Professor Crepsley

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque du Freak. Darren Shan does, though, because he's AWESOME!

The professor sighed as he drove to his apartment, remembering the past. Seba was the only thing he had in those days, and there was still so much he was uncertain about. But there was one thing that Larten did he would never forgive himself for, something Seba had warned him about. Young and foolish, he disregarded Seba's warning and went to his parents house a few days after he was blooded. Larten pulled into his apartment parking space, recalling the sad day. Quickly, he tried to get into his building before his emotions rendered him useless and he succumbed to the memory. Luckily, that day, he managed to get into his apartment and collapse on the floor after locking the door behind him.

As he lay on the floor, the memory engulfed him in a cloud of black smoke. His mind played the memory in his mind, clearer and louder than any time before.

"Master, it will be winter vacation. If I did not go, my parents would be all the more suspicious." Larten told Seba, arms crossed.

"Larten," Seba started, sitting on the young man's bed. "I have already told you that you cannot see any mortals now. It is much too dangerous since you have not yet fed!" Larten stared at the older vampire, then scoffed.

"They are my parents. It's not like I will go out of control and kill them or anything. And anyway, I already told you I am not drinking human blood yet. I must get used to the idea first."

Seba drew a bottle of blood out of his cloak and twirled it in his fingers.

"Can you not just think of it as a necessary thing of life?"

"No. It is simply inhumane."

"Larten. You are no longer human."

"YOU SAY THAT LIKE IT WAS MY CHOICE! YOU BLOODED ME TODAY, AND I HAD NO SAY IN IT AT ALL! I WILL BE GOING TO MY PARENTS HOUSE IN A FEW DAYS, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!" Larten exploded. Immediately after that, his face turned apologetic. "I am so sorry, Master. I do not know what came over me."

Seba sighed, looking very sad. It was true Larten hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. However, it was necessary for him to be blooded. Seba knew that, but Larten did not. At least, not yet.

"No, you are correct. I should not have blooded you against your will."

"It is truly alright. At least I can still go out into the sunlight."

Larten uncrossed his arms and walked over to the bed Seba sat on. The newly blooded-half vampire sat next to him, smiling in spite of himself. "I honestly am just glad I was correct all these years. Vampires do really exist..."

The two cleared the air between them and their relationship went back to the way it was. When the moon rose into the sky, Larten went to the dorm's kitchen to prepare Seba's "breakfast". Seba stood as Larten left, admiring the moon through the window.

"Ah, Destiny... Why, on such a beautiful day?"

Larten regained control over himself for a few moments, fighting off the memory as best he could. His heart ached with the pain he felt that day, and he clenched his teeth as he lay on the floor, fighting a battle within himself. He struggled to stand up, straining his legs. Shaky, he grabbed the table for support.

"Why, Destiny? Why have you cursed me so?" he yelled as the memory gained on him. He heard the ticking of a watch, then a blood-curdling laugh. These sounds resonated in his soul as his legs buckled, the memory winning again.

Larten returned moments later with two plates of swedish meatballs, Seba's favorite.

"Careful, they're hot-" he trailed off, seeing Seba wasn't anywhere to be seen. Hearing a scream, he fled to the open window and peered out. Seba was in the school courtyard, engaged in combat with a dark figure.

"Master!" Larten flung himself out of the window, running to the courtyard as fast as he could. As the scene cleared in front of him, he saw that the dark figure Seba was facing in hand-to-hand combat was none other than a vampaneze from Seba's tales, purple-skinned and all. There was a woman sprawled out on the floor, covered in blood but still alive.

The fight did not yet have a clear-cut winner, but both sides were severely injured. The vampaneze had only one arm left, and blood was spurting from multiple wounds, their locations ranging from his head to his stomach. Seba, however, had all of his limbs, but held in his internal organs with one of his arms. Seba shoved his hand into his opponent's chest, aiming for the heart but missing by several inches. The vampaneze retaliated by kicking Seba's feet from under him and sending his foot toward the vampires chest, breaking most of his ribs. The fight was over. One of the broken ribs pierced his heart as Seba cried out in pain. Larten watched over the events, petrified and unable to do anything except run over to his master and sob.

"MASTER!" he yelled, tears flowing from his eyes. The vampires eyes glazed over, death taking him. A flash of yellow entered his line of vision, then the sound of ticking. The vampaneze collapsed. Larten, however, did not notice this as rage filled his heart. After a few moments of mourning, he looked around for the vampaneze who ended his master's life. He was collapsed on the floor, slowly fading into dust. As Larten stared at the ground, watching the despicable creature become no more than the dust he truly was, a pair of bright yellow rain boots entered his line of sight.

"Hello, Larten Crepsley." the short man said, clutching something in his hand. Larten stared at the object, more afraid than he had ever been before. This strange man held a human heart in his hand.

"W-who are y-you and how d-do you know m-my name?" he spluttered, shaking slightly. The short man laughed, running a hand through his white patch of hair.

"I'm Desmond Tiny, but you can call me Des. Once you put that together, you should figure something out, at least." Desmond grabbed a small velvet pouch from inside his jacked and began putting the dust of the vampaneze into it. He then cast a glance at Seba and smiled. "That was a great fight."

"How could you say that, he died..." Larten's eyes filled with tears once again. Desmond scoffed at this behaviour and slapped Larten across the face.

"That is no way for a vampire to act."

"How did you-" Larten began, but cut himself short once he saw the glare the man was giving him. This had to be the most intimidating person Larten had ever met. He already knew this man would be the subject of his nightmares. There was a soft moan as the bloody girl regained consciousness.

"Finish her off like the vampire you really are," Desmond demanded, waving his hand at Larten. The half-vampire was just about to yell his answer, a clear-cut "NO!" when he found his feet were acting on their own.

"What is this madness?" he asked, getting afraid again. Desmond merely grinned as Larten knelt next to the woman and buried his teeth in her next, causing the girl to scream. As her scream echoed into the night, Desmond laughed, his curse taking full effect as he intended it to.

Larten's eyes filled with tears as the memory faded away. Once again, those yellow rain boots filled his line of vision.

"How could you do that again..."

"Haha, simply enough, actually. But you knew that. It was a shock for you though, wasn't it? When you first realized what my name was?" Desmond asked, grabbing a knife from the counter and throwing it into the wall.

"It is more of a sick joke, really." Larten muttered as he stood up to face Desmond.

"A sick joke?" Desmond looked genuinely hurt for a moment. "I thought it was actually quite clever."

"Haha, Des Tiny? Destiny?" The professor laughed.

"Larten, I suggest you stop laughing at me. I was the one who put the memory curse on you, and I can just as easily put another, worse cure on you."

Larten winced, regretting his words.

"Yes. I apologize, Mr. Tiny."

"That's more like it. Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have places to wreck and people to torture." With that, Destiny left. Larten stood there, memories running rampant in his mind. He swiftly opened his briefcase, taking papers out to grade before he let his emotions and his memories come out to play once again.

A/N: I AM SO SORRY IT HAS BEEN LIKE 4 MONTHS AND THIS CHAPTER IS AWFUL AND ASDFGHJKL; PLEASE FORGIVE ME! Please R&R, so I can get better?