- Chapter 78 -

Life of the Party

A moonlit night at Foot HQ found Shredder and Kitsune meeting in his throne room.

"As of late, Saki, I have been researching alternative means of solidifying our power base and defeating the Hamato Clan with Krang's downfall," she explained. "And I believe I have found something of interest."

"Consider me intrigued," Shredder replied. "Tell me, what have you found?"

"I have sensed an ominous presence in this city. Something ancient, primal... and dark. I do not know what precisely it is, but it seems to rest within the old Marble Cemetery near the East Village. Either we harness it for our own ends or destroy it to ensure it cannot threaten the Foot. The choice is yours."

Shredder thought for a moment. "So far, I have used mutagen and might to try and attack my enemies. Perhaps it is time for a mystical approach. Hun." The hulking behemoth stepped forward, bowing on one knee. "Send some of your Purple Dragons to investigate this disturbance. If it can be brought to heel, then have it brought to me immediately."

"Tread carefully, Saki," Kitsune cautioned. "The powers of darkness are not to be taken lightly. Take it from someone who has devoted their life to the dark arts. If you insist on sending your men to investigate, I suggest sending someone you don't particularly value. Someone... expendable."

Dragon Face trekked through the cemetery, shivering a bit as the cold, October air washed over him. What had he done to earn this particular duty?

"Alright…" he muttered. "Shredder's witch friend was able to glean this much from her little crystal ball. Whatever this thing is, it's in a tomb behind a gravestone marked with a cross."

He looked up and scowled to see that the majority of gravestones in the cemetery possessed crosses.

"Of course, she didn't get the goddamn specifics…"

With a groan, he began searching each one individually, looking for anything mystical or out of the ordinary. Then again, in this town, that was hard to describe. However, when he came across an unmarked mausoleum with crosses nailed to every window and entrance, he felt himself stop. After a minute, he entered, coming across a large coffin suspended off the ground by ancient chains it was wrapped in.

"That looks promising."

Being the dumb yes-man of a Purple Dragon he was, he didn't even hesitate to use his crowbar to smash the pullies holding the coffin up. It fell with a harsh crunch, but the wood miraculously held up.

"Damn. Strong wood."

He then promptly popped the lid with his crowbar. The second he did, an emaciated hand lashed out and grabbed him. He screamed as he was pulled into the coffin, a cacophony of screams, crunching, and disgusting squelches filled the space. After a minute, the noises stopped, and Dragon Face was expelled from the coffin. He crumbled to a heap on the ground, his throat torn open and his body a dry husk. A dead silence followed for a few moments as the hand once again emerged, pulling up its owner: an emaciated, bald being with glowing blue eyes and long, sharp fangs, wiping its mouth.

"That… will do," it rasped in a dry, cracking voice before turning to Dragon Face's body. "Rise."

Dragon Face's eyes snapped wide open, his eyes also glowing blue, his teeth elongated and skin deathly pale. He gasped, clutching his throat and coughing.

"What is this place?" the creature asked. "What year is it?"

"N-New York City," Dragon Face stammered. "The year 2022."

"New York... The New World… Van Helsing truly spared no expense." The creature stroked his chin. "How regrettable that I will not be able to repay him the kindness he showed me."

"What the hell is going on here?" Dragon Face demanded. "Dead guys don't get up and walk around! And didn't you just kill me?"

"Not dead. Undead. Do you realize who I am?"

Dragon Face shook his head helplessly.

"Then allow me to introduce myself." The creature did a sweeping bow. "I am the king of Wallachia. Lord of the Vampires. I am... Count Vladimir Dracula."

Dragon Face stumbled back. "No way. You can't be real. You're… you're just a story!"

"The truth stands before you, does it not?"

Before he could say anything more, they heard footsteps approach, a flashlight shining into the room. Both men turned to see a night watchman enter.

"Hey! Cemetery's closed! And this mausoleum's off-limits!"

Dracula turned with a hiss. The night watchman screamed before fleeing in terror, the vampire lord bounding after him like a wolf chasing a rabbit. Sadly, the watchman didn't get far before Dracula tackled him to the ground and sank his teeth into his neck. Eventually, he released his second victim, standing up to face the terrified Dragon Face.

"You. Show me around this... New York City. The night is young. And still, I thirst."

"I… Yes, Master."

Like a zombie, Dragon Face shuffled towards the city, his own thirst welling inside of him. Dracula followed, just as the poor watchman began to rise himself...

Meanwhile, in Manhattan, the Hamato/Lee siblings were on patrol, having split up to cover more ground. Leo took a moment to rest on a rooftop.

"Slow night…" He checked his phone, seeing that the others were reporting all clears. "Lucky us."

At that moment, he heard a woman cry out. "My purse!"

Leo sighed, turning towards the sound. "Spoke too soon. Probably just a Purple Dragon."

He hurried in the direction of the scream, just in time to see a thug being thrown out of the alleyway and a man approaching the woman, holding her purse.

"Guess I'm not needed for this one," Leo remarked, turning to go.

"Thank you, sir. I-" the woman began, only to let out another scream.

Leo whirled around to see the man grabbing the woman's arm. He jumped down and dashed toward them as the man bit into the woman's neck, turning just in time to take a punch to the face from the blue turtle and be knocked back.

"Okay, whackjob, just what are you-" Leo cut himself off as he took in the man's appearance. His skin was deathly pale, his eyes were a glowing shade of blue, and he had long, pointy fangs as he let out a hiss. It was the night watchman from the cemetery. "Whoa… Buddy, Halloween is tomorrow. Or are you some type of new mutant…"

Rather than answer, the watchman sprang onto a wall, sticking to it briefly before jumping off and tackling Leo to the ground. It leaned forward, trying to bite him before Leo planted a foot in his belly and kicked him off. The man slammed into the wall and was about to charge again before Leo decked him. The turtle then let loose with a flurry of punches that ultimately knocked the creature flat on his back. A moment of silence passed before he heard more feral growls, the thug and the woman getting up, hissing and sporting fangs.

"No way in hell... it can't be..." Leo managed in shock. "Real vampires?"

The watchman got to his feet, snarling. At that very moment, the thug and the woman hissed, getting up and also sporting fangs. They turned their eyes on Leo, looking at him as if he was dinner.

"Oh, crap…"

He quickly threw out his Turtle Line and zipped away, tossing a smoke bomb as he went. The three vampires snarled, looking around for their prey before scurrying off into the night. From a nearby rooftop, Leo watched from the shadows.

"The others aren't gonna believe this one." he let out.

Down in Dracula's crypt, the three newly turned vampires arrived and informed him of their face-off with Leo.

"Hmmm…" Dracula mused. "A giant turtle... who practices the martial arts of the Oriental people across the seas."

"One of those damned Ninja Turtles," Dragon Face spat. "They've been causing trouble for people like me for months. They follow a mutant rat, and have a psychic and a snake girl for sisters."

"Interesting," Dracula remarked. "They could prove quite troublesome... or they could make powerful allies."

"No offense Master, but with the psychic on their side, persuading them will be difficult, if not impossible."

Dracula grinned evilly, exposing his fangs. "They will not need persuasion... when I bestow the Dark Gift upon them."

The next day, Leo met up with his siblings and Kagome and explained his encounter to them. Some were quite skeptical.

"Vampires, Leo?" Karai asked. "You sure you haven't taken too many kicks to the head?"

"I don't wanna believe it either, Karai," Leo admitted. "But I know what I saw."

"Actual vampires?" Vee questioned. "Not the Twilight wannabes, but actual vampires?"

Leo nodded. "They had fangs and everything."

"It is close to Halloween," Raph pointed out. "They could just be people in costumes."

"It wasn't just the teeth," Leo insisted. "The way they moved, their eyes... They weren't human."

"Leo, by this point, half the city isn't human," Kagome said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not crazy, Kagome," Leo swore. "I saw one of them bite a woman's neck and drink her blood with my own eyes!"

"He's telling the truth," Hisako told them as she placed a hand on Leo's head and focused, showing the others the images from his mind. By the end, all of them were stunned.

"Okay, I'm convinced," Mikey declared. "Vampires are real. And they're right here in New York!"

"Awesome!" Vee cheered.

"How is this awesome?!" Karai demanded.

"Paranormal activity that's not aliens. It's my dream!"

Karai raised an eyebrow at that.

"Vee's always had a bit of an... obsession with supernatural stuff," Kagome explained. "She grew up on vampire movies and whatnot."

"Mostly the old-school stuff like Dracula, not anything like that Twilight crap," Vee clarified with a scoff. "Vampires sparkling in sunlight? Please."

"Karai's right, though," Leo cut in. "This isn't a field trip. Vampires are in the city."

"And we just finished with that Sh'Okanabo mess," Mikey added.

"And we have another problem," Kagome included. "Kohaku Enterprises' big Halloween bash is tonight."

"Oh, man," Raph let out. "Kasumi will kill us if we miss it."

"Seriously?" Leo exclaimed. "Vampires are prowling Manhattan looking for victims, and all you can focus on is a damn party?!"

"We promised Mom we'd be there, Leo," Kagome reminded.

"Well, maybe if we tell her and Splinter what's going on, then…" Hisako trailed off and they debated it for a few seconds.

"We better get ready," all eight teens declared in unison.

That evening, Dragon Face descended into Dracula's crypt. As he neared, the count rose from his coffin, now looking fully human and wearing a fancy tuxedo and cape.

"Rise, my children of the night!" the Vampire Lord declared. The other vampires soon emerged, now numbering in the dozens. "We shall take New York human by human, until our blood flows through its canals, transfiguring it into the city of the dead! As you execute my dark purpose, I shall stake my claim among the city's elite!"

"I have a tip for that," Dragon Face piped up. "If you want to be number one amongst the rich and famous, there's one woman you'll have to take down a peg."

Meanwhile, the Hamato Family met up with April and Casey, and they all went to Kohaku Enterprises together. Casey was wearing his hockey gear and mask, seeing that as all the costume he needed. April was dressed as a zombie, with a fake knife through her head. Hisako was, ironically, dressed in a vampire costume, with white face makeup, a cape, and prosthetic fangs. Kagome was dressed as a witch, with a black hat and green face paint. Finally, Karai was dressed in rags, and looked pale, complete with a long, stringy black wig.

"What're you supposed to be, Karai?" Casey asked as they went.

"Sadako Yamamura, from the Ring movies," Karai replied, getting a blank look. "America knows her as Samara Morgan."

"Oh, her!" Casey said in realization. "You look just like her."

"The Ring started in Japan?" April asked.

"Yeah. Just like the Grudge movies," Leo answered. "Of course, overseas, they're called Ju-on."

"You'd be surprised how much of American culture is just rip-offs of other cultures," Karai said.

"We ain't called the melting pot for nothin'," Casey remarked before turning to the turtles. "Anyhoo, you guys didn't wear any costumes?"

"Of course we did," Vee replied in a glorious deadpan that would have made Wednesday Addams proud. "We're homicidal maniacs. They look just like everyone else."

"Very funny," Casey deadpanned right back, his not as glorious. He just sounded annoyed.

"Casey, let me clue you in on a secret," Raph informed him. "Halloween is the one night of the year the five of us don't need costumes, or phony disguises, or those stupid trench coats and fedoras. We can go right out on the streets as ourselves, and people won't look at us like freaks."

"But the city loves you all now," Casey pointed out.

"Doesn't mean a lot of people don't gawk," Raph replied.

"They stare," Vee added. "It's unsettling."

"But today, we're just average partygoers," Hisako said.

They went to the front doors, seeing Splinter and Kasumi standing there and letting the partygoers in.

"Sorry we're late, Mom," Kagome greeted. "Hisako had some trouble deciding on a costume."

"Hey!" Hisako objected before letting out a sigh. "Okay fine, maybe a little."

Splinter let out a chuckle at that.

"April's sister showed up just before you did," Kasumi told them. "As did Warren Stone."

"Who?" Mikey asked.

"The one in the toupée who always tries to fight with you?" Kagome offered, remembering April's description of the man.

"Oh! Him! Surprised he came." Mikey grinned, an idea forming as he feigned innocence. "Where is he?"

"He's over by the snack table," Kasumi replied, pointing inside.

"Casey, you got your phone?" Mikey asked as Casey lifted it, nodding. "Perfect."

Mikey's grin widened as he dragged Casey inside. As he approached the man, who was wearing what looked to be a large worm costume, the man was already talking smack.

"I swear, Channel 6 has gone downhill since that thing moved in. The break room reeks of pizza. He plays loud, obnoxious music. And don't even get me started on his hygiene!"

Mikey immediately popped in, throwing an arm around Warren's shoulders like they were old buddies. "You talkin' about me, Warren?"

Warren screamed like a little girl. "Turtle! What are you doing?! I've told you not to sneak up on me!"

"But it's so fun," Mikey replied.

Warren pulled away from him. "Shouldn't you be hiding in the sewers?"

"Oh, c'mon. It's not a secret that Kasumi Lee's basically my mom."

Warren scoffed. "Though how she raised such a disgusting reprobate is beyond me. And here I thought she was a refined woman of taste."

Mikey raised an eyebrow. "I'm disgusting? Says the guy dressed up like a tapeworm."

"It's an earthworm, and I'm only wearing it because everything else was sold out! Lousy Party City employees…"

"Really?" Raph asked, approaching. "Did you know that if you tear an earthworm in half, it survives and creates two new worms?" He tapped his sai. "You wanna try it out?"

Warren sighed in annoyance. "And here I thought for once, I could have a peaceful party night without having to come within ten miles of you fr-"

A hand came down on his shoulder. Warren stiffened before turning to see it was Kasumi, looking at him with a cool glare.

"I would choose my next words very carefully if I were you, Mr. Stone."

"Mrs. Lee!" Warren cleared his throat. "I was um… well…" He pulled out his phone. "Oh, would you look at that, I have a thing. I'll just-"

He quickly took off, the others smirking at the sight.

"There you have it," Karai remarked. "All it takes is a little fear to make a paper man crumble."

"Hmmm…" Mikey tapped his chin in thought. "I wonder if Kieran can do that split-in-two thing?"

Hisako shrugged. "I'll ask him next time I'm at Mutanimal HQ."

As this went on, Hisako got a weird feeling. She turned, seeing a tall man in an old-fashioned-looking suit enter.

"Is it just me, or did it get cold in here all of a sudden?" she muttered as the man slowly approached the group, smiling.

"Good evening," he greeted. "Kasumi Lee, I presume?"

Kasumi nodded, shaking his hand. "And you are?"

"Alucard. Dr. Alucard." The man gave a small bow. "A biologist by trade recently arrived here from Romania."

"Well, welcome to Kohaku Enterprises. Please, help yourself to the buffet," Kasumi told him. "I'd love to talk some more, but I need to greet the other guests."

She departed while the man picked up one particular hors d'oeuvre.

"Beef steak tartare," he said. "How exquisite."

He opened his mouth to pop it in, and Leo caught a glimpse of fangs just before he closed his mouth. His eyes narrowed as he grabbed another hors d'oeuvre.

"Yeah, it's good," the blue turtle remarked. "But the garlic shrimp is to die for."

He held up the platter for the man, who recoiled briefly before recovering.

"No, thank you," he said quietly. "I'm allergic."

"Thought so," Leo muttered under his breath as he put the plate down. The man turned and departed, and Leo quickly turned to his siblings. "Guys... he's a vampire. A real one. I saw his teeth when he ate the steak tartare. He had fangs."

"Leo, I have fangs too," Hisako pointed out, showing her fake teeth.

"It's not just that, sis," Leo went on. "You saw how he reacted to the garlic shrimp. Everyone knows vampires hate garlic."

Donnie thought something over, then gasped. "His name… Dr. Alucard. What's 'Alucard' spelled backward?"

Everyone did a quick reverse spelling and put two and two together.

"Holy shit…" Vee said in shock. "Dracula!"

"Wait a sec," Karai cut in. "Are you telling me the Count Dracula is here in New York?!"

"And most likely behind the vampires that attacked me last night," Leo added.

"That would explain the chill I felt earlier," Hisako remarked.

"If he's here at the party, we need to find him," Vee insisted. "The last thing we need is a vamp on the loose."

Around the same time, Dracula approached Splinter and Kasumi. He chatted pleasantly with them for a moment, then his eyes briefly flashed red. Kasumi's eyes turned red as well for a moment as Dracula let out a small cough.

"Thank you for the chat, Mrs. Lee, Mr. Hamato," he said casually. "But I'm afraid I must go."

He went, and Splinter turned to see Kasumi staring blankly at nothing.

"Excuse me, Yoshi," Kasumi said emotionlessly. "I need to go get some air."

She began walking outside, which Splinter found very off. He quickly followed after her. He found her just standing outside the door, where Dracula lay in wait above, ready to pounce. Just as he was about to attack, Splinter came out.

"Kasumi?"

Kasumi snapped out of the trance, shaking her head.

"Huh?!" she let out before turning to Splinter. "Yoshi? How did I get out here?"

"You said you were getting air, but you seemed off. Are you alright?"

"All I remember is talking to…" Kasumi's eyes widened as she realized what had happened. "Alucard! He did something to me, I know it."

They went back inside.

"Sensei! Kasumi!" came Leo's voice. Their children ran over to them. "Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but Dr. Alucard is a vampire!"

"More than that, he's Dracula!" Vee added. "The Dracula!"

"We believe you," Kasumi assured them.

All of them prepared to argue that they were telling the truth but froze once they processed what she'd said.

"Wait," Mikey said. "You do?"

Splinter nodded. "My father used to tell us that there are many dimensions, many beings that permeate what we call reality."

"And he just hypnotized me, forcing me to go outside," Kasumi added.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Kagome asked with concern.

"No. I'm okay. Yoshi followed me, and snapped me out of it."

As this went on, Hisako sensed something and turned to see one of the caterers Kasumi hired staggering down the hall. Concerned, she followed him.

"Hey," she said in concern. "Are you okay?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder and then turned to see a large mirror on the wall next to them. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. The man had no reflection; Hisako's hand was on nothing but air.

"Holy shit…" she let out, recoiling as the vampirized caterer turned to her, growling. Hisako tensed, ready to fight, but the caterer just turned away from her and jumped out the window. After a minute, she quickly ran to her family.

"I think Drac ate one of the caterers for dinner. I saw it in the mirror. He didn't have a reflection."

"Classic vampire trait," Vee remarked. "No reflection."

"Okay, guys," Leo said, taking charge. "Dracula is here in New York, turning everyone into vampires. We better get equipped to deal with it. But we're not killing his victims."

"Mind if I ask why not?" Raph asked.

"Because they're innocent people, Raph. And because there may be a cure."

"Leo's right," Vee agreed. "There's always a cure for vampirism, but you can't cure death."

"It's possible," Donnie mused. "Supernatural or not, vampirism does have all the hallmarks of a blood-borne pathogen. But I'd need an infected test subject."

"Then let's go find that busboy before he eats anyone," Hisako insisted.

"Wait," Kagome told her. "We're not equipped to take him right now. We need some anti-vampire gear."

"We'll need the following," Vee piped up, listing things off on her fingers. "Silver, garlic, crosses, and holy water."

Donnie quickly wrote down what Vee listed off.

"Will that whole crosses and holy water thing work?" Hisako asked skeptically. "I mean, it's water and two sticks tied together."

"Well, the stuff about garlic and no reflections was true," Leo pointed out.

"Just the same, let's not let Hisako handle any crosses," Vee decided. "In a lot of vampire stuff, you need to actually have faith in it for it to work. I don't know if it'll work here, but better safe than sorry."

"Yeah," Hisako agreed. "Zippo faith in that kind of thing here."

Donnie turned to Kagome. "Kagome, for once, I'm taking you up on your offer to buy me some equipment."

"You want me to buy some silver, I take it?" Kagome asked.

Donnie nodded. "I doubt I'd find any at the junkyard or in a dumpster."

"In the meantime, we can at least hunt down Dracula," Vee suggested. "One surefire cure: kill the vampire that turned everyone."

"Vee, I don't think that's a good idea," Hisako said. "His very presence made the room grow cold. He's not like Krang, Shredder, or even Sh'Okanabo. He's... way out of our league."

"Agreed," said Leo. "Until Donnie upgrades our gear, none of us go after Dracula."

"I should have it all done by tomorrow morning at the latest," Donnie informed them.

"Let's hope the city lasts that long," Kagome remarked

All of them looked out the door into the night, somewhat fearful of the creatures lurking in the darkness.

As dawn rose over Manhattan, Mikey was on the air at Channel Six, his voice unusually serious. Robyn was guest-starring with the latest reports.

"Good morning, New York," Mikey began. "This is Cowabunga Carl, here to warn you all of the latest threat to our fair city. Joining me is Channel Six's own Robyn O'Neil. Over to you, Robyn." "Thanks for having me, Carl. In the past few days, Manhattan has seen an alarming increase in missing persons. Men, women, children... there's no pattern in the disappearances of these 'Lost Ones,' though eyewitnesses have reported bat-like figures in some of these scenes. Do you have any idea what's causing this?"

"Believe it or not, Robyn, vampires. They're very real and very dangerous. It may sound crazy, but hey, we've got mutants and aliens running around."

"Indeed. But I'm guessing we don't know if these vampires work like in the stories."

"Not yet at least. So we can't afford to be sloppy. Stay safe out there folks. keep those necks covered, keep a few cloves of garlic on ya just to be safe, and make sure to stay off the streets after sundown. And have no fear: your friendly neighborhood Ninja Turtles are on the case."

Author's Note:

So, this arc was inspired by both the three-part Monster Arc with Savanti Romero in 2012 season 5 and The Batman vs. Dracula. Hope you enjoy.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Dracula - Peter Stormare (Dracula in The Batman vs. Dracula, Dieter Stark from The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Whiplash in Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, Lord Dregg in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012, Alan Hill in Until Dawn)

Please R&R. Until next time!