Okie-dokie, let's see if I can get this baby off her feet. (cracks knuckles)

Disclaimer: Still own nothing.

A dim red light appeared in the middle of a dark chamber, a figure solidifying from it, the red from his own eyes replacing the glow that had brought him. With a frown he looked around him, finding nothing aside from what appeared to be a large statue. He walked forward and then froze, looking up at the gargantuan structure. It appeared to be nothing more than one of those things from the pool, except about twenty-times the size; and in its jaws it clutched a box of sorts…the casket.

"Wonderful," he huffed, "Now how am I supposed to get that-?"

"Get it? You can't," a voice hissed.

He turned and had a sword at the speaker's throat in less than a second. What met his glare was another pair of glowing red eyes, pale flesh framed by dark hair as several more like him surrounded Lloyd. Vampires. So…so there really were more. She hadn't been lying…they really were an entire race, not just a handful of freaks. That aside, now was not the time for this…stuff.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, glancing around at them, drawing his other sword.

"One, we cannot allow you to touch it," a female said, her voice husky and deep, "Secondly…even if you did, the familiar would slay you."

"You smell strange," a male said, sniffing around Lloyd, "What clan are you?"

"Clan…?" he trailed.

His mind went racing. Clan? They had clans? What were they? Damn it! He figured that she would have told him something like this-!

"Or are you a turnling?" another female asked.

"A what?" he looked at her.

"Turnling," she stated, her voice soft and dull, her purple hair falling gracefully from her bun, "You were bitten and turned."

"…If I was?" he asked, eying her warily.

"Then you are of the clan of the one that bit you, who is it that bit you?" a large male asked, hostility evident in his expression.

"I wasn't bitten," he stated.

"Then what clan are you?" another male said.

"Yes, what clan?" a third echoed.

Clan? Clan? Damn it all to hell…

"He lies, he's a turnling and doesn't know his biter," a female with blond hair pointed a frail finger at his neck, "What vampire doesn't know his clan?"

"He could be a dormant born," one suggested.

Lloyd's gaze instantly locked on the speaker, the first one he had turned his blade on. The dark-haired male smirked, chuckling a bit with satisfaction.

"You are, then? Dormant born, the child of a traitor…"

"Can't be," the purplette said, "Look at his fangs, they are strong, if he is dormant-born he is born of a strong clan."

"Neither my 'clan' nor my birth matter to you," Lloyd snarled, his fangs extending, "I did not come to fight, I have a job to take care of."

"You want the heart? What for?"

"Yes, what for, tell us."

"What are your motives?"

"Tell us your plan, young one, tell us."

They all spoke at once, almost like chanting, their hypnotic voices chiming together like the singers of a chorus, seeming to entrap his attention and at the same time distract him from each of them individually.

"I- I was sent for it," he said, shaking a bit.

"Sent?"

"Sent by whom?"

"Tell."

"Yes, tell us."

"I…I don't know her name," he admitted, frowning, "She told me to get the heart, so I came."

"Not know her name?" the blonde asked.

"What servant doesn't know their master's name?" the dark-haired male hissed.

"What lineage are you? Stop toying with us," the purplette snarled.

"What clan?"

"Your father, what's your father's name?"

He flinched.

His…father… Could he actually tell them that? According to the vampiress, his father was a traitor, to mention that could get him killed, couldn't it? Or simply mark his connection to their deity. Still, if he mentioned anything of that they might kill him; but as it was going now they were never going to let him get close…

"Kratos Aurion," he stated.

The chatter came to a halt, deafening silence ringing in their ears and Lloyd's pulse beginning to pound violently in his head. He glanced around nervously, trying to make sure they did not take him off guard if they were to try anything.

"Aurion?" one whispered.

"No…he lies! Lies! Not an Aurion!"

"Calm yourself, does he not look it?"

"There is only one way to be certain," the dark-haired man stated, silencing them as his eyes narrowed on Lloyd, "Let him try to take the casket."

They parted without another word, leaving the path open for Lloyd to approach the statue.

"…" Lloyd hesitated, looking around at them once more.

"Go on, then," the man gestured him to move forward, "If you are an Aurion, you need not be afraid."

Lloyd hesitated and moved forward, keeping his attention on them as he approached the large stone creature. Once at its feet he looked up, frowning as he tried to figure out how he was supposed to get it-

Then jumped back quite suddenly when the behemoth quite suddenly crashed forward using its formerly spread out wings as support, its stone head directly before Lloyd. The teen brought up his swords on instinct as it let out a muffled shriek-

And then dropped the casket at his feet.

"…W…What…?" he stammered, his heart still beating a million miles an hour.

It let out another shriek into the darkness, the sound echoing through the chamber. At this it lowered its head and gently nuzzled Lloyd with the side of its snout, as a dog would affectionately rub against an owner. He stared at it and then slowly crouched down to open the casket….

What he found was a heart, as said, still beating faintly in the remnants of its own blood.

"Oh my…" he whispered, his eyes wide.

He heard a shriek and whirled around just in time to see one of the vampires go flying across the chamber, the behemoth of a statue having knocked him away with a flap of its giant stone wing. Lloyd jolted to his feet after grabbing the heart, holding it close as he tried to register what was happening. What was happening? Well, the vampires had attacked him. He drew a sword with his free hand and knocked another assailant away, just before the stone creature behind him snapped a handful more of them apart in its jaws. It was protecting him, he realized dully, though his attention was more trying to figure out why the vampires had attacked him. Though, really, it wasn't that much of a stretch to figure out why. They obviously had it in for his f- for Kratos; or it could be that they wanted to eliminate the heir, a ku of sorts. Whatever the case, he knew only that he had been attacked.

How dare they…!

He rose up his sword to strike down another attacker before it was taken down for him, not by the familiar, but by another one of the vampires. Lloyd's eyes widened somewhat in surprise as the dark-haired male he had met first looked up at him.

"We are not all so disloyal, my liege," he stated, the red glow from his eyes seeming to cast the color onto his pale flesh.

Indeed, he noted that there were a number of vampires whom were driving back some of their comrades that were attempting to do him harm. Before Lloyd could ask the male grabbed his arm and ran for the warp glyph he had entered from.

"We shall hold them and meet at nightfall at the shrine," he said as the large familiar screeched loudly, "Tell her majesty that we will come."

"I-" he started.

"Go," he said, shoving him onto the glyph.

In a whirl of red light he appeared back in the temple, and served to waste no time in leaving. Tucking the heart safely into the folds of his clothing he made a break for the entrance, ignoring any and all undeads that watched him leave. He didn't stop to think, didn't stop to wonder, just did as he had been told. Whatever she wanted this heart for, it was obviously something important if they wanted it that badly-

He came to a screeching halt the second he had left the temple.

The sun was up.

He barely had time to register the fact before he hit the ground, letting out a shout of pain as he curled up on the ground, hissing in pain as he scrunched his eyes tightly closed.

It was…so…bright! Ah-! W- Why the hell didn't he ever recognize it before?! Why didn't he ever notice how horribly blinding that damn star was?! It burned! It burned like when they broke the fire seal, like when they fought Efreet, when the fire scalded against him. It felt like his skin was cooking in it- The damn- damn sun-!

Why should he give her the heart?

He stopped twitching abruptly, though the pain had yet to cease. He would've opened his eyes in shock had it not been for the fact it hurt to do so, but the thought struck him nonetheless.

Why did she want it? Why should he give it to her? Obviously she had no good plans for it, if she could have good plans for anything. She was going to do something bad with it, wasn't she? Something that would hurt people… Why did he do this anyway? Why should he do anything to help her? She's the one that got him into this, she was…she was evil. She-

"The sun," he choked, his eyes opening before slamming shut.

The sun! That was it! The sun was making him think like this- think like…like his human self! It hurt, yes, by goddess it hurt, but it was still…

He winced and tried to open his eyes, forcing himself to pry the lid open. He managed just a peek before his slammed his hands over his eyes, hissing at the light.

"No…no dammit…" he choked, shaking his head.

No. He was going to do this; he was going to open his eyes in the daylight. He had done it before, he had lived like that…it shouldn't be so hard to do it again. It shouldn't be so hard to open his freaking eyes….he had to do it! The small part of him, the human part of him, that had been stuck in his own mind had noticed this chance and it wasn't going to let him go-

Wait? Why bother? He was content how he was, he was- no.

No no no no no NO!

He forced his eyes open, letting out a shout as he shook his head violently, straining to keep his eyes opened. It was so bright…so bright he couldn't even see… It…was dimming. He gasped as the world managed to take shape around him, and though it was annoyingly bright still, it wasn't as horrible as it had been.

Lloyd stared out in the sunlit world with his mouth open somewhat, unable to register much of a thought. Something wet slid on the side of his face and he brushed it off, looking at it. A tear? He hadn't even realized he'd been crying…it had hurt that bad? Or was he crying not because of the pain, but because of…?

He forgot how pretty the world looked in the light.

What was he doing? Why was he bringing her this? Why was he letting himself get knocked around by that- that- woman? He felt the heart beating against his own chest, hissing in disgust and anger and pulling it out, glaring at the organ.

This…vile…evil thing, why did he willingly come and get it? Why was he letting her get her way?

His fingers tightened violently around the heart-

And then he yelped, dropping it as his hand went to clutch at his own hear. His pulse was pounding in his ears, his head throbbing, his eyes burning as his fangs extended and left him panting like a beggar in the desert. His fangs were aching horribly, his mouth was so dry, he was so thirsty, so tired…

He had fallen asleep before he hit the grass.


The first thing he was aware of was a liquid being poured over his lips, the blessed moisture seeping into his mouth and granting a delightful taste over his tongue. It was…oh. Well, of course, what else would it be? He hadn't ingested anything else in…how long had it been anyway? A week, at most. He opened his eyes to find the burning sunlight had left, leaving the sky dark once more. He let out an involuntary sigh of relief at the lack of the burning sensation, managing to pull himself upright.

"Oh my Lloyden…" she shook her head, slowly pouring the remaining blood cupped in her hands into his mouth as he sat up, "I warned you about the sun."

"I…" he trailed, then licked the fluid off his lips, "I'm sorry-"

"It's quite all right, you did bring it back after all," she smiled, glancing over her shoulder, "Though you should thank them, they brought you here."

He looked up and recognized several of the vampires from the temple, the one that had helped him escape at the head. Under the gaze of Lloyd and his 'mistress', they bowed deeply to them. They were at the shrine again, and apparently the vampires that had assisted him had brought him here once night had fallen.

"You've done well, Lloyden," she purred, pulling the heart out of her own clothing with a smirk, "Very well…"

"I… What-?" he began, eying the beating organ.

"Oh yes, your reward," she smiled, her eyes glinting, "Don't think I have forgotten, Lloyden. We had a bit of trouble getting it, as you can see…"

She gestured back to two of the familiars, which had Kratos restrained as the male bared his fangs at his mother, struggling against them.

"Your father decided to become a pest, nothing new, really, but I had hoped so much better…" she shook her head with tsk, her smirk revealing one fang.

"Lloyd, don't listen to her," Kratos snapped, trying to break free. "Not a thing she says, do you understand me? Just get away from her. Go!"

Go? Go where? Where could he go? He couldn't become human again until she released him…could he? Then, Kratos had tried to turn him back before…so he had no reason to believe Kratos was trying to keep him like this, so maybe there was another way? Maybe he should just turn and run, or break Kratos out somehow, and make a break for it-?

"Please, let me go! Let me go!" a girl's voice cried.

He knew that voice.

Lloyd gasped and turned his attention to the vampires assembled, two of them holding a struggling, blond and pink-winged female in their inhuman grips.

"C-!" he gasped, his eyes going wide in horror.

"She is what you desired, is she not?" the vampiress mused, tilting her head to the side. "If you dislike her, I can fetch another. We can dispose of her easy enough."

"Colette-! You-!" he rounded on her, his eyes blaring crimson. "You bitch-! Let her go-!"

She smacked him upside the face, earning a yelp from the teen and a cry of his name from the blonde angel. Before Lloyd could retaliate the vampiress had her hands tightly clutched onto his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

"After all I've done for you, you behave as such?" she hissed, her eyes blaring red. "You…you ungrateful little…"

She curled up her lips in a snarl, shaking him violently before jerking him still again.

"I brought you your desire, Lloyden," her eyes narrowed, "So take her. Take her and make her one of us, make her your princess, Lloyden. Turn her or we shall merely make her our meal, Lloyden."

"I…" his eyes widened, stunned at her words, "I- I can't anyway! I can't turn someone yet, so…so just-"

"Yes you can, little one," she smirked, a cruel, conniving smug smile on her face, "Look above you."

Lloyd hesitantly looked above her head, his eyes going wide. The moon was full. S…So? What did that have to do with anything? But it was bright…unnaturally bright, pale, eerie…

"On this night, you can, Lloyden," she purred, stroking his face gently once more, "The ritual night, you can turn someone no matter your age."

Ritual night?

"Well, if you need a little time to prepare, fine then," she closed her eyes, releasing him, "You can wait until after the ritual…"

At this she smirked, holding the thumping, purple and gray heart in her hand.

"L-!"

Kratos attempted to say something and was cut off, the bats' tails curled around his throat. Lloyd flinched a bit as the vampiress shook her head, tsking.

"He'll be fine, Lloyden," she said with a note of disdain, "They are merely keeping him quiet, that won't kill him. Now then…"

With her free hand she brought her sharp nails above her collar and then made a quick, deep cut down the middle of her chest. Lloyd's eyes widened as he heard Colette let out a yelp of fear, all present staring at the spectacle as it developed. The vampires remained silent in awe as Lloyd, Colette and Kratos merely stayed quiet through horror, watching the vampiric deity continue. With a sickening sound the vampiress pulled her flesh apart from the cut, revealing her ribcage where another heart beat in her body. Lloyd nearly lost the strength in his legs to stand as she simply pulled up her chest-bone with a creaking, schulping sound, then reached her pale hand into her own body and closed her fingers over her heart.

Colette screamed as the woman yanked the organ out of her own body without so much as a wince.

"Oh dear g…" Lloyd whispered, staring with his red-brown eyes wide.

"Is it so unnerving, Lloyden?" she smiled, breathing normally despite having just torn out her own heart. "Just wait another moment…"

She then set the heart Lloyd had given to her back in her previous heart's place, the ripped ends of the veins and arteries seeming to slither like snakes, sewing themselves together as the heart began to beat in place of her previous one. With a smirk she set down her chest-bone and then closed the pale flaps of skin back over it, the cut she had inflicted healing up in seconds. In her bloodstained hands she held the heart she had ripped from her own body, smirking in satisfaction.

"This heart is the heart of the first vampire, my great-grandfather," she explained, her fangs revealed in a grin, "It contains his power, his divinity. It is passed on from heir to heir, bringing the true, supreme power of the vampire into the one who holds it in their chest."

"Y…You…" Lloyd stammered, staring at the spot where her organs had been exposed.

He'd just given her the first vampire's heart? She'd just stuck that inside her? He'd just handed her even more power, just made it all the more impossible for him to do anything against her…

"Are you ready, Lloyden?" her voice brought his attention back.

"Ready?" he repeated, staring at her. "Ready for what…?"

"Your inauguration," she stated.

Before he could respond he found himself knocked onto the ground, pinned their by the remaining two familiars. She sat on his stomach much the way she did when she first met him. With a swift swipe she ran a deep cut into his chest, yanking his flesh open with her hands. He let out a shriek of pain, sweat beginning to run down his skin as the intense pain overrode his senses.

"W-!? What-?!" he managed to yelp.

He was cut off with another of his own shrieks when she pulled up his chest bone, reaching into his body and curling a hand around his heart. All thoughts had fled from his mind, the only thing that even occurred to him was the simple fact that she had a hand on his heart.

Oh goddess-!

She yanked out his heart and he couldn't even scream, all he could manage was to stare blankly up into the dark sky, toward the bright, pale white moon that seemed to reflect the vampiress' own complexion. Then in another second he felt…felt something replaced. She set the heart she had ripped out of her own body into his, closing and sealing up the wound she had inflicted.

"Lloyden, I don't think you understood," she purred, stroking the side of his face as he gaped up blankly.

She leaned in close to him, placing a light kiss on his forehead as she patted his chest.

"You brought me my own heart, my darling little Lloyd," she giggled, grinning, "I just replaced my great-grandfather's heart with my own."

His eyes widened even further, though he reacted no more than that.

"Do you know what that means, Lloyden?" she purred. "That means I put his heart in place of your own. Congratulations, your majesty, I've retired."

She leaned in so her mouth was right next to his ear.

"May your reign be drenched with blood, your highness."

An enormous pulse shook his entire body when the heart gave its first beat.

.God I am so evil. I love me. n.n I love my twisted little mind, Halloween, writing, and constantly listening to 'Disturbia' by Rihanna and my evilness :D

Tomorrow's the end. The end of how many things in this story, exactly? You'll just have to wait for that.

All hail King Lloyd (evil grin)