This is Evangeline's story. This is her rise to power, and her fall into weakness.
This is her future. This is her fate. This is the fate of a galaxy.
In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only WAR!
Dark Evangel
Chapter One—Which is Darkest?
0(315)013.M3 – Earth, Japan, Miyagi, Matsushima
Evangeline sat high in the boughs of an ancient, stately pine tree, staring out at the ocean. Her blonde hair swept lightly around her face, fluttering in the sea-breeze as she took in the Beautiful View of Matsushima Bay at noon. Below her, a peaceful arbour served as her retreat; she could smell matcha being prepared below.
Evangeline leaned back against the tree-trunk and closed her eyes. She sighed. Had she earned this peace?
"Master," came a quiet but strong voice from below, "your tea is ready."
Eva's eyes opened slowly. She slipped from her perch and floated slowly down, twirling lightly as she fell, her long, black-lace dress spiralling out around her. She touched down lightly on a thin carpet of pine needles, slipped off her dainty blue slippers, and stepped onto the tatami, whereupon Chachamaru, Eva's robot maid, provided her master with a bowl of matcha.
"Thank you, Chachamaru," replied Eva smoothly. Master and servant bowed to each other, and Eva lifted the bowl to her lips. As she turned it to drink, the sunlight glinted off a small silver ring, inset with a delicate oval amethyst, on her left pinky.
Dropping her hands, Eva cradled the bowl as she peered out through a break in the trees. The Pacific shimmered in the distance. Eva's gaze grew distant.
"Master, do you sense a threat?" Chachamaru inquired.
Ever the protector, thought Eva, coming back to her senses. "No, Chachamaru. I was… distracted. Forgive my rudeness." Eva bowed slightly, replacing the bowl on the mat.
"No apology necessary, master." Chachamaru took the bowl and placed it to one side. "Master…" began Chachamaru, then stopped. A look of what might have been… hesitation?
"What, Chachamaru?"
"Master, I wish to know of your plans," Chachamaru stated bluntly.
Eva blinked at Chachamaru's forthrightness, unusual even by her standards. "My plans…" Eva repeated slowly.
"Yes, master," Chachamaru affirmed. "We arrived here approximately six weeks ago. In that time, you have not drunk blood, and though we have used the caves near Zuigan-ji and been kindly taken care of by the Zen monks, I do not find it an appropriate place for you, master, to remain indefinitely. Therefore, I wish to know if you have plans to move on from this location, perhaps to someplace more favourable."
Evangeline stared in amazement at Chachamaru. For a construct of metal and magic, she was being remarkably… considerate. "Chachamaru," Eva jibed, "you sound concerned."
"Forgive me, master," Chachamaru replied, a faint level of reproach entering her synthetic voice, "but it is my duty to see that you are well. You have been… distant. Distracted, as you were a moment ago. Why? Is it—?"
Eva snapped up a peremptory hand; Chachamaru fell silent immediately. "Is it… Kinoshita? Is that what you mean?" Eva murmured, voice tinged with anger.
Chachamaru merely bowed low, holding her position.
"Get up," Eva spat. Chachamaru straightened as bidden. "It is not just Kinoshita. I… Ugh!" Eva jumped to her feet and stomped off the tatami, rising a few inches from the ground so as to avoid damaging the delicate straw mat, not to mention soiling her hose in the dirt. Her slippers flew to her feet. Eva stopped a few feet away, back to her robotic companion.
"Forgive me, master." Chachamaru bowed again. "I did not wish to cause you anger."
"No, of course not, Chachamaru; you never do," muttered Evangeline. She raised her hand, staring at the ring. "Though… this time, it is not your fault…"
0(366)012.M3 – Earth, Japan, Mahora Academy
The Dark Evangel was free once again.
Evangeline A.K. McDowell, the vampire-sorceress and mage of many names, was released from her imprisonment.
Defeated at the hands of Nagi Springfield, the Thousand Master, Evangeline had been locked within the bounds of Mahora Academy in Saitama, Japan, forced to suffer through "school-hell". For fifteen years after her defeat, she replayed the life of a high school girl over and over.
Then, the Thousand Master's son Negi appeared. Recently graduated from magic school in the U.K. at the tender age of ten, Negi was commissioned to teach English at Mahora. He was joined to Class 2-A as their homeroom teacher, and was soon befriended by almost the whole class. Negi made various Pactios—magical contracts—with his students, gaining their support and strength in his quest to locate his father, who had gone missing six years before.
Evangeline, in the hopes of freeing herself from her curse, sought to drink Negi's blood in order to receive his familial magic. Negi defeated Evangeline in a duel, and she grudgingly accepted him. Later, Evangeline began to teach Negi (and some of his students) advanced magic.
However…
This state of affairs was not to last. Ten years after Negi's arrival at Mahora, events unfolded in such a way that Negi was unable to avoid betraying a promise he made to Evangeline. Both Negi and Evangeline considered the promise to be of paramount importance and, though circumstances were beyond Negi's control, he failed to uphold the promise.
Yet Evangeline discovered a positive aspect of Negi's betrayal: By it, he had unwittingly freed her from Mahora, her prison for a quarter-century. She left Mahora on New Year's Eve 2012 and was never again seen by the Negi-gumi.
0(xxx)013.M3 – Earth, Japan, Kantō / Chūbu / Kansai
Evangeline, followed as ever by her faithful Chachamaru, terrorized Japan by night.
She moved about southern Kantō, targeting different prefectures and cities. Starting from Saitama—where she glutted herself on the blood of three different women during New Year's—she glided south across Tokyo and Kanagawa before heading west into Chūbu and Kansai.
In Tokyo, she grabbed one unlucky girl—blood sweetened by New Year's wine—at Dezomeshiki, the New Year's Parade put on by Tokyo's firefighters. She moved through
Kanagawa and Yamanashi during January, followed by Setsubun in Shizuoka, Aichi, and Gifu. She moved slowly, only attacking one girl each week after Jan. 6 so as to avoid becoming drunk on blood.
By the beginning of March, she had arrived in Kyoto City, which was in a state of high emotion. Word of her attacks had spread during February, and the Kyoto Shinmeiryū were looking for her, hoping to stop her before Hina Matsuri, the Doll Festival for young girls the first week in March. Chachamaru counselled caution, begging her master to lie low for awhile.
However, the lure of blood overcame Evangeline's sense of caution. She attacked three young women that night, but after the third Kyoto Shinmeiryū attacked and drove her off. She fought them fang and talon, but the whole of the Kansai Magic Association fell on her like a ton of bricks. Never had Evangeline witnessed such ferocity from the Shinmeiryū or their magical allies. Chachamaru fled the battle on Evangeline's instructions, the latter ordering her servant to find a suitable retreat (though it galled Eva to admit it).
Battered soundly despite the virgin blood coursing through her, and with the threat of the Negi-gumi looming—whom, it was rumoured, had been dispatched by the Dean of Mahora to represent the Kantō region in the matter—Evangeline fled Kyoto, the Shinmeiryū hot on her trail.
She fled to Nara and hid herself for a week, quietly taking one victim during the Festival at Kasuga Grand Shrine. Thereafter she was unable to make regular attacks, as the Kansai region was on high alert for her and Chachamaru. Evangeline slept for two weeks to recover her strength, spending most of the blood-power she had acquired since New Year's.
By the start of April, Evangeline was sufficiently recovered that she and Chachamaru could set out. They concealed themselves and made their way steadily northward through Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama, and Niigata, stopping frequently in out-of-the-way places. Evangeline drank sparingly of virgin blood, usually once each month when the moon was full over the prefecture, to keep herself empowered.
The skulking wore at Evangeline's patience, since the threat of the Shinmeiryū and the Negi-gumi coming after her seemed to dog her steps. She wished to go out boldly and take the blood she desired, but Chachamaru counselled patience. After all, Chachamaru reasoned, Evangeline was immortal and Chachamaru would be unlikely to break down through normal operation. However, picking a fight with the magic associations of two or three regions was stupid, even for a vampire mage and her robotic servant.
Over the course of four months in hiding, Evangeline came to grudgingly admit that perhaps throwing herself head-on into the world after her imprisonment in Mahora had been rash. The Shinmeiryū was constantly on the lookout for her—though their activity had dropped to normal levels again—and the threat of the Negi-gumi in the Kantō region was enough to give her pause.
Tanabata saw her spirits lifted somewhat, as the popular matsuri saw the young people enjoy the summer. Evangeline and Chachamaru decided to take pause and join the festivities. Clad in yukata, they made merry in Niigata during the festival, and Evangeline actually forgot her cares for awhile, deciding to leave the revellers be.
They remained in Niigata throughout July, then moved on to Nikko in Tochigi. Eva felt quite daring, moving so close to Mahora again, but she was in fine spirits again and nothing could stop her.
The second week in August saw Evangeline and Chachamaru visit the great shrine Tosho-gu, just in time for the celebration of Obon. Evangeline got quite a chuckle out of their timing: celebrating the Day of the Dead at the shrine of Japan's greatest hero and warlord. Evangeline pledged before the monument of Tokugawa Ieyasu that she would be greater than he. Here she spent a few days in contemplation of her next move. She decided that she and Chachamaru would continue up through the north of Japan, maybe moving slowly towards Hokkaidō and, with luck, they could cross to the mainland before September was out.
0(273)013.M3 – Earth, Japan, Fukushima, Sukagawa-shi
September in Sukagawa. Evangeline is shocked. What has become of her…?
Evangeline and Chachamaru arrived in Fukushima's central city of Sukagawa in mid-September. By this time Evangeline has begun craving blood again; her last attack had been in June, and her lack of drink was a combination of circumstance and self-restraint.
However, she was at the point that she could no longer ignore her desire. She desperately needed to find a victim…
On a quiet residential street, a young woman emerged from a well-lit house, calling goodbye to the people inside partying. Light spilled onto her chocolate hair, shimmering as she moved. The girl chatted happily on her cell phone, giggling as the boy on the other end scolded her for being out so late, making her pink bear ornament strap jingle.
"Well, Takizawa-kun, if you're so worried about me, why don't you take me in tonight, ne?" she suggested playfully. "I mean, isn't that what boyfriends are for?"
"Oh, they're for more than that," Takizawa retorted, chuckling.
"I'm sure," the girl replied innocently.
"Well, if you can drag yourself away from Matsumoto-san's paaarty," drawled Takizawa, "why don't you stop by?"
The girl smiled. "I'll be right over."
"Okay. Take care, Kinoshita."
"Thanks." Kinoshita clicked off her phone and stuffed it into her pocket. She slung her purse and made off down the street.
"Eri!" called a girl from the door. "Are you going to be okay?"
Kinoshita stopped and half-turned back. "I'll be fine, Ami-sempai," she replied.
"Do you want Honda-kun to walk you home?" asked Ami. "It's really dark—"
"Thank you, Ami-sempai," replied Kinoshita. "I'm on my way to Takizawa-kun's place, so—"
"A, sō!" Ami smirked. "Well, grab his butt for me, eh?"
"Eeh!" Kinoshita squealed. "That's mean, Sempai!"
Ami just laughed and closed the door. "Ja, nee!"
Kinoshita shook her head with a stupid grin on her face. Not that she didn't want to grab Takizawa's butt, but the thought was still a little scandalous.
Trying to shake the ecchi image from her brain, Kinoshita made her way up the street, brushing down her skirt as she walked. She was glad she hadn't been drinking at the party like some of the others; though she was glad to celebrate the return to classes, she was still underage. At any rate, it was difficult enough to navigate the darkened streets sober, let alone after beers or cocktails.
Kinoshita reached the familiar park and decided that rather than go around she could cut through and save about ten minutes. Granted, it was darker in the park, but if she hurried… She tightened her hand on her purse and sped up to a brisk walk.
"Lucky me."
"Wha—AAAAAAAH!" Kinoshita screeched. A shadow launched itself from behind a tree and pinned her down; she dropped her purse, which tumbled a foot away. The leap propelled them out of the lamplight, dropping them both into shadow.
"I was hoping some idiot like you might wander through here," came a woman's voice. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this…"
"Wh-wh-wh-what?" Kinoshita panted.
"Shut up," growled the voice.
"YAH!" Kinoshita put all her strength into a lunge and, somehow, broke free. She stumbled away on her knees and made it as far as a bench before collapsing. Bent over the seat, she half turned to see the shadow stalking towards her.
"N-no…" Kinoshita pleaded.
"Girl, you try my patience—" the voice snapped, before stopping.
Kinoshita blinked, confused. Why did she stop? "Um…"
The figure remained silent, before stepping into the light. Kinoshita's mouth opened slightly. The person before her was a tall, mature-looking woman wearing a corset that greatly emphasized her huge bust, and a translucent skirt left little to the imagination as to what was beneath it. Her incredibly long blonde hair cascaded straight down her back. Red nails glinted in the faint light.
"Hmm… Well, aren't you cute?" the figure spoke, grinning. "I admit, now that I get a good look at you, I'd be almost ashamed to have to suck you dry…"
Kinoshita blushed furiously. "Wh-what?!" she snapped. "You don't mean…"
"Oh, dear, you've misunderstood." The blonde woman appeared suddenly at the girl's side, their faces scant inches apart. "You must think I'm some kind of stalker. Well, you'd be right… in a sense." The blonde smiled, baring her fangs. "I'm a vampire."
Kinoshita blinked again. "A vam… pire?" The blonde woman smiled even wider. "COOL!" Kinoshita squealed.
"WHAT?!" the blonde woman shouted, bolting upright.
"Your costume is so cool!" Kinoshita scrambled up, trying to get a better look at the "vampire". "How did you make it?!"
"…Ugh." The blonde woman slapped a hand to her face. "What would Chachamaru think right now…?"
"Wow… So, um, Evangeline-san…" Kinoshita fidgeted. She didn't know what to ask.
After Evangeline eventually convinced Kinoshita that the former was not about to sexually assault the latter and that her "costume" was in fact not a costume, the two of them had sat down on one of the park benches to talk.
"YES, girl, I AM a vampire," Evangeline spat in annoyance. In fact, she was more annoyed at herself than at the girl, who just happened to be a happy-go-lucky cutie and a bit of a chatterbox. Truth be told, Evangeline found herself inexplicably liking the girl as she prattled on about her friends and school: she was young, good looking, had a boyfriend (from the scent of it), and was neither too bookish nor too stupid.
Why do I care? Evangeline wondered. If it was any other day, I would've just thrown her down, sucked her dry, and been done with it.
"I-I wasn't going to… um…" Kinoshita looked down again, lost for words.
Evangeline found her frown lessen slightly. "What is it?"
"Well…" Kinoshita twisted her hands in her lap. "If… If you're really a vampire… You must be… well… really old, right?"
Evangeline raised a hand to her forehead and tousled her hair slightly. "Yes," she sighed. The truth unfolded before here eyes: she felt old around Kinoshita. Of course, she had been with the Negi-gumi for over a decade and watched both Negi and his ministrae grow and mature, but now she was seeing something different: a stranger who showed Eva what might have been, a normal girl in most every sense. That normalcy was what Eva saw, and it made her sad.
"Um… What's it like… as a vampire?" Kinoshita looked sidelong at Evangeline, worried that her question might upset her companion.
"What's it like…" Eva repeated. She stood. "It is hell."
Kinoshita looked up at Eva, shocked. A small tear had formed at the corner of Eva's eye. Eva paced away. "W-Wait! Evangeline-san!" Kinoshita scrambled up.
"What?" snapped Eva, rounding on Kinoshita. "Do you pity me now? Do you wonder what it is like to live for centuries, with no friends or family? Is that what you want to know?!"
Kinoshita looked down. "I… I wondered… if you knew… love…"
Eva's mouth dropped open in surprise, then snapped shut just as quickly. She was completely flummoxed. "L-Love, you say…?" she repeated. The thought of a tall, chocolate-haired mage flitted briefly through her mind, before she shook her head. He's dead, stupid fool, she told herself. She didn't know if she meant Nagi was the stupid fool… or if she was.
"AUUUUUUGH!" Evangeline screamed. An invisible force, like a giant sledgehammer, slammed into her back, knocking her flat on her face.
"E-Evangeline-san?!" Kinoshita screamed, bending down frantically to check on the vampire-mage.
"Hehehehe… Lookie what we got us here, boys," came a rough voice. Kinoshita looked up to see a tall man looming over her. Surrounding them were four more.
"G-Go away!" Kinoshita squeaked out.
"I don' think so." The stranger reached out and grabbed Kinoshita roughly.
"Let me GO!" she screamed. She began to flail, aiming kicks for the man's shins, but he hammer-fisted her over the head, and she slumped.
"Oi, Ryūji. Carry her, eh?" spoke the tall man, shoving Kinoshita towards another punk. He peered down at Evangeline. "Hmm… I don't feel like doubles tonight. Too bad; she's got a hella rack, eh?"
"God, do you see the tits on her? Man, you're gonna regret this later," piped up a third punk, younger-sounding than the others.
"Aw, shut up, Kyū," muttered a fourth, "let Sosuke do things his way. It's his call, anyway."
"Well, no shit," their leader, Sosuke, grumbled. "You boyz wanna have a good time, you come to me. Then you bitch about what I find? You suck worse than that bitch Hazuki."
"Man, don't remind me," piped up Ryūji, carrying Kinoshita over his shoulder. "What was she, like, thirty? You have weird tastes, man…"
"Master. Master, wake up. Master."
"Ugh…" Evangeline stirred, raising her head off the ground. She had a crick in her neck, the result of lying… She blinked. Chachamaru's head loomed above her, tilted just as oddly as Eva's own so that it appeared to Eva—who noted that she was lying in Chachamaru's lap on what appeared to be a park-bench—that Chachamaru was upside-down.
"Chachamaru…" began Evangeline, in a voice of deadly calm, "how long have I been like this?"
"I located you approximately one hour ago," Chachamaru replied. "You were unconscious and drained of magic, so I felt it wise to refrain from moving you until you awoke."
"What the hell happened…?" Eva wondered. She remembered being hit by… something. Voices… Voices…
"Master, you appear troubled," Chachamaru noted. "I was extremely worried. I heard the voices of men nearby when I found you, but I did not see them. I activated my cloaking, but—"
"Men?" Evangeline repeated. "Men… Kinoshita!"
"Pardon me, Master, but is Kinoshita-san an acquaintance of yours?" Chachamaru inquired.
"NO, YOU BAKA-ROBOT!" Eva yelled. "KINOSHITA IS THE GIRL I JUMPED, BEFORE SOME… SOMEONE JUMPED ME! WHERE THE HELL DID THEY GO? CHACHAMARU! WHERE DID YOU HEAR THE VOICES?!"
"I heard them to the south, Master—" began Chachamaru. Evangeline leaped from Chachamaru's lap and sped off south. Chachamaru engaged her rocket-boosters and gave chase after her master
Evangeline burst through the side door of an abandoned warehouse on the south side of town. She could smell it: blood. Virgin blood.
"KINOSHITA!" Eva yelled. "KINOSHITA! HEY! ARE YOU BASTARDS STILL HERE?! TRY GETTING THE JUMP ON ME AGAIN, YOU F—!"
"E-Eva-san…?" came a weak voice from the middle of the room.
"Oh… gods…" Eva stuttered. She flitted into the gloom, calling an orb of light into her hand. It fell upon a sight so horrid even to Evangeline's eyes that she clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her from retching.
Kinoshita lay in a pool of her own blood, which seeped into a puddle beneath her head and torso. Cuts on her arms added to the bleeding: someone had either sliced her with a knife or whipped her. Her shirt and skirt where torn up the sides.
Evangeline dropped to her knees beside the girl. "Kinoshi… ta…" she choked out. Her eyes strayed to the girl's head wound: her hair glimmered, a grotesque, gore-stained auburn.
Evangeline reached trembling hands under Kinoshita's body and gently turned her over, holding the girl's neck in her hand. Eva felt tiny bones click; the girl's neck was most likely broken. "K-Kinoshita… w-what… the… those men… they… did this…?"
"Y-Yeah…" Kinoshita slurred.
"They… they… they…" Evangeline's eyes took on a glazed look. She could not believe it. "I… I wanted to drink your blood" Eva said, panic seeping into her voice. "And… if I had… But I attacked you, and you stayed in the park…"
"Eva-san…" Kinoshita murmured, opening her eyes just a crack. "I don't blame you. You're a vampire; you drink blood, right? But you… were nice to me. So… I don't blame you…"
Eva felt a tear trickle down her cheek. How long has it been… since I cried for another? She wiped the tear away and averted her gaze from Kinoshita's sincere gaze. It was then that she noticed something white, a few feet away. Resting Kinoshita's head gently on the floor again, Eva rose and stepped gingerly over Kinoshita's supine form. Half-kneeling, Evangeline picked up the object—
"Master? Do you require assist—Master!" Chachamaru's voice rang in Eva's ears faintly. Evangeline heard the voice, heard the words, but they meant nothing, nothing compared to the pair of small, bloodstained white panties in Evangeline's hand—
"Are you Kinoshita-san?"
"Who…?"
"I am Lady Evangeline's servant, Chachamaru. You are injured; we must—"
Eva's eyes snapped open, turning a lurid rage-red. Her cloak flitted out from under her, snapping wide with a sudden gust of magic wind. She hovered up, righting herself with a corpse-like rigidness, like that of a zombie newly reawakened. A blood-red aura of pure hatred swept around Evangeline. She drew in a great breath through her nose and exploded into motion, destroying the loading doors of the warehouse and shooting off like a red streak towards the east.
"Man, that chick was tight," Ryūji muttered. He was keeping watch along with Kyū at the entrance to their hideout, a dilapidated townhouse, while the other smoked up inside.
"Do you think… is it gonna be all right?" Kyū asked tentatively.
"Shit, man, don't think about it," Ryūji shot back. Truth be told, he was worried. When Sosuke had ordered them out, Ryūji didn't want to leave, if only to know what the hell was going on. But Sosuke had compelled them, somehow…
"Wh-What's—GAAAAH!" screamed Kyū. Ryūji looked up as blood and gore spattered over him.
"WHAT THE FU—?" he shouted. He screamed as talons sunk into his chest and tore it open, spilling his insides onto the doorstep.
"THE SHIT WAS THAT?!" yelled Kenji, stabbing out a cigarette.
"Fuck if I know," muttered Honda, taking a toke. He was zoned completely out.
"You FUCKWAD!" Kenji shouted. "You can't tell me that was normal!"
"What the HELL is going on?" Sosuke stuck his head into the living room from the kitchen.
"Hell if I know!" Kenji shot back. "Ryū and Kyū just started screamin' like girls…"
"I always figured things would go south with them eventually…" muttered Sosuke. "Too soft for their own—"
His words were cut off in a flurry of blood as red talons decapitated Kenji and cut Honda in two, sending sprays of gore everywhere. Sosuke blinked as his gang disintegrated. Before him stood a blonde-haired, blood-stained avatar of death.
"Holy shit…" he muttered, impressed. "I didn't think you had it in you, Hot Tits."
"Who. The. FUCK. Do. You. THINK. YOU. ARE?!" Evangeline screeched. "You… You… To a defenceless GIRL!"
"Hey, I like 'em defenceless," Sosuke shot back. "And what the fuck do you care? What's your story, sassy?"
"I am Evangeline, Magus Nosferatu, the Undead Mage. I am here to kill you."
"Oh…?" Sosuke murmured slyly. He slipped his hand into his pocket and drew out a silver ring, set with an oval amethyst. "Well, we'll see how well that goes. You see this?" He held the ring up before slipping it onto his left hand. "Remember the park? No? Well, I can understand. This little beauty did the trick. Knocked you right out. Can't believe I netted myself a vamp—"
Sosuke choked in disbelief. He saw his left hand go spinning lazily away off to his right, severed at the wrist. Evangeline's face appeared a foot from his. He jumped back and bolted into the kitchen. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" he shouted. Evangeline appeared in the doorway, holding Sosuke's hand. She plucked the ring from the severed appendage and nonchalantly flung the hand aside.
"I think I'll keep this," she said mildly, toying with it.
"Bitch…" Sosuke growled. "You have no idea who I am."
"Actually, I do," Eva replied coldly. "I was blinded by your 'toy' before, and my rage until now, but I know you now." Her eyes narrowed. "Demon."
Sosuke let out an unearthly growl. His features twisted into an unholy parody of a human face, full of infinite malice. He let out a howl and leaped forward, his good hand outstretched to strangle Eva.
A blast of purple light smashed him square in the chest. He dropped on the spot, wheezing. Eva contemplated the ring held delicately between her thumb and finger before slipping it onto her left pinky, where it glinted.
Evangeline stepped over to Sosuke and dropped beside him. She grasped his hair roughly and jerked him to his feet. "I wish to inflict upon you a thousand years of pain for what you did to Kinoshita," she hissed. She closed her eyes, pain etched on her face. "However, even if I had the time to spare, I would not leave you alive to perpetrate your evil."
"I believe the mortals have a saying," coughed out Sosuke, "Something about a pot and a kettle…"
Eva's eyes snapped open in fury. She hurtled Sosuke up, splintering the roof of the house. He flew hundreds of feet into the air, limp and helpless. Evangeline appeared above him, caught him, and hurtled him back down. He smashed back through the roof, and the house collapsed atop him.
Evangeline hung in the air, right hand raised above her head, talons poised. "I am no monster," Eva whispered. "ENSIS EXSEQUINS!"
She hurtled a bolt of magic down upon the ruined house, which exploded in a shower of icy splinters. Sosuke's tortured death-cry rang out across the city, so that all of its inhabitants cowered in primal fear at the sound.
Evangeline, panting, weary, numb, turned back the way she had come and drifted slowly back, dreading what she might find at the end.
Evangeline swept through the warehouse's huge entrance. She alighted wearily and peered in. Chachamaru had Kinoshita in her lap. Chachamaru looked up at the sound of Eva's entrance.
"Is she…?" Eva asked.
Chachamaru shook her head. "There is nothing to be done, Master," Chachamaru replied, her tone subdued. "I believe Kinoshita-san will not last much longer. I am amazed she has remained alive, conscious even, until now."
Evangeline knelt beside the dying girl. "Kinoshita…" Eva choked out the word. "I killed them. I killed those damn fools who did this to you. You don't have to worry about them any more."
Kinoshita stirred. "Why…? Why did you do it?" she asked.
"What?" Eva snapped back, as though it was obvious. "Why not? They… they—"
"Evangeline-san…" Kinoshita tried to shake her head, but failed. "Hatred only makes… hatred. Please… don't hate…" Kinoshita sighed.
"…Kino—" Eva reached for the girl's hand and felt for her pulse. Nothing.
Eva dropped the girl's hand. "God… GOD—GOD-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!" she wailed. "GOD-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!"
Takizawa fidgeted on his couch, the book he was reading open, his thumb holding a page. She's two hours late, he thought. What could have happened? Should I call the police—?
A rustling sound snapped him up. "What—?"
"Boy, are you Takizawa?" came a woman's voice.
He spun around. A tall, blonde-haired woman, speckled with blood, was standing behind him. He stumbled back, nearly knocking over the end-table. "Who are—?"
"Shut up." The woman stepped forward, lifting her hand as she did so. Takizawa looked at it, and couldn't believe his eyes. A pink bear keychain, dangling from bloody nails…
"What… No…" He reached for it, stumbling. He dropped to his knees. "K-Kinoshita…" He began to sob. "No… NO! NO!" he cried.
"Boy… Do you want her back?" the blonde woman asked.
"What the hell do you mean?!" Takizawa shouted.
"I am a mage, and a master of the undead. I can bring her back to you…" The blonde woman's eyes gleamed evilly at the suggestion. "Though she will still be dead. Do you want this?"
"GET OUT!" Takizawa shouted. He grabbed the end table and swung, smashing it into the side of the woman's head. She stumbled into the wall, blinking. A tiny trickle of blood ran down her left temple. Slowly, the glazed look departed her eyes. She looked down at her hand, at the pink bear. She straightened slowly and moved to the couch, where she gently placed the bear on the armrest. "You can call the police and tell them that Kinoshita is in the warehouse on the south side of town," the woman informed him. "…I'm sorry."
She swept into the darkness of the house and disappeared, leaving Takizawa to wonder what horrible dream he was having. He shuffled to the couch and picked up the bear, staring listlessly at it for over an hour. Finally, he shuffled to the hallway and picked up the phone…
0(315)013.M3 – Earth, Japan, Miyagi, Matsushima
"Master?"
Evangeline snapped out of her reverie and sighed. Since that night, Eva had been quiet. She and Chachamaru had made their home in Zuigan-ji, the Zen training monastery in Matsushima. The monks had taken them in and left them to their own devices.
Evangeline had read in the newspapers about Kinoshita's discovery, along with the destroyed house, and had wondered just what was left for her. She felt burnt out and listless; life held no joy or happiness for her. She no longer revelled in the feeling of causing death and terror, having once again discovered those most potent of poisons and feeling their effects on herself.
"Master." Chachamaru rose, straightening her apron. She peered at her master with what might have been a frown, had Chachamaru been able to approximate such a thing. "I feel you have been unhappy for far too long. You were once so full of vigour, of…"
"Life?" Eva replied listlessly. "I am undead, baka-robot. Life has held no joy for me for many hundreds of years."
"Master, I am disappointed." Evangeline turned fully around in shock. Chachamaru, arms folded across her chest, levelled her most disapproving look at her master. "You mean to tell me that Evangeline, Magus Nosferatu, the Undead Mage, the Puppet Master… YOU, Master… You have gone soft?"
Evangeline stared incredulously at her servant. "You… you… you insubordinate… little… wench! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Evangeline bent over double with laughter. "You… you dare to suggest that I… Evangeline… I am soft?! Baka-robot! Idiot! HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's fresh! HAHAHAHAHA!"
"I am glad… you are amused," Chachamaru said, blinking; her own state was closer to "bemused" than "amused".
"Dammit! I think I have gone soft," Eva panted, wiping a tear from her eye. "CHACHAMARU! LET'S GO!"
"To where, Master?" Chachamaru queried.
"To Fuji! Maybe I'll have an epiphany," Evangeline commented dryly. "Or maybe I'll just level the mountain for fun. Either way, I want to go, so let's."
"As you wish, Master," Chachamaru bowed.
Eva and Chachamaru returned their tea-set to the monastery and left a note of farewell. They then made their way to nearby Sendai and leaped onto the roof of a departing shinkansen, because Evangeline "didn't want to fly all the way to Tokyo" and "it's more fun to ride outside at three hundred kilometres per hour". Chachamaru observed her master, hair streaming out behind her, appearing to revel in the high-speed ride. Chachamaru was inwardly pleased (if a robot could be such a thing) that her master had regained some of her energy.
They arrived in Tokyo just after three o'clock that afternoon, whereupon they flitted west to Mt. Fuji. Eva revelled in the sunlight, though was disappointed that it obscured their view of the mountain until they were nearly atop it.
"Ah, Fuji-san," Eva breathed as they alighted on the shore of Lake Sai to the north. "Chachamaru, is it not awesome? Its symmetry? Its grace?"
"Indeed, Master," murmured Chachamaru, bowing low.
"Oh, hush, Chacha," Eva scolded, "I know you're just humouring me."
"Of course, Master," Chachamaru bowed again.
Eva tutted in mock annoyance and stared up at the mountain. "Beautiful—"
A welling of power surrounded them. Evangeline looked around frantically as white light erupted around her and Chachamaru. She cried out ancient words of protection; a golden shell encased her and her ministra as power surged around them.
The bubble burst and dropped its contents into one of the Five Lakes. Eva surfaced, retching out water, as Chachamaru hobbled onto shore, servos in her legs damaged by the blast.
"I'm surprised you aren't dead yet, little vamp," came a voice. A huge shadow descended from the sky. It was impossible to tell what it was: it was as though a silhouette of a giant or ogre had come to life.
"Little vamp?" repeated Eva, incredulous. She staggered to her feet. "I haven't a damn idea who you are, but I'll not be—"
A blast from the figure's hand would have silenced her permanently had Chachamaru not rocketed towards her master and swept her away in the nick of time. The blast-wave tore the lake in two and pushed the water back.
"PUT ME DOWN, CHACHAMARU, DAMMIT!" Eva shouted. "LET ME FIGHT!" Chachamaru obliged. "Thank you," Eva huffed. "Now we'll see—"
The shadow appeared behind her and slammed her to the ground; the earth around her cratered where she landed. The shadow spared a glance at Chachamaru, who shorted out and fell lifeless to join her master.
"Now… you die." The shadow raised its hand. Crackling golden light gathered in its palm. It dropped its hand—
Evangeline stirred. She was reclining, her head… on a pillow? She opened her eyes.
Above her knelt a huge man. She couldn't make out the details, but power spilled from him. It was as though a dam had burst, yet that dam was but a small portion of the vast river that was contained behind this man's human façade.
"Who are you?" Evangeline muttered.
"That does not matter right now," the figure rumbled.
"What happened?"
"You were cursed," the man replied. "It nearly killed you. You are only lucky I was here."
"Well, thank you for that, I suppose…" Eva sighed. She felt so tired.
"You are going to die," the man stated bluntly.
"Oh?" Eva chuckled. "That's about the most interesting thing that could happen to me, I think."
"How about… instead of that, you live forever?" the man whispered back.
"What?" Eva chuckled again. "I'm a damn vampire, don't you know? I will live forever—"
"Weren't you listening?" the man grumbled. "I told you; you were cursed. You're going to die."
"Oh," Eva said simply. "Then… what the hell are you babbling about, I'll live forever?!" she shrieked. She regretted her outburst instantly, as she began to hack and cough violently.
"I know what it is that felled you, Evangeline A.K. McDowell," the man murmured. "I know you have a high destiny before you, and to die here would be to break that destiny. However, if it is your will…"
"What the hell are you still on about?" Eva spat hoarsely.
"I will offer you a bargain," the man said. He straightened up to his full height. "Do you want revenge?"
"Yes…" Eva replied slowly.
"Do you want a reason to live?"
"Yes…" Eva said again, irritated now.
"Is that your only reason to live?" the man asked.
"…What? So what if it is?" Eva snapped.
"That alone is not enough," the man replied, "for, if I save you, your revenge will not be enough. When I lay the power of life upon you, you will not know your revenge."
"Well, that's a pretty lousy reason to go on living," Eva retorted. "I can't have my cake or eat it."
"Quiet," the man muttered. "Listen: If I lay the power upon you, you will live. You will remember your name and who you are, but your memories of this life will be no more. Revenge, love, hate; all will be as dust to you. Your destiny is great and perilous, but it will be naught if you do not discover it yourself. You will find your destiny in service to a Master who cannot care for you, yet if you serve willingly, you will find your reward.
"Knowing this… do you still wish to live?"
Eva stared up, trying to catch a glimpse of the stranger's face. She could make out some details: he appeared young, yet world-worn, experienced. Power, authority, majesty radiated from him. What he offers, Eva thought, a chance for… destiny? "What of Chachamaru?" Eva tried to look for her faithful servant.
"Your servant is badly damage," the man stated. "I could put her into suspended animation along with you, but…"
"Suspended—what the hell?" Eva burst out. "You're going to have me sleep this off?!"
"Quite," the man replied, nonchalant.
Eva's head rolled back, stunned. "Oh, by the gods…"
"Speak not of the gods," the man rumbled dangerously, "lest you invoke their wrath."
Eva remained silent for a long time. The sun wheeled overhead, heading west. Shadows crept over Lake Sai, which had filled back in after it was rent in two.
"…What really happened?" Evangeline asked.
"Well, since you're either going to die here and now, or you'll accept my offer and forget, I will tell you." The man paused. "That creature is known as a Lord of Change. He is a fearsome daemon, an old and powerful monstrosity from… a realm beyond this one. He serves a god of great evil and cunning. He hoped to destroy you, since… you are a threat to his plans."
"I am?" Eva asked, confused.
"You are Evangeline. You have a great and forbidding destiny, and the Lord of Change would do anything to prevent it."
Eva began to chuckle, softly at first then harder and harder until she shook with mirth. "I can't believe it! Some insane demonic assassin comes after me because of what I might do?" Eva gasped. "What haven't I done already? Am I not the Dark Evangel?"
"Not yet," the man replied, a faint note of amusement in his voice, "though one day, you will earn that name."
Eva subsided. "…What must I do?"
"Answer me but one question," the man replied. "Do you accept your fate?"
Eva closed her eyes. Vengeance… or death? How different were they? "I accept."
The main dropped a hand to her head. Her eyes fluttered as she felt herself spiral deep, deep into nothingness. As her lids closed, she tried one last time to focus on the man's face. Inexplicably, as she drew away from him, he seemed to shrink, growing smaller and older, until she saw… But not, it couldn't be? A wizen-faced, stood-shouldered, old man…? Was it him—?
Blackness.
Evangeline floated in a vast darkness, her mind encased in a diamond-hard shell against the vagaries of time without. Her mortal form lay shrouded beneath a great mountain, hidden from casual eyes.
The man had laid power upon Evangeline, bidding her sleep until her time should come. He warned her that her memories would fade to nothing; all she would know was her name, and that she had purpose. It was up to her to discover it.
Evangeline slept, her faithful ministra, Chachamaru, in stasis beside her. It was Chachamaru's last wish that she be interred with her Master, so that, whatever should transpire, they would face it together, whether it be death, redemption, or anything beyond.
Evangeline slept, and when she awoke, she would alter the fate of the galaxy.
Chapter One: End
