Hey; hopefully by the time that I get back here, I would have posted up about five things to mark that I have been busy writing and that I haven't given up on anything. I just blame my work hours and schedule for keeping away from writing. So, here's the seventh chapter of Synchro Beast, Crimson Rose!
Chapter 7- Family Revelations
The darkness of nights; how many creatures of the undead reign throughout many regions to claim territory and hunt down food to feast upon themselves. The vampires alone share the night with mortals, claiming many victims as well as taking interests in suitors that mark their chances to expand their clan. It was also that bandits roam during night to jump upon travelers and ransack any treasure that they can get their hands on. But, the shadows were also the best chance to depart from the watchful eyes of villagers.
Having the second chance to visit his personal interest and amuse herself in front of him, Yusei started to depart from the village before word of his presence reached the other hunters. Just before turning into the Forest of Filaroya, he was intercepted by an unknown stranger, whom he has no prior knowledge about. However, the person was actually Placido, whom wanted to track down the vampire that caught his adopted sister's attention.
Placido was not pleased about letting Amy roam around with the vampires getting restless during the past several years without the leadership of their lord. He knew his vampiric blood was agitating him to no end, but it was no concern to him as of right now. With a furious scowl, he confronted Yusei in hopes of getting his point across. Yusei, however, was not amused with Placido's interference of his departure.
"Who the hell are you and why you are blocking my path back into the forest?" Yusei demanded. "I'm not in the mood tonight due to my plans going downhill courtesy of a certain hunter."
"I don't know what you vampires are planning, but you better leave my sister out of any plans that you have in store." Placido growled.
"Your smell...it reeks of that of the western queen." Yusei seethed. "You must be a vampire under her fucking control. Whatever we have in store for the rogues like yourself, your sister will suffer any consequences directed under our lord when we set him free."
"You fucking bastard!" Placido shouted.
Before any of the two could even land a single punch...
"Placido, stop this battle at once!" Amy called.
Shifting his head to see his adopted sister back in one piece, Yusei realized that his lord's interest had commanded the unknown man to back down. But, why did he listen to her and not the orders of the western queen? He knew that he was a vampire, but Tèa would have full power over his actions. So why was Amy able to control him out of his own free will? Could it be that this very vampire has claimed her as his own?
Amy sighed in relief. When she overheard the conversation between Yusei and Placido, she was quite concerned that her adopted brother's vampire blood might overlap the suppression spell that she placed upon him earlier and ran into the conflict to bring to a halt before the hunters get wind of the fight. The hunters placed Placido under her watchful eyes to ensure that the beast did not berserk and starting killing anyone within his sights. With his anger settling down, Amy approached Placido and took her hand to his neck, overlooking to see that the spell she placed on his bite mark is still active.
"Thank heavens that the spell is still strong and active." Amy said. "What were you thinking, Placido?"
"About killing this damn vampire, that's what!" Placido barked. "He told me that his lord was going to command your death had it not been for..."
"Brother, you know how I am with vampires." Amy interrupted. "I met with the northern lord and he never once took any chances of doing any harm towards me. You do realize that if this very spell broke during your altercation, I could lose you for eternity and never get you back."
"...You're not gonna cry on me, are you?" Placido sighed in defeat.
"Maybe." Amy said. "I almost lost the very last of my family this very night."
"I should head back inside." Placido said. "But, you better tell me everything once you're done with this bloodthirsty beast."
"Don't worry about it. It's best that you get some rest tonight; the beast within you is already getting agitated with your decisions." Amy remarked.
With his leave, Amy directly confronted Yusei herself. She needed to set the line straight that her adopted brother was off limits to anyone of the vampiric clan.
"I take it that all went well with my cousin?" Yusei asked.
"He's fine." Amy said. "I see you have met my brother, Placido."
"That one has such a short temper, yet I don't understand how a vampel like himself could retain his freedom from the western bitch himself." Yusei said. "I know from that the moment we transformed anyone, their movements, thoughts and will belong to us."
"It's because of the spell that I placed upon him in order to control the beast within." Amy answered. "Ever since the attack on my adopted family twenty years ago, the vampiric side of Placido tried to take over and feed off any villager within range, with his humanity losing control every day. In order for him to be in command of his will, I made a suppression spell in hopes of settling down the creature that continues to grow strong due to the lack of blood in his body."
"I see; he thinks that I'm the vampire that's captured your interest and assumed that our lord was going to punish you should our plans be successful." Yusei said.
"Placido has an unsettled hatred with the vampires ever since Tèa turned him into one of you; usually, you're right. The moment a mortal is transformed into a vampire, they lose everything of what they could control within their will. However, a certain type of toxin was discovered within Placido months after his transformation that prevents him from ever listening to Tèa and allowing him to live free." Amy explained.
"I see." Yusei said.
"Anyways, you should depart. However, tell your cousin Yami that my adopted brother is off-limits." Amy ordered. "I cannot allow any sort of bullshit happening around him; it'll tarnish the already growing trust that I have with your lord."
"Understood." Yusei said.
With Yusei's departure, Amy headed inside to deal with Placido's behavioral issues when she wasn't around. She knew that he had a very short temper, but he lacked control over his emotions. The thoughts that revolved around the beast made her more concerned about how long until the vampire within him will become mad with power and terrorize the village again. Amy knew that she had to study up more on the reversal transformation potion...and fast.
'I knew that tonight was a full moon; the time that vampires are much stronger and resilient during the night. If Placido had even laid one punch on Yusei, the spell would have broken and he would become a frenzied beast that's out of control.' Amy thought. 'Fuck! Why couldn't I have studied much harder to find that reversal spell? Guess I have to double up on my efforts to getting a breakthrough in this time and age!'
~Three days following the encounter: inside Serenity's cottage home, high noon...~
"How's your mother doing these days, Reni? I've heard that her health's not making the progress that doctors are hoping for." Amy asked.
"It's becoming much worse for six straight years now, and the medical bills are piling up high. If I don't find some kind of high paying job before winter...I'll have no choice but to resort to that kind of a road for payment." Serenity said.
"What about the medicine?" Amy asked again.
"The western village was the only one who had the ingredients required for my mother." Serenity stated. "The list must have been destroyed by the vampires of the west years ago."
"I hope some type of miracle happens soon." Amy said. "I wouldn't want my best friend to be hysterical in turmoil. You're already dealing with your brother's death, aren't you?"
"Yeah..." Serenity said. "Anyways, what was with Aki these past few days? She looked truly murderous and scaring the hell out of the villagers."
"Ah, that...You know about the vampire named Yusei Fudo of the eastern lands, right?" Amy asked.
"Yeah." Serenity replied.
"Well, from what I heard, he visited her during her nightly rounds and left soon after Divine showed up. Word has it that Yusei and Divine have been feuding for a very long time since the war turned into a standstill twenty-five years ago." Amy answered.
"Wasn't the village's top female huntress, Sherry Leblanc, was taken as Yusei's mate soon after falling into his charms?" Serenity asked.
"Correct. See, Sherry was actually Divine's fiancée at the time. It may be one of the many reasons that Divine has a major hatred towards Yusei Fudo. I don't know what else plays apart in this bitter feud, but Aki sure doesn't want any part of it." Amy stated.
"Too late for that; I think Yusei's already got his next mate in his sights." Serenity chuckled.
The two women were quite chatty as Amy was visiting Serenity in the matter of finding out the condition of Serenity's mother since the alerts three nights ago after Yusei's meeting with Aki turned sour. It was often that the girls shared every little bit of gossip that they could get their minds on and tried to turn away from the growing concerns of the village itself. Serenity, however, was quite hysteric about the high pile of medical bills that she needed to pay off before the end of the year or be forced out into the streets along with her ailing mother. Since the laws of the northern village state that women couldn't work in many of the hard-breaking jobs surrounding the vicinity, she was left with borrowing money from other villagers, which led to more debt.
The latest topic around the girls revolved around the bitter feud between Yusei and Divine. Before Amy or Serenity was born, the top female huntress, Sherry Leblanc was engaged to the Hunter's Academy defensive commander, Divine. Sherry herself was considered to be the fiercest woman ever to stand on the face of the Earth, which led to the sudden interest of Yusei Fudo, who fought her dozen of times and infuriating Divine at the same time. Two months after the standstill was issued, Sherry had fallen into Yusei's charms and enraged Divine to taking extreme measures to kill the eastern vampire. But, in the midst of their scuffle, he had accidentally shot Sherry, with the bullet entering straight into her body, losing her in the process and swore revenge upon Yusei should he ever see him again. However, it also cost Yusei the chance of retrieving a mate and cursed Divine for eternity until he finds someone else who can take Sherry's place.
It was also nearing the anniversary of her brother's death, or so she thinks if Serenity didn't noticed the similarities back then during the fateful meeting days ago. It was bad enough to have that type of mental burden affecting every thought that she had running through her mind; adding her current troubles just made it too much for one woman to handle all on her own. Just before Amy departed, the door slammed opened to two of Serenity's persistent admirers: the village counselor's son, Tristan Taylor and the ladies' man of the northern village, Duke Devilin.
"Serenity, my love! I have heard that your mother's illness has reached a dangerous point in her life. Let me venture to further lands to retrieve the elixir that'll save her!" Tristan proclaimed.
"Please, and while you're gone, she'll be completely lonely! I shall see to it that Serenity is accompanied throughout her need of distress!" Duke countered.
"No way, you sex-crazed asshole!" Tristan shouted. "You just want to sleep with her so you'll have better chances of claiming her as your wife!"
"Like you're any better, shithead!" Duke barked.
"That's enough, both of you!" Amy ordered. "My word, do you men have not any control over your actions?"
"Ms. Rivers, you do know that the season of weddings is closing near." Tristan stated. "Of course, you yourself is also up for grabs for the wondrous figure that your have."
"Save yourself the embarrassment of rejection and get back to your homes; skipping on your studies is frowned upon in the position that you're in, Taylor. And Devilin, didn't you have that one woman who wouldn't stop hunting you down until you pay for her services two nights ago?" Amy inquired.
"...Don't think you're going to get away from us, Serenity." Duke said. "We'll be back."
As the two left the front of the cottage, Serenity breathed in relief that she didn't have to deal with their constant flirting today of all days. The countless number of years those two harassed her to no end into earning her love was truly becoming nothing more than a nuisance! She knew Tristan due to the fact that they went to the same academy together, but she dropped out to help her mother with her health issues, and Duke himself started pursuing her two months after arriving into town from the southern district. The rivalry between the two was quite noticeable, but they never knew what damages they were causing to Serenity mentally and socially.
"Dear me, I don't know what's worse: those two harassing you like this or many of the village men turning more horny just before the season of marriage. Damn and I was hoping to skip this tradition for the year as well." Amy said.
"At least you drove away those two from me; they're breathing down my neck like crazy and fucking suffocating me to death!" Serenity proclaimed.
"Trust me; you don't deserve to be treated in that sort of fashion." Amy said. "Remember last year when almost every man came close to me just to strip me nude in public in the last few days of the season?"
"Oh yeah...didn't Placido nearly knocked every guy into a coma before you had to restrain him?" Serenity answered. "I also know that he forbid every man from coming near you during the season for years to come."
"I'm quite lucky that he still retains some of his human principles even when transformed." Amy said. "It must be showing some signs that he still can be saved if I can work hard enough to create the reversal potion and keep the brother that I have right now."
"I wish my brother was still around." Serenity said, sullenly.
"I should head back home; Placido knows that the village idiots will be knocking on our doorstep to look for me." Amy said. "Hey, maybe you might find someone outside of the village if you look hard enough."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Serenity asked.
"Try looking for your soul-mate in the nightly skies." Amy giggled. "See you later!"
"H-hey! Wait!" Serenity said, but it appeared that Amy had run into busy streets and her words fell on deaf ears. What did she meant by finding her true love in the reaches of the night? Sometimes, Serenity couldn't understand her friend, especially when it came towards hinting at anything she says.
She now needed a very good excuse to avoid going to the town square a couple weeks of now for the selection process during the season of weddings. Ten years ago, in hopes of returning the number of villagers back to the original statistics, the Legion had announced that the males would get first dibs on the women that still remained in the village by marrying them without consent from the family due to fears of declination should the vampires claim more mates throughout the years. Some men even had more chances to gain even more wives if they were important individuals, hoping to gain much greatness out of the children. Over those years, Amy and Serenity were constantly harassed by the men of the village, but Placido had stopped those advances towards his adopted sister, which led Amy to deal with Serenity's persistent admirers by enforcing her security around her home.
As night approached, Serenity headed upstairs to help her bed-ridden mother take her medication for the day. She never could understand why the northern doctors didn't replicate the formula that would have saved her mother from the illness she conjured shortly after years before her brother went on the one and only journey to retrieve the medicine from the western lands. There was no trace evidence of what happened to his body, nor the explanation of whatever took him from her world. Her mother's voice snapped her out of her inner thoughts.
"Serenity, dear? What's wrong?" her mother asked.
"It's nearing the day that my brother was gone from this world, Mom." Serenity said. "I still don't have any answers to what happened to him even after they declared him dead fifteen years ago."
"Sweetie, I'm sure he's still alive out there somewhere. He may not have been the best son that I had, but Joey's still my baby." her mother reassured her.
"You know, you should save your strength if you can." Serenity suggested. "Your health's becoming dangerously low and the only medicine to heal you is now gone. I would go beyond lands on my own to get the remedy, but with the Legion enforcing travel requirements, my only hopes of saving you is dwindling low."
"Serenity, dear...you need to have more confidence within yourself." her mother said. "I'm growing old, my time is coming soon and my only daughter is still the timid girl that I remember during my youth. Now, it's best to set up the candles so those vampires wouldn't go near our village, right?"
"Yeah." Serenity said.
Heading downstairs and grabbing the lantern holding the special oils to waver off any vampires during the night, Serenity thought about her mother's words about her personality. She was always the hesitant one in the family, considering that when she was only five years old, she almost lost her eyesight and had to wait for several years until the doctors had conjured up the right spell to cure her. But, over those years she became too alert around her surroundings and became scared of almost anything that made her uncomfortable. If only there was someone out in this world that could help her overcome those very fears...but it was a dream that may never come true.
As she was about to light and head straight to bed for the night, a low rustling sound coming from above the trees startled her and made Serenity grab the nearest thing to defend herself from whatever lurked beyond the dark leaves. Dropping down from his position, the image of the person in front of her shocked Serenity beyond belief. Tears were swelling up in her eyes as she ran over to hold him in her arms, but the second her skin touched his body, something was completely off. He felt chilly like someone from the undead, and she backed away in denial. Serenity couldn't believe that her own brother returned back from the undead after all these years; the memory of the mysterious figure from days ago now coming back into her mind...it all made sense now. Somehow, one of the vampires must have saved him from whatever tried to kill him, but whom?
"Serenity, I know you have many questions to ask me about what became of me fifteen years ago." Joey said. "But, I didn't want you to be involved in this whole fucking vampire business until the time was right."
"Joey, regardless of what would have happened; you know that the paths were bound to cross someday." Serenity said. "I just don't understand why you never sent some type of sign that you were still alive; do you realize how much healing that I had to deal with since finding out that your body was never recovered and ruled as deceased?"
"Ren, I'm sorry." Joey whispered. "You know that every day I preyed that you were safe from any sort of danger; the timing of how things are unraveling is too fast for us to be reunited in the way that we are seeing each other right now. I wanted to wait until the war was truly over for me to be with you."
"Still, who turned into a vampire?" Serenity asked.
"One of the northern lord's nobles, Mai Valentine." Joey answered. "She came into my rescue before the western assassins ended my life, but I was nearing the end of my time had it not been for her."
"But, why didn't you return to say good-bye to me?" Serenity pressed on.
"Ren...the story that I'm about to tell will answer every question that you have for me, but it'll won't last long. Those oils are starting to affect me, and those hunters will come to hunt me down. Are you prepared to hear what I am about to say?" Joey questioned.
Serenity nodded.
"Okay, it started seven weeks after I left to get the medicine for Mom..."
Finally done! I feel like my work schedule is killing me and preventing me from writing anything, but at least my inspiration is coming back!
Next Chapter: As Joey tells his story about how he became a vampel, Serenity felt the need to enter into the world that Amy has also crossed into. Meanwhile, Joey reveals to Mai about what kind of plans that the western lands are planning to do...
R&R, people!
And sorry for the late up post. Where I'm at doesn't have any Internet connections, so I'm forced to use the library computers.