Once again thanks to my...ahem...fans. and if anyone else happens to start reading this, gimme a review.
Quote: "We sure liberated the hell out of this place"
--American soldier in the ruins of a French villiage, WWII
Chapter 6 No Worries
Wolverine's jeep pulled up to a large warehouse. Cyclops, who had insisted on coming, mirrored him on getting out of the vehicle. He checked the paper that Bri had slipped him the previous night. It contained the name 'Estaban' and the adress of the building they were standing infront of, although the latter looked liked it had been abandoned for a few years now. As the two men neared the small entrance, Logan's nose alerted him to several people and even more guns. He cautioned his companion with two words, "Get ready."
They stepped through the door into a large, poorly lit room to be greeted by a dozen men, guns aimed. The door slammed shut behind the two.
"Who are you?" a man with shocking white hair and an overly large firearm demanded.
"We're lookin' fer Estaban, so put yer toys away before ya embarrass yerselves," Wolverine growled.
"Estaban's dead." The dark skinned man next to the first reported with a southern accent. "What do you know about him?"
Cyclops fingered the visor release button in his glove while responding calmly, "Put the guns down and we'll explain."
The gunmen laughed at this. Wolverine could depict women's laughter mixed in and scanned the rafters, picking out several female snipers with their pieces trained on the two X-Men. "We were sent by Shadow," he replied gruffly, ceasing the laughterabruptly.
"Prove it," the accented man challenged.
Logan tossed Bri's cross at him. The man let it fall to the ground and crouched to pick it up. His gun never wavering, he examined it and lowerd his weapon. His southern drawl was replaced with a Hispanic accent now as he looked up and cautioned, "There are snipers aimed at you right now, gentlemen. Don't do anything stupid." He rose to his feet, "I am Estaban. Where's Shadow."
"Ya want the full version or just the endin'?" the stocky man asked.
"If she took off this cross, then she has little time. The ending, please," Estaban asked, motioning for the others to lower their weapons.
Logan glanced to the rafters and noted that the snipers were still set to shoot, but he let it go. "Some one called Sahal got her last night."
A few glances were exchanged from across the room, while others went void of expression. Estaban motioned toward a door "Perhaps we need the full story. Please join me in my office." He turned his back on the intruders, not as a sign of trust but more as a show of arrogance.
When everyone--Logan, Scott, Estaban, the white haired man introduced as Zekk and a woman unintroduced--were seated, Estaban began. "You are aware that Sahal and anyone with him are vampires, are you not?"
There was no change in the mutants features at the news. Cyclops answered, "Yes, but how do you know about them?"
The white haired man frowned as he stood behind the seated man who explained,"She bothered to explain vampires to you, but not us? Their mortal enemies? How like her to be so...vague." He pulled a chain out from under his shirt, on it was a cross matching Bri's except the stone in his was turquoise, unlike hers which was black. "We are men, born with the gift to destroy the foul race of vampires. We are called the Venatoris, Hunters, that is. Now tell us what happened last night."
Wolverine raised an eyebrow at the speech but started the story. Both mutants were urged to give as much detail as they could recall about the encounter.
"This is very bad," Estaban muttered, deep in thought and fingering Bri's cross between his fingers.
Zekk ventured, "Did she happen to explain her...relationship...with Sahal?" His ice blue eyes contrasted with his hair and his speech was a rich Welsh.
"She said she had a score to settle," Scott admitted.
"He tried to turn her," he explained, glancing at Estaban for a rebuttal. Recieving none, he continued, "A Venator can only be turned if they give in to the vampire. So...Sahal tried to...break...her first. She spent months there before we rescued her.That was back in the 1940's." After getting a wierd glance, he added quickly, "We're older than we look."
"What about Zachary?" Wolverine asked, "She didnt seem to happy ta see him."
"Sahal's right hand man. He was alive during the Roman empire and knows all sorts of colorful tortures."
"And the other one," Cyclops remembered, "Antonio?"
The black haired woman spoke up for the first time, "Antonio is alive?"
"Yea, but apparently he was castreated." The burly man smirked and gave his skull a small tap, "Seemed ta be missin' a couple hotels from his monopoly set, too."
At this she gave a ferocious glare and stormed out of the room, not even recieving a glance from her apparant leader.
Zekk explained in a low voice, "Her brother was Antonio. He didn't have the gift that Elizabeth has, so she blames herself for his death. Well, mostly herself."
Estaban seemed to come out of his trance at this point and studied Wolverine, "You said that Sahal called you 'one of them'?"
"Yea." the other man scowled back.
Reaching into a desk drawer, Estaban extreacted a small, silver sword and handed it to the other. "Put your blood on this," he demanded.
The scowl deepened, "What?"
Once again Zekk came in to explain what his leader refused to, "Prick you r finger with it and hold the blade in sight."
Wolverine shrugged and did as he was asked. He owed Bri big no, humoring her strange occult aquaintances could pay off a small amount of the debt. He held the blade up and the metal itself seemed to aquire streaks of white until the entire sword was a glowing white blade. "Hm. Nifty trick."
"This isn't some stupid parlor trick you're holding," the Hunter snapped. "You are one of us. This proves it. This is why you were immune to the vampires stare."
Logan offered the sword back, "Cool. But couldn't it just be that I'm a mutant?"
"No. This blade was forged by one of the most powerful of our race and slay hundreds of the vermine before Sahal turned it against its creator. From that day on, the blade glows white if it spills any venator blood and destroys any vampire that touches it, save Sahal himself." The Hispanic man carefully cleaned the blade with holy water and placed it back into his desk.
"That's an interesting story, but shouldn't we be discussing a way to get Shadow back?" Cyclops decided to ask.
Zekk stared at him, "We? Are you implying that you're willing to lead your team into a potential blood bath?"
Scott's features became stern,"She saved my wife from a fate worse than death. She sacrificed herself for my team. I won't lead anyone unwilling, but I, myself, am prepared to risk my life for hers."
With a shrug, Zekk replied cheerfully, "Good. No worries then."
Estaban handed Wolverine a cross on a chain. A sone was set in the silver as clear as ice. "Wear this at all times. It will alert all others who wear it if you are in danger from vampires."
"Yea? Didn't seem ta help Shadow much, now did it?" he scowled back but accepted the offering.
"She was never in real danger except at the end,and then she took it off. Wedid sense it, however. How else would we be so prepared for you? We're not normally such a large number in one place." He nodded as Wolverine dropped the chain over his head and noted the stone darkened to a red. "Now," he continued formally,"lets arrange a meeting for all those who will attend our rescue mission."
Both the X-Men and Hunters were seated in the danger room, the war room being too small for the mutant team and the three dozen hunters that had arrived. The battle plan had been decided. An ambush would take place, with teams at every possible exit. All vampires were to be exterminated if possible. The meeting had been ended but many continued to stay and talk.
Gambit approached Estaban hesitantly, "Ya'...look familiar ta Gamit. Jus' ta settle de mind, were ya..." he paused, unsure of how to put it.
"With Shadow the night she rescued you? Yes. To be technical, I rescued you while she...kicked a, in her words," the man smiled slightly. "It's good to know that you survived without any real side effects. Many that are as close as you were go insane," he studied the Cajun.
"Well, then Ah should thank ya'll for savin' his life," Rogue came up behind Remy, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder.
"It's our job," Estaban answered modestly.
"Ya mean kinda like this?" she waved her hand in the air, "like us X-Men, havin not much of a choice anymore?"
"Much so."
Zekk had joined the group, "Except we don't leave a signature of things being on fire."
"I've got a question for ya," Wolverine was leaning against the nearby wall, an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth. "You got powers like Shadow?" Zekk looked away at this but looked back quickly, as if surprised to see Estaban answer.
"I do, yes, but most of the older ones of our people are non-mutants. In fact, my powers are very similar to hers, except that i cannot communicate with the shadows. We...our mothers were sisters, both venatoris, granddaughters of the one that forged the blade. Only she and I can wield it, but she refuses her destiny. Sahal had used it to kill our mothers. Shadow wants little to do with her heritage since then. If Sahal manages to make her allow him to turn her, she can claim it for the use of vampires and turn it against us and any living thing," he said, sadness filling his eyes.
Zekk had reached to put a hand on the man's shoulder but hesitated before pulling it back."We should move. It's dusk." He seemed able to sense it, rather than see it, for the danger room was well under ground.
HEY! Only TWO MORE CHAPTERS LEFT! Yay. sorry for late posts and all, graduation then new jobs. full time work sucks, btw. so, keep readin, i'll try to type out the next 2 chap.s soon. added suspense and all.