The South Side

_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: They're hitting the northwest harder for some reason.
TwoShooter4Lyfe says: It's Cedar Springs. Miles Conklin is finally going to have to come clean. Maybe this isn't a bad thing.
_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: Where's Pistis? Isn't he from Cedar Springs?
TwoShooter4Lyfe says: Dunno. Hope he's okay.
SansAvro says: The Prime Minister is a Wizard.
TwoShooter4Lyfe says: WHAT?
_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: Well, that blows. If there are more world leaders involved, we're in for a shitstorm.
SansAvro has left the chatroom.
_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: Man I hope Pistis is okay. I hope Avro is okay. This is heavy stuff, man.
TwoShooter4Lyfe says: I just checked out the forum thread Pistis made. He thinks the Wizards will come for him first.
_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: Of course he does. At least he's prepared, right? It's finally happening.
TwoShooter4Lyfe says: I hear something downstairs.
_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: Be careful.
TwoShooter4Lyfe has left the chatroom.
_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: ....

________________________

Nate Perrine, otherwise known as Pistis to his fellow bloggers, crouched on a moth-eaten sofa across from his own door. He had a broom clenched firmly in one hand, and a bright blue costume hat in the other. His expression was wild, and if he had a chin it would have been jutting.

There were shouts and yells coming from out in the hall, and from the street below. The entire apartment building was under siege. Some residents had tried to flee the scene, unsuccessfully. Others were lined up outside, their sharp voices playing against sirens and general clamor. Through it all, Nate kept his eyes on the door.

If the Wizards knew the state of the apartment they were about to storm, they might have thought twice about doing so. It had the unpleasant smell of perpetual mold, cheap cologne, and (oddly) ginger. The shades were drawn on all sides, plunging most of the room into gloom. There were piles of newspapers, comic book, and article clippings everywhere. For some reason, there were four television sets scattered around in one room, all turned on differing directions, none larger than eighteen inches. Shadowy pictures dotted the south wall, strands of bright red yarn tacked here and there in a complex crisscrossing pattern -- leaps of logic and insight that only Nathan Perrine, 24, of Cedar Springs Washington would know.

His computer blinked and beeped at him from the other room, pleading to understand what was going on.

"It's alright, baby." Nate murmured soothingly. He shifted position slightly, kneading the cushions for better hold.

He spared a half-glance over to the modem, and saw chat messages filling up on the screen. Bless his userbase. They'd fight hard in the coming weeks, that was for sure. Nate took a deep breath and brought his attention back to the door. Any time, now. Any time they'd come bursting in after him, and he'd be able to show them how he was smarter, how he had known about it all along. How he wasn't fooled. How he was right.

Finally, the door swung open. It did so like magic, flying back on its hinges with an almighty bang. The Wizard entered with a swagger, wielding a fist of fire. He lost his swagger upon noticing a hulking figure crouched like a child on the sofa, with a broom held over its head. The Wizard's eyes widened as this mountain of a man gave a fierce bellow, and sprang.

Nathan was quicker than he looked, and swung down hard. He caught the bright blue wizard's hat, and it thudded to the ground. The Wizard gave a cry of alarm, a cry of pain as though this had physically wounded him. The fire in his palm suddenly flickered out.

"You thought you'd come for me, huh?" Nate kicked the hat further out of the man's reach. "No way, Jose. I'm ahead of all you guys. Way ahead."

Nate still had his own hat clenched in his fist. It was just slightly a darker blue than the others, and the rim was a bit stiffer, but it would pass. He snugged it over his head as though he were putting on SWAT armor.

"It's go-time."

Nate was gone and out the door before the Wizard had time to collect himself. He slowly reached out, and felt the folds of his hat under his fingers. That was all he needed to give him comfort, despite not knowing what sticky substance he had collapsed into. Just when the Wizard was about to sit up -- he was met with a terrifying sight.

Though it was nearly buried under reams of paper, its few monitors glowed softly with a keen and commanding light. The modem hummed, the fans whirred. It was a computer, and it was a large computer. The Wizard was suddenly filled with a fear.

Technology ..

Bing!

_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ says: Save yourselves! Stick to the Code!
_Y2KWUZNOTOK_ has left the chatroom

The man grabbed his hat, scrambled back and excited the apartment on all fours with what was left of his dignity.

Things only seemed worse on the South Side. Luke drove quietly, avoiding what catastrophes he could.

Anyone born within the last century wouldn't understand why the Wizards were pushing so hard to capture this part of town. In fact -- Luke was quite sure that most of those doing the capturing weren't entirely aware of what was happening. He came to his building at 182 East Clark, and pulled into the tenant garage.

Luke just sat there for a few minutes, hands on the wheel. He could hear muffled shouts and explosions from outside the safety of his vehicle. The engine was off, there was nothing but a driver's side door separating him from what he had been trying to avoid for so long.

The vampire finally slid out and away from the leather seats, slamming the door shut with finality. There it was again, the same old smell of fear, magnified by a thousand. Luke wrinkled his nose. This was why he didn't want to leave the car.

Or maybe that was just the smell of burning plastic. Luke tilted his head to the side. Sirens were wailing to the north. It didn't matter. He locked his Taurus and put the keys in his pocket, turning on his heel and walked slowly, calmly towards the front of the building.

Privacy. That was all he wanted anymore, these days. Having lived so long in the meddling company of others, Luke appreciated the time he spent with himself. Maybe that was another reason he loved his job so much. There wasn't much conversation with the dead.

At least he found privacy when he was at home. The building was one of the oldest in the city. Luke had been there since the early 1900's, in the same room on the seventh floor. He had seen a number of 'rennovations' happen over the years. The ceiling was gutted and peeled in places, but contrasted by new trimming and soft white carpet. These days, it smelled like new paint and rotting pipes.

Luke was two steps away from the door when it suddenly flew open, and a mountain of a man in a dark cyan wizard's cap practically barreled into him.

"Sorry, man!" Nate hissed. He grabbed Luke's arm and dragged him away from the door, back to the alley down which the vampire had just come. "It's alright! Look! I've got this, i'm not one of them! Come with me!"

Luke allowed himself to be shuffled along more out of surprise than a lack of strength.

"Of course you're not." Luke said thinly as he was jerked into a crouching position behind a garbage bin. "Your hat is darker, and the rim isn't quite floppy enough."

"Right, right, but they don't know that!" Nate stuck his head out. A trio of Wizards jogged past. He withdrew, glanced back at the vampire, ripped the hat off his head and extended a hand in a cordial manner. "I'm Nathan."

Luke stared at the hand, then back up at the man. "Yes. I know you. You're in the apartment two floors before mine. You have a last name, but no family."

There was something interesting about this man. While he stank of dollar store aftershave, there was one element missing. Fear.

"Your name is Nathan .. " The vampire tilted his head to the side. "And you're not afraid."

"Of course I'm not afraid!" Nathan breathed. He was still crouched there, an odd-looking position for a man of his size. "I know all about these guys. I've been waiting for this for ages. You're lucky I ran into you." He tapped his right temple. "I got this."

Luke felt his curiosity pique, even squatting there by a rather full dumpster. "You're a normal human. What experience do you have with the paranormal?"

"Oh, plenty." Nathan waved his hand, trying to look offhand about it. He changed the subject. "So what's your name?"

"Lucas .. "

Except it wasn't Luke who said it. The vampire recognized the voice. He turned --

A Wizard with a red stripe on the brim of his hat and a swagger in his step had found them. He had thin blonde hair parted in balding wisps, stood with both hands on his hips. Too cocky. Too confident. Luke frowned. The man had probably come from the back alley on Monroe Ave. There was nowhere to go.

"So nice to see you again." Sneered the Wizard. Luke felt Nathan tensing, and he hoped feverishly that the man wouldn't do anything stupid.

"My name is Luke." The vampire in question raised his eyebrows, slowly getting to his feet. "What do you want from me?"

"The Grand Mage wishes to speak to you.

"I'm sure that he does."

"He gave me orders to come and fetch you."

Luke smirked, despite himself. "And I'm sure you'll try your hardest."

Nathan watched all of this with wide eyes. The Wizard, however, was not amused.

"I will not hesitate to use force." He warned. "Do not be difficult, monster."

"Monster?" Luke tilted his head to the side. He slid his hands in his pockets, looking casual, quite bored. "You would call me a monster?"

As if on cue, there was a tremendous BANG from out in the street, followed by screams. Luke's mouth was drawn thin. "Taking over a country by figuratively smashing it in the skull. What do you call that?"

"That, my dear friend, is business." The red-rimmed Wizard raised a suddenly flaming fist. "And this is goodbye."

Just as the Wizard was about to extend his arm, Nathan gave an oddly garbled warcry, threw his dark cyan hat to the ground, leaped and smacked the man's hat right off his head.

The fire did not fade. The Wizard sent a blazing look to Nathan, who suddenly looked very, very foolish.

"I knew something was off about you!" The red-rimmed Wizard sneered. He took a step towards Nathan, who had no choice but to stop back. "I wondered why you took off your hat. You are defying an order. You have been deemed hostile. Do you understand?"

Luke became a blur of motion, just a smudge against the alley's backdrop. The next thing they knew the Wizard was on the ground moaning, and Luke was straightening.

"You think you know everything?" Luke said acidly to Nathan. "You know nothing. The hat trick works only on entry-level Wizards. Apprentices. I have just attacked one of their generals."

There was no fear in the eyes of the man with no family. Nathan looked from Luke to the Wizard, and then back to Luke. He slowly smiled.

"Awesome. Can I have his hat?"

"No." Luke stared down at his hands. He hated violence. "You had better go find a place to hide. Things will settle soon, and that will be the time to resist. Not now."

"Can I come with you, man?"

Luke frowned. "I work alone. Besides -- they will come after me again."

"Come on. I saw you. I saw you move that fast. You're not human, but you're not one of them. There's no one better to have on our side! What are you, a vampire or something?"

"I .. " Luke hadn't felt this flustered in a few decades.

"You do your thing, I'll do mine. We'll be a great time. Hey!" Nathan held his hands up. "If you ever need a blood tithe or something, too, I'll help you. Just so long as I don't have to see any of it. I'll -- "

Luke scowled. "I will not be needing those services, thank you."

Like witches and their wands, wizards and their hats, you never asked a vampire anything about feeding. It just wasn't done, and was considered taboo. Luke gazed steadily at Nathan as the world around them collapsed, and felt an odd mixture of pitying amusement.

"You think you know so much about us .. " Luke bent, picked up the dark cyan hat and handed it back to the mountain of a man. "But you're going to get yourself killed."

"At least I was right, though, eh?" Nathan snugged the hat back onto his head. It was still a bit too small, a bit too stiff. "About magic and stuff. And as for getting killed, with you around I won't have to worry about that."

Nathan beamed at the vampire. Luke didn't quite know what to say.

"Just .. don't be a hero."

"Why not?" Nathan windmilled his arms expressively. "Come on! It's, like, everything you've seen on television! This is big, bigger than me. It'll be fun!"

"This is a world takeover. It's not supposed to be fun."

"Well, it'll be an adventure, anyways."

This man was a headache waiting to happen. The sirens were getting louder. Luke looked down at the red-rimmed Wizard at their feet. Things were about to move fast. Luke resisted the urge to bury his head in his hands.

"I'll go with you, if only to stop you from getting ravaged."

"Partners then?" Nathan asked excitedly.

"Not a chance."

"Right, then."

The Wizard gave another groan. It might have been easier to just kill the man, but Luke had made promises -- promises he was intent on keeping. And if that meant teaming up with a fearless human ..

.. it looked like he'd have to do it.

"Where to?" Luke asked in a low voice, and Nathan grinned.

"I know just the place! But .. uh .. dude?"

" .. yes?"

Nathan fiddled with his hat. "Do you have a car? I'm between jobs, like. So we'll have to, uhh .. "

Luke dug in his pockets for his keys, turned and started to walk away.

"Hey! Wait up! So you are a vampire, then? Cool. That's cool. So you're okay with garlic? Or crosses? What's the deal? Sorry .. "

"Is this it?"

Nathan squinted into parking garage.

"The Taurus? Is that your car?"

The vampire kept walking in way of response, his footsteps taking him down the alley and away from where Nathan stood. "Yes."

"What -- really?" The mountain of a man scratched the back of his head. "Then why .. aren't we getting into it?"

"Easier to get out on foot, this way." Luke stopped. He didn't like stopping. If he was going to be on the move, then he liked to be on the move. He turned back to the man with a last name but no family -- he turned back to him with a slight frown. "One thing that must be said about vampires is that we are consistent, dangerously so. The Grand Mage keeps dutiful notes; my appreciation of Ford sedans hasn't escaped him over the years."

"The Grand Mage .. you mean .. "

"Thaddeus Farcry. Your constant commentary needs to stop."

"Right-o." Nathan jogged the thirty feet to where the vampire stood patiently. The man doubled over, wheezing. "Hang on, brother. Hang on a second .. you sure we can't take the car?"

Luke took a half-step to the side, and dropped the keys down a storm drain.

"Ahh .. "

Things may have quieted downtown, but this was the South Side. There were still Wizards in the street when the people began to fight back. As the first gunshots cracked, Luke gave a sudden glance to the man with no family.

"Time to go."