In the twilight of dusk, a dark figure could be seen through the trees of the park. Making sure that nobody was around, the beast-man leaned against the bark of a tree.

'I'll get her sooner or later,' Ortega thought to himself. 'They are just a couple of school girls and I have the forces of Dracula on my side. Revenge will be mine…'

"Where in the name of Hades have you been?" A female voice shook the lycanthrope out of his thoughts. A sleek vampire woman in a skintight catsuit came dropping ddown from the trees and stood in front of him.

"You were supposed to meet me here an hour ago," Laura snapped. "What took you so long?"

Ortega sighed. The servant girl was very irritating, so he thought. Just because he was hired by her mistress didn't mean that she, as her personal servant, could boss him around.

"I ran into an… old friend," he replied.

The vampiress understood. "So you've found the werewolf girl. Were you able to collect the Eye of Anubis?"

"Unfortunately, she had help," Ortega growled. "The half-vampire you've been looking for has befriended her. And if she really is who you're claiming she is, I couldn't take them both on at once."

"WHAT? You ran into the daughter of Dracula and didn't feel the necessity to inform us?" Laura nearly screamed.

"Wasn't part of my job," the were-lion growled. "Your boss told me to get the Eye of Anubis for her and that's what I'm gonna do. It's just going to take me a little longer than planned."

"Listen here, fleabag!" the vampiress hissed as she approached him. "The revival of Lord Dracula is our primary goal, and every bit of delay will work against our schedule. You are on our side now, so you better do what we tell you or the devil help me I'll…"

"I'll tell you what I WON'T do, little missy!" Ortega roared, suddenly turning into his half-beast form. He had been tall before, but now Laura had to look up to even see his face. "I won't let a little servant-girl such as you give me any sorts of commands! At best, we are equal in this, as your boss gave me this assignment in person! I hope we're clear on this, vampire!"

Laura knew that her mistress would do everything in her power to keep her from harm, but she also realized it was unwise to anger a were-lion. "Very well…" she muttered. "Do you know where they are?"

"I know where they live," Ortega snorted as he leaned back against the tree. "That's at least something useful, isn't it?"

"Good… looks like you're not as useless as I thought you would be," Laura muttered under her breath. "Well, we can still get her to join us… for now, let's focus on the Eye of Anubis. The sarcophagus has been delivered to the museum this evening. I will spy on the werewolf girl and wait for the right chance to grab the amulet…"

"NO! Makoto's mine!" Ortega rumbled. "It was part of our agreement!"

"Calm down! I'll let the mutt live. You can still have your revenge. But now that the princess has sided with a gargoyle, a werewolf and the last daughter of the Belmont clan, we need to be cautious. Stealth is a much better option than brute strength for now. You know we are short on troops, especially after Medusa and the Venus Weed were killed."

"Serves those weak bitches right," Ortega huffed. "But I see your point… so, that's why your mistress wants the mummy on her side, huh?"

"Yes," Laura nodded. "With Akmodan II on our side, the revival of Dracula will be imminent."

"Okay, but what do you want me to do in the meantime?" Ortega asked impatiently.

"Mistress Carmilla said that there might be another troublemaker in town. She wants you to find him and hunt him down before he gets the chance to side with the Belmont girl."

"Well, sounds easy enough… and who is the unlucky guy?" Ortega grinned.

"It is… the last son of the Lecarde family."


As the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the red gargoyle broke free from her stone shell. Rei flexed her muscles and sighed.

"Time to get up already?" she yawned. "Oh well… maybe the princess… eh… Usagi is here already." She had to remind herself to use the princess' first name, even though it took her some time to get used to it. But Usagi insisted on being seen as a friend instead of a sovereign. After all, what's a princess without a kingdom or even a castle?

Rei wasted no time and spread her wings, gliding down to the entrance of her grandfather's chapel. She saw that the door was open and she could hear voices coming from inside.

'Ah, so Grandpa has already let her in,' she nodded to herself and followed the voices. She was surprised, however, not to find Usagi, but instead two girls she had never seen before talking to her grandfather. And… when she came closer, she realized that one of them had fur… and a tail.

"Werewolf…" she growled to herself. And of course, she believed the stranger to be one of Dracula's followers. All the non-human creatures she had met up to this point weren't exactly friendly towards humans, so why should it be different with this girl?

With a short snarl, she caught the attention of the three people in the chapel. "You! Werewolf!" she shouted. "Stay away from my grandfather! I mean it!"

"Well, isn't she a nice one," the female werewolf grumbled as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Rei, calm down!" her grandfather said in a stern voice. "That's no way to behave in front of guests."

"Guests?" Rei was surprised. But then she took a closer look at the other girl next to the werewolf and saw the leather whip she was holding. And suddenly, she realized…

"You… are the friend Usagi told me about… the Belmont girl…"

"Well, my family name is Osaka, but yes, my father was a Belmont," the red-haired girl nodded. "My name's Naru, and this is my friend Makoto." She gestured at the wolf-girl.

Rei looked at the brunette werewolf sheepishly. "Um, sorry about that… I didn't know…"

"Hey, no big deal," Makoto smirked. "I'm just glad I'm finally able to hang out with some friends while I'm in this form. So, you're Rei, right?"

The gargoyle nodded. "Yes, that's me. Um, pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Makoto grinned, and they shook hands. Rei then pulled hers back and shook her head.

"That felt so weird…"

"What? Shaking hands?" Makoto wondered. Rei nodded.

"Well, Rei hasn't had many friends before, as you can imagine," Grandfather Hino explained. The elderly priest folded his hands over his robe. "As the only gargoyle in town, she never got the chance to socialize with people her own age."

"Hey, we can change that, no problem," Naru smiled. "Usagi asked us if we wanted to come along and hang out with you guys."

Rei blinked. 'Hang… out? Is that what spending time with friends is called?' she wondered. She then realized something. "Hey, where is Usagi, anyway?"

"She's a bit late," Naru said. She giggled. "It's always the same with her."

Just then, a couple of bats came flying through the main portal. The smaller one simply flew up to one of the arches that connected the many stone pillars of the chapel to each other. The other one – who had a surprisingly familiar tuft of blonde hair on top of her head – fluttered a circle and, in a puff of smoke, transformed into the half-vampiress form of Usagi Tsukino, again dressed in her purple bodysuit and black cloak.

She huffed and puffed. "S-s-sorry I'm late," she stuttered and bowed her head in apology.

"As long as you're here," Makoto said.

Naru shook her head. "What took you so long this time? Did you fall asleep?"

"No way!" Usagi protested. "I'm a nocturnal creature now, after all." She giggled.

"I tell you what happened," Luna grumbled from up above. "She refused to leave her brother's room… I had to knock against the window until she finally noticed me."

"But you don't understand," Usagi wailed. "Shingo needed help against the boss and…"

"What?" Now Rei was alarmed. "Are there monsters in your house?" Did Dracula's servants finally have the idea of threatening her family?

Naru sighed. "You were using his Wii again, weren't you?" she groaned. "Why can't you just buy your own?"

Makoto had to cover her muzzle with her hand so she wouldn't burst out laughing. When she saw Rei's puzzled face, she laughed even harder.

"It's a gaming console," Naru finally explained to the clueless gargoyle. "An electronic game that's played on the TV."

Rei frowned. "You… you mean to tell me you're late because you were playing a GAME?" She sternly looked at the half-vampiress. "Being tardy is not becoming of a princess!"

"Hey, I was a high school girl before finding out that I was a reincarnated princess," Usagi defended herself. "And if you've ever played Metroid before, you'd be addicted, too."

"I don't know about those games, but I do know that we wanted to discuss our next steps regarding our enemies," Rei reminded her. "We have no time to be playing games."

"Now, now, I think that's enough," Grandpa Hino spoke up.

"Fine…" Usagi and Rei sighed at once.

In one of the backrooms, the priest had prepared a few chairs on which they sat down.

"Okay… what do we know about our enemies?" Rei asked.

"Well, the Medusa I fought said something about a Lady Carnilla she served before we defeated her. I did some research in my father's books and found out that Carmilla is a servant of Dracula, very old and powerful. She is one of his personal servants."

"That's right," Luna nodded. She was now sitting on the back of Usagi's chair. "I know her in person, and let me tell you, she is evil. One of Dracula's most devoted followers, she has been revived a couple of times herself so she can serve him. Usually alongside her personal maid, Laura, another vampiress."

"You seem to know quite a bit about those guys," Makoto noted. "Say… how old are you really?"

"To be honest… I lost count of the years," the bat admitted. "But I witnessed Dracula's last defeat, which was 100 years ago. Around that time, his only daughter died…" Luna stopped herself, realizing that she had almost revealed that Usagi herself was Dracula's daughter. The young vampiress still believed that in her old life, she was just the daughter of some noble vampire. If she knew that she was actually the daughter of the lord of evil…

"Okay, we have Carmilla and maybe that servant of hers," Usagi said. "Anyone else we should know about?"

"There's also Ortega," Makoto said with a dark frown. "Apparently he works with the followers of Dracula now… son of a bitch…"

"Anything we should know about him?" Rei asked.

"Well… he's a member of my clan of shapeshifters," Makoto said. The others could tell that she was a bit reluctant to tell them of this. After all, this was the first time she had shared her secret with anyone. "He and I have always been rivals. But at first, it was nothing but a friendly competition… we had the same martial arts master, you see? But then I beat him in front of our master… seems like his pride couldn't cope with the fact that he was beaten by a girl." She angrily growled. "He left the clan for a long time… and when I met him again yesterday, I learned that the pact with Carmilla gave him the ability to freely control his lycanthropic abilities."

"His lyca-what?" Usagi wondered.

Makoto rolled her eyes. "His shapeshifting powers. You see, keeping control over your transformed self is something that only a couple of lycanthropes have managed to achieve. Out of my clan, there has only been one known case in which a man succeeded, by severe training."

"Then you're the first woman who succeeded," Usagi grinned.

"So Ortega simply traded his service for enough power to beat you?" Naru asked.

"Well, yeah, but yesterday, he also asked me for this…" And the she-wolf pulled a golden amulet from her pocket.

"It's shaped like a dog-head," Usagi noticed.

"Actually, that's a jackal," Makoto explained. "And it's a very old artifact from Egypt. I've been told it has some sort of magic powers…"

"Really? Who told you that?" Naru asked.

"The same person who gave it to me. He's an old friend… however, I promised him not to tell anybody who he is. I hope you understand…"

"So it's a he," Usagi snickered. "An old boyfriend?"

Makoto blushed through her fur. "N-n-no, it's n-nothing like that…" she stammered.

"And it's none of our business," Naru said sternly. "But now I'm curious… what kind of magic do you think does this thing have?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems like the bad guys want it badly," Makoto said.

Rei turned to her grandfather. "Grandpa, can you…?"

"Sorry, Rei," the old priest apologized. "While I know a lot about the old ways, I am not a magician. I couldn't tell a magic wand from a conductor's baton."

"That lion guy said they wanted to revive someone, so maybe that's what the amulet can do?" Usagi pondered, tapping her finger against her chin.

"Of course they want to revive someone, and that someone is Dracula," Luna sighed.

"No… he was speaking of someone else," Makoto said. "Some sort of powerful ally, he said… someone who will arrive in Tokyo soon."

"It is a possibility," Naru nodded. "From what I know, Anubis was the Egyptian god of Death, wasn't he?"

That reminded Luna of something. Something she didn't want to tell the girls just yet… But she knew she would have to tell them sooner or later… that the very incarnation of Death itself was Dracula's closest servant and confidant… and that at some point, they might even have to go against him.

"So we have Carmilla, her servant girl, Ortega and possibly some other dead guy they wanna revive… that's four against the four of us. Not too bad, right?" Makoto asked.

"You honestly think Carmilla doesn't have other servants that serve her in addition to those three? Also, don't you believe for a second that all of Dracula's minions are as easily defeated as those two you've already dealt with. In his prime time, Dracula commanded legions of undead and other monsters. Also, as I said, Carmilla is old and powerful… I doubt that any of you girls would last longer than twenty seconds in a fight against her," Luna screeched.

"Right…" Usagi sighed. "There's that, too…"

"But if she is that powerful, and has so many monsters on her side, what chance of winning do we have in the first place?" Naru sighed.

"Now don't you give up that easily," old priest Hino intervened. "I've never met a Belmont in person, but I know a lot about the old legends. And it says that many a Belmont has faced all of Dracula's servants all by himself, armed only with the whips of his forefathers. What makes you think they are any better than you are? On the contrary, you can count yourself lucky that you have so many friends who are willing to help you out."

Naru blushed. "Thanks… but I still have a lot to learn until I can see myself as a true Belmont. I'm still not used to using the whip… it's not like I have a lot of chances to try them out."

"Well, know that you girls can always use this chapel as a meeting place. On the other side, we also have our graveyard, where barely any person ever comes in the night… you can train there whenever you want."

"On a graveyard?" Usagi shivered. "I don't know… that sounds kind of creepy."

"I'd prefer a proper dojo as a training place," Makoto agreed. "But let's not look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Still… isn't this kinda disrespectful towards the dead?" Naru asked.

"I'm sure they won't mind," Grandpa Hino winked. "After all, it's for the greater good."

"Yeah," Rei smirked. "Do you know anyone dead who has ever complained about the living?"

They all had to snicker at that.


"Dangit! Why do there have to be so many people at the airport?" the mummified girl complained as she and her similarly mummified cat were ducking behind some huge crates.

"It's a wonder we made it this far without being spotted," Artemis sighed. "Thank Bast for that…"

"That goddess of yours better appreciate what I'm going through for her and Isis," Minako grumbled as she crossed her arms. "When I agreed to become a priestess of Isis, I never knew it would include being turned into a walking corpse that somebody wrapped into toilet paper."

"Mind your mouth," Artemis hissed. "Curse or not, mummifying a Pharaoh or high priest is much more than just wrapping his body with some bandages. It's a long and complicated procedure to prepare his spirit for the afterlife and…"

"Yeah yeah, I already heard that," Minako sighed. "Still, she asked me to retrieve some amulet from that sarcophagus. I thought all I had to do was just grab that thing and that's it. But was the thing even there? Nooo, all I found was that spell that trapped me in the stupid coffin and turned me into THIS!!" She gestured at her undead self.

"Calm down, do you think it was any different for me? If I had known the Eye of Anubis was brought to another place, we would have never had to open the sarcophagus…"


Japan, one week earlier…

"This is wicked cool," Minako said as she looked down at the Egyptian garments she wore, the golden jewelry and the elegant robe. "I look hot… all this and I get awesome super powers, too?"

Isis, mother goddess, protector of children, protector of the dead, and goddess of magic, frowned. "Yes, child," she then said. "By calling upon your goddess, you can ask for her powers to help you if the need arises. But you do understand that being a priestess is a very big responsibility? You have to act in the name of your goddess and give up a lot of your free time in her service and…"

"I don't care! This is too cool to pass up," Minako grinned. "So, when do I begin?"

Isis sighed. "Very well… as your initiation ritus, you need to do your goddess a favor… to be precise, I need you to bring me a special item…"

"That's all?" Minako asked. "Sounds easy enough. And here I thought I had to fight some ancient demons or something like that…"

"I don't think it's going to be that hard," Isis spoke. "But as you are new to this, I will leave a guide and advisor at your side… one of Bast's children. Artemis, step forth!"

A white mau with a golden ankh on his forehead appeared next to the goddess. "Hey there," he said in a human voice. "The name's Artemis."


Egypt, Valley of the Kings, one week after Minako became a priestess-in-training…

"This is the place?" Minako asked as she climbed down into the dark cave. "Man, you'd think the old pharaohs could find their eternal rest in some other place… why not near a cozy restaurant in Tokyo? I know this cute boy I could have invited…"

"Minako, you've got to learn that serving Isis means putting your personal interests behind her wishes," Artemis scolded her as he followed her through the dark corridor that was sloping downwards from the hidden entrance they had uncovered minutes ago. "And all great kings were laid to rest here."

"Lucky thing I always wanted to visit Egypt…" Minako mumbled as she switched on her flashlight. "So what's this guy called again? Darkoan?"

The white cat sighed. "Akmodan. Akmodan II, to be precise. But unlike many of the other pharaohs before him, he didn't serve the sun god Ra. He pacted with Set, the evil god of chaos. He was a master of a dark arts even before he died. Legends say that his body has risen many times through history, every time to serve evil as he did in his lifetime."

"Well, that's a nice person we're visiting," Minako murmured. "So… there are no chances he'll jump out of his coffin and strangle me?"

"Don't worry, his tomb is empty," Artemis assured her. "His mummified body has been taken from here decades ago. All that remains is his empty sarcophagus, and his treasure."

Minako's eyes began to gleam. "Treasure?" She excitedly began to lick her lips. "Great, then I'm not dependent on Daddy's allowance any longer! Um…" She stopped dead in her tracks. „Say... there's no chance that this tomb, empty or not, has some ancient curse on it, right?"

"Don't be stupid," Artemis huffed. "If there was a curse, it already hit those who entered this tomb the first time it was opened after Akmodan's death. Now, hurry along.

Just a couple of minutes later, they were standing in the tomb of Akmodan II. Next to the entrance, a couple of old candelabras was standing, and after Minako had lit them, the light reflected from the piles of treasure was blinding both girl and cat.

"Wow…" Mina was speechless for a moment.

Artemis leapt up the stone coffin on the other side of the room. "Well, here's what we're here for. The Eye of Anubis has to be in here."

"Um, sure, just a sec… I'll get it, just let me take a couple of coins along…" Minako grinned as she reached for the ancient treasure.

"Minako!" Artemis said sternly. "You want to be a grave robber? Besides, that's illegal! Every piece of gold you take with you has to be taken to a museum, right?"

"What? Awww, you're right. Dammit…" she whined. "But wait… isn't taking away the amulet also stealing?"

"That's different," the mau proclaimed. "Isis wished it. Besides, Akmodan had no right to own it. Set stole it from Anubis after he created it."

"And when can you tell me what's so special about that thing?"

"Isis will tell you, when she feels the need arises. Now come on, I can't lift this coffin lid all by myself."

"All right already, don't get your fur ruffled…" she grumbled. Pushing up her sleeves, she walked up to the ancient stone sarcophagus, grabbed the lid, pushed with all her might… and the heavy lid noisily fell to the floor.

"Good," Artemis nodded. "Now all we have to do is…"

"AAAAAAAHHH!" Minako screamed when all of a sudden, bandages came shooting out of the coffin, wrapping themselves around her wrists. "What's happening here?"

"I don't understand," Artemis gasped. "This isn't supposed to… hey, leggo!" He meowed and hissed angrily when other bandages came out of the coffin, wriggled around like a bunch of tentacles and snatched him up. More bandages wrapped themselves around Minako's upper body and head."

"NO! Lemme go! Lemme mmmmmpphh… mmmmhh…" Unable to say anything, she pushed her feet into the sand with all her might, trying to resist the bandages that pulled her towards the open coffin. But it was no use. She and Artemis disappeared in the coffin, and before they could get out again, the stone lid mysteriously floated up into the air and landed back on the coffin.

And then, everything was silent.


Tokyo Airport, present time…

Minako was really glad that she fell unconscious shortly after she and Artemis got imprisoned by the magic trap that was put on the empty sarcophagus. Being forced to witness her transformation from human girl to walking corpse might have caused her mind to snap. At least she still was able to use the powers her goddess had granted her.

"No curse, my ass…" she grumbled as she and Artemis used an empty cardboard box to sneak from the airport premises. Whenever somebody came close to them, she would stop and act like she was nothing but an empty box.

"Did I already say I'm sorry?" Artemis groaned. "Make a mistake and you're marked for life…"

"Marked with the body of a walking mummy," Mina growled. "You're lucky Isis told me the curse can be broken with the amulet… now if we only knew where it's hidden. It can be anywhere in town, according to our contact…"

"Are you sure we should trust that man?" Artemis asked. I find it highly suspicious that he knows what we're searching for… and that he's talking to a mummy as you are like it was the most natural thing in the world."

"Well, he was cute, so that was a plus," Minako grinned when she recalled the black-haired man they had met back in Egypt. "Also, Isis told me to trust him."

"I hope she knows what she's doing," Artemis sighed.

"Hey, you're the one who told me to believe in my goddess. Now get moving!"

For some reason, Minako felt the urge of humming the 'Metal Gear Solid' theme as they shuffled along in their cardboard box.


Meantime, inside the airport …

"Your luggage, please, sir," said the customs officer.

The handsome, black-haired man smiled. "But of course."

A moment later, the officer frowned. "Sir? Can you explain this?" He pointed at the scanner, where one of the man's pieces of luggage was just being pushed through.

The man took a look and smiled. "Ah, yes, I forgot. That sword is an old family heirloom. I always take it along whenever I go on a journey."

"Papers, please," the officer demanded. The other man nodded and handed over his documents.

The customs officer took a look at them. "These seem to be okay." He nodded and returned them to the man. "Thank you, Mr. Arikado. Welcome to Japan!"

After leaving the airport, the handsome stranger let his gaze sweep over the skyline of Tokyo.

'It's been some time since I've been here… well then, let's see if I can find my dear sister.'

And Genya Arikado, also known as Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, also known as Alucard, smiled.