Harsh and windy.

As night fell on the desert below, the moon shone down on an obscure building; one that was housing a ritual.

They were men, all clad in back, only their dark, sombre eyes staring out, and their arms exposed, bearing the marks of numerous fights, and more interestingly, bites.

Two of them were bearing, with incredible ease, a raging figure of the undead, struggling for it's own freedom, and seeking it's main source of sustenance, blood.

A vampire.

However, despite the creature's inhuman strength, the two zealots moved the being with relative ease, and soon, brought it to a table.

Here, two more men came, just as well clad, and the four fastened the being's arms and legs with chains, to prevent any possible attempt of escape.

The vampire was now left, a poor, struggling individual, devoid of the might it once held when it fed on the blood of men. It was no longer mighty, fearsome and lethal; it was pathetic, weak, and vulnerable.

And with that, the leader came in. He bore an incredibly long beard, and his skin was, like the others, a light almond, and on his head, a white turban, matching his long, white robes. He was masked, a white piece of cloth covering his mouth, leaving only his aged, yet vigilant eyes, watching.

He unsheathed the dagger from it's scabbard, hung loosely around the waist. It was damasked in silver, the very blade curved in a distinctive manner, with Arabic runes decorating it's elaborate design.

The ritual had begun.

"You have tasted the blood of men, may you taste ours..."

As he said this, he took his dagger, and cut a deep long line along his arm.

Small droplets of blood fell to the floor, the blade was now covered in blood.

"Allah the Mighty, Allah the Great, Allah the All Powerful, heed our call ! Defender of the Djinn and Men, hear our prayers !"

Closer and closer, the vampire struggled, though helplessly, as the old men came, bearing a lethal weapon in his right hand.

"This evil creature of the night shall be slain in the name of Allah !"

He raised both of his hands, both clutching the dagger.

The vampire gave it's last unearthly cry, whether in protest, in vain, or in anger, it was unimportant as it was drowned out, by a greater call.

"Allah Akhbar !"

~

A deft shot sword came, unerring in it's course, as it hit it's target.

A stuffed dummy.

"Good shot Father Anderson !"

"Yes Thomas, though I must admit: I feel that I placed too much power on the thrust."

Alexander Anderson proceeded to obtain the blade from the dummy, as Fr. Thomas beckoned Alex with a nod of his head in a direction towards the paladin.

"Let's go."

~

"So you turned invisible ?"

"Of course I did ! Did you really think I could turn into a hundred pieces of paper ? Of course I can't; nano-technology is not that advanced !"

"Then, what was with all those pieces of paper rising up to the ground ?"

"That ? That was a gimmick ! It gave me a cover as I turned invisible, and it was a measure to prevent that damned Alucard from pursuing me further. After all, I lost all of my limbs and weaponry."

"But then, how did you manage to control those pieces of paper with your hands ?"

"That ?"

Alex paused for a while, while two walked down the corridor. He gave a sly smile, one that possibly indicated the he told only half of the truth.

"That, is a secret. And one that you'll learn later. And it's not magic.

Anyway, we're here."

~

"Judas priest !"

Alex could faintly heard the words, as he stared up.

"A monster ? Then what are you then ?"

It was the shadow; rising up slowly, raising, coming for him...Alex could do nothing, the gun in his hand was worthless. He could feel the cold metal touch his tongue as he directed the weapon backward....

~

"Alex."

Alex snapped back into reality, and found Fr. Reyes listening to his heartbeat with a stethoscope.

He was in a stunningly white room; he immediately recognised it as the Vatican's special ward for augmented humans. Nearby were all the wards and cabinets containing medicines, formulas, and of course, specialised devices for his type. He was lying on a comfortable bed, with Fr. Reyes sitting next to him, and Fr. Thomas standing up. A medical robot, about the size of a small dog, was busy moving around on the floor, awaiting orders.

"Your synthetic heart is quite fine, but you need to stop using it too often. There's only so much nano-bots that can be entered into your system before you deplete your energy reserves and become too much of a machine. Don't forget we're still trying to keep you as human as possible, even though you're already partly a cyborg, as we don't want you to end up too much of a machine.

Oh yeah, and don't keep dying too much: there's only so many times that you can be revived from a near-death situation."

Alex sighed. These vampire missions were getting too tiring for him.

"But admittedly Alex, some of your upgrades have been useful. After all, that invisibility upgrade sure was something, wasn't it ?"

Alex gave a smile.

"It was a good trick, and it got me out of that situation with Alucard. However, things are getting tougher for me..."

"I know they are Alex. In fact, I am currently issuing you with two new augmentation canisters."

He opened a cabinet, one that was specifically highlighted amongst the other cabinets by being painted a sky blue. He took, and showed Alex, now sitting up, two tubes, each one bearing a metal base and cover, and surrounded by a strong layer of perspex, a faint glow of blue light emanating from the substance housed within the tube, as seen through the perspex.

Alex took the canisters, and went to the nearby medical robot. He carefully placed each canister inside the appropriate slot, and the robot promptly unleashed a robotic syringe, which it injected into Alex's hair-covered leg, now bare as he had lifted his pants to allow the operation to take place.

As the canister was being emptied, Fr. Reyes continued to speak.

"You are currently using an upgraded version of your current leg speed upgrade. You current leg upgrade is good, but, I understand you need to move faster and quicker than before. With this upgrade, you'll be able to leap off tall buildings with ease.

We are also installing an electro-magnetic resistance shield into your system. I have no inkling as to how it'll come in handy, but, admittedly: everyone one of the robots in your system is susceptible to an EMP attack: one shock, and they'll all go offline, and you'll be a mere human."

Alex listened calmly, as both canisters were empty, the syringe left, and Alex covered his leg.

"Y'know, we never had anything like this in the days of Vatican II. Then, we had to resort to good ol' fashioned vampire hunting practices, none of this nano-technological stuff. I think Pope John Paul would have turned over his grave knowing that his successor is allowing nano-technology. It's so inhuman."

"Ah yes, Fr. Reyes, but you're forgetting why Pope Patrick has allowed this. Without it, Fr. Alex would have to use robotic arms now, not real flesh and blood arms." Fr. Thomas had to chip this in.

"Pope Patrick ! That bloody pope is too non-conformist ! Before you know it, he'll allow the ordination of women and the lifting of the celibacy for priests ! Heaven knows why in hell we voted an Irish Cardinal for Pope ! That bloody bump on his head must have made him insane !"

"Perhaps, but I don't feel any less human."

As Alex said this, he raised his right hand, now bare, as his bare left hand reached for a glove.

"Even if I were to become a machine, there's something about my humanity that I just cannot shake off. After all, I was born a human, not a machine.

And I still human, even if millions of tiny robots are clogging up my blood veins.

And I still have to wear glasses."

And with that, he placed his right hand glove on his hand. He could feel the words on his glove speak to him.

"Jesus Christ is in Heaven now."

And he quietly muttered, "And is coming back."

He then got up, and left.

"Gentlemen, I'll be off for a while. Br. Thomas, you know where to find me

God bless you."

And he kissed the crucifix that hang around his neck, in front of both men.

~

"So that is the mission ?"

Fr. John, Cardinal and head of Iscariot nodded, almost showing his purple zucchetto on his scalp.

"Any questions, Fr. Thomas ?"

"But surely raiding a nest of vampires in a night club would be too many ?"

"Aw, come off it ! Fr. Alex has handled such situations with relative ease. You should be concerned for yourself. After all: it's your first mission."

And with that, Fr. John let slide a pistol and a few cartridges.

"That is all ?"

"It's your first mission, and you're mainly doing information gathering. That is, after all, your job. After all, we don't want you to get into too much trouble, do we ?"

As Thomas walked off, Fr. John called out to Thomas.

"Oh, and when you see Alex, tell him that he had better choose his squire; he's the last one to do so by now."

~

Orphanage.

Children happily playing in the playground, some climbing ladders, sliding down slides; the more quiet ones walking in the garden, smelling flowers, chasing dragonflies.

They were all watched vigilantly, and benevolently by a smiling guardian, as he looked on happily, in the middle of this youth centre. He looked up, into the sky, and felt the warm glow of the sun, as it's rays gently fell on his face. It was glorious.

"Fr. Alex."

Alex turned round.

"We got to go."

Alex smiled. He'd be back anyway.