When Thomas arrived at the church with Creem in tow everything was dark and Thomas itched desperately for blood; he could practically smell Setrakian hiding away in there somewhere. Vivika had want to come, had even been rather insistent, said she'd wanted to stand by his side when it all happened, when Setrakian was finally drained of every last drop, but he'd refused. The very last thing he wanted was her getting hurt by one of Setrakian's last-ditch attempts to stay alive by trying to kill Thomas' wife. Besides, Vivika had always hated getting blood on her shoes.

Steadily, like shadows in the night, they crept further into the dimly lit building. When he poked his head into the heart of the church Thomas spotted his target the Jew and some woman he'd never seen before all lit up by candles. Thomas smiled while Setrakian mumbled away about what he'd learned from the Lumen; time for his downfall.

"Yes, by all means, share your epiphany with us, A230385." The suit clad Strigoi made sure to enunciate every single number for maximum effect.

Thomas had always enjoyed the numbers, not because it reminded him of the camps but because of the little twinge it always got from Setrakian's eyes; the pain. The German smiled, couldn't help it, he'd longed for this for so long and now Thomas beamed with happiness. In an instant the dark-skinned woman took out her weapon and fired, this sort of shit was why he hadn't wanted Vivika around, she'd have healed sure but it would have hurt since she couldn't dodge as he could. Creem surged forwards eagerly and snapped her neck, lights out, all over. Setrakian drew his silver sword but it would do him no good, not now.

"I can hear your heartbeat, Jew." Thomas stepped slowly towards his enemy as he spoke. "Fluttering like a dying moth. It's over. We should have done this decades ago when it would have been a fair contest."

Setrakian raised the sword higher as if he were some kind of knight, probably actually believed that, and Creem tried to launch again but Thomas grabbed him by the arm.

"No!" He all but hissed. "He belongs to me. The moment of truth has arrived, A230385. Now is your chance to rid the world of the great evil that stands before you."

The Jew swung his sword a couple of times but Thomas hadn't even needed to go at half speed to easily avoid the long, silver blade. He was weak, just an old man who'd clung to life too long, Thomas just watched as Abraham collapsed to the cold floor.

"Go ahead, pawnbroker. Pick it up."

In a sudden feat of strength which – quite frankly – surprised even Thomas he grabbed the sword and flung it, not strong enough though, Thomas caught it despite the burn. Oh, he really was having fun.

"So, where is your God now, Jew?" Thomas asked.

"Watching you through me. And soon he will see you burn in hell."

Thomas laughed, this really was all too funny.

"So, now you are an avenging angel, huh? An instrument of divine retribution."

"No. Just an ordinary man. But that is all that will be required to bring your master to his knees." Truthfully Eichhorst admired his enemies determination.

The Strigi slashed the mortal's cheek then tossed the sword down so he could claw at Setrakian's collar.

"Abraham, look at me. Remember when we first met? In the concentration camp? I laid my gun on your work table. If you had just had the courage to grab it, all this might have never happened. Does that thought trouble you?"

Thomas had waited so long for this moment and now it was finally there, Eichhorst would enjoy it, revel in all he could. Truthfully he should have expected someone to come in and ruin his fun, so it wasn't much of a surprise when Gus and Raul marched in all guns blazing to kill his Strigs. Why can't I just enjoy this? Still Thomas Eichhorst had waited decades for this moment so he could surely wait a few minutes more.

He heard 'it's the German' as he field the spray of bullets in favor of the shadows. God was he sick of interruptions. No, nothing is going to ruin tonight, Thomas decided, if they wanted to play then he was more than willing to play a while. Like a whirlwind he rushed passed them and, as expected, the pair of idiot humans wasted yet more ammo, did more damage to the stone statue than they ever could have to him.

"Augustin Elizalde!" Eichhorst called from the darkness. "It's been a long time."

There were only two of them, easy kills and then he could go back to the Jew and finish play time; wasn't like Setrakian was going anywhere.

"Waxy boy!" Called Gus. "Been too long! It's time we settle up."

Eichhorst really did enjoy Gus' enthusiasm but he could still smell the fear, it floated in the air like a drop of blood in the ocean.

"Whatever do you mean?" He questioned only after he'd moved again. "You were well paid for your services."

"Uh-uh, uh-uh. I owe you. I owe you for my mom, I owe you for my brother. And Angel!" He screamed. "Come on! Come on!"

The German shifted again which caused a second round of shooting. Missed by a mile, Thomas chuckled.

"Your companions blood smells like yours. Is he another relative?" Eichhorst enquired demoniacally only to drop down onto Raul and turn him, a quick worm to the eye always did the job. He hauled the body up as Gus turned and grinned at the horror on Gus' face. "Now this one too."

With that he snapped Raul's neck and dodged the flood of gunfire and screaming. It really was a good job he'd not brought Vivika.

Didn't matter how amusing all this had been, Thomas had grown bored, and then Mister Creem appeared as if called by Thomas' displeasure, he grabbed Gus and hauled him backwards as the German appeared from the shadows.

"Augustine, now you."

Everything was falling into place, or so he'd thought because just as his stinger shot out from his throat Setrakian decided to surprise Thomas one more time and stabbed him through the back with his beloved silver blade. Fuck did it hurt! He punched the Jew knocking him to the ground, he'd liked that suit. The burn was odd, it hurt but it was the warmth of the burn he registered more than anything else, Thomas worked passed it though as he ripped the blade from his body and let it fall to the ground with a metallic thud. He yanked Abraham up off his feet with just one hand – not that Thomas had the option for two – and held him there a moment, a display of his power.

"Admit it, A230385. You've always been curious about what's on the other side."

"Are you going to stand there flapping your lips all day or finish this?" Even at his end Abraham Setrakian insisted upon pushing Thomas with taunts.

The stinger came straight out and latched on as a scream sounded somewhere in the background. Instantly Thomas knew something was wrong, with the very first drop of Setrakian's blood; something had tainted him. The Strigoi let his enemy drop, like a bag of sand, just heavy and straight down to the cold ground. Poison! The fucking Jew had poisoned him! Eichhorst gasped as it took hold, burned through his stinger and into his body, without his permission his legs gave out as white blood spewed from his lips. He didn't have long. Of all the possible ends Thomas Eichhorst had ever envisioned this hadn't been one of them, he'd expected to be taken as his Lord's new host, possibly a bullet or maybe even Vivika's wraith – she was unpredictable at best – but not this, never this, not the damn Jew winning after all these years.

While Eichhorst's dying mind tried to make sense of it all Gus managed, somehow, to escape Creem's grasp and put the oaf down, wasn't a problem, The Master hadn't intended on keeping him around for long regardless. Even if Creem had been important Thomas was much too busy being focused on the burning in his throat, in his lungs as his body tried to rid him of the toxin without any hope. He choked, it hurt.

Setrakian hobbled to his feet, remarkable strength for a man who'd gone through all he had and retrieved his sword; the blade glinted in the darkness.

"Like rats, you cannot vomit the blood thinner. An anatomical curiosity, but very significant too, don't you think? You are vermin." He leaned in closer to really drive his point home. "Look at me. I want your master to see this. Can you see me? I have something to say to you. You are the hunger. The strain that feeds on us since time immemorial. But make no mistake, you're still a parasite. And we will flush you out and burn you. It will not be me. It will not be now, but it will happen. No matter how long it takes, in another face, in other eyes, you will see me as you die. And as for you, Herr Eichhorst, my name is Abraham Setrakian and you should know I'm not a number anymore." He raised his silver sword, Setrakian had waited for this almost as long as he could remember. This was justice for all those Eichhorst had killed for little more than sport. "My sword is silver!"

"But bullets are faster."

Abraham's head snapped up but it was too late, probably hardly even registered the bang before he had a bullet graze passed his head so deep his skill chipped. Normally Vivika was a great shot but she was just so goddamn angry! No one touched her darling Thomas. Setrakian stumbled backwards but before she could fire again Gus managed to haul him off and away from the other Strigoi who followed her in; let them hide.

"Thomas! Thomas, don't do this. You're going to be okay. I love you."

Vivika dropped her gun and fell to her knees beside her husband, she cupped his cheeks as tears welled in her eyes. For most of her life she'd cared about nothing but herself and her entomology books but now she cared about Thomas, loved Thomas. Green eyes peered around desperately as white blood poured from him, his ears, his eyes, his mouth. Vivika just let instinct take over, she wouldn't let her husband be taken from her. She shoved her hand into his mouth and hauled out his stinger, there with her knees cold as ice she forcibly pressed the sharp teeth of it into her wrist and – thankfully – he started to drink, a natural reaction or an attempt to save himself she neither knew nor cared in that moment.

The Strigoi she'd brought with her just stood and watched liked lifeless puppets. Thomas had told her not to follow him, to stay at the penthouse where she'd be safe but it was Thomas who'd needed saving. The second they'd learned where Setrakian had been hiding Vivika had flooded with an uneasy feeling, a feeling which had taken over deep inside her stomach and churned. Never had she been so happy to have disobeyed him.

Quickly the raven-hair beauty started to grow dizzy and knew that unconsciousness would be coming for her. Vivika didn't have long left before she passed out due to blood loss and once she did she'd not be able to keep his stinger attached to her wrist.

"You." She hissed at one of the Strigs. "I'm going to pass out, hold my wrist to him, make sure he gets all of it." They Strigoi easily obeyed Vivika's order and knelt beside her. Green eyes turned to one of the other Strigoi. "Find the Lumen before Setrakian can come back for it."

Maybe it was luck more than anything else which allowed the Strig to grab her wrist as she passed out and fell down next to her husband, both unconscious but the Strigoi carried out its orders and held stinger to wrist firmly. For Vivika and Eichhorst, all was black.

XXXX

Okay, so clearly this is going to go pretty cannon divergent from here on out. Hope you all don't mind me not killing our favorite Nazi.