Note: This story is for Tenka-chan. I'm continuing this for you.
Kings and Aces
Chapter 2/?
The nightmares began on his fifth year without aging. It was May 13, 1496, and he was twelve. Again. He had known since the day it happened that he wouldn't age. Mr. X had explained that thoroughly. However it wasn't until the other children his age began to change that it really sunk in. These kids he'd known a long while. These kids he'd grown up with in the orphanage until Mr. X had so selfishly stolen him from the facility. And now they were changing in appearance and in size. Soon they'd get jobs and marry and have kids. Things Dominic would never take part in.
While this troubled his young ward, Mr. X had been more than pleased at his vampire's unchanging features. Of course it had been planned, since what could a child do on his own? Mr. X knew how vampires could get after many years with their masters, having personal experience with it. But now Dominic was dependant on him, which was the way the man wanted it.
Mr. X was hundreds of years older than Dominic, though outwardly he was barely thirty. As smart as Xavier Black was, his intelligence was only slightly superior to his son's. This Mr. X was both proud of, and threatened by. As Dominic's wisdom and years grew, so did his demand for independence and rebellious nature. While Mr. X would draw the attention of everyone around him with his money and sense of style, he found only resentment from his son. Mr. X naturally feared this resentment, and immediately looked for ways to harness it. And then the nightmares came.
Dominic had always been a fast learner; something his father took pride in. The hunting and feeding had been difficult at first, and the shifts from night to day had been wearing, but eventually the young vampire had grown used to it. Still, when the nightmares hit so early it startled Dominic's master. It was unnatural and shouldn't have happened so quickly. It stirred questions in Dominic's mind that became increasingly harder to ignore.
"Tell me," Dominic demanded daily. "Tell me about the war. The one you talked about when I was young." Sometimes his master would begin to talk about how Dominic was still young and shouldn't worry about things above his understanding. Such lectures would infuriate the teen, causing an argument that would end in yelling and cursing and slamming doors. But after the nightmares started, Xavier could put it off no longer. It was time.
Dominic had seen war. He had lived through many, including both the World Wars and the dozens of small wars America had fought in. He didn't like America, or the World Wars, or any of the wars at all. Dominic wasn't much of a fighter, which is perhaps the reason why he became one of the most influential fighters in the biggest war there ever was. Not because he liked it or agreed with it or wanted it. But because he hated it with such a passion that it controlled his life.
Mr. X had explained the war many times over. The causes, the effects, the allies, the enemies, it was all hazy and unclear. If things changed in their world, then they changed in the 'real' world. Casualties didn't matter. Scores didn't even matter. The battles were virtually pointless since the war couldn't be won by either side. It was never ending, and its players were immortal.
"Good versus evil is how the humans see things," His mentor had explained. "But in our world it's not that simple. There's Good versus Good and Evil versus Evil and Almost-good versus Almost-Evil, and everything in between. Sometimes it's impossible to decide what good or evil is, or who is part of it. No one thinks they're evil anymore than they think they're good. They just are."
It shouldn't have made sense to someone so young and new to the game, but to Dominic it did. Every being, every world had their own beliefs and battles. They all had something they would fight for. And survival was worth fighting for. Eternity was worth dying for. Even if dying wasn't an option, as many times Dominic wished it was.
"So why don't we all just live. Let the others live and worry about ourselves?" Dominic had wondered. Mr. X had seemed to ponder the question for quite awhile before answering.
"Nicky…there are Kings and there are Aces. The Kings are…who should be in power. The race in control of everything. The race the other races look to for guidance and leadership. Then there are the Aces. The Kings worst nightmares. The ones that take control instead of earning it. The ones who refuse to be second in command. Second in anything. We, my son, are Aces."
Really there were more than just Kings and Aces. If you wanted to account for all the races and worlds you'd have to have Jacks and Jokers and Queens. Every number would have to be accounted for. Every symbol and every color. But the message was clear.
They hated them. They being everyone and Them being vampires. Well, of course, it wasn't quite that simple. Them didn't include solely vampires. None of the races included solely one kind. But the differences hardly mattered. There were many teams; all of who wanted to be on top. All of who, were they to get on top, would annihilate the other races. Every now and then an agreement would be made as to who would be in charge. Laws would be passed and things would be peaceful for a hundred years or so. Then a race would grow stronger and more populated, and they would attack. Now it was their turn. Dominic's turn, to fight for the throne. Metaphorically speaking of course.
The nightmares were bad. Sometimes they were of his parents. A few times of his sister. But mostly, they were of him. And his army. And the war. And Xavier. Xavier, his friend, father, master, and mentor. The one who bared the brunt of his anger and resentment and hatred. The one he cared more about than anyone in the world. The one who had brought him into this; into his destiny. Mr. X was suffocating. He was controlling and temperamental and overbearing. Dominic's friends were few and far between because of his master's jealousy, and privacy was a rarity to say the least. He knew what he had to do, and quickly. He had to rid himself of Xavier Salem Black. He had to become Emmanuel the blond twelve-year old. He had to disappear.
But Xavier had other plans.
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