the Nightmare maker. What greater nightmare for a creature made of water, than that of being unable to heal? I make these Nightmares a reality."

He didn't even look when the water creature tried to attack him in mid sentence. He simply sliced off the attacking limb. The creature reared back making a roaring bubbling sound, like that of a great waterfall.

"That's just scary." Aneas said, and hurled his harpoon.

It flew through the air and struck the creature hard. The tip of the harpoon glowed; a greenish blue and the water creature froze. Then it literally began to freeze. Ice began to form around the haft of the harpoon and it slowly started to spread, picking up speed as it did. Soon the whole creature was frozen. Aneas walked up to it and brought his arm back. His muscles bulged and he punched the frozen creature as hard as he could. The creature shattered into snow, but the snow hung in the air for a few moments, before vanishing. The harpoon hung in the air for a few seconds, before dropping through the air. Aneas caught it deftly before it hit the ground.

"Thanks once again for the assistance." He said, turning to Jasper

"Well, I was in the neighbourhood." Jasper said with a shrug, his blades disappearing.

"I'm glad. Well...that's the only demon we've had trying to pass through tonight, but the patrol still needs to be done."

"Patrol?" Jasper asked, raising a brow

"Didn't Jessica tell you? All the Avatars based in New York have an area to patrol to make sure nothing comes through from another plane of existence."

"Do you? You can't just detect them?"

"No. None of us can."

Jasper grinned, and held up his hand. The talon of his right index finger was still glowing faintly.

"You lucky, lucky bastard." Aneas said incredulously "That's got to be the most useful thing I've seen."

"Isn't it though? I only found out about this evening...its how I found you actually."

"I see...I guess I should be thankful for your magical glowing finger."

Jasper laughed, and looked around. The street was completely wrecked, bits of road were everywhere. Parts of buildings had collapsed as well. Aneas reached into the pocket of his coat (which he wore open with nothing underneath) and pulled out a small metal sphere. He threw it into the air and struck it with his harpoon. Time stopped. Jasper looked around, and saw that nothing was moving. There wasn't even any sound. Then, all the broken buildings and the damaged street began to fly back together. It was like someone had hit the rewind button. Bits of masonry flew back together and joined up, forming complete sections of building or road before rejoining the original. Once everything had been repaired, time suddenly seemed to resume, and sound came rushing back.

The little ball dropped out of the air and hit the floor with a clunk. Aneas picked it up and put it back into his pocket.

"Useful tool." He said "It alters reality and time, in a five hundred meter radius. So whatever happens within those five hundred meters is reversed and reset like nothing ever happened."

"That is useful." Jasper said with a nod "Although I suggest we get out of here, I can hear sirens."

"Good plan. See you around." Aneas said, and casually strolled away. Jasper was about to say something, but the metallic orca shimmered for a few moments, before he turned into water and splashed onto the pavement. The puddle then slid over to a drain and poured down into it.

"That's just fucking weird..." Jasper said, before crouching down, and leaping into the air.

He landed on the roof of his apartment and sighed. He had been wondering around the city for a few hours, even getting as far as Manhattan, but there had been no more activity. While he was leaping around, he had run into Susannah in Central Park, where she had told him how to change form at will. It was pretty much the same as sheathing and drawing his blades. He had tried it then and there and found that it worked rather well. He assumed that he had no choice in the matter of transforming when the sun first set, but after that...

He swung in through the window he had left open and landed so quietly he would have made a cat sound like a brass band. He stood up to his full height and stretched. There was a soft sighing sound, and Jasper stood there, rubbing the back of his head. His hair felt a bit greasy but he was too tired to do anything about it. Then he realised that he was actually feeling tired. Maybe actually using his power tired him out? He switched on the light and pulled off his t-shirt, throwing into the corner. He could see perfectly in the dark, but he liked the light as well. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Jasper looked at the door for a few moments. He walked over to it and opened it slightly. Kashmir was standing at his door. He opened the door fully.

"It's a little late isn't it?" he said with a smile

"Uhmm...yeah...look, I just came round to say...I mean...I wanted to see if you were alright."

"I'm assuming Jessica told you about it?"

"Uh...yes...sorry."

"Don't apologise, just as long as you don't go spreading it around."

"Oh no! No, noooo...I couldn't deal with that."

There was an awkward pause.

"You didn't just come to see if I was alright...did you?" Jasper asked

"Well...no...but I uhmmm...this is kinda awkward for me..." The snake said, blushing a little

"Well?" Jasper said, enjoying himself immensely

"It's just that....you know...I...the thing is...Oh to hell with it."

She grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him into a kiss. Jasper made a surprised "meep" noise, before beginning to kiss her back. Kashmir broke the kiss and looked up at the human.

"Will you go out with me?" she gasped

"Fuck yes." Jasper said, pulling her inside the apartment and closing the door. The lock clicked, and the light went out.

The next day, Jasper awoke early. He felt extraordinarily well rested. He looked at the sleeping snake beside him and smiled. This was the first time in two years he felt actual happiness...a sense of contentment. He placed a hand on his chest and sighed; he could feel something inside him, not physically, but he knew it was there. He yawned and swung his legs out of bed, going over to the small toilet. He was very surprised when someone punched a hole through his chest. He coughed, blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth. He slowly turned his head. Susannah was standing there, here eyes glowing green, a wicked smile curling her lips.

"Number three..." She said in a soft voice "Don't worry though, the rest will be dead soon."

"W...why?" Jasper gasped

"Because people like you and the other avatars are destroying the planet...did you know that every time a demon is defeated the area where it dies becomes corrupted and foul? That nothing will ever grow there again?"

"I...It was a p-pavement...."

"Yesss...I'll be killing the humans and the anthropoids too, don't you worry about that."

The deer pulled her hand out of the humans chest, and he slumped to the floor.

"You won't be able to come after me, I destroyed your heart, meaning that you are no longer an avatar."

"T-this is way to fucking sudden..." Jasper coughed "Way to change a story, you fucking bitch."

"I have no idea what that means, but never mind; I'll leave you to your fate. I still have business with the others."

With that she was gone. Jasper stared up at the ceiling, his vision going blurry.

"Well...that was random..." he spluttered, just as everything went black.

End of Chapter 1.