"So it is with a sorry heart that this is my last column for this newspaper. My years writing here have brought me so much experience and I thank each and every one of you for your support through the years. For those of you who still want to read up with my opinions on recent subjects, feel free to read my blog that I update on an almost daily basis. Thank you for the memories, all my love, Roxanne Ritchi."
Lowering the newspaper, Minion clucked his tongue. "Well, that was something! To think she'd give up her column in order to dedicate more time to training..."
"It shows dedication." Megamind said as he ate his breakfast, reading over yet another old book he held in gloved hands.
"I just hope you're not asking too much of her, Sir." Minion said cautiously, "I know she's very excited, and has shown advancement already and it's only been a week but..."
"No buts, Minion." he lifted his gaze to look at Minion. "She knows what she's doing. If she wanted me to go easier on her, she'd tell me. I told her that when we started this would be hard, but I'd gladly slow things down if she so desired. But with the war coming..." Megamind looked down at the book in his hand again solemnly. "We don't have time to take things slowly."
"Speaking of slowly," Minion said with a small grin, "You two have certainly gotten closer."
Megamind felt his face flush and coughed discreetly away from the book in his hand. "Minion really."
"No, I'm just saying! I'm so happy for you, Sir. Between you and Wayne this house hasn't seen so much love in years, I'm sure of it. The atmosphere in here is so much brighter, warmer, and it's great!" Minion smiled at his blue friend, who was slowly turning purple with every passing syllable from his mouth.
"Oh for..." Megamind flushed. "Yes, yes. I'm sure we're all adorable to you."
"Very." Minion grinned. "And the fact Mr. Dunning is already home and almost fully recovered is a good thing too."
"He still gets on my nerves." the alien muttered.
"Why?" Minion lowered the newspaper, looking concerned. "Why don't you like Mr. Dunning, Sir? Is it because he's a werewolf?"
"What? No. No, not anymore..." Megamind replied quietly as he set his book down on the table, staring at the incantations written in ancient language only scholars and enthusiasts knew. "At first I didn't trust him because of what he was. He constantly got on my nerves, all those snarky comments at me made me feel as though he'd accidentally not really lock his cage one night and come barging out to tear me to pieces because of what I was." he lifted his gaze to Minion. "Then I learned I just didn't like him as a person. He's so dry and scathing sometimes; totally incapable of taking anything seriously and now he's up there sleeping in the same bed as my brother. I just can't help but feel he's playing us for something."
Minion sighed. "Sir, Mr. Dunning isn't like that at all. He isn't out to get you in any way! That's just how he is, it's how he handles what life hands to him. It's nothing against you personally, and he really does love Wayne. Can't you see that?"
Megamind looked down at the book and mumbled something.
"What was that?" Minion asked, tilting his fish body a little in the water.
Once more, Megamind mumbled.
"Didn't quite hear that."
"I'm creeped out that they're doing it. All right?" Megamind strained the words out quietly as if trying to push cement through a drainer.
"Oh!" Minion replied.
"It just. I don't. I don't know." he looked away and pushed a hand against the side of his head. "After what I saw in Bernard's bag you just don't forget stuff like that."
"Oh Sir you shouldn't be like that! It's natural, it's what happens when you love somebody." Minion said. "You shouldn't feel ashamed about what you have, you know that. Ms. Ritchi is very lucky to have you caring for her the way you do."
"What if she wants me to do it?" Megamind asked, lifting his head to now stare at his fish with wide eyes. "What if, what if she wants to do to me the kinds of things..."
"If she does, I'm sure she'll talk to you about it and wouldn't force it upon you. It has to be a mutual agreement, and a loving one at that. Do you think you're ready for something like that?" Minion asked.
"I want to say that I do but..." he trailed off. "...yet on the other hand any day the first wave might come and then we might lose each other. I have to face facts I don't really have time to be scared but... god Minion it's so hard. I see her training, those sport bra things and her tight pants and the way her body just moves and I just want to-" Megamind stopped himself, and pressed his hands over his mouth and bent over forward, shutting his eyes.
Minion sighed before reaching over and rubbed his hand against Megamind's back. "When it happens, it happens, Sir. You shouldn't rush it, but you shouldn't feel ashamed for those feelings either! When it does happen, Sir, it will be very special for the two of you. Don't feel pressured just because of what Wayne is doing. You two are very different, if just as much as you are alike. All right?"
"You always know what to say Minion. How do you do it?" Megamind asked, lifting his head slowly to look up at the fish.
"Instinct." grinned the fish.
"Morning you two!" Roxanne called as she came walking into the dining hall wearing a sweat shirt and those figure hugging leggings that cut off at the knees. "Wow. What time do you get up?" she asked with a smile of Megamind as she walked up to him and gave him a morning kiss to the chin.
"Around five?" he asked.
"You're crazy." she laughed before leaning against the table. "Ready for our morning routine then?" Roxanne asked.
"Do you think I'm wearing this work out gear for no reason?" he asked with a smirk before closing the book and got to his feet. "Shall we?" he asked.
"We shall." Roxanne nodded.
Minion watched the two leave out the back door before sighing to himself and picked up the book Megamind had been reading. He couldn't read the ancient words on the pages but the images of a etchings of a robed man holding a flaming sword while fleeing vampires flew in all directions told him this was important. Carrying it around to the library he jumped seeing somebody else was already up. "Oh Mr. Dunning, good morning!"
"Morning Minion." Bernard greeted as he continued looking at the books that were on display on the shelf. While he had recovered from his internal injuries fairly quickly, the damage done by the vampires claws to his face hadn't been so quick to heal. Running all but diagonally across from his forehead to just under his nose was the fading scars left by the claws. Wayne said it made him look dashing and roughish, while Bernard felt it just looked like he'd fallen on a rake. "What's that you got?" he asked, glancing at the book in the robotic hands.
"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. I can't read it." Minion replied as he held up the book.
Bernard, being a knowledgeable man when it came to books, approached to gently take it from the fish. The leather binding was old and torn in a few places while the pages themselves were turning that old, ancient orange hue that paper did eventually. "I'd say... printed around early 1800's." he mumbled, lifting the book and gave it an actual sniff. "Oh yeah. The work done to the spine tells me it came from Europe, around Scandinavia of all places." he opened the book gently, and turned a page by using just the cuff of his shirt since he didn't trust his hands to not leave an oil print somewhere. "I've always wondered where you guys get these books."
"Family." Minion shrugged. "They've all got to do with the occult in some way, shape or form and come from all over." he reached and took the book carefully from Bernard, who had just been looking at a picture that looked like a wavy table drawn on a door. "Now let me put this back."
"Course, course." Bernard walked away, giving the fish room to move as he continued to take in the library. He approached a window and stared out at the world outside, the early morning sun filtering through thick clouds that continued to roll in from the North. The city was in the distance, shining and gleaming as always. Hearing grunts, he turned his gaze down to the garden and saw Roxanne and Megamind outside.
They were working on improving Roxanne's footwork it seemed. Megamind would come at her and she'd have to deflect his attack without leaving her feet standing awkwardly. A bad stance would mean she could be easily thrown off if the vampire was keen enough to do so, leaving her open for an attack. Bernard watched as Megamind swiped his hands at her, mimicking a vampire on high defense, and she quickly took one step back before lashing back at him, trying to kick him away. But he always caught her foot with one of his hands before throwing her back. Bernard smirked, and leaned against the window.
"Say what you want about blueberry head, he's good at what he does." he mumbled.
"Hm?" Minion, having just heard him, turned.
"Him. He knows what he's doing doesn't he?" Bernard asked.
Minion walked up to watch the two down on the grass. Roxanne once again swept her leg out to knock Megamind over but he easily jumped to avoid the attack, spun, and almost brought his foot down on her head or shoulder but he had good self control, and stopped just short of hitting her.
"He might even stand a chance against me if I was suffering from a Moon cycle." commented the man, watching them carefully.
"If he was coming up against somebody like you, he would work with returning your attacks on you. That's what he does when enemies are bigger than he is... and a lot of them are." Minion mumbled. "Sometimes I think he forgets how dangerous what he does is..."
"Now!" Megamind dodged Roxanne's attack. "Name the types you know, a small explanation about them and how to defeat them."
"Vampire." Roxanne shot back as her fist met his hand and he shoved her back, but thanks to her better footing she didn't fall over. "They're incapable of walking into the sunlight but can walk on holy ground and defeated by stake through the heart. Also weak against Holy water and the cross."
"Next." Megamind swung his foot at her feet and she jumped, avoiding it.
"Vampire Nuance! Capable of walking in the sunlight, walking on holy ground, they look and act like anyone normal. They're the type to hypnotize people into loving them, luring them into their world, then feasting on them after playing with them for a while. They die by a stake through the heart!" once more the young woman tried to hit him but, as usual, he avoided it at the last second. Megamind was very skilled, this was something she had always know, but through her training with him had she finally been able to see just how skilled he was.
"Changeling. Capable of walking in the sun, and can transform from their human form into only one kind of animal. This can be a large bat, or a wolf. can be taken down by a stake through the heart when in human form, but can be ripped apart when in their animal forms." Roxanne retaliated again, but as always Megamind dodged her and would return with twice the force. This was him going easy on her, too.
"And?" he asked.
"Burn the body parts if torn apart."
"Next!" sung Megamind as he jumped away from her suddenly, turning the practice into a sudden race.
"Next we have the Voyeur!" she called back as she raced after him, sweat already running down her forehead, neck and back. "Incapable of going into the sunlight fully, spends most of their time watching people and making calculated decisions as to who to hunt. Almost impossible to defeat when in their multiple bat forms but, but... but they're one of the types who are respectful fighters and will face off if given the chance. They're harder to defeat if there's more than one."
"Good, good." Megamind nodded as he ran around a large tree.
"They're another breed that has to be torn apart and burned." she added. "Then there's the Berserker, one of the most dangerous vampires because it no longer knows fear or planning. It will attack, keep attacking, and won't stop, even if severely injured."
"And how do we kill a Berserker?" asked Megamind.
"Chop off its head, stake its heart, disembowel it, amputate its limbs, burn everything to ashes, dump the ashes in Holy Water and then boil the water to nothing." Roxanne said.
"Then?"
"Then... then... I... I don't...?" Roxanne asked.
"You bury what you boiled the water in under a tree in the woods." Megamind reminded her.
"Right..."
"There are more, though." Megamind informed her as they came to a stop, both of them needing a breather. Roxanne all but collapsed onto the grass, breathing hard. "Others more dangerous than the Berserker, too..."
"Oh joy?" Roxanne asked shakily, but still smiling.
Megamind laughed before stretching his legs as he talked. "Yeah, great joy. Mist is a new type you don't know about, and they're very, very hard to defeat."
"Mist..." Roxanne echoed.
"They can literally fade into nothing and move around you. They become air, slashing at you, but the good thing is they can't do it permanently. They need to stop, take form, and take up attacking again." Megamind explained. "If you manage to actually grab a Mist vampire before it becomes air you're already on a good start. It can't change if anything other than themselves are attached to them, downside is you're now grabbing onto a vampire who could rip your throat open with its teeth or slice you open with a weapon. Or its very own claws."
"So you need to get close to kill it, but you're putting yourself in great danger." Roxanne mumbled.
"Great danger. As soon as you grab it, make sure you have a small weapon handy. These are an interesting type, they die by a strike to the heart but only by silver. That's why I always keep my silver dagger on me at all times in case I encounter one." Megamind explained.
"What do you do if it be comes air, though?" she asked. "What have you done?"
"I wait. You can't hurt them when they're like that, sadly. You just have to put up with the attacks, protect your throat and face, and wait until it stops." he said before finally sitting down for himself, stretching his arms up above his head as he did. "They're very rare though, and I've only run into three in my entire life."
"Wow. You know when I was little," Roxanne said as she got to her feet. "I used to think there was only one kind of vampire, and that was guys like Dracula. You know, suave, seductive, turn into an animal... things like that. I never would have thought they could be so different."
Megamind smiled faintly as he got to his feet and began heading back towards the house. "Dracula. Have you read the original?" he asked.
"Only a few times back in high school and college." Roxanne replied, falling into step besides him.
"What do you think of it?"
"Ahh... it's all right. Not brilliant but it's certainly creepy in some places. Like when he brought his wives that baby... that gave me shivers." she said, allowing a shiver run over her at the idea of women feeding happily on a poor baby. "Good story though."
Megamind snorted.
"What?" Roxanne asked.
"What?" he asked back.
"What was that for?" Roxanne asked.
"Story." Megamind replied with a laugh as he pushed the door open. "That you think it's just a story written by a man."
"...it isn't?" she asked.
"No. Dracula is the documented file regarding the Father of all vampires, Dracula. Bram Stocker was a man who once worked for the Family's faction in Europe. We thought we could trust him but be betrayed us, stole the document, and had it printed as a 'novel' for the world to see." Megamind explained as he walked her through the house, stopping by a door Roxanne hadn't been through.
"Wait. So, so Dracula is based on real events? The ship wreck? The wolf? The.. everything?" she asked.
"Everything."
"And what do you mean Father of all Vampires? Are you... just tell me what you're saying." Roxanne folded her arms.
Megamind turned to the door and pressed his palm against the handle, turned it, and opened the door. Inside the room the walls were red, the carpets were red, wood used inside was from redwoods... it was a beautifully decorated room, to be sure. But it didn't feel warm, or inviting. There were shelves on the wall, lined with paperwork and documents that looked far older than anything Roxanne had seen before.
"Dracula has been an enemy of the human race, and the Family, since time immortal." Megamind explained as he approached a painting on the wall. It showed a pale, white, hideously ugly creature feasting on a man who was still screaming in agony. If Roxanne knew her artists as well as she thought, she would recognize a Da Vinci. "He was called out into the world by man and has been here ever since. Every one hundred and fifty so years (one time it took him two hundred years to recover) he gathers his children, those he himself has fathered, and attacks the world."
"I've never heard of something like this..." Roxanne said.
"And with good purpose!" Megamind said back. "The Family risk everything to train, to learn, to fight, to protect. We keep the war out of sight, out of mind."
"But I thought they killed Dracula. He dies!" Roxanne lifted her gaze to the horrible painting, all but hearing the scream from the poor man being eaten alive.
"He can not die." Megamind replied quietly. "Dracula is an immortal demon from the blackest pit of the universe. We can stake him, burn him, chop him up, rip him apart, submerge him in water blessed by the Pope himself and he would certainly make you think he's dead... but." the alien shook his head. "He does not die. He recovers over time, over a long, painfully long time. And fighting him is not easy at all. He has traits from all breeds of vampires. Dracula can become a wolf, a bat, a swarm of bats, mist, and he can be as strong as ten Berserkers and as crafty as a Vuoyer. He loves to play with people, to have women fall for him, toys with their souls before he consumes. Dracula is everything that vampirism is, and his children are powered by his strength and tenacity."
"He's almost back isn't he?" she asked quietly. "That's why there's a war coming. Why you've talked about children. I thought you just meant... meant actual children or, or any person a vampire's turned but you mean... wait. A father? Who's his wife, who... who would-oh god don't tell me." Roxanne felt sick now.
"Oh no. The Children's mother is a very willing participant in the... ehhh. Creating." Megamind shuddered.
"Who is she then? Anyone?" Roxanne asked.
Megamind moved to another wall, one in which Roxanne hadn't been looking at since she'd been so transfixed on the image of, who she could only guess, was Dracula eating a man. He held his hand up and gestured to a second painting and Roxanne looked at the image and felt an inwards twist in her stomach at seeing it. It was of a woman, incredibly beautiful yet hideously ugly at the same time. Her eyes were soulless, empty, yet she could feel an anger emanating from the depths of the woman's soul. Her skin was a sickly green color, and she had a snake draped around her neck. She was sitting on what looked like a pile of dead bodies, though it was hard to tell since they were all so rotted it was impossible to tell what was human and what wasn't.
"Her?" Roxanne asked.
"Hecate. Mother of all Witches." Megamind explained. "Her powers over the years have weakened her but her connection to vampires remains strong and steadfast thanks to her 'marriage', to coin a better term, to Dracula. When she gives birth to his children, they're a mix of witch and vampire and very, very hard to kill. They're the ones who... took Father from us."
"So they're already here..." Roxanne whispered quietly.
"Which means their Father is growing stronger. Every night I'm hearing words of attacks in the world, strength growing, numbers increasing. Nobody knows where this war will happen but when it does, we have to answer the call." Megamind said. "Which is why, when it does come... and I go to war, I want you to stay here."
"What?" asked Roxanne, turning her attention from the painting to him. "Why?"
"Because this city needs a fighter. We can't leave her open to attack and if I die, you're here to carry on the Family's job. You and Wayne, since I know Wayne will survive. He's indestructible. I, on the other hand, am not."
Roxanne glared at him, angered that he would ask such a thing of her but, at the same time, she truly did understand why. She had only been training for a week and a half now, and he had been doing this his entire life. No way was she ready to run into a war, even if she did nothing but train from now until whenever that was. Megamind had an entire life of training behind him and knew what he was doing better than she did. Yet the idea of waving him off, seeing him leave her and knowing she might never see him again...
His arms were around her suddenly, and she felt her knees buckle beneath her as they both ended up sitting on the floor, holding tightly onto one another.
"This is why Mother left." Megamind whispered quietly. "She couldn't stand it. So... so Father erased her memories of us, and she awoke in a world without vampires, without a husband, and without children. I know because... because I remember. I remember their talking, and I shouldn't have but I snuck down to watch them argue. Mother wouldn't do it, she couldn't stay. Father told her, it meant taking away everything she knew of them and she... she said she'd be happier. He loved her but he had to let her go, and removed all memory of him from her life. I hated him for it, and I hated her for leaving." he pulled back to look down at her, his green eyes searching her face. "Before now, before you, I couldn't understand how he could do such a thing but... I have to ask you the same thing."
"If, if I want to forget?" Roxanne asked.
He nodded.
"I don't." she said quietly, but firmly. Her hands dug against his body. "I couldn't. Not now, not ever." Roxanne pressed her face into his neck, shutting her eyes tightly. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to turn tail and run now."
Megamind can't help but give a small, awkward laugh. Pressing his lips to her hair he shuts his eyes too, and allows a relieved shudder ripple through his body. "I was so afraid you'd want to."
"Why would I want to? I... I love you." Roxanne admitted quietly, in the horribly ugly red room that served no purpose other than offering every piece of information on fighting with Dracula himself, and even Hecate herself.
The word love was a new one for him to process. While they had certainly grown closer as a couple over the past week and a half, to hear her say the word love like that floored him greater than any Berserker to his chest. His heart suddenly welled with affection and admiration for the woman in his arms, the woman who loved him and didn't want to leave him despite knowing the great threat looming against them. This is what it was like, wasn't it? Falling in love and finding that one person who was meant just for you. For all his life he thought he would never know this joy, this great unending joy that was washing over him.
He pulled back to look at her, his expression soft and warm. "I love you." Megamind whispered, lifting a hand to rub his thumb against her cheek. "I love you with all my heart."
"Oh good...!" Roxanne choked out emotionally, body shivering. "I was almost scared I'd said the wrong thing..."
"You can never say the wrong thing. You're too smart for that." Megamind replied with a smile before giving her a long, lasting kiss. He felt her hands grip at him desperately, her body shudders against his own, and the electricity that sparked between them was greater than any of the machines he would tinker with in his spare time. Roxanne deepened the kiss first; opening her mouth beneath his and their tongues became all but entwined as their passion continued to swell. Faces flushed, hands grasping and bodies alight Megamind was all but ready to succumb to this feeling but the door to the room was suddenly pushed open with great force.
The moment shattered the two fell apart and stared up at the one who dare interrupt them.
"Oops." Lady said, standing there. "Sorry! I just-I thought I'd find-I'm going to go wait outside shall I?" she asked before hurrying away, shutting the door after her.
"...well that was perfectly... random?" Roxanne asked breathily, cheeks red.
"She must be here to drop something off for Bernard." Megamind mumbled to himself before sighing heavily, and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "Come on. We need to get clean anyway." he said as he got to his feet and took her hands into his to help her up.
"Oh fine, fine... we can continue this later, can't we?" she asked softly, purposely drawing closer to the man and traced her nose against his jaw.
"Yes. Yes we can." he confirmed.
To be continued