Welcome to –gets conked on the head- .

Li: Yes. Welcome to the story. I am truly sorry to do this to you, little one, but we are taking control of your work.

Dra: Indeed. Resistance would be most unwise, Mr. Trahurn. I suggest you just play along with what we want and everything will be fine. This I can promise you.

….huh?

Dra: Right, you were just hit in the head…right. I don't think he'll be any problem, Mistress.

Li: Of course he won't. Now, shall we continue with the story?

Dra: Yes indeed. If anyone is looking for a disclaimer, refer to the previous chapter. Oh, and I suppose I should mention that in this chapter there are references to a few vampires from both fictional and historical sources. The names listed are all owned by their rightful owners, and not Allen Bedillion Trahurn. Or something like that. Special props to Anne Rice for reasons made obvious in the reading.

Somewhere near Baba Yaga's Castle

Dracula sat upon the remains of a fallen tree, no doubt left over from the battle between the forces of Arachnophobia and the DWMA. He had started a fire, not for the warmth but as a beacon for those he had called upon. Granted, on any normal day, the others would probably be able to find him with ease, since they all shared an unbreakable connection. After all, it was he who gifted each of them with the Dark Wavelength. But, given the circumstances, Dracula had deigned to keep his own Wavelength held back, something he had mastered while he lived in that castle for all those years, and he knew that his comrades would not be able to feel out his presence. And sure enough, as he sat and watched his humble beacon dance in the night air, he felt the presence of someone nearby, trying to hide their Dark Wavelength but being incredibly unsuccessful about it.

"You look well, Lord Dracula. To what do I owe the incredible pleasure of your call?" a suave and cool voice said from the shadows, just outside the light of the fire. Dracula knew the voice instantly.

"Good evening, Lestat de Lioncourt. I had thought that maybe the call hadn't been heard, but it seems I was mistaken. Come. Sit with me while we await the others." Dracula replied, his tone lighter than it usually was. He glanced up and watched as his companion stepped into the light of the fire. He wore a suit not much unlike Dracula, only his seemed less modern, more like something you would have seen in early 18th century France. The color of the jacket and pants were more of a dark maroon color, with the jacket having intricate patterns of silver lacing. The shirt shared the same silver patterns as the jacket, but was a very light cyan color. The man himself was maybe six feet tall, with curly blonde hair that wasn't quite shoulder length. He had very sensual facial features, the kind that any woman, strong willed or not, would swoon over, and he wore a somewhat cocky smile on his face, his fangs glinting in the firelight. His eyes were the same color red as his companions.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I'll stand, Lord. I wouldn't want to soil my clothing," Lestat answered, standing next to Dracula and letting his gaze fall to the fire. He had always been one who cared more for the well being of his clothes than for his own.

"You still wear those ancient garments, Lestat?" asked Dracula with a hint of distaste in his voice, "I'm surprised you haven't turned to the fashion of this century."

"Feh, you call that thing you're wearing a suit? This century has no idea what looks appealing on the human form," Lestat replied, playing with one of the frills on his sleeve. Dracula smirked and said, "Either way, old friend, I never liked those frills you seem to adore." The two were silent then, both gazing into the fire, no doubt remembering events from well over two centuries prior. Finally, Lestat said, "So, Lord Dracula, you still haven't answered my question; why have you called me here?" Dracula glanced up for a moment, and then looked back into the fire.

"The Shining Witch wants to move on to the next phase of the plan. So, I've called together the remaining members of Nosferatu so that we can begin."

"And how many of us remain, Lord? It's been so many years, I'm afraid I don't feel their wavelengths like I used to." Dracula chuckled and said, "Yes, I thought that might happen over time. Luckily, I will always be able to feel them," then, he sighed and said somewhat sadly, "of the thirteen original members of Nosferatu, only four of us remain, including you and I. This is something you would have known if you would use the Dark Perception more often."

"Like I have the time for that. I do have a multimillion dollar business to look after, you know."

"And they see you wearing that?" Dracula said with a slight edge in his voice, knowing how his companion would react to this. As expected, Lestat huffed and said, "I thought I explained why I wear this a few minutes ago. And no, none of the mortals know who I am, or even know what I look like. After all, if they knew what I was, I probably wouldn't survive. No doubt I would be attacked by some brats from the Academy," his eyes darted down to Dracula and his smirk returned, "just as you were, if I'm not mistaken. But anyway, we seem to have gotten off topic. Who are the other two surviving members, Lord Dracula?"

"Ah, yes of course. The last surviving members of our little organization are few, but that just proves that they are the most powerful. There is The Blood Countess, Erzsebet. She was one of the first I passed the Dark Wavelength to, just as my own master passed this power to me. Then there is Nikolai.

"Nikolai? Nikolai is still alive?" Lestat exclaimed, staring at the man in disbelief.

"Yes, Nikolai still draws breath. The only member of Nosferatu who openly opposed my leadership. Either way, he still won't be able to bring me down, no matter what kind of power he thinks he has." Dracula retorted, his voice full of confidence.

"Interesting…" Lestat began, scratching his chin, "well, as long as you're confident, I won't question it. So, why are we all the way out here, Lord?" Dracula gazed up, able to see the hulking remains of Arachnae's castle in the distance, nothing but a dark outline before the ever chuckling moon, and said, "From what I've heard, there is a machine within the confines of that ruined building that will help us a great deal. We'll need everyone for what I have planned."

"And we are going to wait for the others? That could take quite some time, Lord."

"No, we won't be waiting," Dracula replied, standing and walking out of the light of the fire, melding seamlessly with the darkness, as was his specialty, "I'll no longer need the fire, after all. You're doing such a poor job at keeping your Wavelength held back that they'll be able to track it with ease." Lestat stared after the man with a shocked, and somewhat angry, look on his face, but said nothing, but merely followed, letting the fire burn behind him.

The Death Weapon Meister Academy

Erik stood with his left arm hanging loosely to his side, the black gauntlet that was Minora glinting with a malicious beauty in the moonlight. He could feel her power rushing through him, mingling with his own in a way that made him feel…strangely whole. Despite her unwillingness to fight, he knew that she was powerful, and a weapon perfectly attuned to his own fighting style. Before him, Black Star stood ready, his smile seeming to get larger and larger with each passing moment. Death the Kid had worked his way around Erik, so that he was standing behind him. The duo had moved to outflank him, and Erik had the feeling that they were using Dual Arts, judging by how much their wavelengths had spiked. "And it feels like there's only one wavelength," Erik thought, flexing his fingers slowly, concentrating his wavelength so that he would be ready to fight. He loved how much easier it was while he was fighting with Minora.

"I hope you're a good teacher, Erik! I'm going to beat you, even if it is nighttime," said Black Star cockily, tensing and making it painfully obvious that he was about to attack. And sure enough, Erik watched as he dashed, his weapon changing into a small blade as he did so.

"SPEED STAR!" he cried, and after that all Erik saw a blur dashing in circles around him. At the same time, Kid opened fire, bullets of his compressed wavelength flying at their target with deadly accuracy. Erik ducked low to avoid the bullets, raising his arm in to block some of them with the gauntlet on his arm. Black Star took advantage of this brief moment of vulnerability and dashed in, hoping to strike a decisive blow early on in the battle. If it weren't for Minora's exclamation of, "Left!" then the young ninja would have been successful. However, because of his partner, Erik was alerted to the attack and, while still blocking the bullets with a mediocre level of success, shot his right hand into the boy, using the Soul Force technique to send him flying. With one of his opponents temporarily out of the way, Erik went on the offensive, dashing for Kid, no longer attempting to block the bullets but instead attempting to arc his wavelength in front of him, remembering how the Count was capable of creating a barrier with his wavelength. Though he was successful with his endeavor, all he could manage was to make the bullets veer off course a little bit, and he could feel it sapping away his strength.

"You could always undo that Seal. Just a little portion would suffice, I should say, one part would be more than enough to make this little skirmish even, won't you agree?" he heard the Count say in his mind, his voice sounding as if it was far away thanks to the Seal doing its job. Erik ignored it and tried to focus his makeshift "shield," with about the same amount of success. He got within striking distance of Kid, and he focused his wavelength in his left arm, ready to attempt the Soul Ripper on his foe.

"Maybe you shouldn't use that….he is a Grimm Reaper…after all…" said Minora, but it was too late, as Erik shot his arm forward with a great deal of more force than he had wanted to. Kid saw the attack coming and had the common sense to leap nimbly out of the way, popping off a few successful rounds while Eriks attack met air, then slammed into the ground, the claws on the gauntlet digging into the stone and leaving slashes in it as he skidded to a stop. Kid landed a fair distance away, he and Black Star now standing side by side. Erik stood and rolled his shoulders, then flicked his left arm upward, making the blade flip forward, extending his reach and surprising his enemies.

"I didn't know your weapon could change like that. Though now that I think about it I do recall Dracula doing something similar at Castle Transylvania," Kid commented, his twin pistols still pointed at Eriks heart, "and the way you were trying to make a shield with your wavelength…another trick from the Count?" Erik smirked and said nothing, both of them knowing this to be true. Black Star, on the other hand, was scratching his head with a puzzled look on his face, and after a few moments of no one filling him in on what they were talking about, he said, "Who cares? No tricks he's got are going to help him here, anyway. He should've just taught us the Soul Ripper and it would've been done with by now."

"Well, looks like I'm going to be testing this Seal after all," muttered Erik as he focused, willing the Seal to release. "Dark Reaper Seal…Tier One…release!" As he felt the power of the Dark Wavelength flow through him once more, only weakly because most of the Seal was still in place, but it was enough for him to feel his mind somewhat clouded with its influence. He smirked as his eyes darkened a little bit and it was just barely noticeable that his exposed canine had lengthened by a centimeter or two. That and he felt a small part of himself that he thought had died come to life: the part of him that wanted to win, wanted to see his enemies kneel before him in defeat. As this lust for battle reawakened, he heard the low chuckle of the Count in his mind.

"Time to get serious, right Minora?" he said, his voice a little darker, but still basically the same. Minora said nothing to her friend, but thought, "The Dark Wavelength changes him this much…and it's only affecting a fraction of his soul right now…without the Seal...he would…" She didn't have time to continue the thought as Erik rushed his opponents at speed, the smirk never leaving his lips.

Erik felt great. Ever since the Seal had been put in place, he had felt weakened in a way. Part of it must have been psychological, as he knew that even without the power of the Dark Wavelength running through him, he was still stronger than most of the students, as well as maybe one or two of the teachers, at the Academy. However, this was only part of the reason he felt weakened. The other part was that, while the Seal was in place, his own wavelength was hindered, held back from its full potential. And now that part of the Seal was released some of his own power, his not the Dark Wavelength, had returned, and the result of this return of his strength was an obvious one: joy, and just a hint of cockiness. All of these thoughts and feelings rushed through him as he neared his targets, both of whom tensed as he approached. Erik held his left arm in front of him, his hand flat. He wouldn't need the Soul Ripper while the blade Minora provided was flipped forward: he would just use it like he would use a sword…well…if said sword were attached to his hand.

When Erik came within about fifteen feet of them, Kid and Black Star made their move, Black Star having Tsubaki change to Enchanted Sword mode dashing off to the left while Kid tossed his pistols into the air. Erik knew this trick, (he'd used it himself when he was a child) and kept his gaze straight at the young Reaper, who was now rushing at him, ready to fight with everything he had. This changed however, when Erik felt a sharp pain in his chest, and saw the bullets cascading on him like rain. When he looked up he saw Liz, holding Patti in her pistol form, raining said bullets down upon him, the woman herself seeming to fall in slow motion. He didn't let the shot that connected slow him down, and began to weave a little as he attempted to dodge them, his target still Kid. When they got within striking distance, Erik thrusted with his blade, his opponent dodging and attempting a chop of his own, which Erik dodged out of the way and, using the momentum of this movement, kicked his leg out in an attempt to sweep Kids legs out from under him. As he did so he caught a glimpse of Liz, who had landed in a crouch not far away. She had stopped firing, not wanted to hit her partner. Not far away was Black Star, who was making his own mad dash, again trying a flanking maneuver.

"Probably the Reapers plan. Too bad the Dark Wavelength is still so restrained. You could take both of them out with a single attack if you were to undo more of that Seal," muttered the Count in his mind. Erik couldn't deny that he was tempted by the offer, but he knew better than to give into such temptations. "Still," he thought, "if they work together then there's a good chance I may lose this battle." He figured if that happened he would just have to deal with it.

As Erik and Kid fought, Eriks attacks seeming somewhat more deadly because of the bladed gauntlet he wielded, Black Star did as Kid had told him, through the their soul connection.

"Try to get behind him and trip him up. Use the shadows with your Enchanted Sword. That should do well. But don't hang back, or he'll probably just get out of it and continue to fight," the Reaper had told the young ninja, to which he had replied, "Why be so cautious? Let's just charge him and overpower him. He can't be that strong." In anger, the Reaper had replied, "Don't underestimate him. He was once powerful enough to face my father, I'm sure not all of that power has left him. Just follow the plan and everything should go smoothly." Black Star had reluctantly agreed to this plan, and he was now going to put it into motion, sending the shadows up to Erik, who was beginning to gain the upper hand in his battle with Kid, even getting a hit or two off on the boy.

"I haven't had a fight like this in a long time!" Erik thought as he swung the blade down again, catching the boy close to his wrist. It was a light cut, but he really hadn't intended to strike in such a…vital area. Kid hardly noticed the lightly bleeding wound, however, as he counterattacked with a strong kick that caught him somewhat off guard. He stumbled back, and instantly felt something off: a pressure on his leg that shouldn't have been there. It was too late for him to react as the shadows wrapped around his leg lifted violently, throwing him down on his stomach. He glared at the shadow still wrapped around his ankle and forced his wavelength through it, causing it to retract as if it had been shocked. He could almost hear the cry of pain from Tsubaki. That was when the cool steel of the Enchanted Sword touched against his throat, and above him stood a widely grinning Black Star, holding the blade against his throat from behind him. And when Erik moved to lift his gauntleted arm, he noticed that a black dress shoe was standing on the blade, keeping him from lifting it. Despite his best efforts, he knew that he wouldn't be able to lift the blade out from under Kids shoe without either getting knocked out by Kid or having his throat cut by an over anxious Black Star. All in all, the odds had turned quite violently against him. He thought about releasing another part of the Seal, knowing that the sudden release of Dark Wavelength would probably make his foes drop their guard. However, when he heard the click of the hammer on a pistol being pulled back, he thought better of it. Erik sighed with acceptance of his defeat and smirked again, closing his eyes as he did so.

"Very excellent work, guys. I didn't think you would try to just capture me. You win." At this, Black Star removed the blade from Eriks throat and jumped up in the air, crying, "YAAAAA-HOOOO! I KNEW I'D WIN!" Meanwhile, Kid lifted his foot and offered his hand to Erik, who took it and stood, cracking his back as he did so. Then, he took a look at his friend, one of the few he would make, and said, "Sorry about the suit, Kid. I didn't mean to rough it up so bad." At first, the boy merely shrugged the damages off, saying something about having plenty of them…then he noticed all the cuts and tears that left his suit…less than appealing. His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide with shock as he stammered out, "The…sy…symmetry…..gu…gahhh…" before collapsing in a heap, his two partners attempting to bring him out of this most recent bout of OCD. Erik scratched the back of his head and decided it was best to just walk off, moving toward the stairs leading into Death City.

"Meet me just outside of town tomorrow at noon and we can begin your training. Don't be late or we'll be going without you," he called over his shoulder, Minora transforming and clinging to his arm. She was obviously tired, so he allowed it gladly, but he didn't ignore the way she continually tried to intertwine her fingers with his. "Something has her spooked. That or Sarah told her to make a move or something." He thought. As he descended the steps, he passed by Sidd, who was now leaning against the wall at the bottom of them.

"I know you, Erik. Looks to me you let them win that fight. Why?" asked the zombie, to which Erik waved back at him and said, "Eh, who knows? I'm not all that secretive about the way I fight. Besides, it might save their asses one day."

I realized I made a location error which was all…weird and stuff but I think I've got it fixed. If I didn't get it fixed fill me in please. .

Anyway, hope you liked, and I know the fight scene was kinda…yeah…but I needed to end it at some point. Also, the reference of the trick the Kid uses with his weapons comes from a saying my friend introduced to me when I was younger, "In a bar fight, never ever watch the bottle." I didn't understand it until I saw it in a movie. Yeah, people used to tell me all sorts of weird things when I was a kid. Shows I'm from Missouri. Awh well, I'll try to update ASAP.

Er: Whoa whoa whoa, what's with the personal info thing you just started spouting there?

Oh shut it, I only have two avid readers and their friends on Facebook. Besides, what's the harm in saying I'm from a state? Oh well. Hey where'd Lilith and Dracula go, by the way?

Er: Oh, I chased them off with some garlic and…whatever witches hate.

….riiiight.