Tokyo, Japan: 7th July 2004

"...The Lord hath giveth, and The Lord Hath taken away..."

Max covered his ears and clenched his tear-stung eyes shut in agony.
Kenny rested a sympathetic hand on his friend's shoulder, but was at a complete loss for what else he could do.
Tala however, let Max have no such illusions as to lack of activities. "Well, now that that's over with, I suggest we all get some sleep, we have a busy night ahead of us."
Kenny looked up at his mentor. "What do you mean?"
"You surely don't think we have seen the last of her?" He raised an eyebrow.
"We only just buried her for God's sake; don't give me any bullshit about seeing her again!" Max burst out angrily.
Tala's eyes flashed menacingly for a few moments, and then he turned away and headed for the door. "Of course, you will both accompany me to the vault tonight."
Without waiting for answer, he left, leaving Max shaking with barely concealed rage, and Kenny open-mouthed in stunned silence.

The house – like the day Tyson left – was plagued by unrest that afternoon through to the evening.
Kenny spent his time torn between running the house, and attempting to calm Max's explosive temper, while Max paced the floor in the study, fuming and frustrated.

Tala's entrance that evening, burst through the house like a clap of the thunder.
First, the study door slammed with an ear splitting crash onto the bookshelf next to it as Tala entered, and secondly, Max's unsuccessfully curbed temper flared.
"Are you not ready?" Tala eyed Max's dishevelled state disapprovingly.
"I think your asking too much of him." Kenny finally spoke up.
"Indeed?" Tala raised an eyebrow. "So you would both allow his former fiancé to wreak havoc on this city for the sake of emotional unreliability?"
"She's dead God damn it, she can't do anything!" Max lunged at Tala, who sidestepped his clumsy attack easily.
"You would do better to be sober my friend." Tala cautioned, wagging a finger infuriatingly. "You're no good to me incapacitated."
"What exactly do you want us to do?" Kenny asked warily.
"Simple; come with me to the vault, drive a stake through her heart and cut off her head." Tala almost sounded cheerful.

Kenny noted with muted worry, that the crickets and nocturnal birds which usually made up the soothing squeaks and chirrups of the night were not present in the lonely cemetery.
"It's too quiet." Max grunted, as if hearing Kenny's thoughts.
"Pure creatures will not share their habitat with a Nosferatu." Tala snapped, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"O.K, so just supposing this Nosfer-what-cha-ma-call-it really exists, what are we supposed to do about it?" Max snorted.
"Nosferatu." Tala corrected. "And, what I expect you to do, is help me destroy it."
"And what if I refuse?" Max drew himself up defiantly.
"Then you are as good as dead!" Tala smiled sadistically, turning and continuing to lead the way, while Max and Kenny followed numbly.

Tala was not surprised to find the vault empty, neither by Max's grief wrought accusation that he had stolen her body.
Sighing patiently, he held up his arms until the reign of fists subsided, and Max dropped exhausted to his knees.
"Had enough?" He leaned down, tweaking Max's hair infuriatingly.
"Yes!" Max spat out. "I've had enough of all this insanity, this damned vampire crap, and I've had enough of you!" He got up shakily, shoving Kenny aside as the bewildered doctor tried to help him up, and marched towards the vaults entrance.
"I wouldn't go out there if I were you..." Tala let the sentence trail off, pointing at the pitch-black sky outside.
Max opened his mouth to argue, when a slight movement registered in the corner of his eye and he froze instinctively.
"The lady wanderer returns." Tala smirked, grabbing both Kenny and Max.

Hillary's nose wrinkled as she caught the mortals scent.
Dropping the weakened child to the floor, she feigned ignorance, climbed gracefully into her coffin, and settled into her buried position.

After watching for a few seconds, Max lurched forwards to go to her, but he was held back by Tala. "Let me go!" He protested desperately.
"She'll kill you." Tala stated matter-of-factly.
"But she doesn't even know we're here!"
"Oh but she does my friend, a Nosferatu is as cunning as she is dangerous." Tala wagged a finger at him, as a mother would to a mischievous child.
Max looked at him pleadingly for a few seconds, then back to Hillary, and glimpsing the blood glistening on her pale lips, sagged his shoulders in defeat.
"You know what we have to do." Tala placed a hand on his shoulder in a half hearted attempt at consolation, and handed him a stake.

Tokyo, Japan: 12th July 2004-06-18

Tyson stared at Rei worriedly as they got off the bus outside their home.
"Are you sure you're O.K?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Rei replied curtly, glaring at the ground as if it had offended him somehow.
Tyson sighed, timidly pushing back a strand of silver white hair from Rei's face.
"Come on, let's get you inside." He grasped Rei's arm and led him up the drive to the main doors of the mansion.

Both of them almost jumped out of their skins as the doors swung open before Tyson could reach the intercom.
Rei clutched one hand at his chest and glared at Tala as he stood in the doorway, seemingly unaware of the fright he'd given them.
"Well don't just stand there! Get out of my way!" He pushed past Tala roughly and stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Tyson rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "Sorry about that, he hasn't been the same since I found him." A tear escaped the corner of his cheek, which Tala caught on the tip of his index finger.
"What do you mean?" Tala could that the boy was upset, so he led the boy into the living room and set him down on the sofa, taking the armchair next to it himself.
"Well for one thing his hair never even had a trace of grey before he went to Russia, let alone white!" Tyson's shoulders were visibly shaking.
"Calm down child, what else has changed?"
"He's withdrawn, cranky, and..." Tyson let the sentence trail off; he didn't want to sound stupid.
"-And?" Tala prompted, unwilling to let it go.
"He says he was kept prisoner by vampires." Tyson's eyes shimmered with fearful tears as he looked pleadingly at Tala. "He's going mad isn't he?"
Tala paused, wondering just how much more Tyson's fragile nerves could take, but then, if he really was the focus of all this – as he had begun to suspect – then he owed it to him to tell the truth.
One more look at the light in the dark brown eyes that was fading fast decided him.
"No, he's not going mad." Tala replied gently, wincing mentally as Tyson's eyes widened in disbelief.
"But, what he's saying's impossible! There's no such thing!"
"My dear boy, if there was no such thing; your friend would still be with us now."
Tyson bit his lip; Hillary was dead? Could Rei really know what was causing all this madness?

"You see? I told you!"
Tyson jumped at the force behind the voice behind him. "Rei! You shouldn't be up yet; you're too weak!" Tyson got up to take him back to bed.
"Leave me be!" The vehemence in voice caused Tyson to shrink back behind Tala.
"Please calm yourself Sir." Tala faced Rei evenly, locking his gaze with the younger man's.
"I'm right though aren't I?" Rei's eyes gleamed manically. "The same monster that imprisoned me murdered Hillary."
Tala nodded, seeing no point in contradicting Rei when they both knew he was right.
"Then I say we destroy him." Rei slammed a fist onto the mantle piece, causing coal dust to scatter into the fire. "We can't let him go without justice."
"Don't you think I've tried?" Tala snapped, falling back into the chair and running a hand through his hair. "For centuries, my family has tried to destroy the demon that has begun to plague your household, and for centuries we've failed."
"Then you'll just have to try harder!" Rei spat.
"You don't understand!" Tala lunged across the room and grabbed Rei by the collar, his ice-blue eyes blazed in the firelight. "The only reason that monster exists is because my ancestors murdered him!"
Rei's eyes widened in shock. "Go on." He prompted, curbing his temper.
Tala let go of his shirt, sinking back into his chair. Wearily he beckoned Tyson - who was skulking in the doorway – to come back in, and began his tale.

...blood on her skin,
dripping with sin,
do it again,
living dead girl...