Hey guys! This is written by HOAnubisTS, The Vampire Avatar, timeandcirque, and Dead L E.

Vampire mountain was a dangerous place. It was a dangerous place, not because it was full of dangerous people, but because the non dangerous people like to do dangerous things. Kurda Smahlt was one of these people, and today, his dangerous adventure was to go exploring-exploring the parts of the mountain no one had ever wandered before. Adventures like these always excited the blonde vampire, but today more so than usual, as today he was not to walk the tunnels alone. He had recruited some not-so-willing volunteers to join him in this-on the grounds that if they didn't come with him, the alternative would be a day spent with Seba-sorting out the storerooms or some other menial chore.

He had woken his troops up before the sun had even set, and now sat patiently waiting for them in the hall of Kheldon Lurt, as they forced themselves out of their slumber. It was crucial not to let anyone know where they were going. He was determined to make it a surprise. Fun surprises of this kind-or any kind, really, were rare in the mountain, and Kurda happily relished the opportunity, even more so as he heard footsteps approaching. Step by step, the victims of Kurda's map obsession entered, faces already contorted from the tortures they knew they were to endure that day. "Darren, Vancha, Hurry up! The sun has nearly set, we don't have time to waste!" The eager voice of the intrepid vampire echoed through the hall, bouncing off the walls and earning him several shushes from the dozy pair.

"Oh gods… I think my eyes aren't ready to be opened…" muttered Darren, shuffling and rubbing his eyes. He had been so unwilling to get up that when he got dressed, he had put his top on inside out and back to front. Vancha was hardly in a better state-although the tiredness was less obvious in him than it was in Darren, due to his full vampire status and general lack of regard of appearance. In other words, he looked awful all the time, so the addition of tiredness looked miniscule in comparison to all the other factors in his complete disregard for meant, however, that in Kurda's eyes he was completely poised and ready to map-so without another word, the blonde general stood up and set off, motioning for comrades his to follow him.

Kurda hurried forward, not wanting to waste any time. The two other vampires walked side by side, neither willing to be ahead of the other, as though by being closer to Kurda, they would seem far too keen - and he might take that as a sign they were actually enjoying themselves. Darren sighed as the minutes passed, each one of them full of Kurdas incessant chatter. He himself was too tired to start up any kind of meaningful conversation to make the journey pass by faster, but Kurda, sadly, was not.

Just as the young vampire began to wonder exactly how long they had been travelling for, their overly-talkative leader came to an abrupt halt, in front of a seemingly unremarkable stretch of tunnel that neither Darren nor Vancha could see any kind of significance to.

"Look here!" Kurda pointed to the wall to his right, which again, seemed just like every other wall they had passed. "Can't you see? Right here, in this spot, the tunnel composition is different-now I bet if I just…" he tapped the wall cautiously first, before striking it harder. Just as he planned, the rocks crumbled away into dust, leaving a gaping hole, through which the three could quite clearly see that there was some sort of space beyond. Kurda's face lit up at his new discovery, ecstatic to find a cave potentially untouched by anyone or anything, and quick as a flash, he scrambled through the gap, motioning to the others to follow. They did so, somewhat reluctantly.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, Darren realised that the cave was littered with a great number of stalactites and stalagmites-so much so that he could barely take a step without having to be wary of what he might crash into. He had entered the cave last, and because of the sheer darkness, his companions were already out of his sight range, despite the fact he could tell they only had to be at the most, a couple of metres away. It was as if he was completely alone down there-just him and the towering columns bearing down upon him from all angles. Taking a step forward, he wedged his foot between two of the stalagmites, loosely at first, but in the attempt to break free he somehow managed to only trap himself further. Trying not to panic, he took a deep breath and gripped onto one of the sturdier looking stalactites for support. This situation seemed all too familiar to him. Within seconds, his attempt at staying calm had already failed, and the less than welcome memories of his trials of initiation came rushing back to him. Clenching hold of his stalactite support harder than intended, the tip broke from the ceiling-causing Darren to slip backwards and fall to the ground.

"Darren? Vancha?" called Kurda, worriedly. "We should go…" He knew the dangers of exploring these sorts of caves, and judging by the sounds he had just heard-something in that cave wasn't stable. Meaning that they should all get out of there, no questions asked. So without further ado, he crept steadily back towards the exit, careful to make as little sound as possible, in case sudden noise caused any of the stalactites to rain down upon the group, and hoped the other two were doing the same.

Darren, meanwhile, had yet to even scramble to his feet-and judging by the numerous attempts he had made to do just that, he had come to the conclusion that he was pretty much stuck fast. As he helplessly reached outwards for something else to grab ahold of, his hand struck yet another of the inconvenient cave formations, and instantly, as he heard creaking sounds from directly above his head, he knew that he had made a mistake.

Vancha was halfway to the exit when he spotted the dire situation directly in front of him-the mercifully blunt stalactite on the brink of collapse above the youngest vampire prince's head, made considerably worse by the fact that the boy was obviously stuck, and had little to no chance of escaping before said stalactite fell. To many people, there was nothing that could be done. But he was a vampire-a prince at that, and he wouldn't stand aside and watch his fellow clan member get crushed while he had one more option left. As the rock gave way at last and fell to the ground, Vancha leaped hastily forwards, with the hope of shielding Darren from the worst of the blow.

Dust filled the cave as the broken rock hit the ground, preventing Kurda from both going to help-and from simply being able to see whether the other two vampires were injured. His only method of communication was voice, and so he shouted frantically "Vancha? Darren? Are you there? Are you unharmed?" This was to no avail-as silence joined the dust in filling the cave. "Vancha? Darren?" he tried again-and this time there came an answer. A quiet, whispered answer, but Kurda heard it as clearly as if it were a shout.
"...help."
"Darren?" Kurda called once more, recognising the boy prince's voice.
"...who?" it whispered, causing the vampire general to frown.
"You, Darren! Are you okay? Is Vancha okay?"
"I don't know who those people are...Please...just help me…." Kurda frowned, face lit up with worry, hoping that this what not what he thought it was.
"Okay, i want you to listen to me, yeah? I'm going to get you out of there. Just stay put." He shook his head, it's not like they were able to go anywhere. "But first, i just want to ask you one thing. What's your name? Who are you?" There was a few seconds silence before Darren answered, and it was not an answer Kurda wanted to hear.
"Um...I don't think i know? I don't….Who Am i?" Kurda Didn't answer. "Please...i don't remember a thing…" A pause. "Who am i?"