Chapter 1: A New Dawn
Zelman Clock lounged on his throne as the torches flickered around the dark room of his chambers. He gazed longingly into the fire thinking about the events of that cold foggy night as the flames flickered and snapped within the hearth, creating monstrous shadows upon the walls. It was Mika's birthday, her tenth, marking the anniversary of the Kowloon attack. Jiro and Mimiko were proud parents who doted on their daughter and were so in love with each other that it made Zelmans' chest ache. He felt the ache more so now than ever. He was growing tired of his existence and should be finding those worthy of becoming descendants or finding his mate.
He smirked at that thought. Ha! Mate! That was a laugh. The Asura bloodline was very specific in who became ones mate. For one thing, mates had to be from the Asura bloodline, and if that wasn't hard enough, this bloodline rarely had women. There was one female born out of every fifty males and not many humans survived a turning. Several males were mated to one female, which would lead to fights to the death; this caused Zelman to be one of the last few surviving of the clan. A yellowish glow that surrounds the pair whenever they first contact each other also helps clue them in, sadly this light is only seen once in their lifetime and many miss that precious moment. Mates have the urge to be together and have sex whenever around the other, which is confused with lust. If mates end up ignoring the attraction and urges while near one another, they begin to burn from the inside out and their sexual urges become stronger. Their powers begin to weaken and they fall ill. If they are apart, they are significantly weaker than before they found one another. But if the two come together, their powers merge and become stronger than the two could ever be individually.
He sighed in melancholy once again. He had thought he'd met his mate once long ago but that had ended in a total disaster. The woman he loved had run to another vampire and became his lover right in front of him. But the worst of it was, the vampire she had gone to had been Zelman's second in command and one of his closest friends, or so he had thought. It had hurt him worse than any wound he had physically received to his body. Their betrayal still haunted him to this day and he knew he would never forgive them. The next time he saw them, their blood would run in rivers down his hands as he tore them to pieces. He growled at the thought and quickly reached over to the stand next to him. A bottle of pills lay there with a glass of blood. Taking one he quickly downed it along with the glass, his red eyes glowing in the light of the fire.
Suddenly his eyes narrowed to slits and slid to the right, the fire from the grate highlighting the small line of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as he stared at the curtained window. He felt a malicious power growing closer to the Special Zone and wondered if Sei had even noticed. While both he and Kotaro had grown into their mature bodies, Seis' powers had been more focused on the barrier protecting the Special Zone, so focused, in fact, that he tended to overlook some of the dangers that presented themselves within and outside. The malicious threat had steadily grown closer the past few days seeming to grow stronger in power as it drew near. He sat up as he felt the power spike significantly and stood walking stealthily to the window and drawing back the curtains to glare out at the pre-dawn fog surrounding the city. He cursed once again. The maliciousness would be nearing the bridge soon.
Letting the curtain slide back into place he sauntered out of his rooms, "I'm going out Saiyuka." He said to his secretary, who bolted to her feet as the door to his chambers slammed and locked behind him.
"Where? Master Zelman?" she asked her voice slightly panicked as she caught the sight of his bright red eyes.
"None of your business." He growled letting the second pair of doors slam shut in finality behind him.
The streets were clear at this time of night and he walked steadily towards the bridge leading into the Special Zone, ready to find out who was the cause of this much evil, an evil that was somewhat familiar to the ancient vampire. It was only when he grew closer that he realized it wasn't just one power but over a hundred, maybe more, that seemed to meld into one entity. Each one possessed a quality that linked it to the others causing his misunderstanding and he felt a ferocious grin slide across his face at the potential for a good fight. He hadn't had one in centuries. He had been away when the Kowloon attack happened in HongKong and then had been taking care of his own infestation when the main fight happened during the second outbreak. His manor was still being rebuilt in some places from his inferno of flames that he had set upon the place.
He was within miles of the bridge when he felt an odd pressure building up in the air around him. Confused he looked up into the sky to see the barrier that surrounded the Zone cracking as if it were about to break. Sei's magic couldn't withstand the brutal beating the mass of vampires were aiming at it as more cracks formed. Suddenly the tension that had grown as he stood there exploded, the ground shaking as if an earthquake shook the ground. As the barrier crashed apart like broken glass, a terrified scream resonated through his head causing him to drop to his knees, overwhelming fear and panic filling his body.
Uncle Zelman!
"Mika," he whispered and took off towards Jiro and Mimiko's home, using his vampire speed to get him there quickly.
The sight he came upon put him in overwhelming shock. Ash, smoke, fog, and an eerie silence created a devastating backdrop to the small battleground and Zelman picked his way across the wreckage of the ground carefully as he made his way towards the building. Flames licked across the ground and at the corners of the roof of a home that had once stood there. The doorframe creaked as he stepped over the threshold. The air was filled with the acrid taste and smell of smoke and the decay of watered wood. His hand ran across the wall finding it damp to the touch and yet blackened and charred. The Mochizuki home was no longer there, in its place stood a blackened skeleton.
Stepping silently through the bottom rooms he took note of the destruction caused by the vampires that had burst through the barrier. Each and every room was charred from floor to ceiling, as if an inferno had filled the house only to be washed away by a flood of water. The ceiling caved in some places and timber and water droplets fell as he stepped across glass and splintered wood. In the kitchen he found Jiro, his head bleeding and his body slumped against the stove. Quickly he stooped to make sure the man was all right and let out a breath when he felt the air brush his fingers near Jiro's lips. He stood and crossed to the staircase, picking his way up, stepping over holes and bodies of ash. The top floor wasn't as badly damaged as the bottom and he hoped against all hope that both Mimiko and Mika were all right and hidden in a room somewhere safe.
He went through all the rooms noting the ransacked look to all of them until he came to Mika's, the door hanging off the hinges. He pushed it aside with a loud creak and stepped into the darkened room, a feeling of dread settling into the pit of his stomach as he looked at the blood that covered the walls, the piles of ash that were strewn about, the large hole in the roof, and the charred furnishings. His heart clenched as he realized he saw no sign of either Mika or her mother. He stared hard at the piles of ash; fear causing his blood to pound and his breath to grow short in his chest.
They couldn't be dead! He heard Mika's terrified scream echo through his head once again and shuddered, his hands clenching into fists as pain washed over him, his teeth gritting until his fang cut his lip, causing a small trail of blood to flow to his chin. He promised to protect her, he failed, he let her and her family down. What was he going to do? How was he going to tell Jiro that the love of his life and daughter were dead? Suddenly he heard a moan and rushed to the other side of the large bed, finding Mimiko, her clothes soaked with blood and her body badly battered. Holding her up he pushed back her long dark hair and tried to bring her to consciousness.
"Mimiko! Mimiko, wake up!" he gently shook her, needing to know where Mika was.
She came around slowly, her brow furrowing before her eyes opened wide and she shot up, "MIKA!" she cried before she fell back into his arms holding her head. "Oh, God."
"What happened?" Zelman urged.
"I-I don't know," Mimiko stammered her brow furrowing as she tried to recall just a few moments ago, "we had just put Mika to bed when we felt the barrier being attacked. Jiro and I were immediately alarmed and grabbed our weapons just as the barrier broke. The shockwave knocked us to our knees and then there were vampires everywhere. Jiro and I fought them off until we realized they wanted Mika. Jiro made me take her upstairs to hide her in the closet as he fought those below. They used powers Zelman! I've only seen you, me, and Sei do the things they did. I fought off the ones that came through the bedroom door but I never expected them to come through the roof," she nodded at the gaping hole above, "they overpowered me. Oh God! Where's my baby? Where's Jiro?" she cried, tears creating white streaks down her soot-covered face.
"Don't worry about Jiro, he's downstairs unconscious, he should be fine in a matter of minutes. Did the attackers say anything to you?" he asked as they began to stand, she tripped as her foot caught the edge of splintered wood and he caught her.
She shook her head regaining her footing. "No, they just asked for 'the girl' and rambled about how retribution was coming."
"Retribution?"
"I have no idea, they were rambling on about a Maxima bloodline but I didn't really understand, I was too busy fending them off." She sighed as they finally reached downstairs. She gasped as she took in her surroundings her tears welling up once again as she took in the disaster that was her home. "Well," she said and gave him a watery smile, "Jiro and I did say we were needing to move closer to you guys, guess we have the incentive now."
Zelman gave a soft smile to see that Mimiko wasn't totally crushed by this outcome. "You may stay with me until a place is found for you."
"Thank you, we will take you up on that offer." Jiro groaned as he stumbled into the living room from the kitchen holding his head.
"Jiro!" Mimiko cried, hobbling quickly over to him and giving him a kiss. He set her down and looked around her, a stricken expression coming over his face, "Where's Mika?"
"They took her," Mimiko whispered as her tears slipped over her cheeks once again and she buried her face into Jiro's chest. Zelman watched as Jiro pulled his wife deeper into his arms and as his eyes took on a watery sheen as well.
"We've got to find her," Jiro stated looking at Zelman.
"Don't worry." He replied, "The necklace I gave her is infused with my powers from my bloodline, as long as she wears it, I'll be able to find her."
"How soon till we can leave?" Jiro replied as Mimiko said "We're coming with you."
"I think it's best if I go alone, it will give you time to recover from your injuries and replenish yourselves. I shall leave after I make a quick phone call to Saiyuka and Sei to let them know of the situation." He said turning back towards his home
"You'll find her? Promise?" Mimiko murmured her hand catching his arm.
"I promise I'll find her and bring her back." His face broke into a sinister grin as he pinpointed the direction in which Mika lay, "And as for whoever did this, I shall revel in killing them slowly and painfully."
Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back! I've been going through a lot these past few years but hopefully I can get this story up and published for you guys. It's mostly completed, which is why I've decided to post the chapters at least weekly. Hope you enjoy!