Q: So is Rico supposed to be like another version of Luffy?
S: Sort of. They're different, but very alike in different way. For ex. Luffy's attacks are like punching and stuff. Rico is a kick style attacker like Sanji. That's a very literal difference, but you'll see what I mean as time goes on.
Q: KYAA! LORESA! MORE! I NEED MORE!
S: Is that supposed to be Locke and Tresa's couple name? Haha...cute...that wasn't exactly a question but I'll put...input on it anyway. Yes. Their relationship is growing. As you can tell... Haha, they're not going to be the ONLY couple though...(jeez now that I look at it I'm pairing off the entire crew...)
Q: What the heck was Vitaly's first attack?
S: Oh...haha...that...um those are two medical terms put together, so Thoraco means chest, and Centasis means to crush(I'm pretty sure) so if you put it together, it's like Chest Crush. It sounds fancier as Throracocentasis...
Q: Do you have any theme songs or stuff you use for your characters or specific songs you listen to for certain chapters?
S: Yes! Of course! I mostly listen to J-Pop stuff to get me in that...Japanese mood, but here goes:
Main theme for these first four arcs(kinda like the opening song if this was an anime): Hi no Hikari (Sunshine) by GReeeeN
Rico's Theme: Wild at Heart by Arashi
Locke's Theme: Legend of Ashitaka from Momonoke Hime(Princess Momonoke)
Tresa's Theme: Yae no Sakura Main Theme from Yae no Sakura(Yae's Sakura)
Vitaly's Theme: Discombobulate OST from Sherlock Holmes
So that's that! Hopefully, I'll do another one soon.
Vitaly's Escape Plan! The Confrontation and the Crushed Dream!
"At last, you're awake, dearie!"
Rico blinked open his eyes into the young, smooth face of a woman who looked to be in her late thirties.
"You've been out for weeks, a month at least." She shuffled around the room, hunchbacked grabbing bottle of something red and thick. "Drink this." Vitaly grabbed the bottle and drank, relishing in the strange, but delicious metallic taste.
"A month?" He asked as he wiped his mouth. After drinking the liquid, he felt refreshed and revitalized, like he could do anything he wanted.
"Yes," The lady turned. She had a single gray streak in her hair. "We buried you three weeks ago."
"Buried...?" Vitaly asked, his mouth parting slightly.
"Look at your reflection, child." The lady faced a mirror towards him. Vitaly gasped and yelled, falling off the coffin he was laying in. He ran nervous hands through his hair and ran his fingers over his neck. His memories were coming back now. The last thing that he remembered was Uncle sinking his teeth into Vitaly's own neck. The two small bumps that he now felt on his neck confirmed that. And when the lady had turned the mirror around, he had no reflection.
"What the hell?" He breathed. "So does that mean...?"
He turned to the lady. "You're Grandmother Lupis?"
She cackled. "You're a sharp one!"
He stood up, quicker than he ever had before, and slammed her against the wall, gripping her neck. He felt his fangs slightly grow as he snarled at her. "Where is Vlad? Let me kill him."
"Watch your strength, child." Grandmother Lupis pushed him away with the palm of her hand. She had extraordinary strength that matched his own. "And your bloodlust has grown since you were human. I didn't think you'd be the type to kill someone."
Rico ignored her while marveled at how fast he had been able to do his past actions. His motions were more fluid, he was able to do more things...He was stronger. Vitaly grinned, his fang slipping out of his lip. Uncle Vlad was right. Becoming a vampire did make you more powerful. But Vlad was wrong about one thing. Vitaly did not want to 'laud in immortality'. He was going to end this "vampire" thing, even if it meant ending himself.
"I wouldn't if were you." Grandmother Lupis interrupted his thoughts. "You need to stay alive. There is a reason you became vampire. Vlad turned you, for evil reasons no doubt, but I can see that there's a light still in you."
Vitaly hissed at her, surprising himself. He had never heard that noise come out of his mouth, but guessed that it must be a vampirish trait he was adopting. In turn, Grandmother Lupis growled, her face slowly turning black and bushy, her legs grew shorter, and she fell forward, turning into a large, snarling, foamy jawed wolf that had a single gray stripe on it's back.
"You don't want to face me yet, child." Vitaly heard in his head.
She turned back into a human, looking at him with gentle eyes. "I want to help you."
And in that moment, Vitaly Dracula decided to trust Nina Lupis.
Thirty Years Later
Vitaly expertly mixed the different liquids together and tapped his mixer on the side of the bowel. He had just celebrated his one hundred and seventieth a few weeks ago. He sighed. It wasn't like he was getting any older. He had learned much in the past one hundred and seventy years from Grandmother Lupis. He learned that she was an immortalis as well, form, Canis Lupis or better known to mortals as Werewolf. She had gotten into a fight with Vlad the First, and had paid a hunter to hunt him, to end his vile crimes to the world. The hunter had done his job well, but then spread rumors around about the Dracula family, how Grandmother Lupis was an old witch who could summon wolves and her husband was a bloodsucking devil.
"How dare he spread rumors about a young lady like me?" She had laughed as she retold the Dracula family history. Vitaly had also learned how to control his bloodlust; by drinking the blood of woodland animals, turning his eyes into a crisp amber, unlike the deep red eyes of his uncle, Count Dracula, who, quite obviously fed on humans. Vitaly had also learned that he could only go out in the sunlight with those inventions called...sunglasses, was it? Vitaly scratched his chin. He was sure that was what they were called. He could never keep track of what was new, and what was old anymore. Grandmother Lupis had also warned him of Holy Water. Since his father, Viktor Dracula had been the priest for the church, Vitaly had a connection with Holy Water, making him extremely vulnerable to it.
Vitaly poured the liquid into a vial, corked it, and shook vigorously. It turned a clear, water-like color. He smiled. He had done it. He had made the concoction that would prevent the dangerous toxins in his fangs from turning humans into vampires. But it was only for a limited time. After every three days, he would have to make the potion and drink it fresh once more. He hurriedly scrawled the equation down and stuffed it in his pocket. Uncle must not know that Vitaly was still making experiments. The last time he had found Vitaly doing something had been fifty years ago, and it had not been a good experience. He had roared at him, screaming and raging about how Vitaly was forbidden to make anything that helped the mortal race. He rubbed the constantly aching wound in his side that Uncle had made with pure silver. No matter what Vitaly did, even with his remarkable skill, he could not fix the fatal wound.
Vitaly drank the potion and cleaned up his lab, making it look like he had been dissecting a human heart, something Uncle would be proud of. He walked aimlessly down the long narrow corridors of the manor and found himself in the cellar. He had never been here before. In all his time at the manor, he had never stumbled upon this place.
"How odd." He wondered aloud. He walked through the dark cellar, his now, animal-like eyes giving him complete night vision capabilities. His sensitive nose wrinkled at the nasty smell emitting from one corner and went towards it to go and investigate. He almost collasped in shock at what he saw.
He saw the mauled bodies of his family, his immediate family. His father, Viktor, his mother, Josephine, his little siblings, the twin girls, and his youngest brother Alec. Alec had come after Vitaly had "died" and so Vitaly did not know him closely. The last body was of the girl whom he had courted, Emmaline. The twins had been enrolled at the Sisters of St. Mary's school for Girls when he had "died" as well, so they had not been present. Vitaly blinked rapidly. He never visited his family, because it pained him too much to see the sorrowful looks on his family's face as he silently watched from the dark window. He had read their obituaries in the paper, mother and father had died in a carriage accident, the twins had mysteriously disappeared in Slovenia, Alec had died of cholera and Emmaline had died after childbirth. All of the obituaries had mentioned that their bodies had not been found, so they had assumed that Emmaline and Alec had died of their prior illnesses, not wanting to alert the community.
Vitaly turned and ran. He ran with his cursed strength, he ran, spitting obscene things under his breath, cursing his Uncle Dracula for making his life a living hell. He heard a wolf's short bark and stopped short, barely breathing hard. His eyes were like flaming wheat, the amber now dark and angry. Grandmother Lupis padded up to him, speaking urgently in his mind.
"Vlad had found out that you've created more antidotes!" Her voice was panicked, even in his mind. "You must flee! He will rip your throat out, burn you with Holy Water and drive your unbeating heart with a wooden stake!"
Vitaly twitched his ears and heard the angry roar of his Uncle and immediately heeded his Grandmother's warning.
"Thank you Grandmother. For everything." He gave her one last look in the eye. She was going to pay dearly for warning him. He could feel that she knew as well.
"Go!" She barked and shoved him with her nose. He nodded and jumped out the stained glass window, hearing her howl twice as he flew through the air. The first was a mournful howl, mourning Vitaly's departure, the second was a call to her wolves, to come and help her.
He landed gracefully on the ground and ran as the rain pelted on his face. Thunder and lighting crackled and boomed in sync with the rhythm of his moving feet. He soon smelled his Uncle hot on his heels and picked up speed, trying to throw him off by jumping over sharp briar patches, marshes, and trees.
Vitaly soon lost the smell and relaxed.
"Boo." Vitaly gasped as he felt pain on his stomach. His Uncle smiled at him as Vitaly stared at the remains of the cracked bottle of Holy Water on his chest. He felt the pains and the racks in his body starting to come on and he immediately dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach.
"Give me the formula to your little antidote and give up this foolish dream of a so-called, doctor." Vlad hissed in his nephew's ear. "And I'll set your pain free."
Vitaly cried out in pain and refused to give Vlad the paper.
"Give it to me, boy." Vlad hissed. Vitaly could hear his own flesh sizzling as the Holy Water burned his unholy flesh. "I need you alive."
Vitaly screamed, coughing up blood as he saw his own thick, muddy blood on his stomach being washed thin from the rain.
He scrabbled at his chest, trying to find the paper. He couldn't believe himself. He was going to give up his dream only to be Vlad's puppet.
"Very good, very good." Count Dracula hissed as Vitaly raised a shaking hand and placed the blood-soaked, ruined formula into his hand. Dracula leaned down and sucked the Holy Water out of Vitaly's bloodstream, spitting as he did so every often, so that he wouldn't get poisoned as well. As he was done detoxifying Vitaly, he stood up and wiped his mouth clean of Vitaly's blood, looking disdainfully down at his shivering nephew.
"Get up." He growled and stalked off back to the castle. Vitaly felt the skin on his stomach heal, as the poisoning Holy Water was now gone. He felt hot tears prick his eyes as he realized all he ever lived for -to become a renown doctor- was gone. He dream was gone.
Present Day
"STTTOOOOPPPP!" Rico yelled and jumped off the gargoyle.
He slid right as the glass shattered onto his head.
"Rico!" Tresa cried.
"Oi, omai!" Locke growled.
The Count hissed. "What is the meaning of this?"
Rico blinked the blood out of his eyes. "This guy. He's a good guy." Vitaly looked at him with amazement. "After we leave this island, I'm going to make him my doctor."
"What?" Vitaly breathed.
"Ha?" Dracula snarled. "And what do you mean by leaving this island? By what means are you leaving by?"
"I'm gonna take you on." Rico grinned.
Rico faces the immortal Count Vlad Dracula! Rico has the underhand -can he defeat the Count? Or will Rico become bit and will Locke have to step in?
Rico VS The Count! Locke, Hurry Up! Time Is Running Out!
