Chapter Thirteen
They were slow. Each of the women that were put against her were slow! Aisha ducked the edge of a rusty hatchet, countering by bashing her shield against Michelle's head. This almost felt unfair to her. Since her blow was strong enough to knock the gladiatrix off her feet, Aisha took the time to showboat, skipping circles around her disorientated foe. The crowd was eating her up. Pretty soon, hundreds of people were cheering her name. The adrenaline rush was unbelievable.
"Whoa now, don't get too feisty." Aisha teased, dodging again when Michelle finally recovered. Aisha feinted a few times with her five-inch dirk, purposefully stopping herself from dealing a finishing blow. She was waiting for a crowd-pleasing opening, another of the elements Amara was sure to teach her. Killing based on instinct was not the answer in the world of gladiatrix fights. Instead, she had to bide her time, wait for the perfect moment to unleash a crushing strike which her opponent would not be able to recover from.
And there it was.
Hoisting the hatchet over her head with both hands, Michelle rushed her, in what had to be the stupidest single move in the tournament so far. Aisha smirked, the results of her provocation paying off immensely. Michelle's hatchet lodged itself through the center of her deplorable shield. When Michelle struggled to pull it free, Aisha raised her left leg, and destroyed Michelle's stomach with a devastating kick so powerful; Michelle flew in the air a moment before losing her breath as her back hit the ground. The crowd was already screaming kill.
Aisha launched the pierced wooden shield away, marching directly up to her opponent. With three quick stabs, the match was over, people jumping out of their seats and begging for more. There was no need for a VIP decision this early in the game, but when she turned briefly in Lucia's direction, the royal vampire winked at her, almost imperceptibly from so high up in the stands. Aisha stayed on the sandy arena for as long as she could, raising her dirk in the air and licking it free of blood. That was her gimmick, the personal branding of her gladiatrix persona. The crowd lost their minds. After a minute or so, the executioner signaled her off the field, neatly popping two silver shells into Michelle's skull, turning her into fiery ashes. The silent executioner collected them in a decorated purple urn afterward. Aisha was rather pleased with herself.
"Did you see that shit man? You were clean as fuck out there girl, I swear!" Aisha found herself trapped within Isis's friendly embrace, confused as to why she was blushing so hard. Isis had come to be one of the first friends she had made in the tournament, along with bubbly Kylecia and a ferocious female named Stray. Isis had long, flowing black hair that traveled just beneath her lower back, in a glistening straight sea of darkness. When fighting, the crowd had nicknamed her Cleopatra, for she went the full nine yards in portraying herself as an Egyptian queen, from the overdone eyeliner to the gold bangles around her wrists and feet. Outside of matches, she was dressed much more casually, but was no less beautiful. She truly was an ebony queen.
"They're cheering encore again, does that mean I have to go three in a row? What if I die from exhaustion or something?" Aisha sarcastically laughed. Isis was practically in tears, bracing herself on Aisha's shoulder just to stand. Her laughter was much louder than most women her size. The woman was hardly 5'2" but her laughter could fill an auditorium.
"Go win one for me girl! Fuck that bitch up hardcore!"
"Oh you can consider it done!" Aisha laughed, trotting back onto the field. The moment the artificial lighting hit her, the stadium was in a raucous all over again. As per usual, she was brought the shiny red dirk, and a pathetic wooden shield. She'd come to realize that better equipment came with more wins. The more blood she spilled, the more money the crowd waged on each of her battles, the better equipment she'd have. Aisha also realized that there was no way in hell she'd use a katana here, regardless of how much skill she had with it. She mentally braced herself, and then marched to the center of the arena, making a dramatic spectacle of tying her non-existent laces. Golden filigree comfortably clutched her leg all the way to the knee, giving her a fashionable look. The crowd surely agreed, whether her countenance riled them up for blood, or her hardly clothed figure appeased their eyes. She could care less, which one it was. As her competitor wandered onto the field, baring her fangs, Aisha shook her head. This was going to be easy.
Kaiser's eyes left the arena the moment Lucia rose from her seat. She had an overly satisfied grin plastered onto her porcelain face, exiting the safety of the VIP box without even the scent of a security team. He was going to make a move, while he still had the chance.
"Hold the line guys." Kaiser whispered to his team, rising from his seat. He'd blocked the other wolves from reading his mind for personal reasons, an override only Warwolf was able to break. Even so, both Keiji and Lucius nodded their assent willfully. After clearing the excruciatingly long row of spectators, many of which cursed him for passing their fields of vision, Kaiser ducked beneath the stands into a long hallway that wrapped around the circumference of the coliseum. Aside from an over-stocked concession stand, a few empty conference rooms, and shiny tiled restrooms, the hallways were dramatically vacant, with main security patrolling each exit to the parking lot, along with keeping watchful hawk eyes over the stands. Heaven couldn't have given him a better moment than this.
Kaiser's nose picked up her scent over 50 meters away. Lucia was walking rather slowly, as if taking in the sights, with no clear destination in mind. If he was going to trap her for an interrogation, he'd have to do it fast. Lurking in the shadows was nice, but everything would be ruined the moment spectators left the stands. Kaiser prayed that the dirk warrior would at least try to make this match long. She was kicking ass in the arena, making the entire spectacle of gambling look like a joke. With just four matches squared away, consecutively without a break, her benefactor had made over ten million dollars. While being a freelance mercenary on the side had its perquisites, he'd never seen money like that. Leave it to the parasites to come up with a rather ridiculous way to make insane amounts of money. Who knows how many people would end up dead following the event. Money had a destructive power even greater than the bloodsuckers'.
Lucia's smell tickled his nose again, inviting him closer against his will. He couldn't figure out why, but his vision was hazy, and his movement had slowed to a crawl. Was he smelling something poisonous? If he was, it was the most delicious smelling poison he'd ever inhaled.
"Why are you following me?" Kaiser did a double take behind him, frantically searching for the face that matched the voice, but the hallway was still empty, save for the random portraits on the walls of past champions, all of which were female. When she repeated her statement, he closed his eyes and deduced that it must have just been in his head. Lucia must have been playing with his mind, a psychic skill he hadn't come across in the blood lovers for a long time. A sharp pain in the center of his forehead made him stumble backward and open his eyes. The voice hadn't been in his head.
"I said why are you following me?" Lucia's voice was authoritative while she rounded on him pointing an accusatory index finger. His gut reaction kicked in, and Kaiser had her by the throat, crushing her windpipe. Swiftly, he forced her off her feet, slamming her skull into a gravelly wall the shade of sandstone. The deep slit in her dress brushed against his exposed thighs, for he'd chosen to wear shorts that day against his better judgment. The instant their bodies made contact, it gave him pause, until he realized whom he was choking, an evil, kidnapping, demon bitch.
"Kryzon Scalera. I don't want anything else, no mind games, no psychological bullshit, just a location. You know who I'm talking about. There's no one else in this country that has that name, and one of your kind has him hostage. Where the fuck is he?" Kaiser was practically barking at her, throat ripping fangs snapping with each word. Glancing at his surroundings just to be safe, he pinned an arm behind her back threateningly, also unwilling to let loose his vice grip on her neck, leading her to a spacious janitor's closet, and locking the door behind them. Since Lucius was able not only to get them into the tournament, but to additionally snag the blueprints of the coliseum before the match, things were going very smoothly. He'd have to thank Lucius for his sizable contribution to the mission later.
"What a very interesting mind you have, my prince. Why would I tell you anything?" Lucia's voice became high pitched, and grated on his ears as well as his nerves. He would have to make his point clearer.
"Because you value your life, you undead fuck." Kaiser kneed her in her stomach harshly, and then wrenched her arm up, to the point where it was almost at its breaking point. The only thing about this confrontation that unnerved him was the fact that she showed no fear, nor pain on her face. As she taunted him, Lucia was practically grinning with untold amounts of joy. What was up with that?
"Maybe you want to kiss me."
Kaiser jumped forward, instinctively reaching at his hip for a sawed off shotgun, disappointed at its absence. Lucia was no longer in his iron grip, and had spoken the tease directly into his ear, from behind. He could still smell her breath, which was as fresh as the high-dollar perfume she was wearing. Whipping around with a right hook, Kaiser found himself staring at the door again, Lucia's laughter in his other ear, sensually close.
"Stop fucking around!" Kaiser almost yelled, putting his voice into check at the last moment. The last thing he needed was to attract undue attention to a custodian's closet. Heat was filling his body fast, and he could feel his toenails lengthening slightly. Instead of exploding into a partial transformation, he concentrated even harder. Had he ever even seen the real Lucia?
As if answering his question, the locked door burst open, Lucia grabbing his collar banging him into the shelves that rimmed the room. Buckets of Pine-Sol and Oxyclean fell to the ground, littering the floor with a sticky mess and a dangerously pungent odor in the air. The door slammed shut on its own. A sharp knife was at his heart before he could even react; Lucia was quite fast.
"I don't kill or kidnap wolves; you've got the wrong vampire." Lucia's voice was cold, as serrated as the knife she poised over his vital organ. Her eyes were the deepest scarlet, reminiscent of fresh blood on a white surface. She didn't intimidate him, but she was quite fearsome for a royal vampire, he had to admit. "For future reference, Minerva is who you're looking for." Lucia continued, listening to his heartbeat, for it intrigued her very much. Before she could slip into a fantasy of shoving the knife into it, his hot breath was formulating a reply.
"You're a liar, all of you are." Kaiser let out a growl, mentally scanning the room for a pointed weapon he could use. There was an emergency crowbar in the opposite corner of the room that would do fine, but he'd never be able to reach it. When he looked down to check her stance for a sweep kick, his eyes stopped again at the enormous slit in her liquid black dress. He quickly deviated, relaxing his eyes at her diamond earrings instead. Her stance was the perfect defense. Kaiser just hoped she hadn't caught on to the fact that again, she had given him a momentary lapse in his better judgment.
"And all of you are dogs, but at least dogs have a beating heart and I know that yours believes me." Lucia didn't go as far as to bat her eyelashes at him, but her gaze was walking a fine line between blatantly trustworthy and dangerously seductive, all working for her good. Seconds ago, she looked like a murderer. Now she looked...almost human. His own temptation was his biggest distraction.
Kaiser cut a sharp elbow across her neck that she neatly dodged, but he hadn't struck at her because the knife was pointed at his heart. He needed physical space away from Lucia. He hated her, he hated her kind, and he hated that instead of threatening her and receiving the answers with brute force, she'd handed them to him on a silver platter. His pride and ego were in shambles, and the room was suffocating with her feminine presence. To make matters worse, bleach and antioxidants were killer on his olfactory system, muddling him even more. Kaiser needed to get out of there. Even so, there was no escape, for Lucia was blocking the only doorway. While she knew what he truly was on the inside, he wasn't going to risk a transformation here. As a leader, he had to think for his entire team, and alerting every vampire within the stadium was more than just a bad idea. Even so, Lucia could spill the beans regardless, which would only complicate matters. He needed collateral to be able to trust her word alone as well. Kaiser had no choice but to play his ace now.
"What happened to the other two VIP boxes? Your fat cat friends decide to finally go off each themselves and give their earnings to the one most worthy?" The bait was set.
"Minerva happened. She's trying to rig the tournament so that her fighter Kendra wins. She'll do that by any means necessary." Lucia spoke, rather properly. She found it interesting that the wolf knew about the occupants of the previous VIP boxes, which meant that this wasn't the first time they'd illegally gotten into this event. It also meant that according to what he was hinting at, he possibly knew about their assassinations as well. As a show of good faith however, she tucked the knife at a holder hidden beneath the lining of her dress. The process was done centi-seconds slower than normal and she made sure to delicately adjust the fabric of her dazzling dress for his eyes only. Lucia knew his brain was eating it up, divided between the severity of his words and her natural beauty. It was exactly as she wanted it.
"So let's make a deal huh?" Kaiser stated, his confident demeanor returning, giving him power. She noticed the change in him immediately and licked her lips. She wasn't sure if it was voluntary or not. Lucia watched him closely with her scarlet eyes, surely taking in the fact that he wasn't nervous or hesitant any longer. This was an entirely new person.
"Name your terms." Lucia eyed him suspiciously. Those that knowingly made deals with vampires were those who only wanted material gain and she wasn't into charity work by a long shot.
"We, the wolves of Sutonokami will protect Impresia Vela from harm during the remainder of this tournament, since you obviously don't need any extra hands." Kaiser's voice dripped with sarcasm, but he nonetheless continued. "This will allow you to maintain the facade of innocence, while being a third party to everything. We'll get our hands dirty for you. Without Impresia's death, you will always have a third vampire to vote, and thus a majority rule every time if you gain Impresia's favor. In addition, Minerva cannot sleight the odds any further, giving your candidate a better chance to win. In return, you keep your mouth shut about us being here, helping us to blend in since we'd only be doing our jobs as bodyguards. I also want a cut in the winnings; I can imagine you'd know what kind of figure I'm talking about." Kaiser leveled his gaze at the vampire, who generally seemed accepting of the terms, however, he was not expecting Lucia to demand more.
"I want you at my beck and call Kaiser, for the remainder of this tournament, the length of our agreement. I know you must lead your team, and I know your team will protect Impresia, but I want you. Any time I call, any time you hear my voice in your head, it overrides that mission. Just you. Then and only then will we have a deal." Lucia didn't leave him space to speak. She could already tell that he was weighing in on the gravity of the situation. Should Lucia snitch on him, not only would they be killed right away for infiltrating the event, should they escape, they would permanently be barred access. Until Sutonokami could corner Minerva, there was no way they'd ever find Kryzon. Servitude hit him in a different way however. It was a game changer. Kaiser wasn't foolish enough to believe that entering into a contract with a vampire wasn't going to be binding; he knew better than that. His word would not only cost him his team, but an innocent captive, and his life as well. What was there left to do? It was going to be hell explaining this to the rest of Sutonokami. Keiji would be more understanding than anyone, followed closely by Warwolf. Getting things by Lucius wouldn't be so easy, especially when he'd been busting his ass to get them this far. Kaiser had no idea how that would play out.
"I'm going to leave now since the main event is over." Lucia began, turning her back on him, the liquid black dress shimmering with her movement. "By the way Kaiser, Impresia will be leaving soon. She doesn't stay for the later festivities, so I'd recommend meeting her by your shiny wolf motorcycle. How ironic." Lucia laughed, disappearing from the room. Kaiser began to hear a multitude of footsteps and decided it was best to follow her advice, first getting back to his team. Though it made him slightly anxious that Lucia knew his name without asking for it, the thought of his future bondage made him shudder. No matter how much the black dress flitted through his mind, the thought of serving a vampire would permanently put a bitter taste in his mouth that he just couldn't shake.
Rather than return to the stands, wading through the patrons that were already leaving, Kaiser sent out a mental alert to the rest of the team, catching them up to speed with the next step in their mission to find Kryzon, conveniently omitting Lucia's additional terms of the agreement. As always, there was no dissent among the members who were in the area, while Warwolf's mind was a silent whisper. He was probably still in a celestial trance.
Kaiser approached his motorcycle, finding a new beauty to appreciate, while he waited for his team and ultimately Impresia. The bike was custom made from head to toe, a finely crafted wolf head protruding from the front that glistened in the pale moonlight. Brand new xenon headlights made up the cycle's eyes, with the suspension in the shape of powerful clawed legs. There was even a tail above the center of three exhaust pipes. Nitrous Oxide was a given. Kaiser ran his hand down the perfectly waxed metal, doing a quick once over of several interior compartments. His sawed off shotgun, along with several of his other favorite weapons, were where they should have been, everything checked out, there were no signs of vampire sabotage.
"Did you see her on the way?" Kaiser muttered, without turning his head. Behind him, Lucius and Keiji came to a halt, looking bummed since they couldn't stay for the following concert and cavorting.
"Lackluster black chick with ugly red hair, long pencil neck and a blue dot in the center of her big ass forehead? She's kinda hard to miss." Lucius snickered, jerking his thumb to the left where the royal vampire was leaving, a thick crowd of security holding off any who dared come close. Kaiser pushed off his motorcycle then, leading his team straight to the royal vampire. She turned to them and notified security to give them clearance, before icily sliding inside her black stretch limousine without as much as a word.
"Keiji, you do the talking." Kaiser commanded, letting his beta go ahead of him. Kaiser had had enough of the royal blood-letters for a day. No sooner than Keiji entered the vehicle, the door slammed and the car sped from the lot.
"Son of a bitch!" Kaiser cursed, sprinting back to his motorcycle, Lucius flying onto it behind him. Within moments, he had gunned it to life and was making a beeline for the rapidly retreating limousine. If Lucia was lying to him, so help him God, he'd lay every one of those so-called royal vampires to rest himself.
He was just lying there, covered in blood, motionless. There was no one around to stop her. After some internal contemplation, Tiffany tucked a curl behind her ear and raised the knife high. Blade didn't move in response, his chest barely rising with each breath that he took. Nevertheless, she could hear his wretched heartbeat, drumming again and again. She wanted this all to end.
Even so, her pallid hands shook with the knife. Part of her was afraid of the unseen consequences her actions would no doubt induce. She knew that once she killed Blade, Vladimir would track her to the ends of the Earth, even if it meant his plan failed. She knew that a life with Onyx would be impossible afterward, just like living alongside Aisha was impossible now. Thinking about how boring her life was before she'd spotted the Daywalker in Lotus didn't help. In any case, she was ready to kill him. There wasn't much to live for in a world driven by panic and chaos. As much as she hated to say it, it was vampires, her own species, who had made the world this way.
Tiffany plunged the knife at Blade's chest, but never connected. A black substance completely engulfed him, throwing her off her feet as a thick column cemented him to the bed, the outer roots attached to the ceiling while the lower roots went through the floor. The entire thing looked like a transparent black spider's web that you would find outdoors, but when Tiffany tried to slash it, the surface was as hard as steel, concealing Blade within its protective presence.
"What the hell?" Tiffany jumped back again when the entire structure pulsed, sending a red shockwave throughout the black crystalline web. Soon, the pulsing became consistent at one time per minute. Tiffany threw the failure of a knife in the sink and scrutinized the structure for points of entry or weakness. There were none. Try as she might to claw the roots at the floor or those on the ceiling, nothing gave way. The only sign of life inside was the one pulse a minute that rocked the room.
Tiffany pulled out her phone and shot Onyx a phone call, but didn't get a response. Instead, she opted for sending an urgent message via pager, which she knew he wore at all times. As old as the technology was, there was something about it that drew Onyx's interest, and that was perfect for directing him there to the penthouse base. Tiffany rattled off an address and then waited, the room vibrating every minute while the structure engulfing the bed remained otherwise unchanged.
When Onyx entered the penthouse a full half hour later, he was slightly limping and had a few nasty bruises on his skin. Before he could get two steps in the door, Tiffany was all over him, assessing his condition, and trying to get him to lay down. It wasn't the time for that; he'd only been in a car accident. Blade had thrown down with a vampire and had gotten his ass handed to him. That just didn't happen. It never happened.
"Which room?" Onyx asked, looking around the foyer in confusion. Clearly, in all their years of rotating, he'd never visited this base. Tiffany scoffed at having been brushed off, but she led Onyx to Blade anyway. Rather than attack the huge pulsing chrysalis, Onyx felt the outside perimeter for a bit, then came to a logical conclusion that Tiffany had been too distracted to consider. "He's changing on the inside of this. I saw him get hurt badly in the fight against the vampire who's been causing all of this madness lately. I think whatever is happening in there is enabling him to grow stronger, but I can't tell you if Blade's humanity is going to remain intact during the process." Onyx sighed and tapped the surface again, doubting that even Blade's weapon could penetrate whatever material that encased his body.
"So what do we do?" Tiffany asked, while the room rocked again.
"We watch and wait. Just watch and wait."
"How are things looking out there?" Syfy asked, placing a hand on a lead intern's shoulder whose name was Esperanza Pereira. She flinched at the touch, and gave him a gloomy smile.
"I'm tracking reports and counting tallies as fast as I can. The numbers are rising. Whatever these new vampires are, they feed in excess, and aside from the sunken in eye sockets and dripping fangs, well it's hard to tell that they're actually dead. We shoot them, and they don't turn into ash, they bleed; they die. They moan in agony, but can't say a word. They're lifeless. What I mean to say is, we have officers hesitating, and getting butchered because of it out there. We've evacuated most of the city to a few shelters in southern New Jersey, but with a population this size, it's only a matter of time before we have to place the whole city on lockdown, evacuated or not. It'll be like sealing the entrance to the lion's den, with us trapped inside." Esperanza's voice cracked, she looked crazy.
Syfy could tell she was shaken up; he couldn't blame her. If he had family of his own to worry about, he'd be pulling his hair out and God knows what else right now. "Listen Esperanza, your family is going to be okay. You must hold onto your religious faith now more than ever."
Esperanza made the sign of the cross over her own chest, before nodding in silence. She was the same age as Syfy, thirty-six, and yet, tears still fell from her eyes. Instead of chastising her, Syfy pulled up a chair and laid his hand on her back. Esperanza broke then, sobs exploding from within, making it impossible for her to monitor the screens any longer. Syfy had nine more members working on the same job, but his hands were tied tightly. If he gave everyone personal leave, he would assuage their fears, but then there would be no way to keep a lock on the current war that had broken out in the city. He opted for the same assuaging balm, just on a smaller scale.
"Alright listen up!" Syfy left Esperanza's side to walk around the room, drawing every eye. "I want you all to take a forty minute break. Call your families, grab some food, and clear your heads. The next couple of days are going to be very busy, I can assure you. I'll need each of you in top shape for this, as we try to clear the streets as best as we can, given the circumstances. I know you may be wondering if your families and homes are in harm's way, but let me reassure you, they are completely safe. When the day is done, if your home hasn't been cleared, we will provide secondary housing for each and every one of you. Your contributions here are saving not only us, but thousands outside the organization that need it the most. Keep it up." Syfy ended, waiting for each associate to leave the room. Of all the appreciated looks and relieved expressions, Esperanza's was the most pronounced. She whispered God bless you when she passed him.
Syfy took the elevator down to a lower floor, and found himself traveling to a room overrun by the hum of computer processors. There was only one man here, an ace hacker who didn't have his own name. Most of the time he requested to be left alone, but this was an urgent time. Syfy simply referred to him as Ace, and only when he really had to. It wasn't as if they were on a first name basis anyway, or at least, not the correct ones.
"What's up Chuck?" The boy asked without looking up. He had a baseball cap shoved onto his head, with sandy brown hair obscuring most of his face from the public. He also had a mousy build and fingers that typed over one hundred words a minute. Next to the singular chair that was surrounded on three sides by monitors, TV's and various forms of external hardware, was an ice cold mini fridge, where the hacker retrieved a bottle of Sunny D, his left hand still flying on the Bluetooth red laser keyboard in front of the chair. The boy was literally a day over eighteen, with technological genius lifetimes beyond that.
"Get me an up to date fatality count on the three fronts, a video stream and progress report of Anubis's squadron, and the status report on the five mechs we've dispatched."
"That it?" Within half a minute, three printers were printing, two of the large plasma screens had changed while the boy continued playing League of Legends on the main computer screen. "Shit's getting real out there man. For every new eyeless vamp this entity creates, on average, two people die. There's still over 100,000 civilians that are still in the city to feed on, and we haven't found the source of this…contagion yet."
Syfy cringed at the numbers. The officer death toll had hit twenty, and that was at the top of the hour, forty minutes ago. That was twenty deaths too many, and twenty funerals that would have to be arranged. The vampires were growing in number and strength every second. If they didn't identify the source of this soon, the city would definitely be overrun, and the conflict would spill into neighboring states. Syfy skimmed over the mech stats, noting that in a few hours they would have to be recalled. Other than that, each of the suits was in perfect condition, without any engineering flaws to speak of. Syfy was about to look at the plasmas to see how Anubis was doing when his cell phone blasted out Yuki Naga's ringtone. Syfy answered before the second ring, he didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Lockdown, do it now. For the protection of your citizens and the surrounding city-states, I'm mandating martial law until you get this matter resolved. Your time is limited. If it gets too bad, you won't only have to deal with me, but the United States Government as well. Putting that aside, we've heard your request for troops, and are dispatching officers by air from Raleigh, North Carolina. Their ETA is within a few hours."
"Thank you Mr. Naga, my sincerest gratitude." It was all Syfy could say. It was all he was permitted to.
"Dou itashimashite1." The phone line disconnected.
"Martial law eh Chuck? I'll send a notice now, cutting the streetlights, sending watch choppers, enforcing arbitrary curfew, etcetera. As a precaution, I recommend sending out a few dedicated patrol cars to announce curfew on the street level and to advise remaining citizens against driving. Trak-Automatic has to be shut down due to the huge power consumption by the nanosuits, so we won't be able to control speeds, or avert any accidents. We don't need more preventable deaths, especially in a situation like this." Ace's eyes returned to the laser keyboard.
Syfy nodded and placed his head in his hands. The Nexus was falling apart. With government officials and officer families being the first to evacuate, the city currently had no government. Even as police officers, it was impossible to distinguish who committed which criminal activity, and terror washed the entire city in an uncomfortable tsunami. People were afraid to leave their homes, and there was war in the streets. How would he be able to fix this?
"Chuck, you need more tacticians like Anubis. Do you realize that this man has had more kills with his four-man squadron than your five mechs and all of your other riot squads combined? He hasn't had any injuries so far, and moves lightning fast in all that chaos. Where the hell did you find this military super-soldier, Marvel Studios?" The boy popped a Skittle into his mouth, still clicking away.
Syfy ignored the comments instead diverting the topic. "Ace, what do we have on that side project I told you about?" Syfy moved to lean against a wall, since he was tired of standing straight. Plus, there were no other chairs in the room, save for Ace's hacker seat.
"Vampire traitor? I've got nothing so far. Aside from the last infiltration incident, there hasn't been a pure vampire to walk within these walls in over five years. I've checked and rechecked the scanners, the lasers, the cameras, and the heat sensors. I've got nothing. By the way, they need you at the blood testing, just got an email from Nadira."
"Thanks Ace, keep me posted." Syfy said, leaving the room behind. It was just another thing on the ever-growing list of things that were driving him insane lately. There was a traitor in their midst, as unidentifiable as the source to this new vampire revolution. He was tasked with finding out who it was, before it was too late.
"Blood tests now? What kind of shit is this? I mean, if I were a vampire, I'd have bitten the fuck out of Jonathan by now, how about you?" The woman next to her giggled.
"And where would you bite him huh Nikki?" Their conversation calmed when a nurse came by to take a small vial of blood from their arms. They'd signed release forms in advance, and were somehow trapped in a score of ridiculously mundane vampire trials, from physical aptitude to dental checkups. No one was afraid, but everyone was tired.
"Thank you for doing this." Syfy personally thanked the woman, patting her arm. She looked like she was about to faint right then and there. He then went down the line and thanked every associate, one by one, apologizing for the toilsome procedure. At the end of the day, no one was angry at him. It was just another task to be checked off for another busy day of saving everyone and everything they loved.
Panther tore his way through the body of a car, not feeling any pain. The gauntlets seemed glued to his flesh, practically part of him. No sooner than he had clawed through the rooftop exterior, he was lunging at Markus, who cuffed him in his shoulder, sending him back to the pavement, his body rolling like a newspaper.
"Your team would have never survived my assaults; you must know that by now." Markus boomed, slamming his fist down on the road. Panther adjusted his legs just in time to avoid broken bones, and drew blood on the giant's hand when he grabbed for one of Panther's limbs. There was a horrible amount of black blood exiting the fresh wound, but Markus wasn't going to die from just that. In his mind, Panther pictured each of the dozens of scars coating Markus's torso to be a life-threatening wound that hadn't finished the job. He'd added a few himself, though they had yet to scab over. Panther's wounds all took a long time to heal, and he solemnly believed he was doing palpable damage to the Elder.
"I am not my team, I am their leader." Panther slashed at Markus, who blocked by ripping a street sign from the concrete. Because of the force behind Panther's attack, the metal relented, and the golden claws split the sign in two. Markus launched both pieces at his enemy, but missed, smashing the outer glass of an empty McDonald's. Panther literally leaped high onto Markus's back, and impaled him twice more. The vampire let out a huge roar, claws scrabbling for him. Panther again was liquid motion. With a super strength sweep kick, he had the giant floored, but only for seconds, before Markus was up and running away from him.
"Coward!" Panther cried, pursuing Markus right away. For a humongous guy, Markus's sprinting speed was at an Olympic level. Panther watched helplessly as Markus turned five more innocent stragglers into soulless vampires, which attacked him on the spot. He didn't have time to be slowed down, or to show remorse when he killed them. Panther had to keep moving forward. Yet, as time passed and he killed and he killed, Keith realized that Markus was long gone, and fighting vampire after vampire was starting to tax both his body and his mind. He needed to rest, to return to his team and make sure everyone was okay.
Slightly depressed that he had to abandon the task at hand, Panther made his way back to HQ on foot, passing out at the front door due to his massive amount of sustained severe injuries. Adrenaline could hold him no longer, and dropped his body in a cruel abandonment.
Anubis waved two fingers, signaling an advance. Moving soundlessly, his left hand man swept ahead of him, annihilating a room full of vampires, spraying shells but at the same time not wasting any. Anubis didn't dare move until the man let them know it was clear. Once inside, the four soldiers immediately fanned out, checking and double-checking for the undead with an extreme efficiency. Against his better wishes, Anubis split the team up, with two men heading to the basement and one heading above. He didn't doubt that the man heading to the roof would run into trouble, but he trusted him enough to leave him alone. He had some more scoping to do on the main level.
His vampire senses were telling him that something big was on the way, and he had to be outside to see it. Crouched low, Anubis exited the side of the building, gluing himself to the ugly brick wall of the adjacent alleyway. He heard a few gunshots, and then received an all clear via radio from the squad members in the basement. He told them to perform an additional sweep to check for evidence, not that they'd find anything promising. He had selected his squad with purpose; choosing men that he knew would kill outside of the law, for what they thought to be a just cause. No sooner than Markus finished creating his legion, he'd turn them all into vampires, and then turn them against SPECS.
He waited a few moments, blending into the side of the alleyway, glancing up and down the roadway. For a street called Main Street, the entire thing was quiet as a church mouse. He needed to bring the action there. Anubis closed his eyes for a second, emanating a forceful aura that would draw a small crowd of vampires his way. Within five minutes, there was a group of the soulless clamoring down the street in his direction. That's when he saw it.
The mech had been gliding along the rooftops before the man inside noticed the Main Street crowd. When he did, the machine leaped from the building and soundlessly landed on the roadway, speeding forward like a jet-propelled engine. The arms morphed into enormous rapiers and one by one, it picked off the group. Anubis paid no mind to the vampires, instead, he analyzed every facet of the machine, from the massive power consumption to the psychological input required to execute the weapon shift. The confrontation had taken all of two minutes, the machine being far superior to mindless, starving creatures of the night. As he thought these things, Anubis returned to the building, heading to the rooftop. He still hadn't heard from the man he'd sent above, which meant that he was dead, or had run into difficulty. With thoughts of the technology he was soon to acquire fresh on his mind, Anubis continued his act, waiting for the moment to spring the ultimate trap.
Blade already knew where he was, locked within his own mind. The landscape was black and dead, with the only color saturating the sky, a blood red moon that made the clouds an orange tint for miles. In the distance, there were nothing but churches and cross-shaped gravestones as far as he could see. Blade was standing motionless, but the world around him rotated at his will, giving him an arbitrary 360-degree vision. He remembered that he was not meditating, but for the life of him, he didn't realize how he'd gotten into this state. Did he pass out?
"It's about time you look my way Blade. Your self-righteous methods are no longer strong enough to handle business."
Blade shifted the world around him until he was facing a naked man ten feet away, perched atop a gravestone like a crow. The man almost mirrored him in physical appearance, down to weight and muscle mass, but there were gleaming fangs in his mouth, and his face was entirely different. The naked entity snapped his fingers, and a deep blue trench coat appeared around his body, matching denim jeans pinned to his waist by a trendy silver belt. Blade couldn't look down to see what apparel he was wearing; he never could when trapped in his own mind. All he could do was stare while the vampire stood to his feet, stretching his arms over his head as if waking from a deep slumber.
"My methods have always worked, and will continue to do so. I handle my business." Blade watched the vampire cackle, his body rocking in dramatic fits while he mocked him. At the end of the exasperation, two blood covered wings unfolded from beneath the vampire's skin, fanning out in an impressive six-foot wingspan. The game certainly had changed.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Wake up! You turned a woman into a Daywalker that's still walking the Earth today! You haven't found her yet, and are letting her do as she damn well pleases! I'm surprised we haven't seen another fucking Daywalker in the Nexus yet! You know she's here don't you? If her fiancée is in the Nexus, and the vampire who turned her is in the Nexus, then why would she be anywhere else? You're a stupid motherfucker if you think that this bitch is going to hold out on biting to turn anyone for the rest of her life. She's a Daywalker man; she quite literally has forever to fuck things up for you."
Blade watched him closely, though all his counterpart was doing was shaking his head pitifully and pacing while he ranted. Even though Blade was in no mood to hear a lecture, it was something he'd overlooked rather easily, among other things. Was he slipping with age?
"Don't even get me started about the amount of blood that cop Jonathan siphoned from your arm! If I was fucking Vladimir himself all I would have to do is pass the academy exam and I'd have access to the most powerful shit on this side of the planet! You need to step it up. Seriously. Or do you want to constantly end up gettin' your ass whooped by a vampire with a hook on his goddamn hand?" By the time he finished, he was inches away from Blade's face, wings tense and fanned out with the intensity of his yellow-eyed glare. Even as far as vampires went, the man before him had the countenance of a snake, eye slits taking in every detail, nostrils flaring out with rage. Blade could imagine a forked tongue emanating from his counterpart's gritted teeth.
"I'm not giving in to your control, if that's what you mean. You got a long way to go before I pull some shit like that muthafucka."
"Oh ho ho ho! I wouldn't go saying things that you can't even back up. What was the phrase momma always used to say? Don't write a check that yo ass can't cash? I'll even show you what she meant. Call this, payday." The entity circled Blade faster than his mind could rotate the world around him. Soon, there was nothing but another sinister shadow encircling him, always out of ocular reach. Blade was enraged that the creature had called his mother its own, but had realized a long time ago that there was going to be a day when his serum's potency wouldn't be enough to hold his inner demon back. This fight was going to be dangerous.
Blade forcibly screamed, failing to endure what felt like the meat of his back opening up like window shutters. The vampire created such pain in Blade that it felt like the demon was crawling inside of his body in order to take control of his physical being. That's exactly what was happening. In seconds, the pain was gone, but Blade had dropped to his knees anyway, a cold sweat running down his face while his breath refused to come fast enough. His heart was either beating too fast for him to count, or too slow for it to matter; Blade could not tell. Fangs forcefully tore out his gums, a primal howl ready to be released from deep within his diaphragm. His shoulders started itching to the point of madness, and he could feel wings forming beneath the blades like hundreds of worms wriggling beneath his skin. His fingernails sharpened into vicious, jet-black death dealers, and he heard his spine crack, oddly increasing his visual acuity and depth perception. The same itching from his back took over his eyelids, and he cried out again. Too many things were happening at once. He tried to fight it, he wanted to fight it, but he just didn't possess the willpower.
"I am the night. I am the fear within the hearts of man. I am a day-walking vampire. I am Blade." Blade knew his other side had taken control, speaking the words through his lips, but there was no type of disconnect whatsoever. Blade could feel each and every time the muscles in his lips and tongue had moved, knowing that he had willed them to do so without demonic influence. His breathing slowed to a relaxing pace, and the sweating ceased after a minute. Blade was able to stand shortly after, feeling as though a huge burden had left his shoulders.
"Ya see? I didn't even have to get my lazy ass up off this tombstone." Blade found that he could no longer shift the world to his whim. Instead, he moved on his own for the first time since he'd been there. He found the man, still naked, still perched on top of the same exact gravestone he had been on. Blade didn't have to look down to know that the headstone belonged to him. A piece of him had died today. Instead, Blade outstretched his hand, easily catching the black shades his disturbing equivalent tossed him. Acceptance was as simple as placing the shades over his yellow eyes.
"I'm surprised Lucia let you out for drinks. Then again, winning four consecutive matches on your first day in the tournament hasn't been done since Kendra first started competing." Amara pulled her mid-length black skirt down more, slightly annoyed. While she thought the outfit Aisha had bought her was cute as a whole, it was much too restricting. She liked having skin show, and enjoyed the feel of animal hides much more than synthetic materials. She was humoring Aisha by wearing the outfit, just like Aisha was spending her time off drinking with her rather than doing more important tasks. Amara's glowing smile captured the essence of their friendship perfectly.
"Kendra, the bitch with sixteen wins already? Don't compare me to that ignorant, self-serving slut." Aisha spat, causing Amara to giggle. They glided into bar and were drinking Fireballs before nine o' clock hit.
"I see you have the gladiatrix mouth on you as well." Amara smirked, playing oblivious to the clear-cut looks she was getting from across the room. They were all simple minded. Boys would be boys.
"Girl you already know! I figure, why not learn new things, and make some friends while slaughtering my way to the top?" Aisha laughed loudly, spilling a small amount of her drink on the table. She was about to bend down and lick it up off the dirty plastic table when Amara grabbed her forehead to stop her.
"Slow down now. I know everything may seem wonderful and all to you, but be careful in there. Friends aren't really who they seem. You've gotta remember that at a moment's notice it could be you fighting against any one of them. Betrayal runs strong in these tournaments, so you shouldn't put too much trust in any of these women." Amara's mind was in a faraway place. She released Aisha only when she was sure that her determination to drink stayed within her glass. Aisha disregarded her statements regardless.
"I never axchew why you came all the way to America in the flirst pace. Why here in le Nexus spasific, splacific, pacifically?" Aisha was starting to slur her words, wobbling in her chair. Amara was grateful that the backing was high, but it wouldn't protect Aisha from falling sideways out of the chair and face-first onto the blue and white checkered tile floor. She let the bartender know to cut her off for the rest of the night. Aisha had to be plastered.
"Is that the alcohol talking or are you just really curious?" Amara teased. Aisha replied by flipping her the bird, except she used her ring finger instead by mistake. Amara tried not to laugh. It was very difficult.
"Well besides the armband which was stolen from me by a collector, the very one on your arm right now, there are a couple of reasons." Amara blushed, but Aisha was far too gone to notice. The vampire tucked a few locks behind her ear and then rubbed her cheek affectionately against the gold colored band she wore around her arm just underneath her shoulder. It smelled tantalizing all of a sudden.
"I take very very very very good care of it. Had to kill forthy power, but it helps me fall aspeep in night." Aisha laughed for little to no reason at all. She wasn't making much sense.
"The tribe's numbers are thinning. You know there are also no men in it as well. So I guess you could say..." Amara stopped her anecdote in lieu of strong snoring coming from across the table. She let Aisha relax, taking time to idly play with her hair and viciously glare at anyone who gave Aisha a once over in her condition. This city was going to hell. As strange as it was, there were few refuges in the city untouched at all by the soulless, but those were mainly bars and nightclubs. The people who were unafraid of dying and living a hedonistic life were probably still human and still alive, though she doubted white-hatted police officers would give people any more incentive to hide in such sleazy places.
She thought back to the Nzinga tribe back home in South America, fending for themselves without a leader, unsure of the coming future. It really hit her hard. The sudden appearance of vampires had led the nearby villages to a mutual destruction, putting her people on the run. Sad to say, the only time her tribe conducted business with outsiders excluding trade was for sex. Without anyone nearby, her tribe of warrior women was doomed to a fugitive life without any hope of a future...unless she brought someone back. Someone built like a strong warrior with deep ties to their own cultural roots.
Amara was so trapped in her own daydream that she hadn't seen Aisha rise, completely lucid, and walk back to the entrance of the bar, preparing to leave.
The fresh aroma was pure ecstasy and had dragged her out of sleep easily. She squeezed her thighs close together and attempted to walk as best as she could, trying to leave the bar in silence, damning the automatic bell that went off when the door opened. When Aisha stepped into the night, the frigid air only made the scent even stronger, hitting her in such a way that she practically had her nose to the air sniffing, like a bloodhound might be as it tracked something on land. She hoped Amara hadn't seen her. The smell was so intoxicating that it made her chest swell and her breasts ache. Her libido was flying through the roof, making her want to float. What was it? Aisha aimlessly walked through the streets, fearing nothing, tracking the lingering scent unarmed. She couldn't wait to feast on whatever the source of this titillating aroma was.
"Give me a break. You put a little anarchy in the streets and suddenly we're back in the caveman days spending weeks arguing about whose stick is bigger, killing if ours isn't. This is unbelievable." Mariko crossed her arms while Joe digitally erased another team of hunters from their top 50 list. Alavitesh was getting revenge for Salazar's death by hunting and eviscerating seven of their best vampire hunting teams, and counting. They were using the recent outbreak of vampires as a quaint little cover-up to take advantage of Vizuela's hunters, sending them to their dooms. She didn't know why Blade had done Salazar in, but it certainly wasn't helping matters at Vizuela.
"Well the real question is do we retaliate or not?" Joe asked, watching the new rankings adjust to the deaths. Aisha was more or less one big quarry away from being class-A, while Vici's rank crept ever so closely to Blade's, which also increased. For a second, Joe watched Keiji Igasho's rank sit at 35, but as soon as it had, there was a humongous transfer of money that placed him back at rank 50. No one else was watching the board.
"You damn right we retaliate! If someone kills your brother, are you just going to sit there and let them kill your sister too?" Sterk stood to his feet and began pacing quickly, his fists shaking with rage.
"You sure are one to talk about family, especially since you haven't unnecessarily slaughtered hundreds of mothers and children during missions. Yep, you've never made sisters watch their brothers die, killing them shortly after. You're a patron saint. No wonder people adore you." Mariko's voice was extremely sarcastic, and Sterk cut her an icy stare.
"At least I'm suggesting something instead of making stupid little narratives. So what, we get into the fray backing our own, standing for what we believe in, so what! They've crossed the line on this one and need to be shown who the real demons are." Sterk pointedly stared at Mariko longer than Joe, but she simply nodded her head. He hadn't expected her to agree.
"Or we could just take down this huge fuck that's destroying our city." Joe countered, though half-heartedly.
"The damage is already done." Mariko chimed in, stealing the words straight from Sterk's mouth. "A life for a life is fine, but Salazar isn't an excuse to let these confrontations keep happening. You realize that because we haven't given the order, the teams that are still in the Nexus aren't aware, and can't fight back. Many of them are being assassinated while off their guard. We need to distribute the temporary titles pronto."
"Let it be so." Joe confirmed, logging into the company system. With the press of a button, the alert was issued, leaving the three standing in silence. "I suppose this means retaliation then?" Joe shrugged, retrieving a double-barreled shotgun from behind the counter.
"Let's get to it." Mariko added, and the three were gone.
"It's melting away." Onyx blurted, watching the crystalline structure with a mixture of awe and disgust. It had been three days, with the Nexus on complete military lockdown. Onyx had been watching the streets from the outdoor balcony, shocked at its emptiness. The Nexus was one of the busiest places in North America, and yet today, it was a complete ghost town. Even the vampires without eyes couldn't endure the fatal power of direct sunlight. The few flecks of motion he could observe were probably SPECS officers, who were tirelessly patrolling the city, hoping to evacuate more citizenry, though the inner city shelters were the only places to go. Even SPECS couldn't leave the city now, whether it crumbled to its knees or not. The time for that had passed.
The once solid black structure that stretched from the floor to the ceiling had slowly begun to evaporate, making the web more translucent with each passing minute. Onyx, much to Tiffany's chagrin, let more sunlight into the room to speed up the process. The cocoon no longer pulsed, instead it made a quiet hissing sound as more and more of it disintegrated into the open air. A calming breeze blew in from the West, creating a sense of peace within the room. Tiffany watched from afar, and before long, Blade's chrysalis was gone, leaving him lying on the bed injury free.
"How long was I gone?" Blade asked, sitting bolt upright, and then springing onto his feet without missing a beat. He was talking as he walked, finding hidden panels here and there to further activate security in the penthouse. Most of the armored shutters closed, leaving only the exit to the balcony open. After entering each of the four rooms, still without receiving an answer, Blade sighed and grabbed a beer from the doublewide refrigerator. It felt like he hadn't eaten for months, his stomach churning viciously, making him feel like vomiting on the spot. He hid everything quite nicely, but already knew what was happening-the blood thirst. He'd have to let Aisha know immediately. It was dangerous for her to be near him. Memories of the last time his thirst took over still haunted him. He would have attacked her in that condition for sure…
"Are you alright man? I saw what happened out there, that vamp was a helluva brute; you were out for three days in that thing." Onyx stepped into the kitchen taking a seat on top of the countertop near Blade. There was genuine concern in his eyes.
"It's been that long huh?" For the longest time Blade just sat there, intermittently sipping his beer while spacing out. The drink was starting to disgust him beyond his tolerance. It wasn't blood. Onyx was about to leave the kitchen when Blade called him back. "Where's Aisha?"
"That's the thing man. We were driving back from SPECS HQ since you had already been busted outta there when we arrived. Aisha spaced out or something, and the next thing you know, we're in a car wreck, full frontal, that ejected her through the windshield! The city must really be down, because Trak-Auto didn't do shit to stop the collision at all, not that it was with a driver or anything." Blade raised an eyebrow questioningly, causing a bead of sweat to casually race down the side of Onyx's face. "What man? I woke up and searched the area, but she was nowhere to be found. She can't be dead; she's got her katanas with her!"
Tiffany smirked watching the exchange between them. She was quite curious about Aisha's absence as well, knowing how closely she had bonded with both James and Blade. God forbid Markus accidentally kill her, bringing Akane's wrath down upon them all. "You're not grateful either? Have you forgotten that it was me who got Blade out of that sticky situation, without bloodshed nonetheless?" Tiffany shot her remarks at Onyx, watching his guard crumble. He ended up rolling his eyes. She had to admit that it disappointed her a bit that she could unnerve him so easily. Perhaps Vladimir had known that as well.
"Thank you Tiffany." He said without spirit. "It's not like Aisha and I would've killed anyone in the rescue. We had a fucking plan." Tiffany snorted.
"So what do we do now? The city has gone to shit, those ugly freaks are giving us glamorous vampires a bad name, and the baddest Daywalker on the planet can't even stand up to the threat. What's the cure-all this time?" Tiffany fanned her hands in front of her face, no doubt trying to portray her glamorous side. Blade snorted right back at her. The kitchen sounded like it was full of pigs at the slaughterhouse.
"I kill Markus and take the hook. These new vampires will probably go to ash the second Markus isn't around, we'll see. I've got leads on Vladimir's sword and Aisha's working on getting the ring. With this much power in one place, I'm sure Vladimir will want to show up in person to reclaim it."
"What makes you so sure?" Both Tiffany and Onyx piped up at the same exact time. Blade raised an eyebrow at Tiffany.
"Have a little faith in humanity's last hope why don't ya?" Blade laughed, a deep throaty sound that was rare if nothing else. For half a second, they were unsure, but then they joined in with him.
"And if they don't go to ash after Markus dies?" Tiffany interrupted.
"Then I'd say it's going to be one hell of a cleanup." Blade retorted.
A small boom rocked the whole space, shattering pictures that fell from the wall, activating security alarms everywhere. No matter which way they looked, there were flashing lights and blaring noises.
"Onyx, the roof!" Blade called out, pressing a button on a key fob to eject a hidden compartment from the wall, which housed a classic variety of vampire slaying weaponry. Blade caught a glimpse of the legendary lion head shield, Defender, before grabbing his trademark weapon, and loaded his trench coat with side arms, Onyx quick on his tail. They were out of the penthouse so quickly that Tiffany didn't bother to give chase. Part of her already knew what was going to happen. Markus was on that rooftop.
Keiji grabbed his sides he was laughing so hard. To his left, Impresia was pouring him some hard Jameson whisky, his favorite type of liquor. He couldn't believe she was this funny.
"Rich, smart, knows her whisky and a sista? Is there anything you don't have workin for ya?" Keiji asked, recovering from the insane amounts of laughter. She was splitting his sides.
"I'm mostly Indian, but I'll take that." Impresia countered, clinking glasses with him. The drive was incredibly smooth; you could barely tell when the vehicle turned. "A word of caution though Keiji, don't be tryna pick me up if you ain't gon put it down." Impresia used one hand to push some bouncy red coils out of her eye, the other sensually grazing the skin on her thigh. Her hair was a bushel of curls, almost to the point of an afro. She wasn't his type, but the alcohol was forcing him to think again.
"Touché." Keiji responded, clinking glasses with her again after another big gulp. He was so filled with mirth, that the smell of gunpowder almost eluded him. A quick glance around the vehicle revealed nothing, but Keiji couldn't be too thorough, for then Impresia would realize his search. Keiji could not seem suspicious to her, especially since the wolves needed this job. He continued to look as surreptitiously as possible, and then heard the gun being cocked. Keiji knew exactly where it was coming from now.
"Get down!" Keiji cried out, shoving Impresia's head in his lap. The rear windshield cracked in at least a dozen places, shotgun shells piercing all the way through the protective tinted glass in three. What the hell are you doing, I'm fine! We're just talking, lay off! Keiji shot the mental message to Kaiser, who did not fire again.
"I guess your boys aren't fine with me being down here." Impresia joked, giving his lap a pat, but sitting up straight again. "Carlton, what's going on out there? Why is the ride uncomfortable?" Impresia crossed her arms angrily.
The driver checked his mirrors before giving Impresia a hasty reply. "I apologize ma'am. It would appear that our pursuers have ceased their fire. I would've taken evasive maneuvers immediately had I been able to see the firearm in advance. I was just doing what I thought would protect you."
"Well stay on top of your game." Impresia snapped. "I don't like a piss poor performance and I didn't hire you to give one."
"As you wish Madame. I also thought you would like to know that there is going to be a slight delay in our arrival, for the streets are lined with bodies, making it difficult to navigate the usual route." The vehicle passed over a few bumps, the sound of bones crunching painfully loud and clear. There was no other way forward.
"Take the longer passage." Impresia informed him.
Keiji, there's bloodsucker fucks all over this road man, looks like a massacre. Kaiser's voice in Keiji's mind was echoed by Lucius's. Who do you think rolled through here, possibly another pack?
Wouldn't get my hopes up. Keiji replied, sighing and relaxing back into the plush interior. Even so, from the tone in your voice I can tell you're impressed. From what I can smell, there's Vizuela's signature all over it. Looks like a single mercenary, or a small team is getting shit done.
"Lucia told me about you guys, your work and the kinda shit you've done. Why are you protecting me when I'm not paying you anything? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of being a mercenary? Y'all not supposed to do anything for shits and giggles." Impresia winced painfully as she removed her humongous gold hoop earrings. There was blood in her earholes, as if she'd just pierced them herself. She wasn't surprised.
"I'm sure it's not free in the long run." Keiji vaguely replied, still not fully trusting her. Should Kaiser be wrong, it could be Impresia who had captured Kryzon, no matter how innocent she seemed. Imprisoning a member of Sutonokami against their will was unforgivable, in the same way that he'd always harbor an intense hatred for the vampire named Jade for practically enslaving him. The hand of vengeance would be a heavy one.
"Well, here we are." Impresia welcomed, waiting for Carlton to respectfully open her door. She was greeted by a team of three butlers, one of which volunteered to park Kaiser's motorcycle. Keiji laughed, watching a small dispute between Kaiser and the butler. Kaiser refused to allow someone else to ride it, and further declined parking it in a garage. Lucius strolled up to Keiji while Impresia took the lead and was escorted into the house.
"Sorry about that shot man, but Kaiser thought it was she who had snatched Kryzon. Lucia must have done something to him beforehand, he almost went crazy on the trigger before you sent that message. Where was the warning beforehand? If it was safe when she sped away with you in the car, why didn't you let us know? You let the situation escalate too far." Lucius wasn't yelling but speaking calmly and rationally. It was new for him.
"I'm sorry, I guess I got caught up in good conversation. Listen, stay on your guard while we're here. I know Impresia is the one we're supposed to protect, but that doesn't mean she isn't the one who took Kryzon. Kaiser's instincts could be just as right as his reasons for accepting this gig." Keiji had lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Understood." Lucius mouthed.
"Also, what did you make of the huge piles of vampire bodies back there? I couldn't see anything because Impresia's windows were tinted, but it sure smelled like the rotten side of hell." Keiji realized that they had been walking through a beautiful courtyard, with stone tiles and a fountain with crystal clear water in it, and nodded with subtle appreciation. Money truly could buy class.
"Listen. I haven't told Kaiser yet, but I saw this man with a black coat with silver crosses on it out there. Dude had an enormous claymore with him, and I swear he was taking these things out left and right. I could hardly blink before spiky hair was ripping through another one. His eyes held no remorse, even if these guys bled human blood and didn't go to ash. This guy is a beast, whoever he is." Lucius jammed his hands into his jeans pockets as they entered the magnificent three story home. He wasn't much for the fancy colorful aesthetics, so the second his story died, so did his mood.
"Was he a wolf?" Keiji asked, a stupid question whose purpose was just for confirmation. Keiji had a pretty good idea who the man was already, especially since he worked for Vizuela.
"Nah, human, one hundred percent through." Lucius closed his mouth once Kaiser joined the two in the great hall. Protecting this vampire was going to be a royal bore.
Aisha froze in her tracks, dropping her katanas in shock. She'd emerged from the shadow of a weathervane atop a high-rise line of luxury apartments, the top of which was a gorgeous condominium. When she exited the shadow, she came face to face with the dreaded Markus, who was grinning evilly. Adrenaline staved off the alcohol, and she had a surprisingly clear view of the monstrous being that haunted her even in dreams.
"Follow me, little samurai." Markus began a slow run to the edge of the roof, at the same time, the single entrance from the lower floors burst open, four people spilling out of it, spraying bullets in Markus's direction. It was Vici, Aisha confirmed, recognizing Trigger instantly from that night weeks ago in Vizuela. She hoped that in a cloak he would not recognize her in return. The four humans chased Markus to the edge of the roof, but no one could follow as he leaped into the sky, plummeting to the vacant streets below. The intoxicating smell was stronger than ever before now, causing her to tremble where she stood. Her nostrils opened wide on an inhale, and it was embarrassing how much pleasure she received from it. The effects were worse than alcohol. At least it hadn't been Markus. Before Vici could turn and look at her, she decided to bolt for the door back down to the lower levels, forgetting her katanas on the rooftop. Lightning struck overhead, beginning a torrential downpour that didn't wait to evolve into a vicious storm. Before she could reach the only exit, Blade and Onyx used it to enter the rooftop. If she didn't before, she had everyone's attention now, stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Aisha what were those noises? Was the vampire giant here?" Blade has his weapon drawn and ready, his vampire senses kicking in immediately. She could only nod once at him, her words were gone.
"Aisha Mizore Yamakita!" The cry was louder than thunder itself. Aisha whipped around to look at the person who had called her name, and realized the blunder too late. Her hood had fallen off in the process.
He didn't need to be able to see to recognize the presence of his one and only sibling. Additionally, Aiden didn't need his eyes to tell him that she was a vampire. He sensed the changes in his teammates' auras, and knew everything to be true. She was alive no longer. After more than twelve years of searching, his efforts were wasted on the end result. Aiden could only do what he would have to do, without shedding any tears over it. It was his job now, to put his sister in her rightful place, six feet underground.
"Brother?" Aisha could only ask the timid question to the empty air, for nothing was a certainty any longer. She hadn't seen her brother in decades, and couldn't imagine him being physically blind. He looked fit and in good health, and for that, she tried to smile, but whether the storm blew it away, or the emotion was much too weak, it didn't hold. Not only did a double dose of sadness well up inside of her to replace it, tears fell. The drops were short lived though, because Aiden unfolded his trademark naginata2, unquestioningly leveling the blade of the weapon at her. On Vici's side, they tried to stop Kokei's advance, but failed. Onyx tried to get into the mix as well, but Blade stopped him, instead, handing Aisha her silver katana. There was a strange amount of heat radiating from it, even though he only gripped it by the scabbard.
"This is not your fight James." Blade simply spoke to his subordinate, unable to do much more.
"Onyx? Are you fucking kidding me? You're working with Blade, and didn't say anything to us?" Panther exploded, his rage making him howl. Angela and Trigger were dumbstruck as he flew across the rooftop, exchanging fists with someone he'd thought to be a friend.
"You hunted with us, helped us, and lied straight to our faces! I should fucking kill you!" Panther's enraged words came out as snarls, his fists doing most of the talking. Onyx defended as best as he could, but Panther had the advantage for sure. It was only a few traded blows before Panther drew blood, and he didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
"Don't move Daywalker, it's not your fight." Trigger echoed mockingly, a red laser sight directly on Blade's heart. While he did not drop his sword, Blade let the two men continue their skirmish without interference. In the center of the rooftop, Aisha and Aiden had blocked out the entire world. Aisha was still crying, though silently. She let her sunlight resistant cape blow off the edge of the space, fully exposing herself. Underneath, she had on the traditional robes of the Yamakita family, the belt around her waist solid black coated in symbols from the Koga ninja clan. Her eyes brightened, and her fangs lowered as she allowed herself to get lost in the smell of nearby blood. There was no need to hide her identity, or what she really was from her brother, but it would be much more than difficult to make him understand.
"You know I would never ever harm you, don't you Aiden?" Even though they still advanced on each other, Aisha's tone was much more mature than usual and she hadn't raised her sword against him. She didn't want to admit it, but she laced a bit of coercion in her words, and the darkness the action stirred in her mind excited her. Kokei's reply was a quick, snubbing head shake. He was not going to listen. She was growing hungrier.
"A vampire is no sister of mine; I have no regrets. I will remember you for who you used to be, when your soul cried out at the joys of this world and nothing more. If this were another lifetime, I would do nothing different. Losing here is the same punishment as death for me. Victory is nothing but assurance that I've honored my family by sending you to hell. If you are the woman you say you are, prove it through your weapon, and cease the foolish words. They mean nothing to me." Aiden's naginata began to shimmer, giving off a strong white light. No doubt the weapon had divine properties. Unfortunately for her, Blade had given her its polar opposite, limiting her to techniques based on hellfire.
Aiden's first strike almost beheaded her, but she slipped to the ground quietly, attempting to sweep him, but her brother was smart if nothing else. Stabbing the bladed-edge at her legs, he forced Aisha to dance out of her usable attack range, while he was able to obtain maximum efficiency from his weapon.
She wasn't channeling chi into her sword like he was into his naginata, for she had learned to be far more efficient than just using the chi in a weapon as a destructive instrument. Even so, blocking his attacks made the handle of the sword dig further into her hands, ripping back skin and making it flaky and abrasive. He hadn't used any secret techniques yet, but she wasn't going to hold out forever either.
At the side, Trigger had closed in on Blade, aiming his gun at him slightly outside of point blank range. Blade wouldn't be able to disarm him short of chopping his arms off, which he was seriously considering. Angela was attempting to separate her man from her friend by explaining that their goals were in line with each other, but wasn't having much success. Both of the fighters had black eyes, and scratches with drawn blood, especially Onyx. The rain wasn't letting up either.
They're in your way, kill them. Blade could not stop the voice inside of his head from ranting. Fangs were growing inside his mouth, and his stomach gurgled again. Trigger made a witty quip about him missing breakfast, but he ignored that too. Blade felt absolutely terrible. The vampire within him was begging for bloodshed, but the only thing his human side wanted to do was stop the source of the citywide devastation. He'd have to exercise self-restraint for as long as possible, not that these assholes were helping any.
Aisha drew first blood. Her sword cut across the end of Aiden's abdomen, bleeding instantaneously. Aiden continued fighting in spite of it. Moving faster than before, if that was even possible.
"Secret Technique: Divine Retribution!" Aiden charged, at the same moment, the entire roof became bathed in a transparent white light thicker than fog. He was on Aisha in a second, whom he knew could not anticipate his attack. With one swing, he felt his spear slash through flesh and bone, easing all of his troubles at the same time.
Blade didn't know how or why he retreated, but he knew his vampire side had been scared into life. Before the explosion of burning light, he scooped up Onyx, knocking Panther aside easily with a force that could break a jaw. Once Onyx was in his arms, he found himself speeding toward Aisha, trading her silver weapon for his own. He then flipped off the building, evaporating into a black mist that traveled at the speed of light. When he landed on the city streets, a few stories below, there was a plume of ash at his feet that quickly dissipated. It all happened in a matter of seconds. Onyx struggled to catch his breath, confused as hell.
"Come on, we're going after him. We take Markus down, we should be able to get rid of his line, saving the city and getting Vladimir's hook." Blade didn't leave Onyx time to respond, starting to run in a breakneck speed. Onyx's thoughts were jumbled far and few, but he followed anyway. There was something very different going on, but he'd never be able to discover it with the city around him in complete disarray.
1 You're Welcome (in Japanese)
2 A naginata is a Japanese weapon whose base is a spear-like staff. It has a thick, sharp blade at the tip