Okay! Vampire Stories! I don't know where this came from, but it seemed like a good idea when I was writing it, so you'll have to excuse me, but this one won't be updated consistently, as I am desparately trying to juggle watch where you're going and my OoT Rewrite with this, so please don't expect much. This is supposed to be a teaser, though...

Tainted: Prologue

A young, blue-haired boy stares in shock, the flapping curtains impeding his vision, as he tries to imagine that when the curtain next clears from his eyes, what he sees is all a dream. But the curtain ceases its violent movements, and still, the scene lies unchanged. The white curtains flap again, while the bloodstained timbers creak under his weight.

There, on the floor, lies the lifeless form of a woman. Or at least, what's left of her. The body, torn to shreds, has limbs missing, the head half-deformed and mutilated, bloody shreds serving as testimony to what was once her guts. Eyes peer out, but no life is behind them, and the face is too mutilated to even shut the eyelids over the eyes to bring some sort of closure to this bloody massacre.

The boy has walked through the empty halls, wandering, walking, staring at the bloody remains. The screaming rings through the house, the same screaming that has besieged the house for the last half-hour. He passes one room, where the butler's head lies, separated from his body, mouth agape, and moves on. The boy passes along, the torso of a maid, or the arms of the cook, stewing in his own soup, can be seen, graphically violent humour, the product of some sick mind, laid along as a final track toward where the true horror awaits.

His mother, dead, lies there, the mutilated body that is now lifeless. And then, from the shadows, emerges the wolf. The blood smeared over its mouth adds to the hallucinatory image of death the wolf carries around with it. Fur smattered with flesh, and skin, and jaws agape, it reaches down toward the boy...

And howls in pain, as its neck explodes, and its flesh begins to bubble and dissolve. Slowly, the layers of wolf peel back, revealing the man behind the beast. And then, the man bursts into flame, and falls down, now only ashes, leaving no trace of him behind.

"Athrun?" The man is middle-aged, wearing a black long coat. In his hand is a pistol, and his other clutches a handful of silver bullets. Upon his neck is a wooden cross, and in his belt are a number of elixirs and liquids. His brown hair is cropped short, and his benign face crossed with sorrow.

"Dr. Hibiki?" The boy asks.

"Athrun, I'm sorry, but we must leave..."

The boy only vaguely remembers nodding, and the two of them retracing his path through the bloody graveyard that was once his house. Again, the sick touches, twisted humour, laughing at him as he leaves the house. But he is a child; of course, he won't understand it. Yet, deep down, he knows what it is; a twisted form of a joke.

"Athrun! Oh, thank the stars! You're alive!" A sandy-haired boy, around the boy's age, runs up to him, and hugs him. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"They got my mother." The voice is without emotion, neutral, totally unpassionate. Then, the boy's eyes widen, and he falls to his knees. "Kira, they got my mother, they got..."

"Athrun, it's alright..." a female voice intervenes, and arms wrap around the boy as he falls to his knees and cries. "You can cry. It's alright. Don't hold it in." The boy looks up, through the film of hazy tears, and sees the sharp face, usually impatient, or gruffy, full of care and compassion. It's a girl's face, the face of someone who usually can't wait, usually won't obey anyone, and now, it's full of compassion. Her golden hair is brushing across her amber eyes, as they stare into his, full of sorrow for what has just passed.

"Cagalli..." the boy whispers again. "I wish they were all dead...I wish Albion didn't have them..."

"It's alright..." the girl whispers to the now-crying youth. "Come one, let's go home." Helping the boy up, the group of four climb into a wagon, and begin the tedious ride home.

And then the dream dissolves into darkness, and all that's left is the whispering of "You will see..."

And that's when Athrun wakes up, from watching the dream of seeing his mother dead, again, and again, in his nightmares. Snapping out of the trance-like state, he dresses, thinking again about the events after that.

That boy, who had lost his mother, had gone back with his friend, Kira, and the blonde-haired girl, Cagalli. Cagalli had taught him to live again, first slowly, and then as time passed, through horse-riding, and sometimes even sword-practice that she had learnt from Dr. Hibiki. And slowly, he had learnt to live again, but at a price; he was now very attached to Cagalli, and her to him. It was said that the two were even closer than Kira and that same boy, and their relationship was closer than brothers.

Of course, the boy was him. The blue-haired boy, who'd lost his mother was the Athrun Zala. Once, he'd wanted to kill them all. Now, he wanted to live in peace, without these things.

And I really need to get wood for us for tonight's fire, Athrun thought as he stepped out of his room. Kira and I had better head into the woods to find the timer later.

What did you think? Do you like where this is heading? I do...anyways, R&R.