It has been three days since Vlad and Hoarfen escaped Impel Down, and two days since Hoarfen completely destroyed the village they landed on. Vlad was staring at the sea, feeling the wind blow through his hair while eating an apple. He missed this pleasant experience. As he basked in the feeling of freedom after forty years, he sensed something flying over him. He looked up to see that it was a news coo.

He bit his hand to draw blood, and used it to grab a newspaper before the coo could fly too far away. He took another bite into his apple as he began to read the paper.

"Anything interesting happen," Hoarfen asked as he walked over to Vlad, eating a raw piece of Sea King meat.

"Actually, yes. It seems that a young pirate has gone to the ruined Marineford to ring the ox bell."

"Huh?" Hoarfen went over to look, and saw the kid. "Little bastard's got brass balls. The hell is he doing? Praying?"

"More like honoring the fallen." Vlad analyzed the picture. He has a habit of doing that, just in case he could find a weakness to exploit his enemies with. That's how he noticed something. "What an odd tattoo."

"Tattoo?"

"His right arm."

Hoarfen looked. "3D, 2Y? The hell does that mean?"

"The 3D is crossed out. Maybe it's some kind of message."

"To who?"

"His crew." Vlad then went back to analyzing the picture. When he did, something caught his eye. "Wait a minute. That hat. I've seen it before. . . . Roger's cabin boy."

Vlad then thought of one of his many fights with Roger, specifically the first time he had met the brave, young, red haired boy that actually tried to fight him.


"Captain Vlad! We're ready to invade the Oro Jackson!"

"Good. Follow me, you murderous dogs!" The men roared in excitement, especially when they saw their captain jump onto the Jackson, and killed a man the moment he landed.

The two crews were fighting like wild wolves, both sides suffering casualties. Only Vlad himself remained unharmed. Most of the men that tried to attack him were killed with one slash from his blood blade, but he didn't care. "Where are you, Roger?"

As he searched, he saw a red blur racing towards him. Vlad swung his sword, expecting to gut the foolish attacker, but was surprised.

The opponent jumped right over his attack, and tried to slash his head. Vlad easily blocked the attack, still very much surprised. Then, he swung his sword downward, trying to cleave the opponent. However, his enemy blocked the attack. "Oh."

Underneath his sword of blood was a boy in a straw hat, using both of his hands to hold up Vlad's sword, who was only using one hand. The boy looked up with a smirk, eyes brimming with confidence. "So you're the Bloody Devil? The captain's said a lot about you. Though, I gotta say, you're way tougher than he made you out to be."

"Is that right?" Vlad then swung his sword in a way that made the boy skid away.

The boy hissed in pain. "Damn. And I thought Whitebeard was a heavy hitter. No wonder the captain respects you so much."

Vlad smirked at the boy's words. Then, his reflexes kicked in. He ended up catching something. It felt like a wrist. He looked to see that it was a dismembered hand holding knives... and it wasn't a cut off hand either. "Ah, the Chop-Chop Fruit."

"Hands off my hand!" Vlad didn't even look towards the direction of the voice. He just thrust the hand in the direction of the voice, hearing a body skid across the ground.

"Buggy!" Vlad then looked to see the cabin boy help another boy that looked around his age.

"Damn. That guy is brutal. He stabbed me in the eyes with my own hand." Vlad watched as the boy removed his hand, and placed it back on his arm.

"The captain did say he was merciless."

"Indeed, I most certainly am. Do you two wish to continue?"

The boy Vlad stabbed turned towards him. "Damn right, we do!"

"Oh, my. What an interesting nose."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY NOSE, PUNK?!"

Vlad chuckled. "How comical you are. You two, would you kindly address yourselves?"

The red haired boy smirked. "The name's Shanks. I'm a cabin boy on the Oro Jackson."

"I'm a cabin boy, too. But you better remember my name! I'm Buggy! I'm gonna be the richest man on the seas! To do that, I'm gonna flashily take all of your treasure!"

"Oh? Is that right? Well, my crew did attack a convoy not too long ago. It was carrying five million berries worth of gold and jewelry. I believe it was the personal convoy of a Celestial Dragon. It's all in the cargo bay of my ship."

Buggy's eyes were as big as dinner plates, with his jaw hitting the floor. "F-F-F-F-F-F-F-F-FIVE MILLION?!"

Shanks was amazed by the money, but amazed by something else as well. "This guy attacked a convoy for Celestial Dragons? I thought only we were brave enough to do that."

"So, boys, what do you say? Do you still want to fight me?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did."

Vlad's eyes glowed, and his smirk grew wider at the sound of the voice. "Roger." He turned towards his rival, who had his famous grin on. Vlad noticed the cutlass in his hand. "It looks like you have been enjoying the company of my crew."

"And it looks like my cabin boys have been treating you well. So, how are they? Do they get your seal of approval?"

"Oh, they do indeed. They have great potential. I suppose it's only expected, since you made them your apprentices."

Roger chuckled. "I knew those boys were meant for greatness the moment I met them. The fact that you approve of them only proves that I was right. With that out of the way, how about we have one of our fights?" Vlad's smile widened at the thought.

"Wait, captain!" The two men looked at Shanks. "Let me fight him!"

"No! Let me kill him flashily, and then let me take his five million berries!" Roger's smile seemed to grow, filling with pride.

Vlad chuckled. "How about this? Why don't I fight all three of you?"

Vlad and the Roger Pirates smiled at the proposition. "FINE BY ME!" That's what all three men yelled as they charged at Vlad, who cut his other hand to make another blood sword, preparing for one hell of an interesting fight.


Vlad was taken out of memory lane by the sound of snapping. Hoarfen was snapping his fingers in front of Vlad's face. "Earth to Vlad. Anyone home?"

"Hm?"

"What was that about?"

"Oh, I was just remembering something from my past."

"Eh. Whatever. Has nothing to do with me. Anyway, more importantly, are we near an island yet? I wanna kill someone."

Vlad looked at his wrist and studied the log pose he was wearing. "Turn the ship port side. That's the direction of the closest island."

"Where'd you get the log pose?"

"One of the generous marines you spent some time with gave it to me back at Impel Down."

"Huh. Who knew those little piggies had any use besides my dinner? Anyway, I'll go change the course."

Moments passed. As they sailed, Vlad passed the time by stabbing fish with his blood, and throwing them onto the deck. Hoarfen ate most of the fish Vlad threw on deck. The man really was as gluttonous as a wolf.

"Hm? Ah! Vlad! An island!"

Vlad looked up. "Oh, so there is." He stabbed another fish without looking, and threw it towards the deck.

Hoarfen caught it with his mouth, and proceeded to eat it. "Wonder if there's a village." Hoarfen then swallowed the last mouthful of fish. "I could go for some woman. Ooh, or maybe some child! They're even tastier than veal!" Hoarfen then noticed Vlad's expression. He looked more serious than usual. "What? I thought you were cool with me being a cannibal."

"You don't smell it?"

"Smell what?"

"Blood. Freshly spilled blood."

"Huh?" Hoarfen then proceeded to sniff the air. "Ah! Someone beat us to this island! And killed a village's worth of people! I'LL GUT THE FUCKER!" Hoarfen instinctively activated his powers, growing fangs, claws, wolf ears, and a puffed up wolf tail. He was even growling in the direction of the island.

The men anchored at the port, which was painted red with blood, and littered with corpses. When Vlad jumped off the ship, he landed on the head of a man, accidentally crushing the skull into paste. He wasn't bothered by it at all. Instead, he analyzed the corpse. He found the cause of death.

"Slash wounds originating at the upper left quadrant of the abdomen, ending at the right iliac crest. There are four marks. This wound was caused by a claw."

"Ah, a Zoan."

"It must be. There's no way an average animal, or even an above average animal could cause this much death. Plus, the claw marks indicate that the assailant was of human height. Any other animal would have left a deeper mark. I wonder what kind of Zoan it is."

"Cat-Cat Model."

Vlad looked at Hoarfen, surprised. "You can tell?"

Hoarfen bared his fangs. "Yeah. I can recognize that disgusting model's handiwork anywhere. Fucking Cat-Cats. I hate them all. We Dog-Dogs are way better."

"Hm. Well, this wound is still fresh. Can't be any more than a few hours. The murderer is still nearby."

"Good. The only thing that's good about cats is their taste. The only good cat is a dead cat on my plate."

The men then followed the trail of blood and corpses. It led them right into the village, which was now the sight of a bloody massacre.

Hoarfen whistled. "What a bloody mess. All this meat, gone to waste. Oh, dumbass didn't even eat the kids. Just left them sprawled everywhere for the crows and maggots. Ah! That's just wasteful! Look, that man his shielding a woman and kid! Three meals in one bite! Damn, these cats are wasteful bastards. This is one of the many reasons I hate them so much."

"It looks like they tried to fight back. Their weapons didn't do them much good, though." Vlad picked up a rifle and a cutlass, both looked like they were cut; like a hot knife through butter. "They didn't stand a chance."

"Hey, I smell more blood coming from the forest."

Vlad dropped the ruined weapons. "They must have tried to hide from the hunter in the trees."

"Wanna bet that's where our wasteful little pussy cat is?"

"Only one way to find out."

The two men walked into the forest. As they walked further in, they saw more bodies.

One was leaning dead on a tree, their back exposed, with four distinct slashes showing. One could see the spine. Another corpse seemed to be hiding in the hollow section of a tree. The four holes in the tree and in the victim's chest showed that the move was worthless, as the killer obviously just stabbed through the tree. One of the most interesting corpses was of a young girl, who died on a flower bed, her blood staining all of the flowers. She was laying on her back, eyes closed, and arms extended. She looked like a sleeping princess, surrounded by crimson flowers.

"Huh. This place could make for one hell of a horror island. Ooh, even the trees are decorated." Vlad looked to see what Hoarfen meant.

There were plenty of bodies decorating the trees. The first tree they saw had a young teenager impaled on a tree branch through the throat. Another one was of a middle aged woman, impaled through the abdomen. There were also corpses of elders, hanging over tree branches like laundry. It was a gruesome sight, but Hoarfen and Vlad were not affected by the sight in the least.

As they looked at the many corpses of the forest, a shadowy figure was watching them from the tree tops. The body was shadowed, with the only distinguishable features being glowing red eyes, cat ears, and a long tail. The figure analyzed the two new men, and as quickly as it appeared, it vanished.

"Tch. Does that pussy cat really think we haven't noticed it?"

"It must be underestimating us. We can use that to our advantage."

"So we're just gonna keep pretending we haven't noticed it until it attacks?"

"Correct."

"Lame. I wanna kill it now."

"Don't you want to shatter it's pride?"

"Pardon?"

"It obviously prides itself in it's stealth. It's ability to mask it's presence. It must believe itself to be the ideal hunter. Don't you want to show it how wrong it truly is? Show it that it's techniques are flawed? Have you ever seen the pride in someone's eyes shatter when their precious skill is take from them? Their prized weapon destroyed? Their beloved technique shown to be obsolete? That they are not nearly as impressive as they have always believed themselves to be? Don't you want to... humiliate the cat?"

Hoarfen was silent for a bit, before he sighed in defeat. "Damn, Vlad. You can be seriously evil. It's kinda scary. . . . I love having you for a captain."

The two men then continued to walk, waiting for the hunter to strike. As they walked, the hunter followed them from the shadows of the trees. Even with Observation Haki, the hunter was hard to track. It showed much skill. However, Vlad and Hoarfen were still able to keep up with the Hunter, and all of it's traps.

The pit traps were the easiest. The men always jumped at the right time. The falling trees were reduced to splinters with just a single punch from either man. Hornet nests were aggravated right when Vlad and Hoarfen were under them, but Vlad squired all the insects with his blood. The wild beasts were all sent running in fear when Hoarfen roared at them.

Hoarfen sighed. "Is this it? That the best this pussy's got? Pathetic." Vlad didn't respond. "Hey, Vlad, I'm getting bored. Can we just kill this damn cat already?"

"You might want to jump."

"Huh?" Before Hoarfen could ask what Vlad meant, he jumped. Hoarfen was then hit in the face, and smoke appeared. "IT STINKS!" Hoarfen ran out of the smoke, choking and coughing. "W-What the f-" Hoarfen vomited. "T-This is made of dung!" He started to cough even more. "No! There's also rotten meat, rotten fruit, and rotten vegetables! The smell! The smell! It's horrible!" Hoarfen fell to his knees, vomiting a bit more.

Vlad landed in front of him. "I take it your sense of smell is far more sensitive than normal because of your Devil Fruit."

Hoarfen bared his fangs as Vlad, eyes white with rage. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?!"

Vlad's expression remained neutral. He then pointed to his right. "There's a pond not too far from here. I also saw some berries near it. Use those to wash yourself off."

Hoarfen took off running, leaving a dust trail behind. "YOU BETTER GUT THAT CAT, VLAD!" That was the last thing Vlad heard from the ice wolf.

"So, are you going to come down from that branch, or not?"

Vlad's question was answered when he heard a thud behind him. "You've got some skill. I'm actually impressed you've been able to not get so much as a scratch this whole time."

Vlad was a bit surprised to hear a woman's voice. He turned to see who his attacker was. "Oh, what a lovely young woman."

Indeed, she most certainly was. She was in her human form. Her skin was as dark as Vlad's, and she was nearly just as tall as he is. She had short, raven black, smooth hair that shinned at the slightest touch of light. She had a lean, thin body that looked perfect for speed based combat. Her limbs were longer than average, which told Vlad that this woman was very flexible. She wore a gold and black outfit, which was a leotard, bands that covered her elbow down to her wrist, and heeled boots. Her face was the epitome of beauty, with her eyes as golden as her clothes. As a plus, she was also very well endowed. In short, she was as gorgeous as a goddess.

Vlad studied the woman, and saw blood on her hands. "So, you were the one who killed those villagers."

"I am."

"Are there any survivors?"

The woman chuckled. "How humorous."

Vlad... smiled. "Impressive. I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from a fellow Level Six escapee."

"Oh? So you were one of the prisoners that declined that fat man's offer?"

"As was the man you sent running."

"That mutt was an escapee? Pathetic."

"So, you knew he was a Dog-Dog Model. Funny. He knew the villagers were slain by a Cat-Cat Model."

"Well..." The woman formed claws on her left hand. "Our work is quite distinguishable."

"Indeed. So, how did you know about Hoarfen?"

"That bomb was designed to exploit the weakness of all Dog Model Zoans."

"Their hypersensitive sense of smell."

"Smart man. Even if they had avoided it like you did, the aroma alone would still incapacitate them. It's one of the many ways they are inferior to cats."

"By that logic, you know I am not a Dog Zoan."

"I do, indeed. Thanks to one of my traps, I also know you are most definitely a Devil Fruit user." Vlad thought of the hornet incident. "But I also know something else."

"Which is?"

The woman then disappeared. In an instant, she appeared behind Vlad, claws black with haki, and eyes glowing red. "That you will die here, by my hand."

Vlad didn't move, and his expression didn't change. However, the woman's expression did change. Her face went from overflowing confidence to flooded with signs of danger. She jumped away from Vlad just in time to avoid being impaled by spikes protruding from Vlad's back, made from his own blood.

"Well, that was dangerous. Had I been any slower, I would have been a hole riddled corpse. That looks quite painful, by the way."

"After using it so many times, I've grown quite used to it. It dulled by sense of pain as well."

"Hm, interesting. You might be a bit more difficult than I thought."

"Did you honestly expect less?"

"Actually, I did. Since my escape, I have come across other Level Six prisoners. They... were less than exhilarating. But you..." The woman began to transform into her hybrid form. "You will actually pose a challenge. I've been waiting for one ever since I escaped."

"Hm... You resemble a cheetah."

"Oh, you know your animals. The last person who saw me in this form thought I was a leopard. The one before him was a true idiot, saying I looked like a tiger. I ate the Cat-Cat Fruit Model: Cheetah. As such, I'm arguably one of the fastest beings on the planet. Not even the marines' Shave technique is a match for my speed. Trust me..." She appeared right in front of Vlad, getting ready to gouge his eyes out with her claws. "They've tried when I escaped."

The woman jabbed at Vlad, but was surprised when he easily dodged by simply tilting his head, looking unenthusiastic. She then sensed something. She jumped away just in time to avoid getting cut by Vlad's sword, something that impressed the Bloody Devil. "How nimble."

"I'm a cat, handsome. We're known for being quick on our feet."

The woman charged at Vlad, slashing at him at ungodly speeds. However, Vlad was somehow able to parry most of them. He did get a few scratches though, but that made things worse for his assailant.

She actually had to jump away when she saw a needle of blood shoot right at her. "Wow. You're Devil Fruit has quite a few tricks, doesn't it?"

"More than you can imagine, Young Lady."

The woman chuckled. "Young Lady? You don't seem old enough to be calling me that, handsome."

Vlad chuckled at that comment. "If only you knew, child."

"Now then..." The woman sped towards Vlad.

The two fighters clashed. Haki infused cheetah claws clashed against a haki infused sword of blood. Their fight created many shock waves and air blades. There were many unfortunate animals that were caught in their battle, so the battleground was soon drenched in blood. Unfortunately for the huntress, this meant that Vlad was getting stronger.

During their next clash, Vlad chuckled as he looked into the beautiful woman's eyes.

"What's so funny?"

"I had been enjoying our battle so much, that I actually want to know your name. Not many people have done that. Since my escape, only Hoarfen has been able to do that. Then again, I've only been free for three days."

"That mutt was the only one to impress you so far? How sad for you. Actually, I'm a bit curious about who you are as well. Who are you, handsome?"

"Vladimir Tepes. Though, I have to admit, most people know me simply as Vlad."

"Vlad? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"You look like an intelligent woman. I'm sure you will figure it out."

"Oh, I don't think I need to. After all, I am going to kill you, so I don't need to remember a dead man's name." Vlad smiled at her answer. "Now, LET'S FINISH THIS!" The woman then jumped away, and started to run around Vlad fast enough to create afterimages. Then, it looked as if the woman charged at him from literally all directions, all of them looking like solid clones, making it impossible for the human eye to tell which was real. In fact, she was moving so fast, that even Observation Haki would have been made useless. It really was like she was everywhere at once.

However, Vlad's smile never went away. "Very well." He then raised a hand, and snapped his fingers. "Bloody Chains."

The next thing the woman knew, she was being held back by chains made of actual blood; yet these chains were even harder than steel. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free. She then realized Vlad was standing before her. He then knelt down to be at eye level with her. He loved the look of shock in her eyes.

"How? How?! How did you know which one was me?!"

Vlad pointed down at her claws. "By my blood. Your claws are stained with it. You can make as many images as you want, but my attacks will never miss, because only the real you has my blood stained on your body."

"B-But this much blood. Where did it-" The cheetah hybrid's eyes widened in realization. "The animals."

"You really are a brilliant young lady. Yes, as long as so much as a drop of my blood is mixed in with it, I can control all blood. That is the power of the Blood-Blood Fruit. The only limits to my power is my own imagination, and the amount of blood surrounding me. However, all mammals, from the beasts of the earth, sea and sky; to the humans that live in this world; all have blood flowing through their veins. Which means, they are all a source of my power. Fun fact: if so much as a drop of my blood enters their veins, they become my puppet for as long as they live... and beyond. I can even manipulate coagulated blood. If I wanted to, I could make an actual army of the undead."

The woman calmly listened to Vlad's explanation. "What a terrifying power. Sounds like it was made for the Devil himself."

"Thank you. Now then, before I 'finish this', I would still like to know your name."

The woman chuckled as she shook her head. "Tanya." She then looked at Vlad, staring right into his eyes. "Tanya the Cheetah."

"Tanya. What a beautiful name."

"Thank you, Vlad. Oh, and I hope you don't think I'm done fighting."

"Hm?"

"This fight..." Tanya's eyes became more like a cheetah's. "Isn't over yet!"

Tanya began to transform. She was getting bigger. Too big for even Vlad's Bloody Chains to handle. They all shattered, and Tanya was still growing. When she finished growing, she was twice the size of Vlad himself. She was a giant Minocheetah, who retained her black hair, clothes and large bosoms. The giant cheetah towered over Vlad, completely still, and her eyes shadowed.

"An Awakened Zoan. Haven't seen one of those in a while. I heard rumors of there being four Impel Down jailers who were also Awakened Zoans. Odd that they were nowhere to be seen during our escape. However, it's a shame that an Awakened Zoan's power is a double edged sword. In exchange for nearly invulnerable bodies and superhuman recovery, their intellect and humanity is greatly diminished, making them nothing more than savage beasts. You probably don't understand a word I am saying right now. What a shame. At least I will have an entertaining battle, even if it's with a mindless beast."

"A mindless beast?" Vlad's eyes widened in shock. "Oi, oi." Tanya gave a toothy, fang-filled smile, her eyes now fully visible, full of life and a lust for battle. "Who do you think you're talking to?" Vlad was shocked. He has never seen an Awakened Zoan that had control over their power. "Don't underestimate me, VLAD!"

Tanya swung her claw, creating four giant blades of wind. It was too large for Vlad to dodge, even with Shave. Instead, he created a barrier of blood. As soon as the blades connected with his shield, it blew him away with just wind pressure alone.

He was sent crashing through trees and boulders, before finally regaining his footing. When he did, he ended up getting slashed on the back, before being kicked into a cliff. It all hurt like hell. Tanya calmly walked over towards him, his eyes shadowed, body implanted into the cliff.

"Ready to give up? You're pretty interesting, so I actually don't want to kill you. I'll let you live... as my pet."

Vlad was quiet for a bit... before he smiled. "You're magnificent."

"You're just now figuring that out?"

"An Awakened Zoan that has full and total control over their power. You can still think like a human, and you're skills and tactics are even greater than before." Vlad then showed one eye. "I think I can use it on you."

"It?"

Vlad then ripped himself out of the cliff, and looked at the open palm of his right hand. "It has been years since I have used this. The last time was against Roger. I should have used it when both he and Newgate attacked me. Maybe I wouldn't have... no, I still probably would have lost."

"Roger and Newgate? Just how old are you? Or are you just crazy?"

Vlad smiled at Tanya. "I'll let you figure that out. For now, let me show you something." Vlad then slammed his hand onto the ground. "Bloody World."

The entire area around Vlad... started to become blood. It started to spread, which made Tanya get into a defensive stance, wondering what Vlad had in store for her. Then, a cheetah made of blood lunged at her from the pool of blood.

She tried to slash it's head, but her claws went right through it, while the cheetah slashed at her shoulders. More cheetahs ran out, and Tanya tried to fight back. However, all of her attacks were ineffective. Not even haki seemed to hurt them. "It's like fighting an army of Logia!"

"Only problem is that they are in their true form. Armament Haki only works on Logia because it attacks their true bodies. These cheetahs are nothing more than animated blood. It is their true form." Tanya hissed at the situation. "However, that's not the only thing my blood can do."

Tanya watched as the cheetahs began to melt back into pools of blood before coming together. The blood then started to take form. Out of the blood, came an exact replica of Tanya in her Minocheetah form, a sight that shocked Tanya.

"Blood-Blood Clone. It may not be as powerful as you yet, but it will make for one hell of an opponent."

The clone then charged at Tanya. The two fought like hell. The clone couldn't get one hit on Tanya, but she couldn't harm the clone. It was a duel between the untouchable and the unkillable.

Then, Tanya got sick of it. She took a step back far enough to totally avoid a strike from the clone. Then, she got into a stance. "Cheetah Twister!"

Tanya began to spin. She was spinning fast enough to create a powerful twister that actually made Vlad lose control of the clone. The blood then began to fly everywhere, the clone being completely defeated.

Tanya stopped spinning, and smiled at Vlad with her fangs bared and her eyes gleaming dangerously. "Looks like I've beaten your clone, Vlad." He didn't respond. He just stood there, an impressed look in his eyes, and arms crossed. "Now... TIME TO END THIS!" Tanya charged at Vlad, planning to slash his head off.

Then... Vlad pointed a finger at her. She stopped dead in her tracks. "W-What?! W-What's going on?! I can't move!"

"Don't you remember what I said, Tanya?" She looked at him. "I can control anything that has my blood flowing through it."

"You're blood?! When the hell did you-" That's when Tanya remembered. She was able to turn her head enough to look at her shoulder. It was totally healed, but she didn't forget what cut her in the first place. "The blood cheetahs."

"Correct. Bloody World turns everything around me into my blood. Getting so much as scratched by anything created by Bloody World is no different from getting a scratch from my sword. You lost to me the moment my cheetah's claws pierced your skin." Vlad then snapped his fingers.

Tanya felt a sensation. It was painful, but not agonizing. It just felt mildly uncomfortable. Then, she started to revert back into her human form, something that astonished her.

"Much better." She looked at Vlad. "You're Awakened form is indeed a spectacular sight," he then lifted her head by her chin. "But it pales in comparison to your beauty."

Tanya blushed at Vlad's words. "W-What do you plan to do with me?"

Vlad smiled. "I plan on making you mine."

"Nyah?!" Tanya was beet red.

"I took an interest in you. An Awakened Zoan that has control over their form is quite rare. I could use someone as powerful as you in my circle of trust."

"Oh, that's what you meant." Tanya looked away, a bit of a depressed.

"Though, I have to admit, you would make quite the bedfellow." Tanya then went back to being red with embarrassment, her ears and tail popping up, standing tall. "So, will you join me?"

Tanya was quiet for a bit. "I-If I join, I need to warn you that I will be aiming for your life at every chance I get."

"Very well."

Tanya looked at Vlad, then tilted her head. "Eh?"

"After all, if I am weak enough for you to kill me, then I had no right to ask you to follow me, correct?" Tanya blushed again, her heart pounding. "Now then, we should leave."

"Y-Yeah."

"Let's go find our other comrade."

Tanya's blush went away. "Comrade?" She then took a minute to think, giving time for Vlad remove his blood from her veins. Tanya's face then turned blue. "The mutt?"

Vlad just smiled before walking away. Tanya followed him.

It didn't take the two long. They reached the pond, which now looked like a giant bubble bath, with a giant ice blue wolf sleeping in the water, it's snout above the water. The wolf's ear twitched, showing that it heard Vlad and Tanya approaching.

The wolf lazily opened one eye, and yawned when it saw Vlad. "Hey, Vlad."

"Oh? You can talk while in full beast mode, Hoarfen?"

"All Zoans can. You didn't know that?"

Vlad chuckled. "It has been too long."

Hoarfen then lazily got back up, the water dripping from his fur. He then shook himself dry. Vlad made a shield of blood to prevent any of the water from getting on him. Hoarfen stepped out of the lake, reverting back to his human form as he did. He was still fully clothed when he returned to his original form, stretching to awaken his tired body. "Baths feel nice, especially cold ones, but the water seriously weakens you. Kind of a pain. So, you turned that cat into beef and broccoli?"

"Mm, not exactly." Hoarfen raised an eyebrow at Vlad's answer. Then, Vlad stepped to the side.

As soon as Hoarfen saw Tanya, his fangs, claws, tail, and ears formed immediately. He got into a battle stance, growling, looking ready to pounce at her. "Why the fuck is that pussy still alive?!"

Tanya retaliated by forming her own fangs, claws, tail and ears. She was also growling, looking ready to lunge at Hoarfen.

The only reason they didn't attack each other was because Vlad positioned his arm in front of them. "Because she will be joining us."

"WHAT?!"

"She caught my interest. She will be an extremely powerful ally."

"ALLY?! THIS DAMN CAT IS THE TYPE OF FELINE FILTH THAT WOULD TRY TO KILL US IN OUR FUCKING SLEEP!"

"WRONG! I'D KILL YOU RIGHT HERE AND NOW, YOU MANGY BITCH!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

"You're right, Hoarfen." The two looked at Vlad. "Tanya is the type that would try to kill us in our sleep. I'm actually hoping she will try that." The two were confused by Vlad's words. "After all, it would keep you and me vigilant, and would prevent us from getting weak. Besides, are you really so weak, that you can be killed in your sleep?"

"FUCK NO!"

"Then, letting her join us wouldn't be a problem for you. You just need to always make sure you're stronger than she is."

"Tch, like I even need to try."

Tanya growled at that comment. "And Tanya..." She looked at Vlad. "If you join with us, not only will you always have a chance to assassinate me, but you will always have a chance to kill Hoarfen, and prove that the cat is superior to the dog. Sounds like an interesting hunt, does it not?"

Tanya glared at Vlad. "You're a crafty bastard, you know that? You seem to know exactly what to say."

Vlad chuckled. "That's quite the compliment."

"Tch. Fine! I'll join. But I'm warning you two, let your guard down even a tiny bit, or allow yourselves to get weak enough, I WILL kill you." She then appeared before Hoarfen, as if she had teleported, her claws at his throat. "Especially you, you flea bitten mutt."

Hoarfen's glare intensified. "Watch who you're talking to, you damned filthy pussy." Tanya looked down to see that Hoarfen's claws were right where her liver was. The two were already prepared to kill each other.

Vlad chuckled at the sight. "Alright. Let's go, you two. This island has nothing left to offer us." With that, Vlad walked back towards the ship.

Tanya and Hoarfen glared at one another for a bit longer, before they finally started to follow Vlad. As they walked, sparks appeared between them. It wasn't the spark of love, or rivalry, or the comical lightning sparks; but actually sparks... caused by the lighting quick clashes between the claws of the two Zoan warriors.

As they walked, Vlad could only smile, with one thought on his mind:

"Things have gotten that much more interesting."

A/N: I wonder if any of you can guess which two characters inspired Tanya. Here are two hints: 1. Comics 2. Video games Good luck with the guessing game. The answer will be revealed in the next chapter (whenever that is.)