Alfred broke open the door of the upstairs room. Arthur was keeping an eye on the downstairs. The room was empty as far as he could tell, except for Ludwig, whose body was hanging from the ceiling suspended by shackles. His chest had been slashed, but miraculously the cut was no longer bleeding. A bite mark was also quite obvious on his neck. Alfred looked around for the vampire who must have done this to his brother, but he saw nothing. He assumed that the vampires had fled as soon as they heard the alarm. He walked over to Ludwig to help the other down. The blonde seemed to be semi-conscious, but he was still breathing. It crossed the American's mind for a minute that they might have changed Ludwig, but the thought quickly disappeared. If they had turned him, the injuries would already been healing.
Alfred decided that it was more important to get Ludwig aware again; he needed to know whatever Ludwig knew from the last few hours he had been here. Alfred slapped the German hard across the face. Alfred immediately wondered if striking the other had been a good idea because of the way the neck cracked. But it had the effect he had been hoping for. Ludwig's green eyes shot open and he immediately said "Alfred, it's a trap! Get out of here now!" Alfred didn't think about his next move, he simply drew a stake. Behind him the door slammed shut. Alfred quickly turned around to see a vampire with shining red eyes and snowy white hair. Alfred had not actually seen Gilbert before, human or not, but he didn't have trouble identifying the vampire from the descriptions he had been given.
Gilbert had a large bloody knife in his hand, which Alfred assumed had been used to carve the long slash into Ludwig's chest. Both the slayer and the vampire immediately started to circle each other, measuring the other's capabilities. Ludwig yelled at the other slayer in the room "You can't take him on your own! Get me down!" Alfred turned his head just slightly to take a quick glance at Ludwig. It provided enough of an opportunity for Gilbert to pounce. Alfred's reflexes were quick enough that he used the stake to block the knife that came slashing across what would have been his throat. The wood stopped the force of the knife, but the knife managed to cleave the stake in half. Small slivers of wood sprayed across Alfred's face. The very point of the knife brushed against Alfred's face, making a small line of blood.
Gilbert licked his lips, apparently egged on by the presence of blood. To replace the stake, Alfred pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and flicked it open. The blonde took a quick step back as a second backhanded slash came across his chest. He lost his footing and stumbled backwards. He hit the chest of another vampire, who immediately seized him in a strangle hold around his neck. Alfred quickly realized that he was stuck between two very bloodthirsty vampires and the one behind him was going to strangle him. With one hand, he reached for the golden chain around his neck. He managed to pull it up out of his shirt and he forced the small golden cross against Ivan's hand. The Russian automatically flinched and released the American. Alfred did two things in the short moment that he was free. First, he threw his knife with all the force he could at the chains above Ludwig's head. The knife broke a rusty link and Ludwig's hands dropped. Second, he turned and made a mad dash to the door. Ivan recovered quickly enough to stride quickly after the American.
Gilbert turned to his brother, who was now staggering to his feet. Gilbert, for his part, was patient while his brother hauled himself back up into a standing position. Ludwig, as soon as he was confident in his limbs, reached up and yanked the knife out of the wall where it had stuck after breaking through the chains. The blonde could barely stand, weak as he was with blood loss, but he managed to screw up enough concentration to keep his feet. As long as he was glaring at his brother, he was able to keep himself able to fight. Gilbert knew his brother's condition and watching him stagger upright was comical.
Gilbert laughed and said "Are you going to kill me, little brother?" Ludwig responded, gritting his teeth to keep any traitorous emotion from slipping through "You meant to murder kill me". Gilbert's white eyebrows arched as if to say "So, what are you going to do about it?" Ludwig raised the knife with a shaking hand. Gilbert nodded in response "Alright, little brother, do your worst". Ludwig clumsily swung and lunged forward. The attempt was slow and uncoordinated. Gilbert grabbed his brother's arm in a bruising grip and whipped the other around in a circle, so that the blonde was pinned against his brother's force of the movement caused Ludwig to drop the knife, which went spinning across the floor.
With his other hand, Gilbert brought the blade of the knife against his brother's throat. The vampire spoke "I could cut your throat, you know. As far as circumstances go, it's pretty poetic, don't you think?" Ludwig didn't even form words, he just growled. The only thing the slayer managed to do was ram his elbow backwards into the other's side. It was like elbowing a wall of solid ice, and most likely hurt Ludwig more than it was even felt by Gilbert. All the same, the albino decided he didn't want to kill his brother just yet.
With all his strength, the vampire flung the slayer across the room. Ludwig went crashing into a window and the glass shattered. But, in the midst of the glass shower, Ludwig saw an opportunity. The crossbars of the window were wooden. The blonde rammed his shoulder against the frame, which caused the wood to break into sharp pieces, one of which Ludwig grabbed. He took a step away from the window, glass crunching under his feet, and tightened his hold on his makeshift stake. He saw all of his brother's muscles go taut; obviously he had not been expecting his brother to find a weapon. Gilbert leveled the knife in his hand and readied himself to spring.
Ivan bolted out of the room after Alfred, perfectly aware that he had no weapon, save his bare hands. The blonde finally slid to a stop in the middle of the hall, he smoothly drew another stake that he had in his pocket. He braced himself as though expecting Ivan to fly headlong into the stake. As a veteran of many fights with slayers, Ivan was not going to fall for such an amateur maneuver. He slid to a stop at the same time as Ivan. He also needed a weapon to match that of the slayer. There were exposed pipes on the wall presumably for the movement of water. But as this was an abandoned building, the water was off. Ivan seized one of the pipes and pulled it free.
It fit perfectly in his hand and the metal was ice cold against the skin. He swung it in a few experimental circles before turning back to the American. Neither of them wanted to make the first move. The greatest chance of victory came with the other making a mistake, and the first move was a risk. For a couple seconds both of them stood facing each other, holding their respective weapons, waiting for the other to strike first. The sound of shattering glass came from the room that they had just left, causing Alfred to start slightly.
Ivan smirked and said "It sounds like your partner isn't doing very well. He won't survive without help, he is too weak and Gilbert is so strong. You'll need to help him, and you have to through me to do that." Alfred's heart began to race more so than it already had been, he knew that Ivan was right and he either needed to go through or around Ivan. He saw a big enough gap to Ivan's left side that he could easily dart through. He knew that it was probably a trap, but he went for it anyway.
Ivan quickly brought the pipe across the gap, striking Alfred hard across the shoulder. The sound of metal hitting skin was accompanied by a crack that sounded vaguely like a fracture. Alfred pulled back at once, at the same time cradling his left arm across his chest. Thankfully, his dominant arm had been spared. He mentally noted that this was not going to be easy in any way. Ivan laughed at the slayer "Did you really think that was going to work?" He twirled the pipe around his fingers, as if daring Alfred to try again.
The second time he went straight for Ivan, aiming for a hard blow to the chest. Ivan easily blocked it. The force of the deflection slammed Alfred chest first into the wall. It knocked the wind out of him. Pain shot down his body from the fractured collar bone. He had enough sense left to duck before the pipe slammed into the dry wall above his head. The little white pieces fell on the blonde head as the pipe was slowly removed from the wall. The slayer saw an opportunity, and from the crouch he was in, he drove the stake upwards towards Ivan's heart. Ivan moved the pipe to block the stab.
But, Alfred did get the opportunity to dart away from the vampire and back towards Ludwig. But, he wasn't quick enough. Ivan brought the long metal rod down again, this time catch the middle of the slayer's lower back. He didn't manage to break anything this time, but the blow did render Alfred immobile. Ivan laughed again; he spoke "It's really a pity that you're such a coward. If you had put up more of a fight, you might have had a chance to win. I would love to spend time tearing you apart, but I'm going to have to make this quick".
He easily rolled the blonde over with a huge booted foot before saying "I want to see that ridiculous of yours so I can be sure to smash it." The Russian raised the pipe again and was about to bring it down when a blast of magic hit him squarely in the chest. He was thrown a good 5 feet and landed on the floor. There was a sound that was somewhat like cartilage cracking as Alfred's back was snapped back into place.
Arthur was standing at the other end of the hall, his hand extended. He ran forward as soon as he healed Alfred's back and the American sat up. He was stopped halfway down the hall by a line of silvery light that appeared right in front of his feet. A fourth voice toned in with a heavy Scottish accent "You see, little brother, anyone who meddles with the darkness that is death can't cross a line of light. I can trap you easily."
Arthur turned white. He slowly turned around to face the red-headed druid who had spoken. Allistor gestured using his finger as a wand of sorts and drew another line, this one on the other side of his brother, which trapped the other druid. Arthur could only take a few steps in either direction. He stared at his brother without a word. Allistor sighed "I see. The silent treatment. You used to do this all the time when you were a kid. Let's cut the crap, then. I want my Book of Shadows back, and I know you have it". Arthur managed a dry laugh "Over my dead body." His brother didn't even flinch; he simply walked forward and with another gesture, slammed Arthur against the wall. Allistor spoke again "That would be acceptable".
Ivan had recovered from being thrown, but Alfred had already gotten to his feet. He was off and running again in the same direction. This time, Alfred managed to reach the door before the pipe made contact with his leg, shattering the Tibia. He screamed this time, but managed to keep his feet by bracing himself against the door. Ivan seized him by the back of the neck and threw him bodily into the room. He went sliding across the floor on his back.
Ludwig charged forward, stake in hand, intent on stabbing the empty shell that had been his brother. Gilbert stepped out of the way, but grabbed the other's arm as he hurdled by. The albino quickly jerked the arm so that it snapped out of the socket. Ludwig groaned and stumbled away from his brother. At that moment, Alfred came flying into the room.
It was at that moment that Ludwig realized with a healthy helping of irony, that this fight was not going well. Gilbert took a casual step backward "How exactly do you plan to stake me now? That was your dominant arm". Ludwig knew he needed to save his brother's soul and stake the vampire version of him soon. But, without his right arm, he was pretty much useless. He awkwardly switched the stake from the now limp arm to the other.
Ivan casually walked into the room and took a glance at his mate. Upon seeing the state that Ludwig was in, Ivan's mouth twitched up slightly at the corner, like he was about to smile. Ludwig was more incensed by this, Ivan was acting like this was routine.
He threw himself at Gilbert one more time. For the first time, Gilbert didn't step aside. Instead, he held the knife level as his brother ran right into it. The blade pierced right through Ludwig's sternum, and into his heart. The blonde felt the knife enter as though it was something surreal. A single sound escaped his lips that sounded anti-climatically like "Oh". Gilbert leaned in and whispered in his brother's ear "Have fun in Hell".
Then he twisted the knife hard. Ludwig couldn't die like this, he felt that he had left too much unfinished. With a single breath he responded "You're coming with me". He rammed the stake, which was in his left hand, hard into Gilbert's chest.
Ivan was about to strike the final blow on Alfred when he heard the stake enter Gilbert's flesh. The world seemed to have suddenly shifted into slow motion. What he had just heard was impossible, it simply could now happen in a reality that Ivan existed in. He turned around to look at the scene of death in the other part of the room. Ludwig's body fell first, the knife wedged in his chest. But, as he fell dead, his hand slipped off of a stake that was lodged in Gilbert's chest.
Ivan's mind stopped. There couldn't be a stake in Gilbert's heart. But he knew that he wasn't seeing things. This was real. He didn't make any decision to catch Gilbert, but the next thing he was aware of was having his arms around his mate's cold body. The pain came as soon as he actually rested his hand on the stake. It was searing and blinding, like someone had ripped out his heart and set it on fire.
Ivan was crying and sobbing without realizing that he was doing it. Nothing mattered anymore, not the fight, not the slayers, nothing. A red puddle touched Gilbert's lifeless hand, which was trailing on the floor. The blood came from Ludwig, but that fact didn't seem to register. Ivan dropped to his knees and buried his face in his mate's hair, staining the white red with blood tears.
Arthur got back to his feet after being slammed against the wall. He was beyond upset, he was not going to let Alfred die while he was standing here being useless. He felt deeply protective towards the slayer, although their relationship was hardly out of the sexual stage. The angrier he got, the more he wanted to use all of his magic again. He could still feel it in his heart, pulsing like a drum. It wanted to be let out, and every moment he was angry was another moment that it almost let loose. Part of him wanted to believe that Alfred could win against Ivan, but the vampire was strong and Alfred's chances of success were minimal.
The sound that set him off was Alfred's scream. All at once the power broke free, like a door swung open and let them all lose. His power reached out tactically in a radius around him, extinguishing the lines that were keeping him in place. Allistor chuckled "You're finally ready hardball, I see." Arthur's voice sounded strangely amplified in his own ears "I'm not going to let you get in my way." A blast of energy came out from Arthur, which didn't affect Allistor at all. The older of the two had conjured an energy shield, which had protected was well aware of his younger brother's abilities.
Arthur became aware of the fact that if he wanted to win, then he was going to have to try something new. He conjured a blast of flames, which of course meant that Allistor dropped the energy shield to conjure a blast of water. Arthur followed behind his own spell, managing to distract his brother enough that he didn't see the elbow to the face coming.
Arthur managed to smack his brother so hard that the red head ended up on the floor. Arthur used a spell to bind both of the other's hands to the floor. His brother attempted to counteract it, but he was too dazed by the strike to do anything. Then, without a second thought, he pressed his finger to the pentagram on his brother's arm. At once he started to absorb the power. The ink visibly transferred from his arm, up the finger and to the pentagram on Arthur's arm, which developed a Celtic knot work pattern around it. Allistor struggled at first, but he slowly lost consciousness as the transfer continued. Arthur felt so powerful; it was rushing through his veins. It felt like endorphins, but magnified.
His next thought focused on Alfred, he needed to save him before Ivan ripped out his throat. He stood up as soon as his brother was out cold. He then walked into the other room. The first thing he saw was Ivan, on the floor in a pool of blood, holding what appeared to be his mate's body. It was broken and limp, like a shattered porcelain doll. The sounds he was making were almost too human. His head was against his mate's and he was saying over and over again "Nyet, Gilbert, you can't leave me. Nyet, Nyet, Nyet." It didn't take much to figure out what had happened.
But what concerned Arthur more was Alfred, who was lying on the floor clutching his leg. Arthur rushed over to him and dropped to his knees. Alfred looked up at Arthur as if he barely knew him. The druid put his hand on the other's leg and focused his energy on healing the bone. It cracked back into place. Alfred put one hand on Arthur's face and said very deliberately "Arthur, you've gone too far. Come back to me while you still can". Arthur somehow understood through the power daze what he needed to do. He closed his eyes and deliberately released all the power he had gained into the air.
He smiled half-heartedly "I could have fixed your arm too if you hadn't stopped me". Alfred smiled back "It will heal naturally." Arthur looked over at Ivan "Are you going to stake him? He deserves it and I doubt he will put up a fight". Alfred glanced over at the grieving vampire as well and shook his head "That's more mercy than he deserves. He's done for, when the sun comes up, he will still be here and he will be dusted".
Arthur nodded and wrapped his arm around Alfred's waist "Do you think you can stand? That leg is newly healed and it might not be the most stable". Alfred looked at it dubiously and then said "Well, we'll figure it out, won't we? Come on, we need to get out of here." With some help from the Brit, Alfred managed to haul himself back into a standing position and managed to limp out, leaving Ivan sobbing over Gilbert's body.
Hundreds of miles away, Roderich felt the stake go through Gilbert as if it was his own body. He had been expecting this, as much as he believed Ludwig could keep a promise, he didn't trust Alfred to hold back. He didn't want to exist without Gilbert, he was the only reason that Roderich had chosen to become undead, and if he was gone, then Roderich didn't want to exist. He didn't feel the emotions h had been expecting to feel, he just felt numb. Somehow, the expectation of this had made it somewhat easier to come to grips with.
He had a plan already, he had been thinking about it for the last few days. He saw under the curtain that the sun was rising. Still feeling almost nothing, Roderich opened the door and walked out onto the sun-filled balcony. His body started to burn at once, but it didn't hurt as much as he expected it to. A couple hours later, all that remained on the balcony was a sizable pile of dust that was slowly blowing away.
A/N: WAIT! Don't storm out angry yet, it's not over! There is an epilogue that will make everything clear.
I hope you enjoyed the fight, it seemed a bit one sided though, didn't it? Anyway, you can review on this chapter if you would like or you can wait to review on the epilogue