Note: Hey everybody, and welcome back to the story. Ever since I took a break in December, I just wanted to come back to this story. Apart from that, I was busy doing stuff around the house. Before we move on, I have something to say to three reviewers.
Big Bossk Man 92: Considering the amount of time he has spent with Krystal, he might have nothing to regret. Also, Krystal might struggle a little bit longer. For all we know, her vampiric instincts could be too much for her to handle. She's doing a good job keeping it in control, though. Stay tuned for what happens next!
The White Wolf named Alex: Now that they know that all of Star Wolf are vampires, Star Fox will definitely have to work with Orlando. If they don't, then their next fight against Star Wolf might be harder. I hope you like this chapter!
mary.okeefe.16: Thanks for your review. I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story!
Now that I've said that, it's time for chapter eleven.
Chapter 11: Meeting With the Vampire Hunters
Sitting at his desk in his detective agency, Orlando was doing some research. A few more deaths had happened earlier in the morning, all from the same cause as the other deaths: a bite in the neck. Each corpse was drained of blood, to the point where a mortician couldn't find a single drop. Due to not being able to go to the morgue, Orlando had Fara photograph the new corpses, instructing her to check for anything odd. Once she had come back, the fennec handed the pictures she took to her boss. The coyote, upon receiving them, told her to go get the samples they had gathered together.
Now that he was looking at the photographs, Orlando had his notes on hand. For all that he knew, whenever a vampire drained their victim to a husk, that means that the victim wouldn't turn into another vampire. However, several corpses had vanished from the morgue, which surprised the coyote. Considering how most of them had no blood inside, this meant that they would've been unable to turn. But, one mortician had mentioned that there was someone at the morgue wanting to take the bodies, dressed in black. Everyone working there at the moment thought that it was the undertaker, but they couldn't find a file of the person.
Thinking about the strange person who was dressed in black, Orlando noticed how his clothes masked his appearance. It almost seemed like he didn't want anyone to know what he looked like. However, the receptionist at the morgue noticed that his tail was sticking out of his back. It was reptilian, being green and covered with scales. One suspicious person was about to call the police, but she couldn't. She couldn't explain it, but it felt like someone was holding her arm, or as if the limb had been paralyzed.
Orlando sat his notes down, realizing that the one who tried to call the police wasn't being grabbed by anyone at the moment. When Fara had spoken to her, she said that she had a clean bill of health, with no report of a birth defect or a mental illness. That was when Orlando came to the conclusion that some sort of psychokinetic force was stopping her. It was no doubt from that suspicious person, given how no one knew who he was. It didn't seem unlikely that someone like him would want those around him to refrain from discovering his true identity. Such a reason was more than enough to make anyone suspicious, regardless of what that person's intentions were.
As soon as Fara came back with the samples, Orlando took them out of her hands. The two then looked over the photographs, checking to see if there was anything odd.
"Fara," Orlando spoke, "did you notice anyone walking out of the morgue?"
"No." Fara said. "Whoever this person was, they left before I even go there."
"But we have information on this person." The coyote said. "He has a reptilian tail, does that ring a bell?"
"A large amount of soldiers from Venom were lizards and alligators." The fennec said. "Other than that, there's Leon Powalski from Star Wolf."
"Do you think that it could've been him?" The coyote asked.
"It had to be!" The vulpine said. "I mean, not a whole lot of people come from Venom, considering their history in the Lylat System."
"But why would he come to a morgue? Why would he dress to the point where no one could tell what he looked like?"
Before Fara could say anything, a knock came on the door. It was vigorous, as if whoever was outside was eager to come in. Orlando looked at Fara, gesturing for her to let whoever was at the door in. As she felt tense at the moment, the fennec slowly walked towards it, not wanting to let anyone in yet.
"Who is it?" Fara asked.
"It's Star Fox!" Fox's voice rang out.
"Star Fox?" Orlando spoke. "What brings you here?"
"We just want to talk to you!" Falco said.
"Come on in!" The coyote said.
Fara opened up the door, allowing for Star Fox to enter the agency. The first one to walk in the building was Krystal, who was wearing a pair of sunglasses along with her black hoodie. Up next were Fox and Falco, who looked like they were standing as far away from Krystal as they could. After them was Peppy, who took his seat near Orlando's desk. The last one to enter was Slippy, Fara closing the door behind him. Once each member of the team was in the building, Star Fox spoke with Orlando and Fara.
"You're probably wondering why we're here, aren't you?" Fox spoke.
"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Orlando asked. "I can appreciate that you came to my office, but why?"
"Because we have information that might give you a lead in your investigation." Krystal said.
"Like what?" The coyote looked at his visitors with intrigue.
"We know who has been killing all those people." Falco said.
"Who?" Fara spoke. "Who has been committing these murders, guys?"
"Star Wolf." The pheasant said.
Fara gasped in shock, while Orlando looked puzzled. The latter's expression wasn't one that Star Fox usually saw. From the Lylat Wars to the Aparoid invasion, Star Wolf was often mentioned on the news or by the CDF. However, if push came to shove, Star Fox would tell the coyote everything that he needed to know. Chances were, if they didn't, then he would either be blindsided by a member of Star Wolf, or whatever hellish creation that they had with them. Given how the space pirates were now vampires, there was no doubt that they would have something evil on hand. Star Fox knew that if no one was aware of it, then more innocent lives would fall to whatever went bump in the night.
"I can't believe this!" Fara spoke. "So, that entity at the morgue must've been Leon Powalski! I arrived too late to stop him, but I won't next time! Mr. Helsing, we've got to go after those bastards and stop them from taking any more lives!"
"Hold on, Fara, we need to know exactly what we're dealing with." Orlando said.
Taking a seat near her boss' desk, Fara let the conversation continue.
"So, what do you know about this Star Wolf?" Orlando asked.
"They're our rivals, and they've been a pain in the ass since day one." Falco said.
"But they helped us out during the Aparoid invasion, so they're not irredeemable." Slippy said.
"Of course, until today." Fox said.
"Anything else?" Orlando asked. "Can you explain why they committed those murders? More importantly, can you explain how they did it?"
Krystal cleared her throat, getting Orlando's attention. The cobalt vixen was eager to tell him everything that Star Wolf had told to the team. She was no longer willing to let the space pirates-turned-vampires threaten them, even if it would've resulted in her own death. The bite marks in her neck stung, but she ignored the pain, not letting it keep her from saying what she could. Looking Orlando in the eyes, the Cerinian-vampire was confident, ready to say what was on her mind. The coyote was a little put off by her expression, but he let it slide.
"Star Wolf killed each of their victims by draining them of their blood." Krystal spoke. "Instead of shooting or stabbing them, they bit them on their necks. From there, they would suck their victims' blood, not stopping until they were nothing more than husks."
"They're vampires?" Orlando asked.
"They're not the only ones." The cobalt vixen said. "One night, I encountered Wolf, and he killed someone who was harassing me. I was about to go wait for Fox somewhere, but Wolf got a hold of me. Then, he -"
"He bit you?" The coyote asked.
"Yes," the vulpine said, "he turned me into a vampire! If you wish to stake me in the heart, so be it! As long as Wolf loses one of his fledglings, then he will be easier for the team to defeat."
"I'm not going to stake you in the heart, ma'am." The canine said. "However, now that I know that you're a vampire, then this means that your skills can be used against Star Wolf! You are on our side, aren't you?"
"I would never betray the team, not even if my life depended on it! Trust me, I want Star Wolf dead for the amount of innocent lives they have taken, not just for what they did to me!"
"But before we can do anything, I need to run some tests on you." Fara said to Krystal. "We just want to make sure that you're not going to attack any of us the first chance you get."
"Well, she's only fed on one person." Peppy said. "Other than that, we don't have to worry about her feasting on us."
Orlando leaned closer to Krystal, having a quizzical expression on his face. He lifted up the cobalt vixen's lip, taking a look at her teeth. To the coyote's surprise, they didn't look all that different. Given how Krystal was a fox, it would've been hard to tell the difference between one who was normal and one who had been turned to a vampire. However, the lack of a heartbeat and precautions to avoid sunlight would've given one away. Without those facts, Orlando would've written Krystal off as normal.
Gesturing for Fara to come over, Orlando kept his eyes on Krystal, inspecting her body for anything weird. After a little bit, the coyote looked at the rest of Star Fox.
"Fara and I need to borrow Krystal for a few days, gentlemen." Orlando spoke.
"You must be crazy to think that you can keep a vampire, let alone a half-vampire, here with you!" Falco said.
"Don't worry, I have a series of protocols on hand in case she goes nuts." The coyote said.
"And we've got plenty of supplies to keep her calm." Fara stated.
"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Fox asked. "How do you know that she won't attack you?"
"Fox," Krystal said, "I'll be fine. I'll be on my best behavior, and I'll try to keep myself from feeding on anyone."
"She'll be with us for a while, but I promise that you'll see her again." Orlando said.
Knowing that Krystal was okay with staying with Orlando and Fara for the time being, Star Fox said their goodbyes and left the office. As the team flew back to the Great Fox, they hoped that Krystal wouldn't attack anyone. While it wasn't in the cobalt vixen's nature, her vampirism had given her aggression. It would prove especially dangerous to anyone who provoked her, as that person could've been fed on or beaten to a pulp if they were unlucky enough. No one wanted that to happen, especially Star Fox. If Krystal had gotten out of control and became murderous, the team didn't want to be the ones to stake her in the heart.
Meanwhile, at Sargasso, Wolf was sitting alone in the lab, overlooking the the vial of SW-42. The one-eyed lupine felt the urge to have Leon make additional vials of the formula. While Star Wolf had plenty of vampiric underlings on hand, he knew that there would more than likely be individuals who were willing to become vampires. The neck-biting method was proving ineffective in several situations. More often than not, the victims of this method were drained completely, with only a select few becoming vampires by sheer luck. Krystal was converted when she was bitten on the neck, but was starting to rebel. Those who were bitten had to obey the one who did it to them, but the cobalt vixen was refusing to obey, choosing to help her teammates in Star Fox.
Looking at the vial again, Wolf thought about the two who had been willing to join his growing army. Panther had brought them to Sargasso a week before Krystal was turned, just as Star Wolf had drained several others. They were both female, but weren't too young. Unlike Krystal, each of them were injected by Leon, who was about to test the formula on a corpse. Once they became vampires, they swore loyalty to Star Wolf, promising to help them in exchange for immortality. The team was happy to have them, as their efforts helped the army to grow.
"Perhaps I should send them down to Corneria." Wolf said to himself.
Note: Looks like Wolf has a new plan. However, who could the two girls who joined Star Wolf be? What was the real reason they became vampires? Was it for immortality, or do they have an ulterior motive? Until next time guys, this is Newcomer24, signing off. Peace!