RAISING MERIDIAN

Vampire House Calls

VA and Syvia would like to apologise for the length of time between updates. This can mainly be blamed on caffeine, sugar, and those fun little toys you get free with cereal.

Disclaimer: We don't own Legacy of Kain, Eidos does.

On one of the upper floors above the soup kitchen, Faustus pushes Vladimir onto a red, heart-cloth upholstered loveseat and grins at him. Marcus can be heard outside the door, talking to someone.

Marcus' voice: Now this one has been very unhappy. He doesn't think he deserves to be loved.

Woman's voice: How terrible!

When they enter the room, Vladimir gulps at the tall, demonic-looking woman in her white and blue Happy Contact uniform who stands next to Marcus looking pious and insanely happy.

Marcus: Cat-creature, meet Sister Dantea.

Vladimir: *nervously* Hello, um….madam?

Sister Dantea squeals, claps her big hands together in girlish delight and does a little jig.

The three of them then stand and leer down at Vladimir;  Marcus, because he's so very proud of his evil and dastardly plan, Dantea, because she will finally be able to minister contact in the way she's used to doing, and Faustus... because he's just very proud of his leer.

Marcus: Now, don't give him the full treatment, you understand, just enough that he won't be able to walk.

Vladimir: *huge eyes* Not able to walk?!

Sister Dantea: *hugging Marcus while enthusiastically groping his rear* Oh thank you, Brother Flutey! You cannot know what this means to me!

Faustus snickers once again at the pseudonym.

Marcus: *swatting at her encroaching hands* Oh, I think I can guess…

 Faustus looks curiously at the Sister when she eventually lets Marcus go.

Faustus: Might I ask what the full treatment is?

Sister Dantea smiles and crooks a clawed finger at him. Faustus leans close and the Sister whispers into his ear. Vladimir, in a frenzy of horrified curiosity, pricks up his ears.
Faustus listens for a few informative seconds, then takes a step back and raises his eyebrows.

Faustus: Oh really? You don't- *his mouth drops open and he leans in again to hear more*

Vladimir: *panicking* What? Don't what?

Marcus is smirking at Vladimir, whose left eye is starting to develop a twitch by this stage. Sister Dantea stops whispering and gives Faustus a heavy-lidded smile. Faustus turns to Marcus slowly.

Faustus: Brother Flutey... why don't you *clears his throat* go down and meet Kain, and I'll help the sister with our cap-ah... convert?

Marcus smirks, then realises what they'd be doing, and his expression rapidly turns indignant. He catches Faustus' unwilling arm and drags him out into the hallway. The door slams and locks behind them.

Sister Dantea turns to Vladimir and swishes over to him. Vladimir seems to be doing his best to become one with the back of the red love-seat. His claws score grooves into the wooden arms as he flattens himself into the furniture.

Sister Dantea: So what' s your name, furry?

Vladimir twitches.  His eyelid jitters. His lip curls up in the expression of horrified disgust common to cats everywhere -  as if he's just tasted something really nasty.

Sister Dantea: *reaching over* Let's undo this ponytail, shall we? Make you more comfortable…then we shall see what else we can undo…

Vladimir: Gaaah!

He skitters out of the chair and pounds on the door with both fists.  Sister Dantea glances at the hair tie and strands of black mane she has grasped in her huge fingers.

Sister Dantea: *in a kind of wonderment* Truly you are in dire need of the attentions of a sister of the Order.

Vladimir: No I'm not! Honestly! I'm very happy the way I am! Thank you all the same!

He scratches at the door frantically.

Vladimir: *begging* Please let me out! I don't want to die like this! I'm still young and innocent and reasonably pretty! Please!

Sister Dantea: *advancing, bearing all before her and quite a lot behind* Now, come along, Mr Furry. Happy Contact will change your life.

Vladimir: It's not my life, it's my body I'm worried about!

A few blocks away from the mall, Kain stops and mumbles a few words under his breath. Kurt's eyes itch slightly, and when he stops rubbing them, he looks at Kain in disbelief.

Kurt: Unglaublich! (Unbelievable!) What happened to you?

Kain, now without the Soul Reaver and looking like a perfect twin of his younger self, turns to him.

Old Kain: *looking pleased with himself* What, this old thing? It's just a little spell I've re-learnt from one of the mind mages here. Marcus and Faustus may be fools, but they've excellent sight, and they'll notice very quickly that although I still smell like myself, I don't look the same. Their reaction will be either to run or to kill Vladimir, and we don't want either one of those things to happen.

Kurt: Indeed not…what happened to the sword?

Old (but now looking suspiciously like) Young Kain: It's here.

He swings an empty fist and Kurt feels the sharp tip of the blade poke him in the chest, although he can see nothing.

Kurt: Impressive.

He bounds to keep up as Kain strides off, long white hair swinging, towards the mall.

Meanwhile, back at Vladimir's House, Sebastian zips into the breakfast alcove of the kitchen and hides just as Raziel vaults into the room with Krobelus behind him and Celia far behind Krobleus. They all stop and look around the empty kitchen. Back in the lounge, Lupa and Young Kain are still sitting behind the overturned couch. Lupa giggles girlishly and pokes Young Kain in the chest in an "oh-you" manner. Young Kain looks as if he is considering growling: then he changes his mind, cautiously extends a finger, and pokes her in return.

Celia: *dubiously, looking around the kitchen* It could have been the undines. They like to play pranks every now and again, although that's more a habit of air elementals than water.

Krobleus: No... something has been here. Something not living.

Celia: *scathingly* Of course you'd know that just by looking at this empty room…

Krobelus: *heavily* I'm a necromancer. I can sense dead things at fifty metres.


Raziel: *peering out of the window* Every now and again we have a Dumahim drop in from my time. It only takes a little while to root them out and kill them.

Krobleus: It takes longer to convince Vladimir not to shut down the Garden Gate after they've been dealt with.

Celia: *grimaces* I hope he's all right.

Krobleus searches the window and sink for clues. In the lounge, Young Kain and Lupa have resorted to play-fighting.

Raziel: *to Celia* Vladimir. Have you known him long?

Celia: *distracted* Old friend of the family. *smiles* Very old. Or rather, always young.

Raziel quirks an eyebrow at her.

Celia: Look, you know different times drop in on the Nexus. *she points out the window in the direction of the gate* Current events are a perfect example.

Raziel nods.

Celia: Over seventy years ago in my dimension, my great-grandparents and their friends did a summoning for help in a certain... *she smiles* personal matter. Their answer was a gate to the Nexus. They entered, they met the Mikhails.  Afterwards our families stayed in contact.

Raziel: What personal matter?

Celia: The short version- my great-grandfather was a bit wolfish, and not only in personality. When great-grandmother got pregnant, they were worried about possible complications with the birth. They needed advice and Vladimir's parents helped them.

Raziel: Wolfish... as in werewolf?

Celia: More of Lupa's sort, wolf-human, but without the ability to change from one to the other.  Grandfather was stuck in the half-shape.  His children turned out fully human, but there's always been a bit of a wild side in his descendants.

Krobelus has stopped looking for evidence and is now staring at Celia. She raises an eyebrow at him.

Krobleus: Then that's why you're such a-

Celia: Any further and you'll get a face full of dishwater.

Krobleus: *innocently* Me? Would I do something like that? *to Raziel* In any event, we have an intruder and it's something similar to the vampire who kidnapped Vladimir.

Raziel stalks out into the living room and his eyes widen when he realizes Kain and Lupa have apparently disappeared into thin air. The two mages have similar reactions. Raziel moves quickly through the room and into the hall.

Raziel: *sharply* Lupa? Lupa?

It's only then that he notices a trail of clothing: a red halter top, some leather gauntlets among other items. It begins at the overturned couch and leads towards the hall closet. The three approach it cautiously and hear a muffled thumping from within.

Krobleus: *shaking his head as realization dawns swiftly*Lupa, Lupa, Lupa….

Celia: *smirking* Well if it was a choice between him and Faustus...jealous, are we, Krobey?

Krobleus:  *glaring* I was going to say that Kain wins out simply because he was on hand.

Raziel begins to laugh evilly. The two mages turn to him.

Raziel: I can just picture the other Kain's face when he gets back and finds out about this.

Celia turns pale while Krobleus smirks widely. Raziel turns, cheerful once more, and heads back towards the kitchen.

Raziel: Well, let's go and  find that intruder. My money's on downstairs…

He opens the door under the stairs that leads down to the Silent Hill Room. Celia and Krobelus follow him closely, and with their backs to the kitchen they entirely miss Sebastian creeping out of the breakfast alcove to watch them depart. The vampire smiles to himself, and brushes a few cobwebs from his shoulders.