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Lycanthrope 2: The Prophecy

Chapter Twenty-Three: Vengeance

"So Yuki's gone?"

"Yeah,' Asuka said. "It's been almost a week and a half."

"I thought he was a little more out there then usual," Jinx said. "I almost have to feel sorry for this Keel guy."

"You know what Shinji's going to do to him," Asuka said, "and you only 'almost' feel sorry for him?"

"He did kill Yuki," Jinx said. "I heard Bob bitching about the devil or something."

"Shinji's got a deal going," Asuka said. "He kills Keel and Lu will bring Yuki back."

"Who's Lu?"

"The devil," Asuka said. "She's one of Shinji's friends."

"The devil?"

"Yeah," Asuka said.

"Great," Jinx said. "Why aren't you happier?"

"Shinji's going to die." Jinx tried to gasp and drink at the same time. The result was quite a mess.

"What?" he demanded. "Did he tell you?"

"He doesn't have to," Asuka said with a sigh. "I can tell."

"Oh," Jinx said. "Shit."

(:ii:)

"Hey."

"Hello." Shinji looked Craven up and down. "You looked taller the last time we met."

"Funny," Craven said as he hobbled over to one of his seats. "Of all the people who haven't noticed, I should have known you would."

"Of course," Shinji said with a smirk. "So how are the prosthetics working out?"

"Not bad," Craven said as he pulled up the legs of his pants to reveal the cold steel and plastic that lay beneath. "Actually they're really nice. I think I like them better then my old ones."

"Old prosthetics or old legs?" Shinji asked.

"My old legs."

"Really?" Shinji asked. "Tell me when they grow back. I'll tear them off for you."

"Funny," Craven said. He tugged his pant legs back down and leaned back in his seat. "He killed my men Shinji."

"I heard," Shinji said as he took a drag on his cigar, all humor gone.

"They were my men," Craven said. "No one kills my men and lives. I've had that code since the Great War. It doesn't matter how long its been. Those who die under my command will be avenged."

"You aren't coming," Shinji said. "I will steal your legs if I have to."

"You just want to be the one to kill him."

"Absolutely," Shinji hissed. "I will be the one to spill his blood."

"I see," Craven said. "I heard you lost someone too."

"Yeah," Shinji said.

"How about this?" Craven began, "I'll come along and you get Tabris."

"Deal," Shinji said. "How about just the two of us, right now?"

"They would only get in the way," Craven said in contemplation, "but there is a problem."

"Yeah." Shinji glanced at the door and reached under his coat. He fingers wrapped around the grip of his Taurus and he pulled it out. His thumb found the hammer and pulled it back with an audible click. The door burst open a second later.

"Don't shoot!" Shinji sighed and de-cocked his weapon before laying it on the table.

"Why are you spying on us?" Mana and Jen had the good graces to look embarrassed at being caught.

"She used to be such a nice girl," Craven said.

"Which one?" Shinji asked.

"Both of them."

(:ii:)

"So they were planning on skipping out."

"Yes elder," Mana said. "I believe that they are over confident. They will die."

"One definitely," Carl said. "Don't worry Mana. Craven and Shinji are not stupid. They might be idiots, but they really are fairly smart."

"Isn't that an oxymoron?" Mana asked.

"Maybe," Carl said with a shrug. He chuckled. "So tell me, how have your travels faired?"

"Actually I've been having a pretty good time," Mana admitted guiltily. Carl roared with laughter at that. "Elder?"

"Lycans live a life that is as different from ours as ours is from the humans," Carl explained. "They really are animals, but so are we to a lesser extent. We are just raised to control our urges."

"And the lycans aren't?" Mana asked.

"Slightly," Carl explained. "First, all lycans have very poor impulse control. Second, they are raised to keep just below the human awareness. We are also trapped by the beliefs that vampires are still human in some form. Those traditions have long kept us from being what we really are. When a vampire feeds like a lycan it is frowned upon."

"I see," Mana said. "So I'm not in trouble for having fun?"

"Absolutely not," Carl said. "I've been trying to get rid of those ridiculous traditions for the better part of a century! Of course some vampires just don't care. Ask Craven. He is one of the few who have forsaken all humanity in favor of the beast."

"Craven?"

"You learn something new about him everyday, don't you?"

"Just about."

(:ii:)

"It's right this way." Aggie glanced up at the familiar voice and smiled slightly as Shinji and Craven walked around the corner.

"Oh. Hello," Shinji said. "I was wondering if I was going to see you."

"Well of course you were," Aggie said as she hugged him. "I'm really sorry Shinji. I should have gone with you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Shinji said. "You wouldn't have made any difference."

"I know."

"Cheer up," Shinji said brightly. "We're going killing. Do you want to come?"

"You're going after Keel?" Aggie asked in surprise. "This soon?"

"No time like the present," Shinji said. "We're going as soon as the sun sets. Are you coming?"

"You couldn't stop me if you tried," Aggie said.

"I actually believe that," Craven said.

"Has she been using you as a moving target?" Shinji asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

(:ii:)

"You like that one?"

"I love this one," Shinji said as he examined the revolver in awe. "This thing really packs more of a punch then my .454?"

"Yeah," Craven said. "I was in America before we raided SEELE. I was trying to gather my team and I saw that. It just screamed your name."

"Thanks."

"I owe you for introducing me to Jake," Craven said as he patted the long-barreled pistol on his hip. Shinji continued to examine his new Smith and Wesson .460-caliber revolver. It was a truly awesome pistol.

"Keel might try to call up some innocents though. You are aware of that, right?"

"Yeah," Craven said simply. "I don't have any problems with it. Do you?"

"I prefer it," Shinji said lowly as a grin spread across his face.

"Is it just me, or has your sanity taken a plunge?" Shinji turned and stared at the gray haired man behind him. "On a scale of one to one hundred, I'd say you're in the negative numbers."

"Bite me," Shinji growled as strapped his .454 into place in his bag and rolled it shut. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Touji said. "Rei's been looking for you everywhere."

"I see," Shinji said. "No offence, but you're sitting this one out."

"Why?" Touji asked. "Maybe you haven't realized, but this is rather important. We can't take chances."

"For all your posing you aren't a killer," Shinji said simply. "My pack and the vampires will be enough."

"And if they aren't?" Touji demanded.

"Extreme measures," Shinji said. "Right now there is an American nuclear ICBM is pointed at this country. It will be launched in," Shinji glanced at his watch, "forty-eight hours."

"I don't want to know how you arranged that," Touji said. "So you need to call them within forty-eight hours, right?"

"That's right," Shinji said. "We fail then the city goes boom and the world is safe again."

"The explosion would fling dust into the air and help with the global warming and then of course there's the help with the overpopulation troubles," Craven added. "There is no downside."

"From your completely sociopath point of view," Touji said.

"You just have to think of the bigger picture," Shinji said. "That's something we excel at; after all, our fate is forever entwined with the human's."

"Right," Touji said. "So, see you guys in a couple of days?"

"Maybe," Shinji said, "or you'll be in for one hell of a fireworks show."

"Cool. I'll go dig up some beers."

(:ii:)

Jen glanced up as the lights flickered on and she grinned at the two men walking into the garage. "Are we leaving yet?"

"We've been having a little talk," Craven said. "We believe that the four of us should be able to accomplish this task better then the whole group." Jen pumped the handle of her shotgun from her perch on the hood of Shinji's Dodge Charger and grinned at them.

"She's coming," a new voice said. Shinji walked past Craven and Jinx with Aggie in tow and finished with the fasteners on the front of his coat. "I never decided to ditch them. You two thought it was a good idea."

"We're more experienced," Craven argued.

"Tell it to her," Shinji said simply. Jen drew a bead on Craven and winked.

"Right," he said. "Welcome aboard."

"Get in the damn car," Shinji growled as he climbed into the old American muscle car. "I don't know what you're going to do with the Kord, though."

"Her name is Delilah," Jinx corrected as he patted the massive Soviet .50-caliber machinegun slung over his shoulders, "and she's staying with me."

"What is with you people and your guns?" Mana asked. Jen smirked as she saw Craven turn and stare at Asuka and Mana in defeat.

"So much for going in one car," Craven said. "I'll go fire up the Mustang."

"Race you."

"Can you even feel anything through those boots?" Craven asked.

"Not really," Shinji said. "I really have to hit the accelerator to feel it."

"You're on."

(:ii:)

Shinji climbed out of the Charger and stared at the deserted looking building. "Is this it?" Jinx asked as he checked the ammo belt running from his backpack to the machinegun in his arms.

"This is it," Shinji said as he picked up his Thompson and pulled back the charging handle.

"Where is everyone?" Jen asked.

"Waiting for us inside," Shinji said simply.

"Do you really want to go walking into an ambush?" Jen asked.

"Craven and I have an opinion about ambushes," Shinji said.

"In the words of a famous American Sergeant Major," Craven began, "if they can shoot you then you can shoot them."

"And he wasn't even packing explosive projectiles and .50-caliber machineguns," Shinji said. He walked up to the front door and pushed it open.

"Shit!" Jen yelped, diving to the side. She glanced up and noticed everyone staring at her. "It might have been booby trapped."

"You need to relax a little," Shinji said as he stepped into the building. "Come on, let's not keep our host waiting!"

(:ii:)

"They what?" Carl watched as Rebecca withered under Bob's verbal assault.

"I'm sorry sir," Rebecca managed to squeak.

"You knew they were taking off," Carl said.

"They still could have said goodbye," Bob said as he leaned back in his chair.

"Sir?" Rebecca asked timidly.

"What is it?" Craven asked.

"A communication from the US nuclear submarine Beowulf was just received by the radio operators," Rebecca said. "They said to tell the man in charge that they are ready and standing by."

"What?"

"You. . .didn't call them?" Rebecca asked. "Neither of you?"

"What did they tell you that they were standing by to do exactly?" Craven asked, already fearing the answer.

"They are standing by to turn this area into a nuclear crater," Rebecca said. "I take it that's Shinji's idea, right?" Carl sighed and watched as Bob slammed his head into the table.

"Well," he began, "I guess that's a good emergency plan."

"That would be his backup plan!" Bob shrieked. "I don't even want to know what his emergency plan is!"

(:ii:)

"Empty." Shinji looked around the large room and stepped back out into the hallway. "We still haven't found anything."

"Ro. . .continue." Shinji cursed and pressed the ear bud deeper into his ear.

"What was that?"

"We're. . .contin. . ."

"We've got some kind of interference," Shinji said. "Do you want to regroup? Yes or no."

"No."

"Roger."

"What's up?" Jinx asked.

"We're out of radio contact with the vampires, Jen, and Aggie," Shinji said. "Keep on your toes." Shinji paused and turned to stare at one of the unopened doors.

"What's wrong?" Jinx asked.

"Keep moving," Shinji said simply.

"But Uncle. . ."

"Go," Shinji said sharply, pointing down the hall in the direction Asuka had been walking. The larger lycan stared down at him for a moment and then nodded.

"May the Lady watch over you."

"Eh," Shinji grunted. Jinx sighed and turned to follow after the red-haired lycan. Shinji tugged the ear bud out of his ear and set it on the ground. He pushed the door open and stepped into the massive room beyond.

"Hello Mister Fenrir."

"Number three," Shinji said with a grin, "or is it four?" Tabris's eyes narrowed sharply.

"I will make you pay for the torment you have caused me," he ground out. Shinji thumbed the fire selector of his Thompson and looked around at the hundreds of empty-eyed puppets that lined the walls of the massive room.

"Ever seen Matrix Revolutions?"

"What was that?" Tabris demanded.

"Nothing," Shinji said. "Oh my God! Look at behind you!" Tabris whipped around and stared at the blank wall. He turned back to see Shinji gawking at him. "Can I get a do over? I didn't actually think you'd fall for it."

"Die Fenrir!"

"Let's all die!" Shinji roared, throwing his arms open. Dozens of metal spheres painted with rather severe-looking warnings bounced across the ground. "Let's turn this place into hell!"

(:ii:)

Craven looked around wildly as the whole planet seemed to shake. "What the hell was that?"

"Not what," Craven said, "who."

(:ii:)

The gray-haired man looked around the room and felt a swell of admiration. Almost the entire floor of the massive room that had once housed Evangelion Unit Zero-Two was covered in blood, severed limbs, and a vicious orange liquid. A single person sat in the center of the room, resting on his heels and staring at the ceiling. "Very impressive Mister Fenrir." The man turned to look at him weakly and growled.

"Tabris," he hissed lowly.

"No," the gray-haired man said with a smile as he stopped in front of the man and kneeled down. "Though this body is rather misleading, isn't it?"

"Keel?"

"That's right," Keel said. "That old corpse just couldn't carry on. There were enough spare parts floating around that I could simply take one." He stopped and looked at the larger man. His right sleeve was empty and a massive silver pistol sat on his right side in a puddle of LCL. "Apparently your body couldn't quite keep up either."

"Fuck off," the lycan growled.

"You have done me many favors," Keel said as he straightened up. "You killed Commander Ikari, an insufferable megalomaniac, and now you have destroyed every single copy of the Seventeenth. He would only have gotten in the way if he had survived." Keel drew his pistol from his hip and pulled back the charging handle. He noticed one of the Fenrir's eyebrows raise slightly. "It's nostalgia," he said as he leveled the Mauser C-96. "Good bye Mister Fenrir."

(:ii:)

Bob jerked awake and looked around the meeting room. "I was about to wake you," Angel said. "I think we should go after Shinji."

"He's gone."

"What?" Angel asked.

"I can feel it," Bob said. "He's dead."

(:ii:)

"We're lost," Jen growled.

"We are not lost," Craven growled. "We are searching the base."

"Then why is it taking so long?" Jen whined.

"Because it's a big base," Craven growled. "If you weren't Shinji's I would kill you."

"Don't let that stop you," Jen growled as she turned to face the vampire, her shotgun held low, but ready. She froze and looked around.

"What's wrong?" Craven asked.

"Something," Jen said. "My chest. . .no my heart really hurts."

(:ii:)

"He's gone," Asuka said.

"Yeah," Jinx said.

"Why didn't you try to stop him?"

"He would have killed me," Jinx said. "This is his game Asuka. He won't allow any interference." Asuka put her back to the wall and slowly sank to the ground. "We need to keep going. We still have to stop Keel before the Americans decided its time to launch their missile."

End

(:ii:)

Author's notes. I'm pretty sure this is the second to last chapter of the official story line. I might write a few side stories explaining some of the things hinted at in the ten years between stories. As for those who expected a massive drawn out battle, sorry. I just decided to let you use your imaginations. Actually this has been shortened and compressed for my ebbing sanity.

Yet again Shinji looses an arm. I didn't even realize that I did the same thing in Infantry until people started reviewing that chapter. I guess I'm running out of fresh ideas.

I just realized the anniversary of the first Lycanthrope is coming up. I hope to get the next chapter out on that day. Kind of like how I finished Splinter Cell Evangelion on the day Pandora Tomorrow was released.