Note: I know it has been forever, but here is the second to last chapter. Please forgive any typos.

Kings and Aces

11/12

The War: Part III

This was it. This was the moment Nicky had dreamed about for a long time. The moment he so desperately wanted to ignore. The moment where he would have to use all the training he had been taught over the years to fool the one person he had been trained to fight with.

Lord Camus.

The task seemed impossible. Lord Isaac Camus was one of the strongest vampires, and with Nicky's power, which Camus thought he most certainly had, no other being stood a chance. No other army for that matter. And this was the lord's plan. To cause Nicky to fall in love with him, and to have Nicky fight by his side- the two of them destroying both of the savage armies. And that would leave him in control. Them, rather.

But things didn't entirely go as planned. Dominic wasn't as compliant as Isaac had thought he might be. But really, that didn't matter. He was safe now, out of harm's way. And even though Nicky wasn't a willing participant, Camus thought he could still harness the boy's power.

Camus inwardly smirked at Black's foolishness. Sure, the Kings and Aces had decided to bond together. To join arms and defeat the 'bad guy', so to speak. But the lord had an army he could call upon as well. Or, rather, that Dominic had the power to call upon. The power that Camus could now harness, since Dominic was too weak to take back control.

Camus had the dead.

It was better than the immortals who were just hard to kill, because the dead had already been killed. And you couldn't kill something twice.

--

Nicky knew that Camus was up to something. The pain that surged through his brain was enough to tell him that Camus was messing with him. Once again the urge to lie back down and give into the fatigue was strong. He looked back at the bed longingly before turning back towards the door of the room he was being held captive in.

Xavier needed him. The older vampire had always been there when Nicky needed him, and now it was his turn to repay the debt. Dominic stood firm in his resolve to stop the lord, and harnessed enough energy to pull the door off its hinges. He had to get to his father- to warn him that Camus was up to something. Suddenly, the floor rose up to meet his face, and Nicky barely managed to land on his hands and knees. The whole building seemed to tilt sideways and Dominic's normally perfect vision began to deteriorate rapidly. He felt thick liquid dripping from his mouth and nose, staining the rock floor he held onto red.

Blood. He hadn't bled in years. Not since that night. Not since Mr. X. A warm sensation filled his lungs and he coughed hard, feeling more of the metallic blood and bile reach his throat. Dominic spit the blood onto the floor, not bothering to wipe his face and chin. He had more important things to worry about- like fighting off what ever damnation that was causing him feel mortal again.

Dominic froze. That's what the sensation resembled. Mortality. The blood, the dimmed eyesight, the dizziness. But it wasn't possible. He couldn't be loosing his immortality. The mere thought was irrational. Dazed and confused, Dominic carefully propped himself up against the wall and put one foot in front of the other. He could do this.

I love you Nicky.

Dominic ignored the voice that poured and pulsed through his veins, knowing it was the voice of the man who had kept him prisoner for the past…however long it had been. Nicky couldn't even remember now.

Don't fight it Nicky. Give in to it. Together, you and I can rule. We can be free again.

It took every ounce of Dominic's will power to fight the voice. A wave of pain ran through his body taking Dominic once again by surprise. Pain. How long had it been since he had felt physical pain? What was happening to him?

--

Black always knew that Dominic was strong. He always knew- from the first time he laid eyes on him. Now he knew that Camus knew that as well. Xavier, Josiah, and Levi watched with a mixture of shock and amazement as they realized Isaac's plan- to awaken the dead.

It wasn't the spirits trying desperately to turn into zombies, the living dead, that shocked the three vampires so much. No, it was the fact that it was the lord that was giving them the power that truly awed them. He was transferring his own immortality to the spirits of the dead, trading his life for theirs. It was something only a truly powerful immortal could accomplish, and even then it couldn't be done alone.

No, it had to be done in sync with another's abilities. Another truly powerful immortal. Like Nicky. Xavier narrowed his eyes and felt a surge of anger like he had never felt before. This monster, this- bastard was using his son to win the war. Not only that, but Mr. X could only assume that Dominic looked something like the laughing maniac in front of him; a bleeding, vomiting mess.

"You give up now, Black? Dominic is with me. He's all part of the master plan. The plan to take over, to rule. I'm sorry but he seems to have forgotten all about the vampire he called his father," Camus declared. For a crazy second, Black felt a warm feeling spread through him. Dominic had called him 'father'.

"Oh yes, he did, quite often," Camus answered Xavier's feelings. Mr. X grimaced; apparently Camus was better at telepathy than once thought.

"But not anymore. As you can see, Dominic has crossed over. Became, what do the humans call it? Ah, yes, one of the villains," Camus continued. Black shook his head. He wouldn't believe that his son had forgotten about him. Had decided to fight for Camus willing.

"You're lying," Josiah stated factually. Lord Camus shook his head.

"I never said he was a willing participant," Isaac answered with amusement. Thousands of souls had by now been replaced by deformed and decaying bodies, all smiling tauntingly at the Kings and Aces. Black knew then that it didn't matter if his son was a willing participant or not- with his power Camus and the undead army would win the war. Isaac would become the tyrant all the races had fought so hard to keep from ruling.

They were finished.

--

Dominic watched in horror as the spirits that had obviously been walking the building took the form of human beings. He was loosing. Worse yet, he was letting Camus win. Nicky leaned against the wall helplessly and slid slowly to his knees. He had failed them all. He wasn't strong enough. The pain was too much.

Suddenly that night came flooding back to him. The night that he had became a vampire. The night that Xavier had taken him to be his own. When he became immortal too young. He remembered everything. The sharp pain, the hunger, the emotions, and Mr. X's voice in the dark.

"You're a special boy Nicky. With lots of power. You will be a great leader someday. I want you to know that."

Nicky felt tears in his eyes and he sucked in a deep breath to keep them from falling. Tears? How long had it been since he had cried? Why couldn't he have realized how much he cared for…and dare say he loved, Mr. X before all this? Now he would never know. He would never have the chance to tell him.

The force pushed inside his brain again, but this time Nicky pushed back- harder. He wasn't going to die here. He wasn't going to let Camus win. Because Xavier had been wrong about one thing; there was good, and there was evil. He wouldn't let it end this way.

As quickly as the sensations had came on, they disappeared. The blood stopped, the building stilled, and his eyesight was restored. As if it was that easy. As if that was all he had to do the whole time was fight back.

For the first time in a long time, Dominic laughed.

--

Lord Camus stopped laughing. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. The undead army he had quickly built rapidly vanished. Camus tried to push harder, stronger, more intensely, but it was impossible. He couldn't rev up enough power to give them life.

"No! No Nicky, no!" Camus screamed, not minding the excessive blood flow from his mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. He couldn't lose this war. He had fought too hard.

"Do something!" He screamed to his remaining men, feeling his head pound and the ground spin beneath him. When his men just watched him in fear, Camus conjured up every bit of strength he had and pushed- his brain exploding from the intensity.

For a long moment there was nothing but silence. Then, the sky filled up with victory chants from both the Kings and the Aces.

United- they celebrated as one.

--

Nicky felt an explosion inside his body unlike he had ever felt before.

He opened his mouth, and before he could stop himself, he let out a scream of pain and triumph.