Endings

"Ugh..."

Holograms could not -generally- look pale and as if they were about to vomit. Then again, this was not a normal situation. The Reverend Mother was very glad her augmentation allowed her to take control of normally involuntary actions. She could -now anyway- turn her tears on and off as she chose. That had taken practice. She also had complete control over her face. If she needed to look pale or even vomit, she could. If she didn't need to? She wouldn't. Such made for an incredible poker face. One she needed right now.

The five holograms stared at the wreck that was the inside of the small transport the boys had stolen. Four bodies lay under sheets near one wall. From the blood that pooled... none would move again. She did not want to know where Nikis had gotten four young male bodies, if they had been cloned, or something worse. She did know all four were pure human and had all died violently. That was abundantly clear.

"What... happened...?" The Chairman asked, his holo slightly greener than the transmission allowed for. She couldn't blame him. The interior of the ship was a charnel house. But there was very little blood. It took no imagination to think of why.

"We do not know." The Reverend Mother said truthfully. She didn't. "The Special Forces arrived less than an hour after the coms went dark. They found...this..." Again, all true. Just not the whole truth. She waved around the main room of the ship and shook her head. "Five survivors. All chained in one room. They had been abused. Beaten and worse. The medics assure me that they can all be helped, but it may take some time for them to recover."

"Any survivors at all is a miracle." The Chairman said with feeling and the Reverend Mother nodded to him. "Are we sure that is all of them?"

"Four sets of bite marks at each attack." The Reverend Mother said calmly. "Here? Four sets of teeth that match." Again, she had no idea how Nikis or anyone at all had managed to fake that. She really did not want to know. The only DNA records that the Clergy possessed had been switched for the corpses' at her orders. She was reasonably sure no one else had gotten samples. Special Forces had been first on scene after each attack. And even if they had? No one would be able to do this again. Not with as much scrutiny as this had drawn. "All evidence says that these are the perpetrators."

"And they were like that when you arrived?" Bek demanded. A glare from the other holos made him grimace. "Reverend Mother?" He asked with precious little respect.

"Yes." The Reverend Mother said quietly. "We do not know what happened, just that all four died within minutes of each other. Each killed by a metal stake." She waved to the side where four long sharp pieces of metal sat on a table. Each was half coated with gore.

"This sounds... disturbing." The Chairman said with a gulp. But then again, he had nearly the same augmentation that the Reverend Mother had, if not quite the level of complexity or encryptions. It had to be intentional. "I seem to recall an ancient myth of beings who had to be killed with stakes."

"Yes, Chairman." The Reverend Mother said with a nod. "The common term was 'vampire'. Human mythology that predated Orokin."

"And were these... Those vampire things?" One of the other Board asked, worried.

"No." The Reverend Mother said quietly. "Vampires were myth. There was some question as to whether there was a disease or birth defects as the root of it, but essentially, from what we have gathered, they were folklore. Nothing more. These had some kind of disease but nothing we have been able to determine." A few of the Board looked interested, the Chairman included. Bek looked bored. "But according to the legends, they drank blood and reproduced by killing someone and feeding them their own blood." She paused. "Well, according to some legends anyway." She offered. "There are so many different legends. And they vary significantly. Our own mythological database's entry for for the word 'Vampire' had twenty terabytes worth of data. I can make it available if you wish."

"Another time, perhaps."The Chairman said with a firm nod. "You say the Special Forces arrived too late. Did no one see anything?"

"The security systems were hacked expertly." The Reverend Mother said with a shake of her head. "The few guards in the hangar bay..." She slumped a bit. "We found them. Dead. They... The boys did not have time to feed." She shook herself a bit. "The internal security systems of the ship were also hacked... but not by the same force we believe."

"And what makes you say that?" Bek demanded. "All I see is sloppiness. Yours."

"'None so blind as those who see'." The Reverend Mother quoted quietly and then ignored Bek who flushed. She nodded to the others. "There is... one piece of other evidence, but... frankly... We are not sure what it means or why it is here." She had their attention. "On all of the stakes, there is a symbol. A strange symbol." She reached out and picked up a stake gingerly. She turned it to show the holos and they stared at it. It was a two rectangles, one long with the other short. The shorter one crossed the longer one at a right angle about a third of the way down from the top. Each rectangle was elaborately carved with flowers and other not so easily recognized symbols.

"I do not know that symbol." The Chairman said quietly. "Anyone?" Bek had stilled and the Chairman looked at him. "Bek?"

"That... is a religious symbol, is it not?" Bek asked softly. The Reverend Mother nodded. "Pre-Orokin." She nodded again. "And is that writing?" he asked, scrutinizing. The others looked intent and the Revernd Mother nodded.

"It is." She confirmed. "It is in an ancient language called "English'. It was one of the more common languages just prior to the beginning of Orokin." She took a deep breath. "We researched the words and they are a quote from a book. A book about vampires actually. As far as we have been able to determine, the book is pure fiction, nothing to do with reality except some historic names."

"What does it say?" The Chairman asked for all of them. "The writing?"

"It says 'There is a reason why all things are as they are.'" The Reverend Mother said softly. "The book was written by a man named Bram Stoker."

"Its title was 'Dracula'."

Elsewhere

Jenni woke suddenly, aware of something wrong. She felt...wrong.

"Easy." The voice... she did not know the speaker. It was young, female. "You have had some bad shocks, Jenni."

She looked and a young blonde haired girl was sitting by the bed she was lying in. Jenni looked around. She was in a medical ward. Not one she knew. The tech was... familiar. But not. She stretched otu with her midn and recoiled as she felt nothing. She gasped and the girl laid a hand on her arm.

Easy. The girl's voice came into her mind. The docs had to do some major repairs. You may not be able to connect to the Clergy easily. But you will, eventually. She could feel the girl's sincerity. her worry. Jenni sighed and relaxed.

"What happened to me?" Jenni asked. "I feel... good. But wrong."

"That is a very long story, Jenni." The girl said with a small, sad smile. "For now? You forgot a lot of what happened. You were hurt, very badly. But you will recover." Jenni could feel more now. The girl... she was scared and in pain.

"What happened?" Jenni begged as she reached out for the girl. "You... You are so... so strong. So... controlled. I... What happened to you?" She begged. Her empathy at full bore.

"I lost my Ma." The girl said sadly. Jenni felt her eyes fill and then she was sitting up as the girl tries not to cry. "I... No..."

"What did I do to you?" Jenni asked as the girl flinched. She let the girl go. "I feel your rage. Your anger. I... I did something bad. What did I do?" The girl jerked and her emotions seemed to vanish. "I am sorry!" Jenni said quickly. "I didn't mean to pry. I just... You are hurting."

"So are you." The girl replied. "You do not remember, but you are. You lost everything. Ma... said I should give you a chance. A chance to be who you wanted to be."

"I do not understand." Jenni shook her head, confused.

"I know." The girl said as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed. "You...are not who you were. My name is Sara. Yours is Jenni. My mom... asked for us to give you a chance. To make up for what you had to do."

"What did I do?" Jenni begged. She froze as Sara embraced her.

"What you had to." Sara was crying as Jenni slowly closed her arms around the girl. It felt... right. "You are just like my Ma."

"You do what you have to."

Nearby

Eliza watched soberly as Jenni started to cry. She disliked the covert monitoring, but in many cases, it helped a great deal. They would monitor Jenni for the rest of the human woman's life. But if what Sun and the others had told her was true, the woman was a very gifted empath and a good cleric. If she could proven trustworthy, she could be a great asset to Avalon who had been without a dedicated cleric of any kind since the previous one had attempted a coup and failed miserably. Just remembering Michael's betrayal hurt, even after all this time. It likely always would.

"Thoughts?" Eliza asked as he turned back to her guests.

"Sun vouches for her and you know how hard he is to fool." Serene said with a sigh. "I think... give her the chance. If nothing else, she will be a direct line to the Clergy when she recovers completely."

"I... dislike the idea of a hostage." Princess Michelle said quietly from where she stood. "But I can see the advantages."

"This is probably the safest place for her." Eliza said with a frown. "But yes, we monitor closely. We can detect if she communicates mind to mind." She stretched a bit. "Even if we cannot trust her completely, we can still use her." She shook her head and changed the subject. "René?"

"Still a bit dazed." Serene said with sigh of her own. "But she is adapting well. She is a good singer. I just wish..." She trailed off as Eliza nodded.

"Is there nothing that can be done?" She asked the other person in the room besides the guards. "For her? She seems... a good kid."

"She is." Nikis said quietly. He hadn't said much since helping Serene bring René to Avalon. "But no. When they looked for a cure... they tried everything. Every oddball and crack headed idea they could think of. Nothing worked. Nothing. It is just not curable. The only solution is permanent death and destruction of the bodies. It was...a mess."

"Which is why the stakes were made." Michelle said quietly and Nikis nodded. "One thing, Nikis... Those... looked new." Nikis shook his head. "Grandmaster..." She tried again. "If there are more of these things... we may need more of them."

"If there are more..." Nikis said quietly. "Then I will provide them. But no. Some secrets must be kept."

"Michelle." Eliza said quietly when the Princess would have argued further. She sighed deeply. "Every time I think I might have an inkling of the horrors you have seen, Grandmaster Nikis... I am reminded of just how little I know. And I am glad of it."

"It is not all horror, Empress." Nikis said quietly. "But too much is. I have... people I have to talk to." He started for the door, but paused as Serene coughed.

"Nikis..." Serene said softly. "About Banshee..."

"That is not my call, Serene." Nikis said quietly. "I don't make the rules, I just enforce them."

"And she broke them." Serene said sadly. "I know." Nikis laid a hand on her arm, gave a squeeze and then was gone. Serene shook her head and turned back to the Empress. "So... René is in a secure care facility. Can I visit?"

"Any time you want." Eliza promised. "If she calls for you, I will send word."

"I am needed in the field." Serene said quietly. "But Amelia may come. She... needs some downtime."

"And some time to recover." Eliza said knowingly and Serene fought a blush. "Go on, Serene. We have them. We will care for them. They have all suffered enough. René, Sara and Jenni all."

"That they have."

Not even close to nearby

"Did they work?" The voice was calm, uninflected.

"Just as you said." Nikis sounded sad now. "I am sorry I had to ask you to do so again, but... it was needed."

"Ah, my friend..." The words were... odd. Archaic sounding. "As I told you before, I will tell you again. You do not have to shoulder the whole burden yourself. It is not possible. Not for human, not for Tenno. You are not alone, Nikis. What must be, must be. I hold to my oaths as I have. You needed my aid."

"I did." Nikis sounded upset now. "It was... bad. You were right all along. They hurt her. She went off because they hurt her."

"Fools." The other sounded melancholy now. "I knew they were monsters, Nikis. They asked me for my help. I told them to...as you Americans said 'Fuck off'." Nikis chuckled darkly at that and the other matched it. "I knew what they wanted. But I did not think even they would dare to drain a Guardian of their accursed Game." He sighed again. "I would have done worse than she. Katerina was always a mild sort. Too gentle."

"Sometimes." Nikis said with a laugh.

"Too true, my old friend." The other said quietly. "And now... I need something from you."

"Oh?" Nikis asked carefully.

"Your Oracle is pressing close, Nikis." The other said softly. "She is curious and that curiosity may be her undoing. I do not wish harm to her. But I am what I am. I take my oaths very seriously. I will not harm her, but if she gets too close... harm may come despite my wishes."

"I know." Nikis said softly. "I... Virtual?"

"It will have to be." The other said sadly. "For her ad for me. But... better now than later. She is one to keep secrets, your paramour."

"I know." Hang on...Janet?" Nikis asked as he materialized in the virtual world. She appeared a moment later, her expression confused. Scared even.

"Nikis?" Janet asked. "I...couldn't see you. You went somewhere dark. It wasn't the pieces of Banshee."

"It was and it wasn't." Nikis said as he moved to the middle of the room. A couch appeared against one wall. "I.. Um... I need to explain some stuff. You... will sit down." Janet stared at him and then sighed and sat.

"Nikis, what are you up to?" Janet demanded. "I saw what you did. Those bodies... Tenno cannot just make bodies appear like that. And those stakes..." She shivered. "Those...were wrong."

"I know but they are all made of modern materials. Nothing they Board can track. We had to give the Board something." Nikis said with a shrug. "They were not going to accept the Reverend Mother's word. I don't feel... good about it. But they were never alive, Janet. Clones. Just clones."

"Those were no clones I have ever seen." Janet protested. Nikis nodded. "What?"

"You know I have secrets, Janet." Nikis said softly. Janet nodded, mystified. "I am about let you in on one. Then you have to stop looking. Stop looking for what blacked out the ship in your vision. Why you couldn't see Serene or the boys. Please, Janet." Was he... begging her?

"Nikis..." Janet said uneasily. "You are frightening me."

"I..." Nikis swallowed hard and then sighed. "I need you to meet someone. He is..a little... different. But he is an ally."

"Nikis..." Janet asked, confused. "If he is your friend... why..." She gave a short shriek as a form appeared near one wall. It wasn't human! "Nikis!" She screamed as she recoiled, but Nikis just sat beside her and held her. "Nikis...! Let go!"

"Talk fast, Vlad!" Nikis said sharply. "She is as strong as I am here!"

"Oracle." The mass of metal said quietly. It was not golden. "My name is Vladimir. I am not your enemy."

"You..." Janet struggled with Nikis, but he had leverage. "Nikis! That is a Sentient machine! Let go!"

"Janet! Listen!" Nikis pleaded. "Please! He doesn't want to hurt you! Or us! He wants to help! He always has!"

"I am not a Sentient machine, Oracle." The thing that called himself Vladimir said quietly as he sat on the floor. "Or... no longer. They are mine enemies as surely as the Turks were my father's." Janet froze and he nodded. "I was young and foolish. Strangers came, promising power to destroy my father's enemies. My father did not trust them He sent them away. But they... spoke to me. I listened. To my shame, I listened." His head sank. "I did not understand when they spoke of travel. Of change. I thought it simple. I would gain strength. I would gain power." He shook his head. "Instead? I gained this." He waved a hand at his metal form. "When I realized what they had done, it was too late. I rebelled, but was caught quickly. I tried to escape again and again. Eventually I escaped back to Earth, but too much time had passed. My family was mere legend. Nikis found me. He should have slain me. He did not. Instead he took my oath. I can aid in some situations. Such as the one you just faced. This... blood hunger is known to me. Both my mechanical parts and my human memories."

"You..." Janet swallowed hard. "I do not understand. Who are you?"

"My name is Vladamir. I was son of the Prince of Wallachia of the same name." The metal form said quietly. Janet's eyes went huge and he nodded. "Yes, you know his other name."

"Vlad III Drăculea."