Chapter 1: Introductions

(Daemon)

"Jake, don't stay up too late!"

"No mom, don't worry!" I returned as I booted up my computer.

What is she thinking? Of course it will get late, it always does with these tournaments. I thought as I logged on to the chat.

<=Gills=> Ah, look who's finally here.

<=Sakura=> Finally, almost finished my minesweeper.

<=Daemon=> He he, sorry guys, had a little argument with my mom.

<=Daemon=> Myst and Weaver online yet?

<=Myst=> I'm here.

<Yes, I'm here. Can everyone hear me?> Sounded a voice in my head, meaning Weaver had just joined us. <Myst check, Sakura check, Daemon check and Gills check.>

<Great, let's get this show started then.> I thought back as I terminated the chat and started up the game.

<Okay, guys, I did some research. First two matches will be reasonably easy. After that, I hope we don't get squared against the Hounds.> Sounded Sakura's voice.

A few moments later, my screen lit up showing the familiar 'Generals of R VS Team Drake'

This wouldn't be too hard, so I'll take this time to introduce myself.

My name is Jake Wilson; I used to be a plain biology college student. And I do mean 'used', but I'll get to that later. My friends usually use my gaming nickname Daemon. My friends and I had set up a little unofficial gaming club, which we used to compete in certain tournaments.

At this moment we were playing Halo: Ultimate. A few weeks ago, almost a thousand teams signed up for the tournament and now we: The Generals of Rotterdam, were playing the quarterfinals. Our team consists of five members:

There is of course, me, Jake 'Daemon' Wilson.

Nicolas 'Weaver' Smith, a close friend of mine and a pretty gifted telepath, mostly responsible for communications.

Peter 'Sakura' Wei, in-game, he's probably the most vicious member of the team, in real-life, not so much. MORFS has gifted him with slightly increased speed, at the cost of turning his hair to a minty bluish-green.

Aaron 'Myst' Del Sol, very shy guy, until you give him a mouse and a keyboard. Another MORFS survivor and gender-twister. Even by the name Ariana, she had been a welcome member of our team.

And last but certainly not least: Warren 'Gills' Walker, the main sniper. MORFS had crossed him with his pet axolotl, some ancient kind of amphibian similar to salamanders, giving him webbed hands and feet and a pair of amphibian gills just behind his ears.

Unfortunately, his docile nature and unique appearance made him a regular target for the bullies. From both sides, the purists would make remarks and threats about dissecting him in biology class. While the 'elite' Morfs would shove him off as some degenerate form of human life.

It usually turned out to be either me or Weaver to defend him. Unfortunately, only Weaver can make his threats come true, as there is actually a reason we call him Weaver.

He is what we call a Dream-Weaver: besides his gift for telepathic communication, he can also cure or induce nightmares. Even when his victims are awake. Though I think there are only a handful of people that know about his abilities, he can really make your life a living nightmare.

<Hey, Daemon, wake up! No time for sleeping.> Apparently, I dozed off for a bit.

<Aah, calm down, Weaver. We won, didn't we?> I snapped back. <Besides, it's twelve-thirty. Gimme a break here.>

<Yes we did, but only just. Now on to the semi-finals.> Myst's voice still sounded a bit girly when we were using Weavers telepathy.

<Hey, Sakura, you found out who we're up against next?> I asked.

<Not the Hounds please, not the Hounds, not the Hounds.> I'm guessing Gills couldn't hold his nerves.

<Not yet, they're still going at it. And Gills.> Sakura replied.

<Yeah?>

<Please shut the hell up, I can hardly hear myself think.>

<Oh. Sorry.>

Oh, damnit. I thought as my monitor lit up in the dreaded 'Generals of R VS The Hounds'

As I could feel the mood drop across the TP-connection, I tried doing a little pep talk. <Come on guys, don't give up before the match even started. I know we haven't managed to beat them yet, but that doesn't mean we don't stand a chance.>

Myst was the first to reply. <I'm sorry, it's just ... it's like they have a bloody pre-cog running the show there.>

<Yeah, so. We got a telepath.> I knew it makes a lot of difference whether you have a very short reaction time, or whether you know what's going to happen before it happens. But I couldn't think of a better comeback on such a short notice. <Sakura, you managed to get something from those playbacks?>

<No, unfortunately not. It's like they change their whole strategy just for us. I actually feel kinda honoured.> He grinned.

<All right then, lets kick some doggy ass.> Yelled Gills as the match began.

<=Jackal=All> Good luck and have fun.

<=Daemon=All> Same to you.

The fight started out pretty well. Both sides making an even number of kills as we tried out which tactics worked and which didn't. All went well, until they got to the plasma-launcher.

Somehow, they managed to kill-off Gills from the other side of the map and it went all downhill from there.

<Daemon, Myst, get the hell out of that corner. You got a banshee headed your way. Gills, find another vantage point, take out that plasma-launcher.> Yelled Weaver as he began to take his job as a general seriously.

<I'd love to, but we can't get out of here until someone takes out that sniper.> I yelled back.

Only five minutes later, we were all screaming orders at each other and all manner of order or tactics went down the drain. By this time we were behind by thirty points and had no way to climb back up. Still, no one seemed to notice as I could feel Weavers connection slipping. He was probably suffering from a major headache by now, which would only get worse if we kept going at it like this.

<SHUT UP> I yelled and soon everyone went quiet. <If anyone of you guys has even looked at the scores in the last few minutes, you know we have no way to beat these guys>

<What? Are you suggesting we should just give up?> The strain on Nicolas must have been far worse than I thought, as the voice was too distorted to recognize.

<First of all, yes, I do suggest we should give up.> I answered. <Yes, I know you still want to continue, but look around for a sec. You might not have noticed, but we're way behind, only got fifteen minutes left to make up for it, lost all manner of organization. AND nearly knocked out Weaver by overloading his TP. You still holding up there?>

<Yeah, sort of. Thank you for stepping in there for a sec.> Answered a very tired Nicolas. <I'm sorry to say this, guys, but Jake is right on this one. We can't win this.>

Slowly the rest of the team came around as well and I called for a vote.

<=System=> Generals of R: Surrender 5v0

<=Daemon=All> Congratulations, doggies, you won. Have fun in the finals.

<Ah, well. It was fun while it lasted.> Said Myst, trying to cheer us up. <Third place out of a thousand teams ain't bad, is it?>

<No, you're right.> I answered. <Well, I'm off to play comatose for about four hours.>

<More like five hours. You didn't forget about the school trip to the zoo tomorrow, did you?>

<Oh, yeah, right. If it weren't for you, Pete, I would leave my head on my pillow.> I yawned. <Then I'll see you guys tomorrow, bye.>

(Gills)

School trips are one of the few study related activities I actually look forward to. Too bad this one had to be to the zoo. My fear for this place comes mostly from the way people react to my 'unique' looks. The only up-side right now is the time of year they chose to do this, it being the last week before Christmas break means I can wear a hoody to cover up my gills.

They also seemed to think it was a good idea to split up the students into six different groups, each would follow a different guided tour around the park. Then we would be free to go where we please after lunch. Somehow they managed to separate me from all my friends, which meant I didn't have a bodyguard hanging around. So far, I had managed to steer clear of queen Jennifer and her hive, but I was pretty sure they wouldn't leave the last chance to torture me before the end of the semester.

The tour had just finished and I figured I'd stay behind a bit so I wouldn't be bothered on my way to the cafeteria. Unfortunately some other people had had the same idea.

As I carefully made my way out of the toilet building, I was grabbed and dragged to an out of view corner behind some storage shed. There I was thrown against some dumpster. Once my vision had cleared, I looked up to see my assailants.

Shit. Just my luck, Jenny and her minions. Now I really wish Nick or Jake were here.

"Look what escaped from its cage," Sneered Jenny. "You know animals aren't supposed to run around loose. Now, I've got just the solution for our problem."

Oh shit, this can't turn out well. Let's hope Nick is paying attention.

"You see, we really liked the stuffed animal exhibit," Grinned one of her 'friends'. Then after pulling a Swiss army knife from his pocket, he continued: "And we would love to make a donation."

Oh God, they really mean it this time. I thought as I tried to get away, but found myself blocked off by Jenny's boyfriend / minion / Neanderthal Davis.

<Weaver!> I screamed mentally, hoping he would hear me.

<Yes, need help?> Came a quick reply.

<Big time, they are really planning on killing me this time. I'm behind the storage shed near the rhinos.>

<Really sorry, mate. Wrong side of the park, I'll make sure Jake gets there.>

<Thanks, but ... they have Davis and co here. There is no way Jake can beat them.> I said as I started to panic.

<He he, that's what you think.>

This conversation only took a few seconds, but I knew it would take a lot longer for Jake to get here. I had to think of something. Stall them, make a scene, anything. But just holding them off proved to be a lot more difficult than I had thought.

Kicking and flailing, I managed to keep them off for a few moments. But my struggles abruptly ended in a flash of searing pain when one of them managed to take hold of one of my gills. With my pain numbed mind I could faintly hear them laughing as two of them grabbed me by my arms and held me up against the dumpster. As the pain slowly started to clear, I could see Jennifer moving closer with the knife in her hand.

"HEY, leave the toad alone!" Finally a familiar voice, maybe I would live through this yet.