So I've been working on this thing for about a month or so now and decided to post it. It's four parts and before anyone panics, it's finished and will be updated over the course of the coming weeks so keep an eye open.

Naturally this is an AU ending since Daystar didn't kill ALL of the vampires. This is SLASH and will contained some hawt MAN SEX. If you don't like that kind of stuff, there's a nifty little thing called a 'back' button. You have been warned.

Long live Drake/King slash!

Chapter 1

-

"Wherever there is power, there are people who will do anything to acquire it. All-consuming determination can be good, or very, very bad." –Ranse Truman, The Suffering

-

The vampire was in pain. The fire spread deeper into his body, filtering into his cold, inhuman skin and tearing at his insides. Drake groaned. He had not felt pain this intense in over four thousand years.

The world around him was black and, much to his confusion, his eyes weren't able to see in it. He was unconscious it seamed. Unconscious and in pain, was he dying? No, he couldn't die, it wasn't possible. He'd lived for thousands of years, never aging past his thirty-fifth summer or sustaining an injury that wasn't healed instantly by his godly powers and there wasn't an illness that he wasn't immune too.

He couldn't die, it just wasn't possible.

Then why was his body in such pain?

The fire spread deeper inside his body. Drake recoiled and growled; wanting nothing more then to lash out at whatever it was that caused him such pain. The beast within his flesh roared in outrage. It wanted blood and it wanted it now. It wanted to kill. It wanted the pain to end.

A flash of pain stunned his senses. The vampire howled loud enough for his dulled mind to hear his voice. Suddenly the fire calmed and the pain dulled. Drake felt a whine ease from his throat. Relief, so sweet and welcoming, settled inside of his limbs.

He sank deeper into the darkness where the pain could not touch him and slumbered. In this state, the world ceased to exist. The vampire was grateful; all he wanted to do was sleep. This time period was too corrupt and sickening. He was still aghast at how far his children had fallen in their struggle for power.

Perhaps if he slept long enough he would awake to a time more appealing to him, a time where mankind lived around the edge of a sword and the rules of combat, like his world. He snorted at that, like the vampires and humans of this day could ever understand concepts like 'honor' and 'the rules of combat'. No, those concepts were far from their reach of understanding.

Disgusted, Drake settled himself in the darkness and silenced his mind, forcing himself into a heavy sleep.

---------------------

When consciousness returned to him, the first thing Drake became aware of was the absence of pain. There was no fire inside of his limbs, no aches, he felt strong. His senses were high and very alert.

Wearily cracking his dark eyes open, Drake waited for them to adjust to his surroundings. He was in a room with clear white walls and a hard stone floor. Machines of some kind beeped and fizzled at his side and a thick bundle of tubes was protruding out from his arm. He frowned at the sight. What were those things? His eyes fallowed their length and immediately recognized the dark red substance they were pushing into his body; blood.

He was being healed, at least he assumed he was judging by the way his body was growing stronger and the pain had nearly vanished almost completely. Drake rose into a sitting position, wincing when his limbs protested the movement. His chest was bare and heavily taped with cloth that had blood stains on it, his blood. He was wounded, but why and from what?

The pain fully returned to his body, flaring heavily inside his head and chest as he tried to think. With a groan, he leaned forwards and cradled his head in his hands. What had happened to him?

"You're awake, good."

Drake's head rose at the sound of the voice. A woman stood in the open doorway to his room. She wasn't human; he could smell the all too familiar scent of dead blood inside of her body. She was a vampire like him. No, she was nothing like him, she was weak, her genes watered down like the rest of his mewing offspring littering this world. Like Danica and her rancid clan of vampires.

"Where am I?" Drake asked, sitting up as best as he could in his current state.

"You are here, recovering." The woman spoke softly, drawing out each word as if she was talking to a child, and the mere thought of being treated as such made Drake growl.

"Where is here?"

The commanding tone in his voice made her jump visibly. "In the city."

The city? Did she mean the same city that Danica had brought him too? The same city that Blade protected?

Upon remembering the dhampir's name, memories started stirring inside of Drake's hazed mind. He had fought Blade, yes, he remembered that very clearly. The hunter had been a great warrior, his speed and strength more than a match for Drake's own. He struggled to remember more of their fight and his body grew stiff. Blade had defeated him; he remembered that clearly and felt no shame. The dhampir was a great warrior and the better of the two of them; it was an honor to fall by such a hand in this horrid century.

But…he didn't fall. He was still here, still alive. Blade hadn't killed him.

Footsteps sounded in his ears and a cool hand touched his bare shoulder gently. "You need more rest, that plague the human's released almost destroyed you." She breathed sweetly against his ear.

Drake's face was blank as he looked at her, not having the slightest clue what she was speaking of. He was tired, his body ached, and all he wanted to do was rest some more. As if she sensed his thoughts, the vampire at his side smiled once more.

"Rest my lord. You'll need your strength."

"For what?"

"For the war." The praise in her tone didn't sit well with him. "The plague the human's unleashed nearly drove us to extinction and you're our only hope for survival. You'll make us stronger and lead us into a new era."

Drake's eyes narrowed in anger. "What makes you think you or any of your kin are worthy of my aid?"

Her eyes widened in fear but she held her ground. "My lord, please. We need your help, there are so few of us left and the humans—"

"The humans have fought against your hold on the world and proved themselves worthy while you sniveling weaklings live in fear of your prey." Drake growled, his fangs growing to their vampiric sharp points. "You are not worth the effort."

Inside of his chest, the dark creature stirred once more. It was demanding blood but much to Drake's astonishment, it wouldn't come to the surface and take form. It was just as weak and wounded as he was. That angered the vampire even further.

Willing his fingernails to grow into their long, sharp points, Drake lashed out at the vampire by his side. Her scream was music to his ears as his claws tore into her throat, drawing her blood to the surface and running in rivers down her thin neck. He was on her in an instant, downing as many mouthfuls as he could before letting her dead body fall to the floor.

Movement sounded on the other side of the walls as footsteps echoed off the stone floor. There were more of them in the halls.

Drake yanked the tubes out of his arm before his skin hardened and watched as the wounds healed within a blink of an eye. The vampire's blood was healing his wounds and lending him strength at much faster rate then any human's would. He couldn't help wondering what more vampiric blood would do to his system.

With a feral grin, Drake turned towards the open doorway and met the gaze of the handful of vampires awaiting him, composed and ready for attack. His only reply was a growl before he rushed forward, grabbing, pulling and tearing at anything that lashed out in his direction.

The howls and the cries of the vampires echoed for miles in the silent, city blocks.