Third Arc Crimson Moon: Prologue
#1 of Third Arc
Third Arc: Crimson Moon
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For all fans of my Reaper Series, please note that this series is an ALTERNATE, parallel universe that runs at the same time as Reaper. Think of several of all those superhero comic books where there are alternate versions of our favourite heroes and this is pretty much the same. It's a lighter take of events in a brighter world and is filled with more humour than grim combat. Where the Reaper series is more action/thriller with a bit of romance and comedy, Third Arc is more romantic-comedy with action and thriller elements, more close to the Jason Wolfe Trilogy. Both stories end up at exactly the same spot but they get there differently. It's not the destination but the journey after all!
Also, there's yiff. M/M yiff. So if you're underage in your respective state/country DO NOT READ! This will corrupt you!
Otherwise...
On with the show!
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Image a world that you can create at a whim,
A world where you are the one true god.
Where anything you simply think_will become a reality._
A world of your greatest fantasies
Would you go there?
Would you take anyone with you?
...
Would you stay?
Now close your eyes.
Take a deep breath.
Think of that world.
And now...
...
Stop imagining.
Prologue: He's heeeeere...!
Shellington Hospital
Hope was a funny thing...
When a person hopes, they enter a state of elation where they look towards the light. They look to the skies and what might be despite the odds. They ignore all darkness, all fear, all things that could go wrong and all the laws of physics in favour of holding on to that scant possibility that things might, in fact, go their way.
Isaac Reaper... was a hopeful guy.
His wife, Rebecca, was in the delivery room after having been in labour for over twelve hours, reaching her thirteenth. No... scratch that. She was in there for her thirteenth hour, going on her fourteenth.
The news wasn't good either.
Their daughter - for the doctors were sure it was a girl - didn't have a heartbeat the last time they did an ultrasound. Now that didn't necessarily say anything. It could simply be that the ultrasound didn't pick up the heartbeat despite the precision of the machine. At least that's what Isaac kept telling himself.
Oh and he wanted a boy.
More than anything, he wanted a son to carry on his name.
A daughter would be great but he hoped for a boy.
Again, the doctors may have been wrong despite the fact that they are almost always right.
He even had a name all set up... well... more like a bet really.
Rebecca insisted that it was a boy, she could just tell. Isaac wanted a boy as well but he did a sort of 'reverse-psychology' with fate. He bet against Rebecca despite his hopes in the hope that he would be wrong.
If it was a girl, she'd be Samantha and Rebecca would owe Isaac twenty Solars.
If it was a boy, he'd be Jacob and Isaac would owe Rebecca fifty Solars.
He thought she deserved more money since she was the one with the baby in her after all.
But right now... None of that mattered.
Because hope's dark brother reared its ugly head...
Doubt.
Suddenly, Isaac was afraid... Afraid that not only would he not get a son but he wouldn't even get a child! He didn't care what the gender it was, he didn't care if his child came out malformed, hell he most definitely didn't care if his son was gay, bisexual or some weird fetishist who liked to do it with the ferals.
All he wanted was a child.
"Please god..." he begged. "Please... Just make sure they both make it out alive..."
"Erm... Sorry... That's not God."
Isaac started and regarded a rather handsome wolf who was quite built with a single backpack strung over one shoulder. The wolf had the most beautiful sapphire-blue eyes and very odd colours. His hair was a golden blonde and his fur was jet-black.
Now Isaac was in no way homosexual - he had a wife in the other room after all - but he could appreciate good looks when he saw one and this wolf was goddamn sexy. Not to mention the fact that he was wearing some pretty cool brand-name clothing. His Wildog Pax shirt outlined his strong physique quite well.
"That's just a waffle one of our more mentally unstable patients threw up there," the wolf said, sitting right next to Isaac. It was odd... The wolf had this sharp, clean smell like crystal. Being a wolf himself, Isaac knew that isn't a usual scent for a lupine. Maybe it was cologne. "We nickname him 'Bart'."
Isaac stared at the wolf curiously as the guy sat down beside him, lounging back and showing quite impressive muscles. "Why 'Bart'?"
"I dunno," the guy replied - obviously one of the orderlies or nurses working in the hospital who just arrived for his shift. "Someone thought it'd be a funny reference to some TV show. Not sure which one. A cartoon apparently. All the characters apparently had hepatitis."
"Weird show..." Isaac chuckled, grateful for the moment of reprieve from his doom and gloom. "So, you just clocking on?"
"Huh?" the orderly asked, his bright eyes shining. "Oh yeah! But I got about a good fifteen minutes before I'm due." He leaned forward, an understanding smile on his face. "So let me guess... Family member recently died?"
Isaac wasn't up to talking much. He didn't want to sound petty in the face of the fact that he was probably going to end up with a daughter and a stillborn daughter for that matter. However, he knew more than anyone that the best thing to do was to talk it out. A sympathetic ear was often all many of the terrible dictators of the world needed to have turned into world-changing revolutionists.
"No... Keep guessing," he answered, forcing a laugh.
"Hmmm..." The orderly mused for a moment, tapping his chin. Then he clicked his fingers. "Oh! You just got out and there's no one here to meet you!"
That would be very depressing... but...
"No..."
"Dang... Thought I had it with that one..."
The wolf's expression made him chuckle. He told himself that after the next guess, he'd put the poor guy out of his misery.
"How about..." The wolf turned to him with a really cheesy grin, even had his eyes closed for added effect. "... your wife is in the delivery room about to deliver your supposedly stillborn daughter when you actually wanted a son... oh and your wife has been in labour for a while now and you're afraid you might lose her too."
That... that was really creepy.
Isaac wasn't even worried about losing Rebecca... but he was now.
"How did you know...?"
The wolf shrugged and grinned, opening his eyes. Those sapphire-blue eyes filled Isaac with a bit of mirth and seemed to warm him from the inside. "Just a wild guess. Third time is the charm after all." The wolf glanced aside, smiling ruefully. "I always liked the number three..."
Isaac regarded his paws. He hadn't even realised he was clasping them together so tightly that he was shaking.
"I'm just worried I'd lose them both..."
"Have you given up hope?"
That question seemed to knock him back out of whatever dark daze he was being kept in. "Of course not!"
"Well then why are you here worrying about what might not be when you could actually get everything that you wanted?" the wolf replied with a big grin. "The beauty about life is that you never know what to expect and no matter how sure you are, you can still be terribly wrong! Nothing is a 100%. Until your son is born, you can't be sure about how things will turn out.
"You should be grateful for the things that you do have. The things that are assured. The things that you have because if you take advantage of them, you'll be downright horrified when you lose them. Pray for more and you lose that which you already have. Be grateful for the things you already have in your grasp and you'll be pleasantly surprised when other things come your way."
"I'm expecting a daughter..."
The wolf stood up, giving Isaac a confident smirk. "I know what I said." With those words, the wolf headed down the hallway away from Isaac. "Now you better go see your wife. I'm sure it'll help your odds if you're there when she gives birth to your son."
Hope renewed, Isaac got to his feet and charged straight towards Ward 33.
He wasn't dressed, he wasn't prepared nor was he even sanitised to enter the delivery room but he charged in anyway. The doctors and nurses all gasped but he shoved right past them and grasped his Rebecca's paw.
"Come on, Becky! You can do it!"
Another orderly burst into the room, probably one of those guys that had attempted to seize Isaac. Whatever happened, he was not going to let go of his wife's paw. The others seemed to understand this and thankfully didn't pull him away from his wife.
They started cheering her on, encouraging her for one more push.
"You're almost there!"
"Breathe! Remember to Breathe!"
"That's it!"
"Just one more push!"
Rebecca threw her head back let out a loud cry, shutting her eyes tight and her beautiful, strong face caught in an expression of complete agony... then her stunning features suddenly relaxed and a series of ragged gasps escaped her muzzle...
The doctor did something out of his sight and handed something wet and slick to the orderly that had just come in.
"Oh, Becky..." the Isaac sighed, leaning forward and kissing his wife's cheek tenderly. "You did it, Becky..."
"Zac..." Rebecca whimpered. "Why is it so quiet...? Why isn't there any crying?"
Isaac tried not to cry... He had to keep strong for both of them but at the same time he didn't want to look towards where the orderly had taken his stillborn child... At the very least, he had his wife...
A strange sound hit his ears... and he froze...
So did everyone in the room... even Rebecca.
The orderly turned back to the lucky parents, a proud smile on his face.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Reaper," he announced with a smile, sapphire-blue eyes shining. "It's a boy!"
Despite his shock, pure joy filled Isaac's heart.
"A boy..." Rebecca sighed. "Isaac... A boy...!"
"I know, Rebecca..." he whispered back, unable to fight back the tears.
Gently, the orderly handed the cleaned child back towards Rebecca. Everyone else backed off.
"Do you have a name?" the orderly asked.
Isaac exchanged glances with his wife. Then he turned to their baby who had fallen silent and was quietly rubbing himself against his mother's breast. He had lost the bet... but it had to be the best fifty Solars he had ever spent.
"We do," he answered, reaching out with a finger. The baby wrapped his hands around Isaac's finger securely. "Jacob... His name is Jacob."
Rebecca smiled and kissed her child's forehead.
"Welcome to the world... Jacob Reaper."