Enter the children
Jack had just returned to Boston after a long absence. He pulled up at a bar he knew for dinner. Somewhere around the aperatif, the bar shook with the thunder of distant explosions. Jack jumped up and looked out the window, to see flames reaching over the city and to hear the sound of approaching screams. The door bursts open and a green-eyed man runs through, pauses and looks around the bar. He spots Jack, dashes across the room and tells Jack it's time to leave.
Jack is understandably suspicious and takes a step back. The window behind Jack disintegrates and a tentacle whips through the air and wraps around Jack's throat, jerking him onto his back. The green-eyed man leaps forward, drawing a green-handled dagger, and cuts Jack free. Jack staggers to his feet and then notices that cracks are forming in the floor. Through the cracks, instead of the ground, Jack can see stars. The green-eyed man grabs him as the floor drops from under them and they fall into the void.
As they fall, the man draws a card from his breast pocket. Jack knocks it out of his hand, crying "this is no time for card games!" The green-eyed man releases him and dives for the card, which is spiralling into the darkness. He grabs it, turns and grabs Jack, and they disappear into an explosion of rainbow light. Jack's last sight of his world is it falling in pieces into nothingness.
The rainbow effect disappates suddenly and Jack and the green-eyed man thud onto solid ground. The man gets up and dusts himself off before offering a hand to the winded Jack. He introduces himself as Caine, and tells Jack that he is his uncle. Jack looks around; it appears that he is in a stone fortress. He is about to speak when an incredibly beautiful woman appears in the doorway.
She is a stunning blonde, dressed in fatigues, which she wears as if they were haute couture. She approaches and kisses Jack on the cheek. Jack is quite delighted, until she tells him she is his mother. Jack does not believe her. She tells him her name is Florimel, and that she is glad he is safe.
Florimel leaves them and Jack asks Caine what is goign on. Caine tells him that he is a prince, the son of Florimel and that he has been brought here because their enemies are trying to kill him. Jack is skeptical about most of what Caine says. Caine then tells him to take it easy and leaves.
Captain Greg Sykes, retired naval officer, is spending a quiet day fishing. After the steam tank accident that destroyed his platoon and left him the sole survivor, he has avoided military conflict, content to leave the wars to younger men.
On this day, the fish are biting well. Suddenly there is a tug on his line. He pulls back and the resistance becomes stronger. Slowly he reels in his catch; as it approaches he sees that it is a naked man with red hair. The man lets go of the line and sinks back down into the water.
Concerned that he might be injured, Greg jumps into the water. As he swims down, he sees the red-haired man turn on his back and swim lazily along, smiling at Greg in an unsettling way. Greg assumes he is all right and swims back to the surface. As he climbs up the ladder to the pier, a hand grabs his leg. He looks down; it is the red-haired man. The man smiles at him in an imbecilic way and then slurs, "yourrr diifferent".
Greg asks him a few questions, but the man is not co-operative, and seems to want to hang on to Greg. Greg finally drags him out of the water and ties him to a post, intending to make a citizens arrest. He fires up the handset in his car and contacts the nearest base. He hears screams and commotion behind him and turns, to see an enormous, tentacled squid crawling out of the water and up the beach. He informs the base and goes down to do battle.
On the shore, he is doing quite well against the beast, which seems more intent on reaching the red-haired man tied up on the pier than damaging Greg. Greg takes this into account and moves behind the creature, striking a severe blow to the area he thinks may be the head. This gets the creatures attention and a couple of tentacles whistle in Greg's direction. He removes three with ease, but the fourth catches him off-guard and he is thrown to the ground. The tentacle wraps around his chest and things start to go dim, when a figure leaps into the fray, slashing at the tentacle and freeing him. He rolls free and sees a green-eyed man wielding two daggers. The man leaps in and finishes off the beast. Greg looks up to his prisoner on the shore and sees that he is dead, apparently crushed by the beast.
The man introduces himself as Caine and tells Greg that they need to leave. He is fairly curt and appears to have no patience with Greg's practical questions about which base he is from and what rank he holds. After having no luck convincing Greg to come of his own accord, Caine puches him in the jaw and knocks him out.
Jack has spent two days prowling around the fortress, getting to know people but not really getting any more information on what's going on. In the afternoon of the first day, he meets another uncle named Gerard. Jack quizes Gerard on the situation, and Gerard attempts to explain the existence of Amber, Chaos and shadow using beer mugs as props. The explanation is not a success. Early on the second day, he hears shouts from the battlements and runs out to see what's going on. As he enteres the courtyard, he sees the gates open and Caine rides through with an unconscious man over his saddle. Caine informs him that this is Jack's cousin Greg. Jack follows them to the infirmary, where Caine unceremoniously dumps Greg on a bed.
On waking, Greg is understandably upset and verbally abuses Caine, who seems unmoved. They are interrupted by Florimel, who comes in and introduces herself to Greg. After she has left, Caine asks Jack if Florimel has explained the situation. Jack tells him that they are stuck between two mugs of beer, according to Gerard. Caine attempts to explain the situation more clearly, but they are still skeptical. Caine tells the two to get "kitted up", as they are leaving in an hour.
They travel on horseback for a day or two until they come to a cave on the side of a hill, with a horse tethered to a tree outside. As they approach, a tall, dark-haired woman strides out of the cave.
Caine addresses her as Elektra and introduces himself, Jack and Greg. He asks Elektra to come with them, advising that she is in danger. She tells them that she cannot possibly join them until the magical potion she carries is returned to the king so he may save his daughter. Caine shrugs and agrees, and seems anxious to be gone. Elektra leads them to where she believes the king to be, but Caine is shifting shadow without them knowing.
As the path winds through a forested area, the air becomes thick and hot. Caine shouts a warning and then arrows arc out of the trees. Caine, Jack and Elektra's horse are struck and then a mass of small, dark beings rush out of the trees and attack.
The four have no trouble against the beings, but the numbers begin to wear them down. Caine warns the three to close their eyes and then a burst of light covers them all. They run down the path, stumbling over fallen bodies, half-blinded by the light until it fades and the heat begins to disappate. Caine keeps them moving though they are tired and wounded. Finally, he allows them to slow. They enter an area of mist, and the path beneath their feet gradually becomes paved and lights penetrate the dimness. They see street-signs and Jack notes that it looks like Earth.
A figure looms suddenly out of the mist, with two massive guns held high. A surprised voice floats out to them. "You're not infernal!" A man in a long trench coat steps into the light. Caine greets him as Loki, and asks him if there is a safe place for them to rest. Loki teleports them to a safe house in New York. Caine introduces the group, tells Jack to explain everything and then goes to sleep on the couch.
From danger to safety
Jack and Greg try to explain what's happening to Loki while Elektra investigates the house. Loki grasps that there may be a fight and raids the weaponry stores. Greg and Elektra have never seen guns before so Loki demonstrates how they work by shooting a vase, startling Caine out of sleep. Caine advises them to prepare and leaves once again.
Raven and her wolves are sunning themselves on a rock after a sucessful hunt when they notice a man on a horse approaching. The man has green eyes and a wound in his shoulder. Raven sends out her wolves in case the rider is a potential threat. Caine rides up to the rocks where Raven is hiding and calls her name. Raven shows herself and her wolves surround Caine, making his horse nervous.
Caine asks her to accompany him and she says no. Caine dismounts and goes to talk to her. At a command, her wolves frighten Caine's horse into flight. Caine argues with Raven, and finally tricks her into agreeing to come with him to save some "cubs" who are in trouble. Raven requests her wolves return Caine's horse.
In the safe house, the three men are arguing about tactics while Elektra becomes fascinated by the things in the house, eventually purloining a CD for the bright colours on its underside. Caine leads Raven and her wolves into the house, and introduces her as Loki's half-sister. Both Loki and Raven are surprised, and ask who their father was. Caine tells them about King Random and his death at the hand of the chaosian invaders. Greg then notices something is cirling above the house.
The group go outside and see an enormous, winged man flying overhead. Caine ushers them all back into the house. Loki activates the house's defenses against infernals. The winged man lands, but the defenses seem to have little effect. Jack, Loki both open up with their guns but make no impression on the man. Greg goes to the other side of the house to check for possible attacks from the rear.
Caine tells them to stay back but Loki is confident that he can face him. He shapechanges into his winged form, pulls out his flaming sword and charges at the man. The sowrd bounces off the man, who knocks Loki flying, hard enough to break his ribs. Jack, seeing Loki's failure, attacks more cautiously while Raven tries to attack from behind. The man shakes them off easily and speaks to Caine, advising him that his time is ended.
Caine moves in to protect Jack, who is on the ground and Greg comes out of the house to join them. Seeing that weapons are doing no damage, Loki casts a spell to stop the man's heart. The spell knocks the man to his knees, so Loki calls down a bolt of lightning. Cracks appear in the impervious skin. Greg grabs Jack and drags him out of danger.
Raven's wolves growl and she looks behind her to see a horde of dark-skinned beings racing towards them. She yells a warning and the group run into the house. The defenses, which had little effect on the winged man, are burning the attackers as they advance. However there are more coming behind them.
There is the sound of trumpets and the Archangel Michael sweeps down towards the horde, sword gleaming. Loki cheers. Michael lands and swings his sword at the front row, sweeping masses before him. But then more appear and Michael is rapidly overrun. Loki looks shocked. Caine grabs Loki and tells him to teleport them all out of there. Loki teleports them to Gabriel.
Loki informs Gabriel of the death of Michael. Gabriel summons the heavenly host and goes to do battle, telling Loki to stay where he is. Caine tells them they have to go but Loki refuses. Caine knocks Loki out. They run downstairs and appropriate a van. Jack drives and Caine directs him.
After a few hours travelling they pull over for supplies.