An abandoned parking garage was the last place Mari expected to end up, but the bottom layer was completely underground and safe from the cults. They were still inside Tokyo-2 but now in the extreme east side of the city, far from where the main areas of cult violence had been taking place. Concrete pillars, perfectly round stood strong despite no one having used this place in years. It occurred to Mari that this was probably here since before the Angel War and managed to survive it in its entirety.
"I might have overdone it some," Asuka noted as the sounds of distant sirens could still be heard.
"Don't worry about that," Shinji noted as he approached a covered vehicle. "The neighboring buildings were also abandoned. Think of this as an impromptu urban renewal."
Mari looked around in the dark, noting that one of the ramps did have some overhead access to the sky above, but exposure to any sunlight from there would be indirect and thusly, not threatening. It was comfortable down here, but then again, without a proper metabolism the temperature would need to be pretty extreme in one way or another to even register to her anymore.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the sun," Mari lamented.
Shinji threw off the cover from the vehicle revealing a black SUV with two rows of seating in the back.
"I miss being able to go out without having cultists try to kill me," Asuka admitted. "You'd think with all I've slain so far they wouldn't be able to keep recruiting. What the hell is driving them?"
"They crave the night," Shinji noted. "They're so desperate for some kind of godly figure to lead them out of their pathetic existences that they're willing to worship even an Icon of Evil just to have hope."
Mari looked at the vehicle, examining the details. "Guess I'm glad I got out when I did," she admitted. "We're taking this to the safehouse?"
"Yeah, it's in the middle of basically nowhere, so a vehicle like this is kind of necessary. You can sleep in the very back if you like. Asuka and I will take the middle row. As soon as the sun goes down, we're out of here."
VI: To Slay a Demon, Part I
At some point during the day, both sets of seats in the SUV were put down and Shinji found himself sleeping with a girl on each arm. Asuka on his right, and Mari on his left. This was a bit awkward as he was still not very into this concept of having more than a single girl. He tried to chastise himself mentally for feeling like that; after all, was this not the wet dream of every man his age?
While they abstained from having fun with each other, they did try their best to get actual sleep. The original arrangements made for little room for Asuka and Shinji on the row and Mari couldn't sleep due to still wanting to be close to Shinji. It took a little prodding but finally Shinji caved in and allowed this arrangement. It took him a bit to get sleep but the girls feel asleep pretty fast once they were both this close to him.
As Asuka had possessed Dominus at one point for some time, her original attraction to Shinji was amplified. Mari being effectively groomed to be one of Dracula's brides had predisposed her to this position as well. But Shinji in these thoughts realized he was trying to push blame for how the girls were acting onto such forces, and while true, it was belittling his own worth in the process. Something he then chastised himself for doing. He promised himself he wouldn't do such a thing again.
The light coming from the down ramp had dimmed a bit, turning towards the redder shades, and so he knew sundown was in progress. Within the hour it would be time to awaken the girls so they can proceed to the safe house. As much as he didn't want to leave the city, he knew there wasn't much choice in the matter. He wondered just how long it would take for the heat to die down…
It was nearly 2am when the SUV arrived at the safehouse. Mari peered through the darkness at the house and was immediately entranced by it.
"Nice place," Mari commented.
"It's home," Shinji replied. "It's isolated, completely off the grid, and has all the accommodations needed. I could probably house like 20 people here if I had to."
"Off the grid huh? I'm guessing no electricity or running water then."
"You'd be wrong," Asuka replied joyously. "Shinji managed to tap a nearby hot spring for electricity and an underground aquafer for water. We have both in abundance here."
"Amazing! How did you manage this?"
"Well," Shinji began, "it took a bit of studying, and a lot of money, but thanks to my time as a pilot, I had plenty of resources to tap."
"You built this place?"
"No, the house was already here. I did repair it, run the wiring, and add plumbing though. That was a lot of work."
He parked the SUV next to the house.
"We still have a few hours before sunrise," Asuka noted. "Let me show you around."
Two hours later, Asuka had helped Mari get settled in. They used heavy black sheets to block the windows in her chosen room and made extra certain that they would stay put. The outside shutters were also fully closed, which helped significantly. While she did this, Shinji moved the food they purchased at the last town before here to the refrigerator and pantry, and ensured that the house was still getting power and water. Satisfied that all was well, he checked in on the girls.
"I've never been in a house like this," Mari noted. "I've seen a few in Yorkshire but never got to be inside one. I wonder why the previous owners decided something more western style was appropriate?"
"Probably for the same reason someone decided to build a mock European castle," Asuka replied, recalling her last major adventure. "People sometimes have more money than sense, and eccentrics like to do their own thing."
"That's the truth," Shinji added. "Father spends his money on expensive German cars for some reason."
"Have you even contacted your father since this whole thing started?" Asuka asked.
Shinji was silent, as if the mere thought of that was unthinkable. "No," he said with finality. "He doesn't care anyway, so why should I bother?"
"But he's your dad," Mari pointed out. She immediately regretted that as she watched his more feral features surface slightly and his eye glow before he responded.
"Let me tell you something about my father," Shinji began. "My father abandoned me after my mother died. He left me in the hands of my uncle until I was 14 and I was useful to him. My entire worth to him during the war was as a pilot, and nothing else. He is my CO and that's it. I may call him 'Father' but he is truly no dad of mine. I only have the misfortune of sharing his DNA."
Mari frowned as Shinji vented. "Sorry I asked."
Shinji calmed down, his feral features fading, though there was still a noticeable glow in his eyes. "No, I'm sorry… it's just he pisses me off so much. You had no idea; I shouldn't have gone off like that."
"It's fine," Mari assured him. "It's obviously a sore spot and you needed to vent a bit. Feel any better?"
"Not really," Shinji noted. "He's still an asshole."
There was a moment of silence before they all began to chuckle at that.
Just after sundown, Mari walked out onto the rear porch looking out over the woods. The scenery felt somewhat eerie to her, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was so strange to her. In her hands she had a warm cup of pig's blood. Though the taste was a little thin compared to human blood, there were no cultists here for her to snack on, so it had to do. It would serve the same purpose, despite being less enjoyable.
Asuka soon joined her on the porch, sitting next to her on the porch swing when Mari moved over to allow her on.
"Yen for your thoughts?" Asuka greeted.
"This forest is eerie," Mari admitted. "I feel strange just looking into it."
"This place is full of supernatural energy," Asuka explained. "Out there, I discovered a cave that was once a holy place… or perhaps a lair of the occult, couldn't tell you for sure. But it was were I found this." Asuka pulled the necklace from her shirt revealing a softly glowing stone that appeared to be set in a silver set of wings.
"The Leap Stone," Mari noted.
"Very good," Asuka praised. "How did you know?"
"I came across an entry about it in one of the occult books I studied before I found the circle. There were a lot of fascinating relics and artifacts talked about." She paused looking at the stone again as Asuka put it back in her shirt. "Can it really do what the text states it can?"
"It creates a disk of energy that briefly acts as a solid platform," the redhead explained.
"That's what the text stated," Mari confirmed. "Vampires can do something like that naturally, though with us it's a brief summoning of raven wings."
"A helpful trick. I still have yet to find a Glyph that can replace the functionality of the stone. I'd rather not rely on a trinket like this if I don't have to."
"I imagine one exists," Mari noted. "Though I can't really say for sure if that's correct since my studies never touched on Glyph Magic." She sipped from her cup, noting Asuka's slightly cringy look as she did so. "It's actually not that bad, a little weak is all."
"So, does it taste like proper blood?"
Mari thought about that moment. "It does, but it's a bit copperier and thinner at the same time. It works though."
"Well you can always use me if you want the real thing," Asuka offered with a bit of a sultry spin in her voice. "I don't mind at all."
Mari smiled softly. "I should at least give it a week or two though," Mari noted. "It's not just blood… it's energy too."
"Is that why it felt so… intense?" Asuka gently ran her fingers over the spot where she was bitten. Though the soreness was gone, she noted her nerves there were now extra sensitive.
"I was told that some girls have nerve endings in their neck that detect blood flowing out very differently from any other sensation, usually setting off pleasure centers and releasing huge amounts of dopamine into the brain, but that's just a theory. More likely, some girls, especially those that are supernatural in some way be it witchcraft or some other power, are especially sensitive to energy flows. Giving of one's self is thusly translated as the ultimate high, so the drain manifests as sexual energy. Just my thoughts.
"In reality, no one really knows why some girls get off on being drained."
"Well if it feels like that every time," Asuka noted, earning a lustful look from Mari. Unable to keep a straight face any longer, both girls started giggling.
"I leave you girls outside and you start talking smut," Shinji noted as he walked out. "Albeit an interesting conversation."
"Master," Mari greeted cutely.
"Oh, don't start that," Shinji chuckled. "I'm no one's master… at least not by choice."
"Choice seems to be in short supply lately," Mari noted, causing the others to go quiet. She sighed before putting her empty cup down on the deck. "This is all my fault."
"Mari, stop," Shinji nearly commanded.
"You know it's true. Our lives have been absolutely wrecked by Carmilla and her cult of sex crazed sluts and lecherous assholes. She needs to be stopped."
"She will," Shinji noted. "It's only a matter of…"
"No, she won't," Mari counted. "If you're hoping NERV can handle this, you should know better than that by now. They don't have the power to deal with this threat, not even close. Surely your experience with Asuka has taught you that much."
Shinji immediately countered in a stronger voice. "All my experience with Asuka taught me, is that interfering with what's happening can get a person killed. She nearly died because she wouldn't listen. I damn near sent her off to her death when I agreed to let her go after Decius. If she hadn't done that, I would have…"
"What?" Asuka cut in. "Gotten yourself killed? They had you and they were going to rip your soul out so they could start making their own dark lord without you."
"I could have saved you from them," Shinji noted. "That would have been worth my death."
"Is this not better?" Asuka countered. "I'm alive, you're alive, we got to be together at last. Is that too much to ask?"
Shinji walked to the edge of the deck looking out into the rapidly darkening forest. "I struggle every day with dark power flowing though my veins. It takes effort to subsume that power. The more I expose myself to this cult world, this ancient war between light and dark, the more of this power I'm likely to be forced to hold." He turned towards Asuka. "I don't want this! I never wanted this!"
"It's no longer our choice to make," Mari noted, causing Shinji to turn towards her. "I was more than willing to martyr myself at the end… I was ready and willing to die. I finished my mission because it was the right thing to do, and there were so many counting on me. The fact that I got turned into a monster served to remind me of what I was fighting. I felt guilty, but like Asuka said, I was fully immersed in a part and for a time had everything I ever wanted. In the end I sacrificed that, the love, the comfort, all of it, because I have a duty to those who can't help themselves. That is the oath we took at NERV, and it doesn't end just because we're monsters. We have powers now, and we have a duty to use those powers for good."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Shinji groaned as he turned towards the forest. "Don't give me that 'great power great responsibility' crap. I had enough of that when I was a pilot."
"Helping people is who you are… baka!" Asuka nearly shouted, causing Shinji to cringe slightly. "You were a coward in those days but you still got in the fucking robot because you knew no one else could do it. Well, here we are now… it's the same as it has always been. There may not be giant biomechanical titans to pilot or huge Biblical terrors to destroy, but we have supernatural power, and the threat is arguably just as bad. And I know damn well that you do care, you have a study full of files and books telling me this, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered with any of that."
For a few precious moments there was silence. Mari hoped someone would break it, but it persisted. Then Shinji broke that silence with a heavy sigh.
"I'm tired, Asuka… Tired of fighting… tired of killing. Those were cultist scumbags back it the city, but they were still people… Killing angels was easy, nothing human about them… this… this is different." He turned towards her. "And you damn well know it. Killing humans came easy for you; you were in the mindset of being a soldier from day 0, but me… I was a kid who watched his mother disintegrate inside of the plug of the very same monster I was forced to pilot to kill those biblical terrors you spoke of. I lived with my uncle, who made damn sure I would be easy to control when the time came. I was never a soldier… and don't you dare call me a hero."
Without another world, Shinji walked back into the house.
"The trouble with being a reluctant gunslinger is that even when you act in righteousness, you are still full of regret," Mari concluded. "He hid it well in the city, but I could tell he didn't enjoy what he did back there."
"He never does," Asuka agreed. "Perfect, wonderful Shinji… the most reluctant hero of all time. And yet, I know he'll keep fighting, because he can't sit by and watch the world burn."
Mari's eyes set on determination.
"And neither can I…"
Asuka continued to share a room with Shinji, but Mari kept to herself. Tonight, she would use that to her advantage. She waited until she was absolutely certain that they were asleep, and then left the house the most silent way she knew.
A cloud of mist drifted from the window into the night air, lazily floating upwards in a single coherent mass. As it drifted over the roof of the forest home, it condensed into a large black bat and flew with unnatural speed into the night. This method of travel was far faster than any vehicle that traveled along the ground, and so Mari knew she could easily get back to Tokyo-2 and cause some damage before the sun showed itself. Perhaps she could even get information and find out for sure where Carmilla was hiding. Mari hoped Shinji would forgive her for this, but she knew it had to be done. If he was no longer willing to fight them, she would.
It didn't take too long to reach the city, and even less time to find a good target. Flying silently above the city, she was able to find a cultist that was alone, traveling though an alleyway. She noted he was retracing his steps… likely a sentry. She transformed above him, dropping onto him and silencing him quickly before dragging him deeper into the alleyway.
"Tria- ", he was cut off with a hand on his mouth and a blade at his throat. The short but sharp implement uncomfortably close to his larynx.
"Enough of that," Mari hissed softly. "How many are in that lair you're guarding." She slowly let go of the man's mouth.
"One-Hundred and Seventy-Three," the man replied just as low.
"Fuck," Mari whispered, knowing she couldn't take on a host that big easily. "Is Carmilla among them."
"No, the Mistress is not in the city."
"Where is she?" He didn't respond at first. "Speak," she commanded, pressing her blade a little harder into the man's throat.
"Tokyo-4. She went there last night. There is a manor she uses as her private hideaway in the forest north of the city."
Instantly, the vision she gained days ago appeared in her mind again; the house in the woods, the halls of evil, Carmilla on her throne…
"It wasn't abstraction… it's a house in the wilderness."
"You've been quite helpful," Mari noted. "Now there is one more thing you can do for me."
"Anything!" the man replied immediately.
Mari removed the blade from the man's throat. As he relaxed, thinking he was safe now, Mari pulled the man closer and bit into his neck while holding his mouth closed with her free hand. He struggled and was pushed against the wall for his troubles as Mari continued to drain him. Soon he was too weak to fight back and accepted his fate. As soon as the man was drained, she dropped the body and checked her watch. She had just enough time to get to Tokyo-4 before sunrise. She was certain she could find a place to hide from the sun there.
Again, she shifted to her bat form and took wing into the pale moonlight.
As soon as the sun was down, Mari took wing once more, this time to the north. Having left the abandoned tenement behind her, she was out of the city in mere minutes and moving though the night air. Though she didn't have a clue as to the actual whereabouts of the manor, she followed her instincts and the feelings she got from her blood vision days ago. With only a small amount of luck, she saw lights in the forest that resembled a building.
The manor was bigger than she thought it would be, but looked as her vision told her. A high stone wall surrounded the property, and cultists patrolled the pathways through the trees around the main building. All trees within 20 meters of the building where gone, likely used to build the place, and she also noted the tell-tale signs of piping tapping a water reserve below ground, a sure sign that they used the same method Shinji did to get power and water to the building.
She had but to find a way in… and that proved to be the easy part. The west wing of the sprawling manor held several bedrooms, one of which had an opened window. A quick flyby revealed the room was empty so she flew in and shifted back into human form, landing without a sound.
The room was as opulent as she expected; rich carpet, stylized walls, a canopy bed with lush curtains, a fireplace that was perpetually lit, and the room still smelled faintly of sex.
"This must be the place," she whispered.
Moving swiftly towards the door, she peeked outside, seeing a cultist standing in the hallway facing away he appeared to be reading a book whilst standing in front of a door like he was going to open in but found a particularly engrossing passage. A moment later he tore his eyes from the book and entered the room he was standing in front of.
Mari made her way down the opposite direction, reaching an opened balcony that resembled the manor in Tokyo-2. Below she could see the two curved staircases leading to the atrium, several cultists were gathered there, all half naked and mostly female. She wasn't interested in their conversation, but listened and waited until they moved on. Seeing a small space between the stairs and the wall to her right, she peered down then quietly dropped down into a dark space. Here she could see a hallway ran under the upper balcony she was just on and pair of double doors stood opened in the middle. Halls ran in both directions as well. She peered into the double doors and saw a pair of cultists standing guard before another set of doors.
Knowing the throne room was on the bottom floor from her vision, she decided the best way in would be straight through. She had to be quick though if she was going to dispatch the two without too much noise.
The cultists went for their weapons when she came into view but before they could speak, they each took a knife to the throat. Mari's aim was perfect, and other than a couple of choked gasps, they made no sound as they died. She pushed opened the doors to the next room seeing a large open circular room with no signs of life. As she walked forward, she saw the room had a circle of columns, and for some reason a sandy pit in the center. Beyond the pillars the circular room was ringed with statues of demons and armored men, with blue flamed torches surrounding it. Similar torches sat on the pillars. Above the room to her left on the balcony was a large throne like chair but no one was in it at the moment.
As she crossed the room heading towards the other set of doors, she heard the ones behind her slam shut causing her to spin and face them. A deep laugh was heard from above, as she watched a dark mist float into the chair above taking the form of a familiar, huge man.
"Taleth," Mari noted aloud. "I should have figured you'd be here."
"Welcome, traitor," he greeted. "The mistress wasn't entirely sure you would come… but I knew you couldn't stay away. You had to finish what you started after all."
Mari's eyes narrowed slightly. "Your brethren destroyed my life, did you think I wouldn't return the favor."
"Destroyed your life?!" Taleth echoed with shock and insult. "Carmilla gave you the gift of Immortality! And this is how you squander it?"
"I'm not here to argue with you. Where's Miranda?"
Taleth looked surprised. "So… you do care about her. How interesting. Were you hoping to find her, perhaps convince her to leave the cult with you and start a mundane existence outside the cult? You know she'd never have wanted that. Unfortunately you'll never get to know if she would accept such an offer anyway, Miranda is no longer with us. The mistress decided to make an example of her."
Mari held back her tears, though she knew this was coming.
"Poor child," Taleth mocked in a thick Romanian accent. "You know, she was calling out for you even at the end. So much betrayal… so much to pay for. It took her many hours to die. If I close my eyes, I can still hear her screaming in delicious agony. The poor thing was convinced you'd save her in the end, hung on as long as she could."
Mari's eyes glowed. A simple execution is one thing, but this was too much. "You bastards are going to pay for that."
"Oh, I highly doubt that," Taleth chuckled out. "You're going to be far too busy dying. This house is my manor you see, and you are trespassing." He snapped his finger causing a pair of columns of fire to erupt on either side of the arena. Mari noted her position placed her between what was coming. "I won't waste time with someone as small as you personally; a proper Dark Lord wouldn't dirty his hands with something so mundane… so instead, these two should be sufficient to provide your end, and should provide me with plenty of entertainment."
As the flames cleared, they revealed two monsters straight out of legend. The first, a man over 8' tall with the head of a great bull and skin a deep red color. In his hands, a massive two-handed battle axe and he wore the loin of a barbarian. His body was well muscled and his tail lashed vehemently. Behind her was a much smaller man, not much taller than her, but shifted into the form of a werewolf. Dark fur covered his entire body, and he was well toned in overall physique, even visible though the fur. His eyes glowed with a red inner light, his fangs dripped saliva, and he growled deeply. His claws suddenly extended with a metallic sound, and he threw his head back. The monster's howling echoed over the arena around them.
"That's not good," Mari whispered to herself.
"Now," Taleth announced. "Let the games begin!"
Mari drew her rapier and immediately had to dodge to the right as the massive Minotaur rushed foward with an over head strike trying to cleave her in two. She turned to face the werewolf after her dodge but realized too late she lost had track of him already. She looked up just in time to get a wolf foot to the face as the monster hit her with a flying kick that threw her into a pillar. The force focused into a smaller area by his foot felt like she had been shot with a solid slug from the shotgun.
"Oh wonderful," Mari groaned as she recovered. "He knows kung fu."
She dropped to her butt instantly as the axe from the Minotaur flew at her neck, having been thrown at her with great force. The pillar shattered above her in a shower of marble fragments as the axe passed though. The axe then returned like a huge boomerang of death to its owner who was already moving in for another attack. Mari doved to the left then Rolled further on her path, dodging another attack from the werewolf as she tried to get a bit of distance from both. They seemed intent on getting her between them.
The werewolf tried to pounce on her but Mari dodged by briefly shifting into mistform. However, as soon as she solidified, she was rammed into by the Minotaur and slammed against the pillar. She felt something in her stomach rupture on impact and knew she was in trouble. The minotaur backed up and Mari spit out blood. Quickly regenerating the wound, she dodged left as the axe tried to finish her only to get roundhouse kicked back the way she came by the werewolf causing her to trip over the axe. She quickly rolled and jumped as she barely dodged another flying kick from the werewolf. On her way down, the Minotaur grabbed her by the leg and swung her around, slamming he through a pillar before chucking her into another one. It took a few precious seconds for Mari to snap her spine back into its original place so she could avoid the werewolf's attempt eviscerate her.
"I can't win this," Mari realized to her terror. "They're too fast…"
Realizing she had to get some kind of damage done if she was going to live though this, she suddenly shifted from defense to offense, dodging the werewolf's attempt to strike again and cutting deep into it's chest with a well placed rapier strike. She then rolled away as the axe from the minotaur was already on its way down to her. Mari tried to summon up some of her power for a quick advantage but still hadn't time to finish casting as the werewolf pounced upon her front and bit into her shoulder. She yelled in pain before running it though with her rapier and kicking it off, but watched in dismay as it immediately rolled up to it's feet and quickly regenerated the damage. Mari didn't have any silver weapons to use against it.
As she tried to gather herself once more, she was slammed by the flat side of the axe and sent sprawling to the ground face-up. As she tried to get up, the werewolf's foot pressed against her throat, pinning her down. The beast snarled as the Minotaur approached, axe in hand.
"I was hoping for so much more from you Mari," Taleth sneered. "Alas, you were only worth so much entertainment it seems."
Mari glared in his direction and tried desperately to get the werewolf off her throat before the Minotaur got to her but realized there was no way she could.
"Minotarus! Finish her!" Taleth commanded. "Finish her for the Mistress!"
The Minotaur raised his axe…
To Be Concluded
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
And I still believe that I cannot be saved
"This can't be how it ends… Miranda dead, me soon to join her… help hundreds of miles away… It just can't…"
Next Chapter: The conclusion of Tragic Princess