Chapter 4: Meeting of good and evil!

Previously: "And he is a Vampire." Karolina finished.

Karolina's POV:

Many of the Team members gasped at that sentence.

Batman expressed his concern, "He is a Vampire, eh?"

Wally nodded, "Yes, and he is a Strigoi. He was human once, more than 2 millenniums ago, and even then, he was just as inhumane. He did not deserve to be a human, much less a Vampire."

Dick nodded, "The one who turned him must hath been out of his mind to do that."

"Actually," I confessed. "I knew his creator, and I knew Augustus two millenniums ago as well. One day, his creator, a friend of mine, named Derek Amoral –a made Vampire, but good-, approached me. He told me that he had turned Augustus Mach into a Vampire as Augustus not only begged him to do so, but blackmailed him as well. Somehow, Augustus knew about the existence of Vampires –always believed in it I suppose- , and apparently he sought one out, and succeeded with Derek. He threatened to expose Derek's secret, if he did not turn him as well. In order to keep his secret safe, Derek turned Augustus. Right after he did that, and Augustus was in transition, Derek immediately confided in me. He knew that I am a Pureblood, and that I knew more than him. I told him of the gravity of what he had done, the risks that he was taking, and the path which he was on, which ultimately led to his death. He told me that he knew of the risks that came with Augustus's transformation,, but insisted that he was given no other option. I in turn warned him of the imminent consequences that followed Augustus's transition into a Vampire. How he will eventually undergo his transformation into a Strigoi, and how inevitable it was, and how Augustus will without a doubt turn against Derek in the end. Nevertheless, Derek implored me to aid him in reigning Augustus in. I, no doubt, did that little favour for my friend. After Augustus finished his transition, I visited him and told him that the means by which he acquired his new-found powers were unjustified, and that he will ultimately turn and be slain in the end. This startling revelation while he was still basking in the light of his victory was too much for him. He attacked Derek and I. In the end, I escaped with minimal injuries, but Derek was dead, slain by his own creation. For one whole millennium, I watched over Augustus. Watching, while he indulged in barbaric activities such as biting humans, and revealing his existence to the villages in the area which he resided. Twice he was almost caught by Vampire Hunters, but he used his new-found powers to evade them. Every Vampire Hunter that approached him ultimately lost their life. From then on, I noticed in him signs of him becoming Strigoi. I predicted as much, and whatever I predict must happen without fail, hence, I cannot intervene. I could only watch helplessly as slowly but surely, he turned Strigoi. Eventually, he evaded me, and has been doing so for one millennium now. However, now that he is back, and I did not have any chance to watch over him, I fear that he has become a formidable opponent, and must not be taken so lightly. He is dangerous, and that means that all of you must be alert. He does not have any specific tastes in blood; he will attack any human without hesitation. You must watch your backs, carefully."

Every Team member initially looked startled, but after, they all had looks of determination plastered on their faces.

"Dost thou hath any more info that thou would likest to share?" Roy asked.

I thought deeply for a second, "Well, it is evident that the goods that they are trafficking are not ordinary drugs. They might not be drugs at all! Vampires do not get addicted like humans do. Knowing Augustus and his apparent obsession for blood, I believe that is just what he is trafficking: Blood."

At an abandoned warehouse in Mystic Harbor; 9:10 P.m.

The rest of the Team arrived by the bioship, while Wally, Dick, Roy and I arrived earlier than then by speed-running, and we have already scouted the area when they landed.

Silently, the four of us crept forward, which was not hard for us to do, with me in the lead, and the rest of the Team behind us, following in our footsteps to make the minimal sound.

We all stopped behind some crates –and they reeked of blood-, and hid while we observed Augustus, frantically gesturing to his minions to "pick up the pace" as I quote.

'Be careful,' I warned them through the mind-link that M'gann had established. 'Augustus hast minions, and they art all Vampires. Be on thy guard.'

Suddenly, Augustus turned in our direction, "I can sense you there, my brothers and sister, and you brought with you humans as well, how generous."

At that moment, his minions, which he undoubtedly created before he turned Strigoi suddenly appeared behind us and pushed us towards him.

He scoffed, "Do you really think that you can hide from me? I could smell you the minute you arrived. Having scents of Cherries Jubilee, cotton candy, peppermint and caramel toffees for scents are quite a disadvantage I must say."

I immediately stood up and turned to face him. "You are not our kind. You are not fit to be a Vampire, and you never were. If you dare lay one finger on the Team, my friends and I will stop you."

Wally, Dick, and Roy jumped up to stand beside me.

Augustus chuckled, "How loyal. Not that it will benefit you. Come now, don't tell me that you care for these pathetic weakling creatures."

Roy, Wally, Dick and I all snarled and growled and bared our teeth, stopping him short.

Augustus held up his hands nonchalantly in a surrender fashion, "Ok, ok, no need to get feisty."

He smiled wickedly, "Come, let's be civil about this."

He grabbed four bags of blood from the crate, and held it out to us, "Blood bag?"

The bags of blood were filled with the blood of liars, not even suited to our taste, not that we would even accept his offer.

We smacked the blood bags away.

He, not expecting that, dropped them and they burst upon contact with the floor and spilled all over the floor at his feet.

His minions immediately crouched down and began lapping up the blood. Ugh.

I pointed at his minions and said to him, disgusted, "They drink like that? Not even a Strigoi would stoop to this level, and that is excluding you, Augustus. You would stoop to this level without fail. I am sure of it."

Wally nodded, "You even traffic blood. Do you have any idea what would happen if the local police found you doing this?"

"Why are you taking such risks? Do you want to expose the Vampire World to humans? Is that your plan?" Dick questioned.

Augustus raised an eyebrow, "Expose the Vampire World? Oh, no no no, my dear Dhamphir, quite the contrary. Yes, quite the contrary."

'His face is too calm, too collected. Something is amiss here, but what?' I thought to myself.

"He is putting on a façade, something big is going on behind that mask; we must be on guard." Roy muttered to us, too low for even Augustus to hear.

At that moment, we stood facing Augustus, the Team behind us. We did not see how they have arranged themselves, but we have urged them silently to hide behind us as best as they can. Hopefully, they can heed our advice.

Just then, Augustus's brown eyes wandered from us to something, or someone behind us.

I risked a peek behind me to find La'gann standing just outside the group behind us. I quickly turned back Augustus and realised, a little too late, that he was looking at La'gann.

Augustus's brown eyes flashed red.

That was all the warning I got.

"NO!" I cried, leaping for Augustus's form, which was already crouched to spring.

Yay! 4th Chapter!

YJV: So? What do you think?

Wally: Please review!

Dick: It will help YJV tremendously!

Roy: Next chapter; will La'gann be saved in time?

Karolina: Stay tuned, and you can find out! ;)