Mary Ringwood and April May were walking home from a party at their friend Kait's house when they noticed a back route that was much quicker, but looked a little dangerous.
"Scared?" Mary said.
"I'm no chicken," April said. "We'll take that road. Just watch your back." She poked Mary in the side. They were both a little drunk.
The two girls ran down the dark alleyway. About halfway down, April noticed that Mary's breathing had been absent for a while.
"Mary?" April asked. "Mary, this isn't funny anymore. Come on out."
April was scared. She started to run away and out of the dark alleyway and into the main road.
"A-pril," a woman's singsong voice called for her from a little further down the street.
"Who's there?" she asked. "Show yourself. I'm not afraid."
"Oh but you are," the voice said. "I smell it. I like the smell of fear, puppy."
"Don't be so hard on her love," another female voice said. "She's just been a bad dolly. She needs a little punishment."
"Dru, as much as I appreciate your appetite," the first voice said. "We really need to be on our way. Kill her and be done with it.
April walked backwards a little, when the body of her friend dropped on top of her. April screamed, and started to run away when she ran into a red-headed vampire.
"No fair," the second voice said. "I was hungry. What great fun it would be to kill again."
"Take this one," the red-headed vampire said as she picked up Mary's body by the collar of her shirt and threw her in the direction of the second voice.
"Bored now," she said. "This is the part that's less fun. When there isn't any screaming." April was paralyzed with fear as the vampire brought her head back and sank her large fangs into April's neck. April then noticed the two little bite marks in Mary's neck. She screamed. April still had a little blood left. Enough to hear the vampire say one last thing.
"You're my messenger," she said. "Kate should recognize this." She pulled out a knife and slashed her own wrist. She held it up to April's mouth, and the dying girl drank hungrily.
"Drink my blood," she said. "Become my messenger." She dropped her victim.
"This one tasted good," the second voice said, appearing from the shadows. April saw now that this female was wearing a red t-shirt and a black dress. Black hair cascaded from her head like a waterfall of oil.
"Oh god yes!" the vampire yelled, as she drank from Mary. Obviously she was a little off her rocker. "Scream for me! Scream louder! Scream my name! Let the world know that Drusilla and Willow Rosenburg are back!"
In an abandoned monastery high in the mountains of Tibet, Kryusa stood looking at an alter with an emerald crystal set in the middle amidst eight other empty places for stones.
"So this is the place?"
"Yes, is the place," the sherpa said. "Is place where sacred Dragoons entered world."
"Thank you," Kryusa said. "You've been very helpful."
"And now I get paid?"
"Don't worry," Kryusa said with a wicked smile. "You'll get what's coming to you." She pushed a brick in the ruined wall. The ground shook and then the floor opened up. A staircase appeared on the ground. It led down into the darkness.
Kryusa and the sherpa descended into that darkness. Then, as they were walking down the stairs, a jet of emerald flame shot out at them and hit the sherpa.
"I warned him," Kryusa said. She pulled out her staff out of her cloak.
"Arukienen," she whispered. The staff absorbed the fire, and Kryusa's eyes glowed a brilliant emerald green. She threw off her robes and revealed her emerald green armor. She pulled a sword out of her sheath and brandished it at the dragon who shot the stream of green fire.
"Let's do this," she said. One of the deadly lizard's claws raked through the air towards Kryusa herself. She fended off the blow with the sword and went in for another strike. It connected, but the blow ricocheted off of the dragon's thick, emerald green hide. She twirled the sword behind her head, and swung the sword back around for another swipe. It hit the thick hide of the monster and made a ringing sound that made it stop for the split second Kryusa needed to shove the sword into the great beast's chest. The sword was magical, and it siphoned the power out of the creature. Green wings sprouted from her back. The sword turned into two curved blades that attached them to her wrists.
"Ah, the power of the forest in the spirit of the Emerald Dragoon," she said. "It's not the full power, but it'll do for now."
A/N: This chapter was shorter than the other ones will be, but I had to introduce the two new villains, and show the latest Dragoon Spirit, the Emerald Dragoon. It's the power of the forest. On level one, it's magic attack is Green Flame, dealing 25 damage to one opponent. It's level two magic has been changed to Rose Storm, so Greg will have a different spell for his level two, if they ever live that long.
