Sirens blaring.
Screaming, raw pandemonium. Blurs of faces painted in terror, speckles of saliva spraying from their mouths as they ran. Eyes wide open, pupils dilated, blood-flecked whites of eyes glimmering in the moonlit darkness.
Written in tribute to Yu-gi-oh, by Kazuki TakahashiA single building lay writhing in guzzling flames. Streamers of hazy-grey smoke escaped the ruins to fly in great wingbeats into the midnight sky. Panicking workers burst left and right from the gleefully burning insides of the building. Police lay strewn over the skyscraper premises, almost thirtyfold, guns aimed and ready, bodies tense and hidden behind their cars.
Inspired by those immortal who hunt at nightThey were waiting. Waiting for someone still hiding within the smouldering, wrecked skyscraper. From the hardy faces of the policemen occupying the terrain to the terrified expressions of fleeing passer-by's, it was obvious that no one _wanted_ to wait.
A helicopter soared over the skyscraper, blades roaring as it swerved to avoid the escalating layers of smoke and debris. Officials within the helicopter peered onto the top of the building, trying to glimpse something, anything, of their intended target.
"The convict is not spotted. I repeat, the convict has not been spotted and is still at large within the building."
Upon receiving the message from the copter, the police stationed on the ground tightened their holds on their guns and feared the worst. Some repeated the message still to others, heightening the already-ominous mood.
Yet someone else was not waiting. A lone figure in the shadows, accompanied by a long ebony gun and trench coat. His wild golden hair danced underneath the night wind, jagged bangs teasing his concentrated chestnut eyes.
The figure glanced momentarily at his wristwatch and then took out from his pocket a small communicator. He turned on the signal and held the device close to his mouth. "Target hasn't been spotted yet." The blonde-haired figure snorted. "Police still think he's an escaped convict gone beserk."
There was a brief interlude of static.
"Jou," a clearly female voice pierced the static of the communicator, "you know who this target _really_ is. It's essential that you get a good look at him. This is the third this same vampire has struck."
'Jou' snorted. "_Look_ at him? What is this, a petting zoo? I appreciate your concern, Anzu, but I'm going to send this bloodsucker to hell so fast, he wont even have time to appreciate his death."
A pause. "Jou!" The voice at the other end was clearly annoyed. "You should wait until at least Yuugi or I come with you. This isn't just _any_ vampire we're talking about. You'll need help!"
"Yeah yeah. Save it for tomorrow 'kay?" The blonde rolled his eyes and moved the communicator away from his mouth. The police were stirring now; their target was obviously making his escape from the building.
"Jou? Are you listening to me? Jou! Jounoc-"
The blonde-haired figure switched off the device with a flick of his thumb. He stuffed it quickly back in this trench coat pocket before proceeding closer towards the still-burning skyscraper.
'Jou' sucked in a quick breath as he took in the full devastation the target had caused. Absolute chaos. Even vampires were not supposed to harbour such power.
He snuck behind a congregation of police cars, slipping under the "KEEP AWAY" tapes to quickly scurry behind the shadows of the building gates. Checking to make sure no one had spotted him, the blonde half-crawled, half-ran towards the very heart of the smouldering site.
The building itself belonged to Nexus Corporations, one of the three top corporations of the city, along with Kaiba Corporations and Industrial Illusions. It was a roman-styled building, complete with gothic pillars and stone gargoyles, now half-crumbling from the heat. And from the way the flames danced and burned so gleefully, it was obvious that the building was constructed more from wood than stone.
Jou continued moving until he was behind the pillar closest towards the exit. It was the only possible exit for the vampire to escape from; the other two charred beyond repair. He slung the large gun from his back and hoisted it on his shoulders, taking careful aim at the door. It would be soon.
How long he waited he did not know. The blonde's muscles began to protest painfully, shoulder dropping involuntarily. Even his control over the gun trigger was unsteady.
There was a sudden sliver of black amongst the streaming golden-orange flames and monumental marble-grey building. Half a dozen headlights already lit the front of the building, ready to locate the smallest jerk of motion. Obviously, they were not doing a great job, otherwise they would have already noticed Jou.
The tiny sliver grew larger until it seemed more an amorphous, shifting blob than a then streak of ebony. Jou squinted his eyes. Was it just his imagination, or was the shadow-
Everything around him exploded in a sheer blast of light and heat. Jou felt himself being flung backwards, gun flying involuntarily from his hands, arms and legs splayed out in mid-air.
He hit the street several meters away, back slamming brutally onto the serrated asphalt. The pain ricocheted from his shoulder blades down to his feet, lacerating his flesh with burning agony. Rock and debris followed his descent, falling like iron hail beside and onto him, bruising his already-screaming nerves.
Panting and sweating profusely, the blonde picked himself up from the ground and forced the starbursts away from his eyes. He blinked rapidly as his vision met only a crater of darkness.
And then his stomach dropped.
There was only darkness to see in front of him. The crater was the only symbol of what had once been the successful multi-billionaire Nexus Corporations headquarters.
The clattering of gunfire from the police pierced the silence after the explosion, increasing in volume until they seemed a single entity of roaring drumbeats.
Jou panicked and searched for his gun. It was there, just a couple of feet away from him.
The blonde stood up as quickly as his screaming muscles would allow him, limping towards his favoured weapon. He winced as he bent down to pick up the metal object, fingers cradling around the cool cylindrical shape.
The gunfire had stopped now.
Standing up to his full height, Jou tried to calm his reeling senses and re-investigate the scene. All that rang in his mind was the gaping black crater. There was no way anyone – even if it was a vampire – could summon enough power to-
Jou stiffened. Something, a shadow, was blocking the light behind him.
Industrial Illusions PresentsSlowly, fearing the inevitable, the blonde-haired vampire hunter turned around.
This time, it was not a crater of darkness that greeted him. It was a living, breathing, shadow of an entity so solid in form that it reeked of power.
The seconds itself slowed down until they seemed to trickle in terse patterns around the two. Jou tightened his hold on his gun, but his muscles were frozen, unable to pull the trigger.
Instead of advancing closer, the shadow wavered and then slowly turned around, disappearing completely.
But not before Jou caught the profile of a strangely beautiful youth, bearing a crown of blonde, ebony, and ruby hair perfectly illuminated in the moonlight.
~~Cobra~~