I've been away from my computer (not by choice), so this chapter got a bit delayed. I'm writing this in episodical chapters, so this is Moonrise, S1E3. I already have chapter 4 halfway done, more or less.

This chapter has an obvious 'Babylon 5' reference and a 'Invincible' reference. Spoilers of chapter 4 are the prize for the first who can spot both references.

Now, to answer some questions:

Garonus56: Callum no es un vampiro completo. Solo se transforma en un vampiro salvaje en una noche de luna nueva. Pero, a la luz del día, está empezando a mostrar algunos poderes vampíricos. Contra Rayla tuvo más fuerza y velocidad de lo normal para él. Con el tiempo, aparecerán más habilidades. Pero no todos los que enumeraste. Lo mismo es cierto para Ezran porque las maldiciones aún están evolucionando. Las cosas se irán revelando a medida que avanza la historia. Y Callum no se dejará confundir por un vampiro porque no tiene cuernos.


The elf girl shook her head in disbelief. "This changes everything."

Callum gave the egg a sideways look. He didn't want to completely take his eyes off the elf in case she opted to go for the kill. "So, this is it? The egg of the Dragon Prince?"

The elf girl continued. "Ah can't believe it. If the egg lives…"

"Azymondias." Ezran cut her off. "His name is Azymondias. Or 'Zym' for short."

"Well, I'm Rayla and...wait, ya can talk to the dragonling inside?" she was dubious, to which Ezran nodded, innocently.

Callum posed the question. "Okay, one thing doesn't add up; why wasn't it destroyed?"

"Because my father saved it." the three youths turned startled to the spiral staircase from which Claudia made her entrance. Callum recognized the Sky Primal Stone she showed him earlier, in her hand. "Callum, Ezran, get behind me. I can protect you from the elf."

The elf, now identified as Rayla, took on a battle stance and pointed an accusatory blade at Claudia. "Your father didn't save it. He stole it!"

"Same thing."

"Why did Lord Viren do that, Claudia?" Ezran grabbed the egg gently.

"My father took it to protect us, Ezran, so the elves and dragons couldn't use it."

The two girls argued back and forth, Claudia insisting the egg was a weapon that Xadia planned to use against humanity while Rayla claimed it was an innocent life-form that had been ripped from its mother. Callum wanted to agree with Claudia, yet a tiny part of him couldn't help but feel for the creature inside the egg. He knew all too well how it hurt to be separated from a mother. Still…

"Ezran, don't be afraid. Walk towards me, and if she moves even an inch…" Claudia drew a rune in the air and her hand began sparkling with lightning. Callum had a basic idea of what was about to happen. He paced towards his friend.

"Come on, Ez."

Ezran looked him with confusion and denial. "But Callum…"

"Ez, this is not the time! Let's just get you to safety. Come on."

"But Zym wants to go back to his family." Ezran protested.

"Right now, I'm more concerned with my family." Callum spoke without room for argument. "We'll talk about this later."

Ezran looked at him, then the egg, then at Rayla, and finally back to him. "No."

"No?"

"You're wrong, Callum. Zym is my friend and I want to help him. He should be with his mother."

Callum sighed in exasperation. "Ezran, for the last time, you CAN'T talk to animals. That egg could be hypnotizing your brain or something."

"It's true, though it's more likely the elf is doing the hypnotizing." Claudia remarked from the sidelines.

"But…"

"Think, Ezran, think!" Callum pointed his index fingers to his own forehead. "That's the egg of Thunder, the big reptile guy who cursed us! Are you really going to help his kid out so he can do that to more people?" he pointed to his own mouth, upper lip upturned. "Just today I found my teeth are becoming fangs. This is what they're doing to us!"

Ezran was shocked and scared of his brother and the twinge of red he could see in his eyes. He looked to the egg, then to Rayla, who gave him a sincere smile of confidence. The young prince made up his mind.

"Follow me." He took off in the opposite direction with the elf in toe.

"Ezran!" Callum called out, incredulous. His brother just...left? With an elf? After he had told him to come to him? Ezran was willing to trust some elf assassin over him?

"Don't worry, I won't hit Ez. Fulminis!"

She didn't hit Ezran, yet she didn't hit the elf, either. She must have heard where the lightning was coming from and dodged it by inches. The lightning hit a nearby wall, instead. Callum raced after them, but when he turned to the left, he saw the elf just finished cutting a rope that tied barrels and crates in a pile. The numerous containers fell like a timber and blocked the pathway where the elf and Ezran went. The last Callum saw of his brother's face was a regretful look.

"No, no, no!" He frantically tried to remove the heavy debris out of the way. Claudia just joined him

"Hold on, I have a better idea!" Claudia went back into the laboratory and instantly returned with a lit red candle. Callum watched in curiosity as she sprinkled the flame with some strange dust and the fire turned purples. She spoke an incantation and blew on the candle twice. The prince gasped in admiration as the puffs of smoke grew and took on the form of wolves. Without warning, the creatures threw themselves at the roadblock, passing through the small cracks.

Claudia smiled proudly at Callum's dumbfounded expression. "Those are my Smoky Seekers. They will find Ez and that elf. And since they're made of smoke, only a solid wall could actually stop them."

"That's...neat. You sure they won't harm Ez?"

"Absolutely! Count Michaelo Alfredo Garibaldi and Max are professional hounds."

Callum blinked. "Wait, wait, wait! You named them?"

"Well, of course. They have to have names." Claudia stated, like saying people need to breathe air to live. "Max, the smaller one, is tenacious if a bit too excitable. But Count Michaelo Alfredo Garibaldi can keep him in check. He's the level-headed one." she paused and put a finger to her chin. "Although Count Michaelo Alfredo Garibaldi is not housebroken, yet."


"They're gaining on us." Rayla heard the howls of the shadowy monsters getting closer.

"I got an idea! There's a crevice right there. We can hide there and wait for them to pass us."

They reached a fissure on the wall just large enough for the two of them to squeeze through.

Rayla was dumbfounded by the idiocy of the princes' plan. "Are ya joking me? They'll definitely notice us!"

Ezran ignored her while pillaging through his backpack. "Those smoke wolves keep saying 'smell them...smell them'. I think they can only detect us through smell, so…" he fished three flasks of elixir from the backpack, mentally thanking Callum, and doused the content over himself, the egg and Rayla. She vocally protested that, but he ushered her into the crevice. Reluctantly, the elf did so, but insisted he and the egg stood behind her.

The smoke wolves sounded like they were just about to reach them. Rayla unseathed her blades, ready to fight and defend the dragon's egg and the potentially idiotic and/or crazy human prince.

The wolves came into view and halted on the spot Ezran had drenched them in the liquid. They sniffed the air, seemingly confused, then whimpered and continued on their way.

"It actually worked!" An astonished Rayla sniffed a drop of the silvery liquid running down her arm. "It reeks of flower perfume. What's this stuff made of?"

"I dunno." The prince shrugged, walking out of the hiding place behind her. "Lord Viren says its made from a purple poisonous flower."

The suspicion that this human prince was crazy came back to Rayla. "So you just doused us in a concoction made from a poisonous plant?"

He waved it off with a wide, naive smile."It's okay. I drink this elixir every night, before bed."

Yep, this human prince was crazy.

As they carried on towards an exit the prince knew of, something became noticed by Rayla. The catacomb was barely lit by the bioluminescent crystals and roots on the walls, yet Ezran walked as if the place was opened to the light of day. At first she thought the boy must have had the whole network memorized. Yet, she noticed another strange thing about him:

"Do all humans have eyes that glow in the dark?" She asked out of the blue.

"Not really. Just me, I think...I'm a werewolf." He spoke with some hesitance.

She blinked twice. "Sure. And I'm an archdragon. There hav' been no werewolves in centuries, and certainly never a human one. Now, what matters is to get that egg back to Xadia. Give it to me. I need to get it to the roof."

"Outside, right now?" For the first time, he actually appeared nervous. He looked at the egg and went back to Rayla. "I'll take you there."

"Fair enough." She sighed.


"Don't you have any magic spells that could speed this up. Like making the crates move themselves or...turning them into dead flees?"

"Sorry, I used up all my ingredients. But I think I have something in the lab thay could turn the crates into angry hornets. Would that do?" that obvious attempt to lift the mood was met by a rare scowl from Callum:

"Not in the mood, Claudia."

After the girl sicced the smoky seekers after the elf and Ezran, Callum insisted they remove the blockage, in spite of Claudia reassurance that her gaseous pets would not fail. They were almost done when a whimper echoed in the tunnel on the other side. The sound was all too familiar to the girl.

"Max! Count Michaelo Alfredo Garibaldi!" The hounds made of smoke materialized around Claudia and promptly disintegrated into lifeless puffs.

Claudia's wince brought new fears onto Callum. "What does that mean?"

"It means...they lost the scent."

Callum dropped a crate he was holding. "You told me those smoky pets would save Ezran!"

She raised her hands to placate his anger. "I'm sorry! They should have found them. The only way they could have lost the scent is if somehow the elf masked it."

Callum groaned and returned to his self-assigned task. Claudia put a hand to his shoulder to try and reason with him.

"Callum, it's best to go to my father. He may have a way to track down the egg and…"

"I couldn't care less about some magical egg, Claudia! My brother is running around, hypnotized by an elf. She already admitted she's here to kill him!'' Without another word, he went back to clearing the path. Claudia excused herself to go get help from her father.


Meanwhile, Ezran guided his companion through a passage from the catacombs to the courtyard. She instructed Ezran to follow her and keep himself hidden until she gave the signal. He looked nervous but she assured him someone had to see the egg in order to prevent the war. Then, she stealthily made her way to the top of a wall.

Upon the wall, she scanned the area. "You're here. I know you are."

Runaan made himself appear and the two elves started arguing. Rayla disclosed her discovery but her elder called her out for falling prey to human deception.

"Show him!"

The apprehensive prince stepped in cradling the deep blue glowing egg. Runnaan was stunned momentarily, but not moved. He persisted that the double assassination had to be carried out. He didn't believe in any chance for peace.

"Go. Keep it safe."

"It's too late." Ezran whispered fearfully. His fear, though, wasn't due to Runaan, but rather to what the parting clouds revealed in the night sky.

It was a Full Moon.

Rayla and Runaan felt the all too familiar sensation of their Primal empowering them. Their bodies, clothing and weapons gained the ability to camouflage with the environment. It was just as natural as breathing. Yet they were not the only ones with a transformation triggered by the celestial body.

Once the white light touched Ezran's body, his pupils were reduced to pinpricks. His breathing accelerated. The egg was dropped on the ground. The Lupin Curse initiated the excruciating process. Ezran fell on his knees, the pain of his bones and muscles growing overwhelmed him. His nails became narrow but sharp. Teeth and jaws elongated. Hair grew all over his skin.

Ezran cried out. Or tried to. The sound he made was more akin to a wolf howling.


Callum had just found his way out of the catacombs when the crying howl reached him.

"EZ!"


Rayla watched first in confusion then suspense and fear as the young human prince seemed to grow hair and in size. His arms elongated until they were almost as long as his legs.

"What sort of dark magic is this?" Runaan hadn't broken out of his battle stance, twin swords drawn. Rayla had momentarily forgotten he was there.

"Is he truly…"

"Ezran!" That other prince - Callum, she thought the name was - showed up running towards Ezran.

"That's prince Ezran?" Runaan's visage hardened with purpose. No longer did he observe the transforming child with caution or suspicion of an interloper. Now, he was a target.

Several things happened almost simultaneously. Runaan launched himself at the humans, fully intent on ending one of the targets. Rayla attempted to stop him, but he leaped high above her. Callum, seeing the assassin heading towards his brother, tried to shield him with his own body. Ezran's canine ears perked up at the sound of blades cutting through the wind.

CLANG!

Rayla's eyes widened as did Runaan's and Callum's. The blade that would have cut down both princes had been stopped, trapped in the lupine jaws of the now transformed Prince Ezran.

Runaan quickly got over his shock and pulled back, yanking his weapon out of the werewolf' mandibles.

"You see, Rayla. These humans would even corrupt their own bodies with dark magic. Is this what you would risk dishonor to protect?"

Callum forgot his fear for the moment. "It was your dragon king who did this to us!" Ezran snarled at the elf, seemingly in agreement.

Rayla didn't understand at all what was going on, but she knew which side was in the wrong. Before Runaan could attack again, Rayla stood in his way. She shouted to the older prince, not daring to take his eyes off of Runaan, again.

"Protect the egg!"


Callum could no longer see the two elves, but he could hear the sounds of blades colliding. They must be using their moon powers of invisibility. But judging by the sound of their fight, they were nearby. From what he understood, the elf girl that kidnapped Ezran was now protecting them, for some reason. Or maybe she was just protecting the egg. Either case, he didn't want his brother near the assassins.

"Ez, are you okay?"

The werewolf turned his yellow eyes to the human. Transformed, Ezran was just two or three inches shorter than Callum. Ezran's werewolf form was a somewhat anthropomorphic wolf. A biped wolf that walked on two legs with a slight hunchback. The chest and hands were human shaped, covered in the brown fur with black spots that adorned the rest of his body. The head was completely wolf-like, except for the hair that still looked like Ezran's due with two pointy ears sticking out.

Ezran eyed him like a wary canine, not hostile, but not trusting either. The Wolf's Bane Elixir put Ezran in a tame state; rather than a bloodthirsty monster, he became an animal. An animal with no memory of his real identity or those he knew.

"Come on, Ez. You know me. Let's go." he reached out with one hand, hoping a sign of trust would spark some recollection.

Ezran sniffed the air around his outstretched hand, his eyes widened. Callum felt some measure of hope. The werewolf launched himself at him. Callum cried out but Ezran just knocked him aside and went for something that had been briefly forgotten: the dragon's egg.

"Ezran, bad dog! Drop that thing!" but Ezran ignored him and took off with the egg. Unfortunately, the wolf boy's escape didn't go unnoticed.

"Halt, human!" a shadow that Callum could barely distinguish descended in front of Ezran, blocking his path. "Hand over that egg, at once!"

Ezran snarled, cradling the egg protectively. He leaped at the elf, but Runaan easily dodged. However, while in mid-jump, the transformed prince attempted to claw his face with his talooned foot, much to the assassins surprise: "So, this transformation made him little more than a dumb animal, but heightened his senses; he can actually see me."

Runaan attempted a quick slash with both blades, intent on decapitating the fiend. The monster crouched faster than any human was capable of, avoiding the deadly blow. "And he's much more agile." to make matters more worrying, the werewolf attempted to scratch his face with his left hand claws. Runaan dodged and put some distance between him and it. "Had I been just a second slower, he could have taken one of my eyes out."

The assassin's eyes glared at the egg the creature carried with its right arm. "This wolf child prince is somewhat more challenging than I anticipated. And he is fighting as an animal with only one arm. I must end this quickly and recover the egg of the Dragon Prince."

His trained ears picked up another opponent nearing, nimble and quiet. He avoided a groan of dissatisfaction.

"Did'ya forget about me?" her attack with her weapons in hook mode was blocked by his own. She stepped a few meters away, to get in position. On one side, Runaan had his apprentice to battle. On the other, a human who corrupted himself with dark magic and who was also one of his targets apparently. One would think this could be a difficult challenge even for the veteran assassin.

As Rayla apparently did. "Runaan, Ah'm begging ya to stop this. We can prevent the war by returning the egg to the Dragon Queen. Ya can't win this battle."

Runaan shook his head. "Rayla, I may have taught you every battle tactic, every fighting style and movement you know. But I didn't teach you everything I know."

The elder assassins let himself be completely filled by his arcanum. Having experienced the effects of a full moon countless times over his career, Runaan had developed an ability that allowed him to deepen his connection. The moon granted him its full power.

Runaan raced for Rayla with an astonishing speed that would make him hard to see, even if he wasn't hidden by the moon. Young Rayla was caught off-guard to see her mentor in a moment a few meters away, and in the next moment practically in her face. With equally lightning speed moves and reflexes, he struck her in the abdomen with the pome of his sword. Before she felt the blow fully, he kicked her against a wall. She fell on the edge of unconsciousness.

With the rebellious child out of the battle, Runaan could cease holding back and finish his assignment. The werewolf prince threw itself at him. The assassin didn't move.

"It's over." just as the monster was centimeters from reaching him, Runaan moved in another enhanced burst of speed, sidestepping and running his blade through the werewolf's throat. The creature fell dead on the ground without even realizing its defeat and demise. Blood poured smoothly from the wound. It had been a precise cut just wide enough to sever a vital blood vessel.

There was a feeling of release in his left arm; one of his bindings turned crimson and fell off. It was over for one of their targets. Prince Ezran of Katolis was no more.

"Ezran!" the other child cried out, distraught, trying to approach the werewolf. Runaan saw no point in harming that other boy. He was neither a target nor a threat. Runaan spotted the egg of the Dragon Prince discarded on the ground. Slowly and reverently, he approached it.

At that moment, Callum saw red and snapped. Something took over his mind, like when the elf girl confronted him in Viren's office.

Suddenly, Runaan's years of training made him instinctively move to the left. He avoided being struck by a red and blue blur. His eyes widened when he realized said blur was the other human child.

Said child hissed and tried to slash at him, as if his nails were claws. Runaan dodged the wild attacks with ease. What did concern him was that the human appeared to be able to see him.

"He can see me, even with the full moon camouflaging me. Another human imbued with dark magic." Furious, Runaan went on the offensive. He swept the leg on Callum, making him fall. Then kicked him against the wall. That blow broke the older prince out of whatever frenzy he was in.

"You may not be a target, but I have had enough of you humans toying with dark magic." He pointed his blade at the disoriented Callum's neck, aiming to sever it.

Suddenly, a growl made him halt and leap away. His reflexes saved him yet again from a nasty bite to his back. Runaan's breath was caught in his throat. There it stood, the human-turned-wolf, alive and snarling at him. The wound he inflicted on its neck appeared to be healing while exhaling steam.

"He can regenerate!"

The werewolf snarled again, but didn't attack. It scooped up the egg again and made a break for it. Runaan's path was then blocked by Rayla.

"Out of my way! He is getting away with the egg." The elder assassin snarled.

"No, the egg is safe."

They exchange a few more blows, neither having the upperhand. Until Runnan noticed Rayla giving a sideways glance at a tower. The tower where their primary target lied.

"You're just trying to stall me." He realized.

"Interesting theory. Care to discuss?" Rayla spoke too casually.

Her act caught, Runaan left before she could stop him. The egg, the prince and that unruly child would have to wait. Tonight, the King of Katolis would die.


"Ezran, please, if you're in there, come back."

The werewolf looked at his brother with inexpressive eyes. He gazed down at the egg in his arms. It appeared as if the creature made up its mind. So he jumped on top of the battlement of the wall.

"Ez…." Callum felt his stomach doing an apprehensive twist. He hesitantly tried to reach for his brother. The werewolf just casually glanced at him...and then leaped over the wall of the castle. "No!"

Callum looked down the wall and saw his brother, now a dark blur, jumping down the ravine from one side to the other with impossible skill and swiftness. He landed in the river down below. Thanks to the moon's luminosity, he spotted the same blur swimming out of the river and running into the royal forest. He disappeared from view under the canopies.

"Ezran, come back!" His scream was more of a plea.

Someone approached him subtly. "What happened? Where's the egg and the prince?"

"Gone." Callum responded, not even acknoçegding the elf girl.

Rayla followed his gaze and gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't worry. Ah'll make sure he is alright." And she jumped down the ravine, repeating Ezran's stunt, only with far more grace.

Callum didn't acknowledge that, either. His brother had been within arms reach three times tonight. And he still let him slip.

An echoing screech lured his attention upwards. The prince spotted something red and bird-shaped flying away. It seemed to have a smoky consistency. And it came from the king's tower.

Remembering the presence of more elves, Callum's heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, he broke into a run towards the tower. He climbed up the spiral stairs, ignoring the guards in the way, most of them injured.

When he reached the level for the king's chambers, the ground was littered with corpses of soldiers, discarded weapons and arrows, and painted with the occasional stain of blood.

He vaguely noticed Soren saying something to him, but he was deaf to that. All he could see was a body laying inside the king's room, a wide puddle of blood underneath it, still pouring slowly from the body's severed throat.

"Callum, I want to talk to you about life. And growing up. And how sometimes there are changes you don't expect…"

Callum felt he was a little boy again, listening to those same words when his world was first turned upside down and torn asunder. Spoken on the day he learnt his mother had died, uttered the same man who now lay murdered on the ground.

In a single day, he had lost his brother and the closest thing he had to a father. His whole family. Was. Gone.

More blood was spilt on the floor, this time coming from Callum's eyes in the form of tears.


DIFFERENCES FROM CANON:

1: This is where there's a large divergence from canon; Callum sides with Claudia while Ezran flees with Rayla. Callum will not be a part of the Fellowship of the Egg (for now). But he will eventually join Rayla's and Ezran's team. I know its a bit OOC for Callum, but in this AU, he's more distrusting towards anything Xadia related, considering he blames magic almost as much as he blames Harrow for the curses.

2: Ezran was very briefly dead; after Runaan killed him and before his regeneration kicked in, his heart stopped for a moment. So the bindings for Ezran's assassination are all off, including Rayla's.

Callum's curse evolved a little more. Now whenever he cries, his tears are blood.

Ezran' powers included: greater strength, speed, agility, enhanced senses and regeneration. He's capable of seeing through a moonshadow elf' camouflage.

We got a brief glimpse of Callum in a short blood-rage.

Finally, the core concept of this story went through several changes before it settled on what you're reading. Initially, the main target of the Werewolf curse was going to be Harrow, and Ezran would also share it because they're biological father and son. Callum, on the other hand, would be the only vampire. I changed that for two reasons:

1: Sparing Harrow from being cursed would make him feel much more remorse and guilt. It's much harder for good people to see their loved ones suffer for their sins when they themselves get away scott free.

2: In cannon, only Runnan survived the mission and badly injured at that. If Harrow could turn into a werewolf, he would have most likely survived. And that would kill one of the main plot devices.

As a bonus here's a crack deleted scene of the original work:

"Awww, that's so adorable!" Rayla gushed as she tickled the belly of a transformed Ezran. The werewolf cub happily accepted it, sticking his tongue out. "Who's a wee good boy? Ya are, yes ya are! By the moon, werewolves are so cute!"

CUTSCENE

"By the moon, werewolves are the Devil!" those were the last words Assassin #1 cried out before a transformed Harrow literally ripped him in half. He then proceeded to eviscerate Assassin #2 with his claws.

Runaan and Assassin #3 tried to attack at the same time but Harrow leaped above them and landed with a massive paw on top of Assassin #3's head, crushing it. Finally he used the corpse as a club and whacked Runaan repeatedly until he cried for Ethari to give him nipple.

All the while the Crownguard watched the massacre from outside the royal room.

"The King didn't really needed us, uh." Soren commented the obvious.

"He certainly didn't need my help." Viren added, still holding the basket with the two headed soul-fang serpent. The two heads of the snake also surveyed the gory scene.

"Y'know, this ssssscene could really go with 'Let the bodies hit the floor'." the heads of the snake spoke in synchrony.

"Yeah, that would fit." Soren nodded.

"Oh, absolutely." Viren agreed.