Author's Note: This chapter takes place after the events of the previous one, but it's set during the daytime and we get acquainted with some old friends from earlier.

Monroeville Mall

Monroeville, Pennsylvania

"Man, that was an awesome con! I'm glad we could go there. I'm even more glad that I could be there with you and Roxas."

Xion had to admit that she was very happy and had a great time with her brother Roxas and her boyfriend Axel. The three had just got done with a local anime convention and were now chilling at the famous Monroeville Mall. The three were sitting together at the same food court table, each one sipping their own drinks they got from the vending machines and enjoying the chill ambiance with Roxas staring idly at a fountain and seemingly within his own little world.

"Roxas! You there?" said Axel as he pushed the blonde's shoulder.

"What? Oh, sorry I kinda spaced out there. So, now that we've got the con taken care of, what's next?"

"Well, we're going to meet your older brother Cloud at the rendezvous along with the rest of our packmates. Then we'll begin our tribal festivities."

"Do you think Sora knows about what's going on tonight?"

"He probably does, but he's not really involved in all this like me, Xion, and Cloud are. I'm not even sure if he's fully aware of his true nature like we are. He might not have even inherited the same traits that me and Xion did. Fraternal twins are weird like that, and fraternal triples even weirder."

"Yeah. It's kinda weird, you know. Coincidentally, the death of your uncle-in-law is troubling to say the least. The sacred forest glen we have for our tribal grounds is also part of the wider property of Carnifex Abbey. The House of Sephiroth owns that land."

"I mean, Vladimir Sephiroth was pretty goddamn fucking wealthy. He was of noble blood and he was a big shot with heavy investments in both Silicon Valley and Wall Street as well as holdings in Europe and Japan. There's no way he wouldn't will all that to Riku. Considering Riku is in a throuple with Sora and that Kairi girl, I'm pretty sure we're in the clear for now."

"I hope so. Call it a hunch, but I got this strange feeling that something really bad is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. Do we know how Vladimir died?"

"Well, according to the black-bordered envelope Sora showed me at the hotel back in West Virginia, Uncle Vladimir died of sudden and complete exsanguination in his sleep."

"Oh fuck! Why didn't either of you tell me this?"

"What? Why, Xion?"

"Because exsanguination means blood loss. Vladimir Sephiroth literally bled to death while he was asleep. Either there's a serial killer afoot or vampires are active in the area. Given the fact that the House of Sephiroth is the same noble lineage that Vlad the Impaler belonged to, I'm wondering if Count Dracula had something to do with Vladimir's death? What if he's trying to take over Carnifex Abbey?"

"You really think a vampire did this?"

"Stranger things have happened. Could explain the weird feeling I've got. It's like I can smell the faint scent of fear and danger in the air. And the closer we got to Carnifex Abbey, the stronger it gets. I didn't notice it until we crossed the bridge into Pennsylvania and entered the area. It weakened when we took that detour through Pittsburgh but now we're closer to the place and it's returned."

"Fuck, you smell it too? I thought it was just me."

"Nah, it's not just you and Xion, Roxas. I could sense it as well."

"Dracula is a legendary vampire. And I'm pretty sure he could wipe the floor with all of us even if we combined our strength. We'll need to tell this to Cloud and to the leader of the pack as well. This could be a big problem."

The three nodded and finished the last of their soft drinks before getting up in unison and silently walked out of the mall, making sure to keep a steady pace but not draw any kind of attention to themselves.