Title: Blood of the Snake
By: retroelectric
Warnings: Mature themes, Vampirism, Horror/Supernatural, Yaoi, Alternate Universe
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Get Backers. This is a Get Backers fan fiction, ideas purely fan-made speculations based off the relationship between the Get Backers duo and infused with several elements inspired – and not stolen off the Vampire Chronicles Universe by Anne Rice. It is also important to note that this does not contain ANY of her characters, thus this is strictly NOT a Vampire Chronicles/Get Backers crossover. In this way I do not breach any of Anne Rice's policies regarding fan fiction on her work.
Chapter 12
"Stupid bitch," Ban muttered as the three of them approached his familiar car. "I hope she chokes on coffee and dies."
"Ban-chan..." Ginji said warningly, frowning at Ban's harsh words. "That's so bad of you to wish death on Hevn-san! What if it comes true?"
"Then I'd be the happiest man in the world." Ban groused out angrily, opening the doors of the car and slipping into the driver's seat. He closed the door behind him with more force than needed. "Honestly! Provoking Cadmus like that, thrusting her big fat boobs into his face... who does she think she is?!"
Cadmus laughed as he stepped into the back seat, Ginji doing the same and closing the door behind him. Ban revved up the car, sighing softly upon hearing the familiar purr of the engines. It had only been a week since he last drove his car, but he had quite missed it.
"It didn't even affect me that much, Ban," Cadmus said in an attempt to placate the hot-headed male as he drove to Mugenjou.
"It affected me, you bloodsucker!" Ban growled, gripping the steering wheel harder than he needed to as he made a sharp turn.
Ginji noticed it and whispered something into Cadmus's ear, and the two blond men promptly burst out laughing. Upon hearing that, Ban sped up dangerously, fully intending to make their way to the Infinite Castle as soon as possible, and also to get away from the loud snickers his two blond companions were making.
The car ride was fortunately, a short one and soon enough they had arrived. "Get out, before I lock the two of you in the car!" Ban barked, and they promptly dissolved into giggles once again. "Damn childish brats!" He shook a fist at them.
When Ginji and Cadmus had calmed down from their bouts of laughter, Ban growled out an instruction. "Now could you two brats please turn around so I can hide this car without you staring?"
Despite giving dumbfounded looks to the Jagan Master, they proceeded to do so. Once Ban was satisfied that they weren't looking, he slid his eyes closed in concentration, murmuring a concealing incantation under his breath and directing it to his precious car. He didn't want the obnoxious police to give his car a ticket; he'd had enough of that nonsense.
He smirked as the car vanished from sight, and walked over briskly to the entrance of Mugenjou.
"Well?" Ban spoke pointedly, gesturing for Ginji to lead.
"H-How did you... Ban-chan?" Ginji asked when he caught up and stared at Ban's stoic face, confused at the car's sudden absence. The mysterious smile on Cadmus's face unnerved Ban greatly. He shook his head, hoping the feeling that Cadmus knew more than he let on would fade away as he promptly replied to Ginji's question.
"Magic, of course. Now do you want to lead or not? We haven't got much time to waste!"
"Right, Ban-chan," Ginji spoke distractedly as he walked, finally stopping after some time at the front of a familiar metal door which was the entrance to the Lower Town and opened it. He took on a defensive stance, half-expecting a sudden attack from the unknown opposition this time, but there was none.
"Eh?" Ginji wondered aloud, but shrugged. "Ban-chan, Cadmus-san, let's go to MakubeX for more information about 'Tenma', shall we?"
"That's a pretty good idea. Yeah, let's."
The three of them were surprisingly quiet and somber as they walked. The dark and damp tunnels that led the way to MakubeX's headquarters were mysteriously empty and devoid of resistance of any kind. Maybe the computer boy has sensed our presence through his cameras and intends not to harm us, Ban realised. But what was with this defeaning silence, the total lack of life that was very unlikely in such a place that was Mugenjou?
"There's something wrong with this place," Cadmus commented as he walked on. "I cannot seem to hear or sense any mortal presence."
"Or they could be hiding," Ban replied and gave a curt nod to the vampire. He promptly stopped as a large door mysteriously appeared in the distance. He recognised the door, having seen it a few times before and approached it, grinning. "Hey, Ginji, it looks like computer boy is giving us a shortcut."
True enough, as the three of them entered, the first thing they noticed was the customary darkness of MakubeX's headquarters and the dim light coming from the screens of the many computers. The teenage boy was seated in front of his computers, typing away conscientiously.
"Welcome back, Ginji-san, Ban-san!" The boy king waved, tossing his head to look before resuming his work. He didn't seem to notice Cadmus lurking closely behind.
Before Ginji could reply, Ban interrupted him. "So, MakubeX, we're on a mission to retrieve stolen drugs from a drug dealer in the Lower Town called Tenma. Do you have any clues to where this person could be?" Ban asked, getting straight to the point.
"Tenma? So you finally came to rid us of that nuisance, dakkanya-san. Everything you need to know is there-" MakubeX pointed to a furiously scribble-covered map to his side, "-so good luck I suppose."
"Now look computer boy, we aren't your lackeys who come to do your dirty work, alright?" Ban growled upon hearing MakubeX's dismissive sentence. "But thanks for the guide, anyway." Ban gave a brief nod and gestured to Ginji to take the map. It was strange how relaxed and complacent MakubeX was being even though there were people under him getting drugs from this drug dealer... Wasn't he supposed to get things like that under control? There was something odd about this whole affair, what with the noted absence of the rest of the VOLTS members around the computer boy. Where the hell were his lackeys like Miracle Whip and Samurai Boy? He knew it was already past midnight, but surely, that Sakura girl should be staying with MakubeX to keep him safe.
"See you again, MakubeX!" Ginji said cheerily, handing over the map to Ban and oblivious to Ban's calculating frown. Ginji patted the teenager on the shoulder. He followed closely behind Ban and Cadmus as they set off.
Ban studied the map and the two little crosses which marked where they were currently at, and where Tenma was supposed to be respectively. So the druggie bastard was only two stories above them, they only had to make a few turns here and there and walk through a couple of empty spaces before reaching there, and retrieve the drugs. Bingo. The job was looking out to be too easy, Ban even thought of canceling the mission with Hevn and requesting for a more challenging job. The thought was instantly brushed off as he looked at Ginji's eager face.
"Hey you two, I think I know where our dear Tenma is." He traced the path on the map that they should take in order to reach their destination.
"That's excellent, cherub. But now I believe we have company."
Ban was startled, and he whirled around to see Cadmus was gone. In a blink of an eye, it seemed, Cadmus had flashed across the tunnel and had a familiar-looking man by the throat. Baring his long and vicious teeth that made him look horribly inhuman, Cadmus raised him easily with one hand, and the blind man writhed about in shock and fear, his legs kicking aimlessly in the air. Wait a minute, that was Samurai Boy wasn't it? Ban was about to say something, to tell him to let go, but...
"Who are you?" Cadmus spoke, his usually rich voice taking on an eerieness which made Ban freeze. Ban's voice was stuck in his throat upon hearing that eerie tone of voice. He tensed, and instead of moving, he watched the exchange between the two, fascinated.
"R-Raitei... H-Help me..." The man wheezed pitifully in between painful gasps of breath.
"J-Juubei? Cadmus-san!" Ginji said frantically, moving forward quickly to pry Cadmus's immortal hands from his old friend's throat, finally recognising the voice as Kazuki's protector. "I know him! Put him down! Please!"
Cadmus raised an eyebrow, and promptly loosened his grip on the blind man before Ginji could come over. Juubei crumpled to the ground, his hands shaky as he moved to pierce a needle in an acupuncture spot, simultaneously healing the ugly blue bruise which had formed on the skin of his neck. Ginji rushed forward to Juubei, still panicking.
"Juubei? Are you okay? Can you stand?"
Juubei nodded as he stood up with aid from Ginji. "Yes, I am fine, Raitei." He raised sightless eyes to where Ginji's voice was heard. "What was that thing which attacked me?"
"I'm sorry, Juubei... t-that was my friend, Cadmus-san. He didn't know you were not the enemy... I'm so sorry!" Ginji apologised, growing progressively worried as he noted the silence coming from Juubei.
"It's okay, Ginji, I don't blame you." He gave a small smile and brushed off the dirt from his clothes unconsciously. The needle-user seemed to grow more wary of his surroundings even though he couldn't see anything. "Not the enemy? What do you mean?"
"Oh, me, Ban-chan and Cadmus-san are on a retrieval mission to retrieve some drugs from a person called Tenma." Ginji said, pausing. "Wait a minute, do you know anything about it?"
"I know that they're situated near the Beltline. That's all," Juubei said, moving away from the Get Backers and his mysterious attacker. How was it possible that he couldn't sense any presence before the attack came? "I have to go back to MakubeX's headquarters. See you again, Raitei." He bowed to Ginji and promptly walked off.
"That was weird... Ne, Ban-chan, Juubei isn't hurt, is he?" Ginji asked, staring after Juubei's retreating back.
"He isn't hurt, he's hiding something from us." Ban said thoughtfully, his mind replaying the incident once again. "Well, samurai boy said that it's near the Beltline, so we have to be careful. Anyway, thanks Cadmus for looking out for us. Even if you got the wrong guy." He grinned at the vampire. Cadmus said nothing. His averted his eyes away from Ginji's questioning face.
Ban brushed off Cadmus's lack of response, and moved forward, gesturing for his two partners to follow. "Like I said, we have no time to lose."
The unusual silence fell over them again as the trio walked towards their destination. Ban stuffed the map into the pocket of his tweed coat; he'd already memorised the path that they should take. After a few moments of walking, they came across another large metal door and Ginji was about to open it, only to be stopped by Cadmus's voice.
"Wait, Ginji." Ginji paused, his hand still on the knob and he looked up at Cadmus's pale face in askance. "Let's make no more mistakes. I can sense the presence of a man and a woman. From their thoughts I know that the woman is called Kudo Himiko, and her companion is called Akabane Kuroudo. They seem to be the Transporters that Ms. Hevn seemed to be talking about, seeing as the man is holding the case filled with the drugs. His thoughts are disjointed and messy, and it doesn't make any sense, but the woman's thoughts do make sense... She's thinking about getting this job over and done with." Cadmus abruptly stopped in his dialogue, and frowned. "Ah. They've got company. Three men, to be exact, and they are shouting at that man called Akabane to hand over the drugs."
Without a hitch, Ginji pushed the door open, startling Ban even before he could come up with a plan to intercept the Transporters.
"G-Ginji! What are you doing?!" Ban hissed, but the damage was already done.
Akabane, Himiko and the three unknown men turned to look at the intruders. Akabane had a scalpel in one hand, aimed dangerously at one of the men's throat. Himiko looked confused as she recognised the Get Backers and the handsome, but unknown pale man beside them, and she was momentarily startled as Akabane began to speak.
"Well, well, what do we have here? The Get Backers, with a new addition... Someone, whom I believe, I have never met." Akabane tipped his large black hat in greeting, and retracted the scalpel back into his body. He stepped forward, and left the case with the drugs in it on the ground.
As Akabane had expected, the man whom he had nearly killed lurched forward to grab the case. Before he could lay a finger on it, however, the man stopped dead in his tracks, his hands outstretched but strangely, he was unmoving. He resembled an awkward statue in that pose, life-like and somewhat morbid. Akabane was dumbfounded as to why the man had stopped so abruptly. He stared a little longer at the frozen man, and then at Cadmus interestedly.
"I must say, this is a very interesting turn of events." He gestured offhandedly to the immobilized man behind him. His lips curved into a smile as he offered a gloved hand to Cadmus. "My name is Akabane Kuroudo. And you are...?"
Cadmus flashed a momentary glimpse of fang as he grinned, extending his hand and shaking Akabane's. He heard Akabane's almost inaudible breath hitch in his throat upon feeling the iciness in his hand which permeated through the leather, and his touch lingered a bit longer as Cadmus leaned in. Much more of that disjointed thinking. Cadmus blocked it out effectively; it was starting to make him feel dizzy. Only Ginji's and that dark-skinned girl's thoughts are left; for some reason he could never hear what Ban was thinking.
"Please, call me Cadmus," Cadmus murmured right into Akabane's ear, his icy breath caressing the skin of his earlobe. He smirked upon feeling a tiny shiver coming from the black-clad Transporter, and finally backed away to stand in front of Ban and Ginji and spoke in a loud, clear voice.
"We are the Get Backers, and I request that you hand those drugs over to us."
Ban protested, and glared heatedly at the back of Cadmus's white blond head. "Hey, that's my line, damn you! I'm the one who's supposed to say that!"
Ginji let loose a small giggle, electricity crackling and glowing even brighter around his body in excitement. "Ban-chan? Can I? Pleeease?" He turned shining puppy-dog eyes to his lover, and Ban relented, sighing and rolling his eyes.
"Fine, go on; fry their asses. But don't touch Himiko or I'll kill you."
Ginji whooped and leaped into action. He gave a little war cry and rushed forward, grabbing the two unknown men by the shoulder. He released his pent-up electrical energy into their bodies, making the both of them scream in pain and shock before fainting from the strong energy. The acidic smell of burnt hair filled the air.
"Gomen, but you two seemed to be evil and scary and I just had to use my electricity on someone!" Ginji smiled down sheepishly and sympathetically at the two smoking bodies. His body seemed to crackle with even more electricity even though he'd already used the attack without restraints.
What is this?Himiko thought, staring at the great display of power and the sudden realisation at how odd the situation was. I have never seen him releasing this much power before. That other time – it didn't even come close to this! Ban doesn't even seem to mind! What if he turns into that dreaded Raitei? And that blond guy... who is he? He seems to look at Ginji with pride instead of fear or something. It's like deja vu – he seems to act like that Kagami creep, only he is much more pale. Oh my God, he's looking at me!
Cadmus smirked at Himiko as he heard her frantic thoughts, and saw a momentary glimpse of that white-clad person named Kagami. He glanced at the frozen man still immobilised under his power and sighed inaudibly as he raised a palm and incinerated him to ashes.
The man's scream which followed was a short one, but Cadmus had long since closed off his preternatural hearing of mortal screams as he killed them.
"What the hell..." Himiko whispered aloud, her eyes wide with poorly-concealed fear as the unknown man turned into ashes. She should be thankful, but she couldn't help the dreaded feeling building in the pit of her stomach. Whatwas this guy's power? Was it the ability to control fire?
She remembered that flame-throwing woman who was smitten with Raitei. She had fought with her in one of the missions involving Mugenjou... but that psychotic woman at least had visible fire around her, and it made it easier for her to fight, somewhat. This was different, that pale man seemed to be much more dangerous than her. She doubted her Poison Perfumes would be as effective now if he were to attack her.
Akabane's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the ashes blowing across the concrete ground, and directed his gaze to Cadmus. "This is very fascinating." Akabane hummed, and tapped his chin in wonderment. "You are a very interesting person indeed, Cadmus-kun. I wonder if you are from the Upper Levels, Babylon City? If it is, I certainly haven't heard of you before."
Cadmus gave an open-mouth smile, showing a vicious hint of fang. Himiko recoiled, finally noticing the danger that represented. "I have never heard of Mugenjou nor its infamous Babylon City before meeting my dear Ginji and Ban. Besides," Cadmus went forward, and Akabane never could see that quick movement when he reappeared right beside him, "I am a child of the 17th century Greece, and I only went to Japan in the late 19th century."
Cadmus let the momentary hint of surprise slide onto Akabane's face for a moment, before staring deep into his similarly violet-coloured eyes and clouded the mind of the dangerous Transporter. Forget this meeting ever happened. Forget that you ever met me. Ginji was the one who turned that man into ashes. Ban stole the drugs and they got away.
Upon seeing Akabane's glassy-eyed distraction with Cadmus, Ginji ran to the case and tucked it safely underneath his arm. "Let's go, Ban-chan, Cadmus-san! See you again, Himiko-chan! "
Akabane slid down to his knees, still in the stupor that Cadmus's poweful vampiric spell had on him. Himiko saw this and was visibly frightened. She gave a momentary glance at the ashes on the ground and the two seemingly dead men, and she knew she had to leave.
"Wait, Ban!" Himiko screamed out to Ban's retreating back in fear. "Ban! Take me with you!"
Ban stopped and turned to look at Himiko. "I would, but I can't. You can find the way out for yourself, can you?" Ban smirked. "I suggest you do that now, you wouldn't want to deal with a pissed-off Akabane when he recovers." He left a startled Himiko, leaving the metal door open in his haste.
The three Get Backers ran down the flight of stairs without meeting any form of resistance from the opposition. The case of drugs was still tucked underneath Ginji's arm safely, and he was smiling widely despite seeing the frightening display of power from his vampire lover.
"Cadmus-san, you were amazing!" Ginji cried out, managing to envelop Cadmus in a smothering hug despite the fact that they were still running. "For once, I didn't have to fight that scary Akabane-san! I think I lov--"
Cadmus stopped, suddenly clamping a hand on Ginji's mouth, stifling his loud and exuberant cries of affection. Ginji made a sound of protest at the back of his throat and a frown, but stilled when Cadmus whispered quietly into his ear.
"There are more of them below us, Ginji. There are around five of them, so let's avoid fighting them for now." Cadmus gestured to Ban to listen in. "Ban, I need you to put that invisibility charm on the three of us, similar to that you've put on the car. Hurry, we need to be quick, it's near dawn."
Ban frowned at the news but nodded as he obeyed Cadmus's instruction. He slid his eyes closed in concentration, and murmured the incantation softly under his breath. A purple beam of energy emanated from Ban's right arm, and it quickly ensconced them three safely, making them invisible to all but each other.
"Done." Ban smirked, lacing an arm each around Ginji and Cadmus's shoulder and answering both of their questioning looks upon contact. "I must have a hold on each of you, or else the spell will be broken."
"Control your breathing and walk with no sound. We cannot be found by those weaklings," Cadmus whispered to his mortal partners, and they readily obeyed.
In no time at all, they had reached the first floor where their unknown opponents were. Ginji let loose a weak gasp as he recognised a face in the otherwise foreign group. He clamped a hand on his mouth to stifle the sound.
Juubei had his black needles out, and he seemed to be hearing out for any foreign footsteps, ready to attack. Cadmus probed around in his mind, looking out for clues as to why the blind man would be there. Rooting around his mind, he abruptly stopped in his tracks as he came across a startling realisation. It appeared that this friend of Ginji's... was a drug user? He was sent by that drug dealer called Tenma to receive the drugs from the Transporters.
"Why'd you stop?!" Ban hissed angrily but quietly, pulling Cadmus and Ginji on. "We have to go like you said!"
Cadmus regained his bearings and tightened his hold around the Get Backers. "We have to run. I'll tell you why later."
Ban and Ginji nodded at the suggestion. Cadmus sped off soundlessly, and he opened the same door as they had entered behind Juubei with one thought. Flying black needles missed them completely as Cadmus brought them swiftly away from the group. The vampire finally stopped as they approached the familiar space where Ban had hidden their car, and Ban released the two blond men, finally terminating the invisibility spell.
"Care to explain what that was about?" Ban growled, impatiently waving his hand in an intricate motion and making the hidden car appear.
"Your friend Juubei is working for Tenma, Ginji. Did you know anything about that? The group was waiting for the Transporters to arrive with their drugs. He is a drug addict."
"W-What? Juubei wouldn't do that!" Ginji looked at Cadmus with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"Sometimes we don't know what the people closest to us are capable of." Cadmus looked at Ban meaningfully, and continued. Ban brushed off the gloomy feeling he felt creeping into his mind.
"Listen, both of you. I can't stay at the hotel. I have to go now, but I have a very important favour to ask of. After you send off the drugs to Hevn, I want you to go back to the hotel, and get some rest." Cadmus threw the hotel keys to Ginji, who caught it. "After that, do take the retrieving money in the day and buy food for yourselves, and remember, don't come and find me, because you won't." Cadmus rifled through the pocket of his black coat, and removed a credit card from his wallet, handing it to Ban. "Now this is the important part. Take this and purchase a coffin, preferably one that would fit me, under the pretense that your father has recently passed away. The price doesn't matter. I need it urgently."
Tiny slivers of the orange sun sneaked its way through the dark and hazy clouds. Cadmus went forward, and placed a short but affectionate kiss on each of their lips. "Goodbye, Ginji, Ban," He whispered. In an instant, Cadmus had disappeared into the darkness of the early morning, leaving the Get Backers alone with their car.