Lost to the World

[gistofeverything]

Thage Escavalier~

 

Thage was sitting in the library window, lost in thought. She looked at the morning sun wistfully, remembering her mother. She was a nice woman... But she was never around to see her achievements. She kept the family's mouths full, but she longed to see her more often. Even so, wishing wouldn't do a bit of good. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here. She sighed softly, and looked at the score her professor had given to them all in class. She delicately opened the first page, and practically heard the music flow out of it. She smiled. Music... I love music. I'd be willing to do this for the rest of my life if I needed to. But I can't. I have no money. She sighed in undetectable despair. It was all because of her social status - she wouldn't be able to get anywhere in life because of her parents. She had no grudge against them, but they were what was hindering her. She looked around the library to see not a soul.

 

Her eyelids played downward, as if she was avoiding someone's gaze. She could have sworn that there was someone watching her. But of course, there wouldn't be anyone near here this early in the morning! She smiled, and looked at the score once again. It captivated her, swept her into a world of ink and music. She was to choose a part for herself to be rehearsing during classes. She read each part with care, and chose the flute. She had played the instrument in high school - why not now? She didn't see anything exciting about the piece for her part, but it was the instrument she was best at, so she didn't quarrel with it any longer. She then thought, Well. I didn't even look at the title! I wonder what this is called... She closed the score, and looked at the front. Nuit Blanche... White night? What kind of a title is that?

 

She thought for a moment. The music did fit the title... But there was no composer name! That was odd. There was always a composer name on any piece of music - the composer was the "author" of the piece. She tilted her head sideways, and thought of it no more. She proceeded then to look outside the large window again. The sun had risen a few centimeters... It was most likely about seven o'clock. The students would start arriving soon. She didn't care though. This was her seat, and she wasn't going to be inclined from it. Her thoughts started to slip back to her mother. Her mother's last name was Westphalen. But hers was Escavalier. She knew her mother had gotten divorced some time ago... Maybe it was er father's last name. Whatever the case, her head was now pounding. A migraine started to settle over her. She didn't like it one bit. She laid her head back against the large, cherry bookshelf, and tried to clear her thoughts.

[Rakashua]

Dana did not appreciate being threatened and was about to make a very cutting comment about the character of someone who dates a drunk man with anger issues, werewolf or no, when there was an explosion clearly in the direction of campus... well... that and it was mostly obvious with the rising smoke and all.

 

Dana opened the window to peer out at the chaos that immediately began to ensue as others reacted to the explosion.

 

"Well looks like you've got a problem on your hands, better go tell your freaks to stop picking flees off one another and find out why the school grounds are exploding... I'll just show myself out, I'm hungry." And with that... Dana hopped out of the window, falling like a professional diver and hitting the ground shoulders first and rolling.

 

Two stories, that should have broken bones... but she felt great, better than great. Look out world, one bad vampire coming through, and I'm hungry... She grinned, taking off at a run as she got used to how fast she could travel. I wonder what Johan is doing right now? I'd love to put that prideful sod back in his place, draining him of some blood should do the trick. I wonder if I can hypnotize humans into doing what I want... that would be fun... I'll have to give it a try.

 

She was running at top speed when she came upon the group that was in the midst of attacking Arata, however, she was not sued to her speed so she barely had time to leap into the air to keep from running into them.

 

She turned the leap into a triple somersault that ended with a double pirouette in mid air.

 

"Watch where you're standing!" She shouted back at them, flipping them off as she continued forwards, towards the campus, and Johan's residence.

 

The sounds of the forest, the new scents, the amazing clarity of her vision...ooooh... and the SPEED! She loved it, and it fueled her hunger even more. Eating someone's blood, she could do that, she was a vampire now, she had no qualms with the idea.

 

In a moment she came upon the scent of another individual, and then the site, a man, but wearing a black suit and mask, a badguy then? Yes, of course, probably someone who set the explosion up, sure, maybe she could eat him, do the world a favor too... but of course, there was no point if it wasn't fun.

 

She stopped behind a tree and peaked her head out, smiling at him, then slowly stepped around the tree and leaned back against it, beckoning him to come over to her.

 

"Hello there," She smiled, fangs glinting in the light, "I don't suppose you could spare a few pints of blood?" She winked mischievously, almost hoping he would run. She obviously had no idea she'd just approached a five-hundred year old vampire, who just happened to be an Angry Russian and an assassin.

[LadyNatasha]

~Steel~

 

Steel heard her coming long before she arrived where he was. Her running wasn't directed for him, he could tell, but she was for certain a Vampire and this piqued his interest. Perhaps she was running from Silverhands? That would explain why he could only hear her running and not them; their technology was incredible, matching with the most advanced Russian technology. On infrared Steel could see that she was running without pursuers and at a relaxed pace. As she approached she slowed. Steel's eyes narrowed, his senses on full.

 

If at any time he sensed with any of his five senses a human, Vampire, Vampyre or Werewolf coming, Steel would be gone in a moment; he had no desire to be discovered.~

 

Her behavior struck him as odd and immature... or completely insane. She was pretending to hide from him behind a tree--either that or she was extremely bad at it, and the more she moved the more he decided it was the latter of the two. She seemed young and very naive for a Vampire, which made him curious as to what in the world she was doing in America. She wasn't a Vampyre after all.

 

Steel immediately realized that she was beautiful, although in no way shape or form was he affected by her beauty; he had already committed his mind, soul, body, spirit, and every other aspect of his being to being interested in Nuna, even if it didn't mean he'd actually ever want to marry or have children with or even have strong emotional feelings towards her. He simply found it better to attach himself to this than to risk weakness.

 

But back to the present. She was definitely young, and her confident behavior astonished him; for a fraction of a second he was distracted. He watched carefully as she peered from behind a tree and then stepped around to the front of the tree. He was dressed in complete black and thought for certain one as young as her was just looking for protection (from the Silverhands) and was planning to sweet-talk him into it, but once again he was wrong. He had simply never dealt with someone like Dana in this situation in his five-hundred years of living and his reality was forced to shift a few inches as he coped with her astonishing words;

 

"Hello there, I don't suppose you could spare a few pints of blood?" Steel was shocked beyond verbal communication for a whole two seconds. Never in his life had he seen such childish, human, flirtatious, naive, foolish, innocent and irrationally confident speech from anyone over the age of ten... not to someone dressed like him, not after an explosion had just occurred, and not from a female baby Vampire. After his two seconds of astonishment Steel growled. His mind took a moment to fully assess the situation and he decided that there was no reason not to show his face to the female; after all, a bullet would pierce his light armor as it was and he didn't need the infrared because no one was near him for a mile except for her.

 

Steel lowered his head just a bit and took off his mask. He turned his eyes to the sky as his hair fell from it, covering some of his shoulders and the back of his neck. Then he turned his blood-red eyes to hers, gazing with a natural hate that wasn't directed at her. His skin was so pale and his eyes so red, it had to be obvious he too was a Vampire... but just in case it didn't cross her puny mind to think such a thing, he grinned to reveal his long fangs. All the while he still kept his senses aware for others approaching. "Go hunt somewhere else, infant." His grin had faded to a look of slight disgust. "I should kill you right now, you're an embarrassment to our race and happen to be bothering m--" he stopped suddenly, if only for a moment, before recovering his speech. But it was only that moment necessary; he knew it now, knew who had transformed her (or he figured he had a fair guess). She had probably been a Vampire for less than a day, he realized; Johan Hawk's scent was faint upon her. There was no other explanation and Johan did seem like the type to transform girls like her. He immediately was on guard, realizing that she could be a spy sent from Johan although he wasn't sure why Johan would send such a spy. No, she wasn't a spy; his years of experience told him that.

 

But. She was Johan's property, and it seemed she just happen to be at the wrong place during the wrong time. Steel figured Johan would not be happy if the Silverhands got her and Steel could have prevented it. He sighed and shook his head, quickly re-thinking his words and hoping he hadn't insulted her too much, though for the world he couldn't think of why Johan would let her roam about unless by her stupor she had somehow convinced him she could take care of herself. Steel figured Johan would probably be looking for her right now if he cared. Even if he didn't care... if this was some sort of test, Steel didn't want to fail it. He could never turn down a challenge, even if it was one he made up in his head or one created by his enemies. Sure he'd break rules and twist the plot, but a challenge was a challenge. Anyway he had nothing else until midnight and he was bored and especially edgy with the Silverhands around, so he decided to take action.

 

"Nevermind," he said in recovery of his last sentence, "I mistook you for a Vampyre for a moment... you are indeed a Vampire." His voice had its normal Steely air, but he attempted to make it sound more 'caring' though he had to fake it based off what he had heard lovers say to each other. Steel had never cared enough for anyone to form such a voice naturally. He also didn't care if she saw through it, because if she wanted protection she had nowhere else to go. He held up a hand to stop anything she might have wanted to say, though he did so in a much more commanding and sharp motion than Johan would have. "I'm not sure what you're doing out here by yourself, but you're obviously young and inexperienced. You probably haven't realized the Silverhand 'Vampire slayers' are out and about hunting on your college campus. Because of this you should be hiding, not out here roaming." This voice was meant to sound firm but concerned, as he had heard the Jarl speak to Nuna this way. Then he found the question he was looking for. "Where is the Vampire that turned you?" His eyes demanded an answer, as he figured she'd probably not want to tell him.

[Darkshadow]

???

 

"Where is that monster? Where is that person?" the creature rasped, frail arms clasping the keyboard. It's eyes were glowing a sickly, bloody red, and gave the creature the appearance of a demon. It searched through all the cameras, but there was no sign of the mysterious being the creature was searching for. My search, it finally traced me here. I will finally have revenge! It had waited so many long, cold years trapped in the dark, and now the time has come. "Listen up Creature!" Johan snarled into Silver Harbringer's camera, "If you get anywhere near Marcy or my home, I'll kill you, and your organization. Don't underestimate me, I just rewrote every rule you thought you knew about the maximum potential of a vampire, and I'm only--getting--started!" I've only ordered the SS to capture werewolves, that'll keep Johan from trying to murder every single person connected to me. I better go reply to his blood craze. Out of Silver Harbringer's helmet, the creature's voice echoed out. Silver Harbringer was dead, anyway. "Relax, vampire. I'm only taking werewolf samples. Your lover is safe." The creature gave a wry, rasping chuckle at Johan's mention of surpassing limits. "Oh, no dear boy, what you've done is only the tip of the iceberg. How do you think that I survived all these years? Everyone has a monster inside them, lurking, waiting to get out. With these monsters, anyone can have limitless potential. Don't talk to me about surpassing limits. I've unlocked the monster inside me, Johan. Once I've finished, even you won't be able to stop me. Unless, of course, you can become a monster yourself. Now, where was I? Oh yes, yes. I'm uploading the coordinates to your phone right now. Try to be more cordial to the next agent. His name will be Jonathan Harker, and he'll be waiting for you outside the entrance." With that, the creature disabled the mike within the Silver Harbringer's suit and activated the self-destruct sequence. Ten seconds later, the suit exploded, automatically incinerating the body inside. Something like that won't kill Johan. The creature coughed again, and then sent orders to Jonathan. Just you wait, Jonathan. I'll unlock your monster too, and then I truly will not be stopped. But for now, I have to find that person.

--

[Jonathan Harker]

-Unlock the beast within!-

Jonathan opened his eyes, and he jerked upright. What was that? Talia wasn't there, and the guard was always unresponsive to Jonathan's talking. He had learned that years ago. So who had spoke? And what did the person mean, 'unlock the beast'? What beast? Utterly confused, Jonathan closed his eyes again and tried to get more comfortable. The car was going over a bumpy road, so it would be difficult to even comprehend sleep. The crackle of static on the guard's earpiece made Jonathan open his eyes again. The guard started talking quietly, and then he turned to Jonathan. "New orders. You are to wait for a man named Johan Hawk in front of entrance Lambda-C, and then escort him to one of the conference rooms. You are to be on high alert; Johan Hawk is a vampire. I am to give you both human blood and vampire blood for this mission. Take them both now." the guard said, and then reached into his pocket. Unconsciously, Jonathan began to salivate slightly. He hadn't had vampire blood for a while, the stuff had... unusual effects upon him. Jonathan, however, felt way more powerful when he began to drink the stuff out of the bags. First he downed the bag of human blood, and then the bag of vampire blood. At once, his eyes could be seen to glow a demonic red, even behind the contacts. Jonathan removed the contacts, since they were now useless. Everything seemed to be in high definition. Jonathan could smell the scent of tire rubber, of the cement outside, of mostly everything. All of his senses were raised to the highest level.

Jonathan meekly stepped out of the car at the entrance of Lambda-C, and waited. He was preparing himself if Johan Hawk decided to be violent.

[Rakashua]

Dana watched expectantly as the man took off his helmet, and the first thing she noticed was not the fact that he also was a vampire, but instead she noticed the veins that stood out on his neck, dark green against his pale skin, and it made her even more hungry.

 

She didn't stare at him though, not awkwardly, she surveyed his face, sizing him up like she would any male, judging him. He was a vampire, that was exciting, and to think she had been about to feed on him, was that even possible? Why not... blood is blood right?

 

He was kind of cute, in a rough and cold way, but... she decided he wasn't her type, besides, she still hadn't met her savior yet, the vampire that had turned her, she would wait on pursuing anyone else until she'd met him, well lit could be a her, but she hoped for a him, that would be more romantic.

 

At first she was irritated as he spoke, why were all these new creatures she was encountering rude and abrupt? But then his tone changed and she nodded to acknowledge that she had forgiven his offense. She smiled, genuinely happy that he had picked out the fact that she was not one of those other freaks associated with Carmandy, but actually a true... vampire, blood sucking monster, heck yes! Her grin showed her pleasure and her fangs, as she mentally noted his, they were longer, and looked sharper, probably just a guy thing, or maybe he was hungry too.

 

Dana smiled coyly at him and turned slightly sideways, looking past him and to his right as she leaned against the tree.

 

"So that's what those men in strange suits were, oh well, their loss," she commented as if it didn't bother her at all, after all, what could mere humans do to harm her? Well... apart from shooting, stabbing her through the heart, beheading... ok so maybe she should have been concerned, but this man obviously wasn't running and hiding, so why should she?

 

Dana shrugged, "I can't be expected to sit inside all day, I'm hungry. And I don't know where he is," now assuming for the sake of her fantasy that it was indeed a he, "well I do know where he is in a sense, he's out fighting with another vampire over me, body and soul, where specifically is a mystery though, pity, I'd love to watch, but he's been gone a few hours now, and a girl can only be expected to wait so long, if he wants me, he'll have to come find me."

 

Dana stepped off, away from the tree, and walked casually towards Steel, running her eyes over him at a closer distance. His suit was cool, that's for sure, light weight, looked like very flexible material, probably protective in some way too, a suit like that, one that wouldn't hinder her movement, now that would be nice...

 

"I'm Dana, the baby vampire, as you put it." She stopped two feet away from him and put her left hand against her left hip, leaning on it slightly. "And who might you be, besides a big bad scary older vampire? mm?" She winked at him, "Besides, if you're as big a bad scary vampire as you look, you should be able to protect me from a few human hunters, I'm sure my new master would be most appreciative. Maybe even help me find some... one... to eat?" She gave him her best mischievous smile and batted her eyes at him, who cares if her savior, whoever turned her, wouldn't approve of her flirting, for all she was concerned he deserved it for making her wait so long and leaving her in the room he put her in with such terrible company like Carmandy. Her grin widened a little, at least she didn't have to worry about competition.

 

 

 

JOHAN

 

Johan listened to what the creature had to say, of course the old shriveled thing had done something to keep himself alive, maybe overdosing on vampire blood, maybe he sold his soul, who knew, Johan simply didn't like the fact that he was at a slight disadvantage information wise. If this were England... the tables would be turned. The Silver Hand hadn't been allowed to openly operate in England for the last four hundred years... something to do with the crown suddenly realizing that they were more like a demonic cult than a holy knighthood...

 

Of course that didn't mean that they didn't operate there... it simply meant that Johan would have preferred diplomatic immunity to their threats to him or his property, and family. That and he could make threats that were more substantial than death threats that were probably nothing more than fantasies... though Johan would have liked to see how far he could take that particular fantasy if the creature did break its word.

 

Then came the explosion from the suit, which wouldn't have been all that bad... if the body hadn't fallen from the truck after the car exploded and landed underneath, near the gas tank. The truck went up with a massive boom, and Johan felt himself picked into the air like a leaf, and tossed across the parking-lot, where he landed haphazardly in the bed of a parked pickup truck. Fortunately it wasn't any worse than if he'd tried to jump his highest and not landed correctly, nothing was broken or bruised as far as he could tell, but it did cause the crowd to panic even more than they had been when he picked up the car earlier...

 

Johan sighed, lying in the truck until his cell phone received the coordinates from the creature and transferred them to his suit, which converted them into a GPS set of directions... a special GPS... one that realized that the person using it had no intention of following roads...

 

Johan leapt to his feet in time to see several police card, a bomb-squad, and three firetrucks whiz past, not stopping to bother with the fire in the parking lot, but continuing on towards the school grounds, much to the astonishment and disbelief of all the concerned citizens who didn't know a bomb had gone off at the school... and were trying to figure out how the firetrucks could have missed the huge fire they'd just driven by.

 

Johan checked his memory of the Silverhand Society, he couldn't remember anyone with the name of Jonathan Harker, or anyone with the last name of Harker. That wasn't terribly surprising considering that he hadn't been with ShS for a little over a century... but he did so nonetheless. Brushing himself off, he turned in the direction he was supposed to be going, and took off at a dead run. He'd never tested the suit at such a high speed before, the friction from his legs was actually beginning to heat the outside of it, but not enough to be worried about, he'd just have to come up with something new for next time... Maybe the creature would donate him a suit, for old time's sake, one that he could send off to one of his family members to be reverse engineered.

 

In a few minutes, he'd traveled the necessary distance to reach his destination. He slowed down to a walk as he approached, switching his eye pieces between visual, infra red, and his favorite, ultra violet spectrum. Apparently they could trick visual, and good heat sync could fool infra red, but ultraviolet saw everything... well... in an insanely bright shade of pink that would cause a normal person to go blind after an hour or so of exposure... but it was useful for short time spans, if not painful.

 

Johan approached and noticed the boy first, then the car, how dull, and then the entrance itself, well hidden... but a car didn't appear from nowhere and not leave tracks. So they were to be driven inside? Johan decided he'd rather walk... but perhaps it would be more polite to drive... He'd see what the boy had to say.

 

"Hello Mr. Harker," Johan said, addressing the boy as if he were a full grown man. And Johan would continue to think of him that way, he had to, if he thought of him as a boy, he'd feel pity for him, for the things that had been done to him, and want to rescue him. But... as life might have it, he might end up killing Jonathan instead, and so he would treat him as a fully responsible adult, the boy would obviously have no qualms with killing Johan, why give him any other courtesy?

 

Johan bowed once in respect, "As I'm sure you've been told, I'm Johan, but if you've been well instructed in the history of your organization, my code name, Silver Bane, may be more familiar to you and you may address me as such, if you wish."

 

Johan sniffed the air, picking up on the human and vampire blood still effecting the boy's breath, recently eaten, that explained the glowing eyes. So the boy wasn't a vampire, not completely at least, though he probably was some sort of experimental hybrid between vampire and human, ShS had a reputation for that sort of experimentation even four hundred years ago before the creature was around.

 

"Did you enjoy your blood?" He asked, "would you like some of mine?" Johan took off his helmet, having said this, and let his long white hair drop behind him. He took a finger and a blade slid out, and he cut himself across the throat, a flesh wound that sealed behind the cut almost as fast as it had been made, leaving not a mess, but simply a bloody blade. Johan twisted the blade and it came free of the gauntlet, which closed a tiny slot as it left. He held the blade out to the boy. "I'll guaranty you've never had blood this old, a few drops even is a rare treat, try some."

 

Johan flicked his wrist and the blade lobbed into the air, taking a gradual arc as it slowly fell towards the boy's chest. It was completely nonthreatening, even a complete armature could have dodged it, that wasn't the point. Johan wanted to see how the boy would react to the scent of such ancient blood, to see if his mouth watered, to see if he was conflicted over eating any, to see how it would affect him.

 

Johan had another reason, in his time he had known that sometimes agents were kept in line by getting them addicted to vampire blood, and keeping it from them unless they behaved, only giving it out when they needed it for missions. The problem was that the blood negated a lot of the psychotropic drugs that were also used to keep them under control. Therefore the vampire-blood they were given was treated to neutralize it's more potent healing properties. However, Johan's blood was not treated, and it was incredibly potent, so in truth Johan wasn't even talking to the boy at all, he wasn't even acknowledging his existence.

 

No... this was a game, a game of chess played with his old boss, the creature, and this was the first move, as subtle as the wind but as cutting as the blade he'd tossed to the boy. He didn't expect it to work, but he did expect the creature would be amused, and get the message, I'm playing... are you going to play back? He certainly hoped the creature would play with him, for old time's sake. A game of verbal chess, with no board, no pieces, but deadly consequences. With that thought out of his mind... Johan bundled up his hair, and replaced his helmet on his face.

Edited February 10, 2012 by Rakashua

[LadyNatasha]

~Steel~

 

"So that's what those men in strange suits were, oh well, their loss."

 

And now he knew it was just ignorance. Slowly but surely, his respect for Johan Hawk drained. How in the world could he bite such an empty-headed American? It must be a joke, some sort of British humor of his. He must be so incredibly bored that he'd lower himself to biting this... thing... but somehow such an answer didn't suite Steel. He had all day, but this girl was making him edgy.

 

"And I don't know where he is. Well I do know where he is in a sense, he's out fighting with another vampire over me, body and soul, where specifically is a mystery though, pity, I'd love to watch, but he's been gone a few hours now, and a girl can only be expected to wait so long, if he wants me, he'll have to come find me." Her words left Steel wondering if she knew 'his' name and identity at all. Perhaps she was avoiding using his name because she was ticked off at him. But somehow he doubted she knew at all. If this was some sort of stupid test, Steel was done playing with it and ready to devour the girl in front of him. Johan's venom was in her... oh, that had to taste good...

 

Steel lowered his head as the woman approached, eyes fixed on hers. It wasn't a sign of submission, not in Iceland anyway; it was a sign of judgement. It was a warning, in a way, although Steel was quite used to others being oblivious to it as was the case now. He noticed she was looking over his suite as though she wanted it. She was very bad at hiding her emotions and thoughts. "I'm Dana, the baby vampire, as you put it." She finally stopped approaching, although every second she was looking more appetizing. Steel wasn't even hungry but he was quite used to eating whenever he felt like it. He mentally forced himself not to tear her open right there. Johan had made him promise not to touch the campus. But we're off campus. Pity this empty-headed brat is a student. But if she's a danger to the secrecy of the Vampire race, I'm sure Johan wouldn't mind her death.

 

"And who might you be, besides a big bad scary older vampire? mm? Besides, if you're as big a bad scary vampire as you look, you should be able to protect me from a few human hunters, I'm sure my new master would be most appreciative. Maybe even help me find some... one... to eat?" Steel could hardly believe she was attempting to flirt with him. He was aware that he looked decent for a Vampire, but by no means was he a knight in shining armor. Unfortunately it seemed that the more modern people liked the dark type. He managed to suppress a sigh as he thought of what to say. He was never one much for talking.

 

"Perhaps you should ask the Silverhands if you can suck some of their blood," he said in his normal voice. It sounded serious but not at all violent; just a suggestion. He found no need to raise his voice; fighting with a fool only made you a fool. "I could protect you, but I'm not going to; you're not worth my time and I have a feeling Johan didn't want you anyways. But mark my words," he put his helmet back on, "if you so much as tell a single soul that Vampires do exist and you are one, I will make your life so miserable you'll wish you were human. Aioka." With that, he turned on his heel and sped away, much faster than Dana could go. His stomach complained at him for not sucking her blood, but a thread of respect remained for Johan that compelled him not to eat his jester. Honestly, to waste perfectly good venom on such a being...

 

~~~~~

 

~Joran Bampaia~

 

Hours and hours of training... Joran had never felt so good in his life! Or so exhausted, for that matter. Xander was far faster than him and more experienced, but even so Joran didn't feel like a caged rabbit being chased by a greyhound. For once he was working with someone, and with someone who didn't seem against him for who or what he was--a traitor, a terrorist, an illegitimate Vampire whose lineage of perfect breedings of the most powerful Nordic Vampires had been ruined with the cross-out to a human. Part of Joran still viewed this as a weakness on Xander's part; how could he not? His whole life he had been told that humans had weak genes and Bampaia were powerful, and any Vampire or Vampyre who would stoop so low as to breed to a human was weak and pathetic, desperate and caring not for power in their lines. Their children were to be pitied, although Joran had never received pity from any other than his Grandfather (who had some strange ways of showing it). And now Xander also didn't care any for lineage, so it must be a weakness. But Xander made up for it with his other strengths, strengths that impressed Joran.

 

He was panting after only two hours; he had hoped to go all night, but he didn't think he had the energy. He straightened from a run he and Xander had just completed. He was about to mention that he wondered how Rals was doing when suddenly his ears popped. His eyes widened as he sensed what was coming. He turned back towards the campus right as it happened; there was a distant 'boom' sound, the sound of explosives exploding. He stopped breathing for a moment to take in the full sound, then he spun back to look at Xander. Immediately he thought of Rals--had she returned to campus and was now being attacked?! "Xander! That was--" of course, Xander knew what that was, but Joran didn't know what to do about it. He chocked on his words as he thought of Steel setting explosives and setting them off, killing humans just to get Joran's attention. To Joran, Steel was far too powerful to face up to. Even if he had trained for a week with Xander he knew he wouldn't be ready. So long as Steel was older than him--and he always would be--Joran felt the situation was hopeless.

[Darkshadow]

[Jonathan Harker]

 

Jonathan watched cautiously as a man in a old fashioned SS suit approached, whom he presumed to be Johan Hawk. "Hello, Mr. Harker," Johan said, addressing Jonathan politely, and then bowed once in respect, "As I'm sure you've been told, I'm Johan, but if you've been well instructed in the history of your organization, my code name, Silver Bane, may be more familiar to you and you may address me as such, if you wish. Did you enjoy your blood?" Johan asked, apparently noting Jonathan's red eyes, "would you like some of mine?" This was surprising, but Jonathan didn't react. Johan took off his helmet, having said this, and let his long white hair drop behind him. He took a finger and a blade slid out, and he cut himself across the throat, a flesh wound that sealed behind the cut almost as fast as it had been made, leaving not a mess, but simply a bloody blade. Johan twisted the blade and it came free of the gauntlet, which closed a tiny slot as it left. He held the blade out to Jonathan, who eyed the bloody blade. Is he trying to tempt me or something? "I'll guarantee you've never had blood this old, a few drops even is a rare treat, try some." Johan flicked his wrist and the blade lobbed into the air, taking a gradual arc as it slowly fell towards Jonathan's chest. Even for a regular human, dodging the blade would be easy. Was this some sort of trick? Or was it alright to just taste the blood? Never submit to the enemy. The Master had taught him that. It had been on of his first lessons. With that, his mind was decided. Jonathan lifted up two fingers and caught the blade by the hilt, away from the blood. "Please be careful when tossing around bloody knives, Mr. Hawk." he said, his tone emotionless. Johan bundled up his hair, and replaced his helmet on his face. Jonathan turned around and started to lead the way into the facility. He knew Johan would follow. As he passed by, each of the guards readied their weapons in anticipation. The door had opened into a large tunnel, with one lone door at the end of it. This was prepared in case of meetings such as this. The Master would have it no other way. Jonathan opened the solitary door and entered the room. A giant television was positioned on the wall facing the door, and several comfortable chairs were grouped around a table. As expected, when Jonathan entered the room, the television started up. No doubt the Master is looking through the security cameras again. Ignoring any potential looks from Johan, Jonathan kneeled before the television screen as the image of the creature appeared...

--

???

"Ah, I see our guest has arrived. Good work, Jonathan. After you leave, head for Section Delta-E. We've just made a breakthrough, and there are tests to be run." The creature's tone was dark, and it's eyes followed the young boy out of the room. It chuckled. "Well, now. You've always wanted to see what my real face looks like, Johan. I admit it's not very pretty, but that's about to change as soon as Jonathan is done with his tests. It was worth obtaining vampire venom and using on Jonathan. He's become a perfect soldier. Ah, but I am straying off topic too soon. How are you, Johan?" It asked, the green liquid glowingly sickly through it's veins. It gave one small cough, it's whitish eyes focusing on the vampire.

[Rakashua]

Johan nodded in apology to Jonathan, and followed him inside. He didn't react to the guards as each readied their weapons, they were trained, there was no point in complaining about their behavior.

 

Soon they had arrived, and a bit to Johan's distaste, he found he wasn't going to be meeting the creature... face to face, as it were, but rather through a communications channel. He had expected this of course, but there had been that small home that he'd be able to see what the old one smelled like.

 

Johan shut the door as the creature appeared on the screen and pushed the table and chairs to the side of the room, moving one back so that he could sit in it. Only after he was done and the creature had spoke, did he remove his mask and sit in the chair. His hair fell down his back all the way to his waist and his eyes were still faintly glowing red, though his skin had thankfully returned to its normal color.

 

"A bit ticked off actually." Johan replied casually, leaning back in the chair and folding his hands in his lap. "The school is my territory, I've been setting things up there for two years now, and if your little incursion against the werewolves didn't happen to coincidentally contribute to my goals there... If I wasn't quite so curious as to speak with you even... we wouldn't be having this conversation and your men wouldn't be making it back alive." Johan steeped his fingers and continued. "Hungry though, if you want to know how I feel, it's a state of being, ever since I hit fifteen hundred three hundred years ago. But as I'm sure you know" He grinned, bearing his fangs, "some infirmities we must simply learn to live with am I right?"

 

Johan didn't wait for a reply. "As for what I'm doing, that's my business, but for old time's sake, I'll share some of it with you." Johan continued. "In less than a decade I'll have a cure for humans afflicted by vampirism. Since our last meeting, my family has grown and rivals your organization in size, Marcy is simply my newest child, and I have chosen her to be the harbinger of a new era in human society."

 

"This leaves us at a crossroads old friend, we can either oppose one another and fight a bloody war with death for much of both our families, and while you may not value your thralls as I do my children, you do value your life and that I would take in the end. Or we can continue as we have been, ignoring one another in our own ways. And, twenty years from now, there won't be any vampires or werewolves, the ShS will be obsolete, and you and I will find that life has moved beyond us relics of an older era. And then what will you do? You're an intelligent man, not a megalomaniac, simply calculative and paranoid, old and broken, though if you end up fixing yourself then congratulations, send me a card when that happens so we can meet face to face without worry of you dying of heart failure."

 

Johan winked, "so, how would you like to spend the next two decades of what you seem to consider living? I want you to remove your men from the campus and release anyone you've attempted to take. You're embarrassing yourself and wasting manpower. It's my territory, tell me what the real mission is, send me instead of your lap dogs, just like old times. Then find yourself a new playground, this one is mine, and I won't tolerate a second intrusion."

[gistofeverything]

Thage Escavalier~

 

Thage woke up on a moonlit beach in an unknown location. Groggily, she looked around at her dim surroundings. There was sand and oceans as far as her eyes could see. There were also rock growths that jutted up from the ground. She stood up, and turned around. The world suddenly just ended behind her. No sand, no ocean, no nothing behind her. She gasped again, and fell over backwards. She hit her head on one of the rock growths on her way there, and she groaned in pain. Dazed, she looked around again, to find an ephemeral woman dressed in white standing in front of her.

"Who... Are you?" she said, slurring her words, not quite feeling right.

I am Diana, the Goddess of the Moon. Thage reeled back - the woman had spoken a word! It was as if she was speaking into Thage's mind!

"What?"

Hush, my child - as you are you cannot understand. I am here to warn you of events to come... Thage looked at the woman in shock.

"A prophetess?" she asked uncertainly.

In a way... The earth shook beneath her. Listen. I do not have much time. While you are here, you must watch yourself. Boom. The earth sublty shook again. There are beings here beyond your comprehension. You must - BOOM! The earth shook violently this time. Thage started to slip towards the edge. Be careful! Beware of the fang- CRASH!!!! The earth tilted, and Thage lost her grip. She reached out to the woman, and then she blacked out.

 

BOOM!

 

Thage woke up with a start. There was a woman... and that beach... She had a very crazy dream. CRASH! She gasped and looked out the window. The campus was under attack! She gathered her score, and ran out of the library. Panicking, she started to hyperventilate. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Imgonnadieimgonnadieimgonnadieimgonnadieimgonnadieimgonnadie Her thoughts started to run together, and she started to act on instinct. She ran to the right, towards the safest building. BANG!!! A bomb hit it, and a large chunk of it came off. Changing directions, she started to run towards the cafeteria. Soon, though, she gave out, and she needed to sit down. And as soon as she sat down, her vision started to fade. Within seconds, she passed out.

Edited February 22, 2012 by gistofeverything

[LoveLost]

((ooookay ..... ))

 

 

Xander had been smiling the whole time that he had been training with Joran. It was a relief ot be battling it out with someone that was rather fun to be with and talk with and just have fun with! He generally didn’t like most of the Vampyres because they were too new to the world unlike himself. That was the tough thing of being a Vampyre, most of them were new to the practice and new to Vampirism as well.

 

He had paused for a moment when he heard a loud resounding boom then watched as Rals, Wynter and Jaylan walked into the building. She seemed shaken up, but nothing too terribly bad. At least that was good, but other than that… He frowned suddenly when he felt his pocket vibrate and pulled out a thin looking piece of reinforced glass. When he touched it on its face, it became alive and he read a message from Carmandy as his blood seemed to drain from his face.

((Now for the long part))

 

Marcy smiled at her friend as she said that she was glad to know about what was going on. Marcy had to admit that it felt good to tell someone as well, especially someone that she knew that she could trust. Kanthaya was the most trustworthy person that she knew besides her brothers, mother and new found father. The fact that everything that had just gone on hadn’t killed her inside, was a show that she had truly changed from who she once was. She used to be a complete and total ball of joy and innocence and here she was, an actual woman who could think for herself and didn’t mind knocking a few heads to get to where she needed to be.

Her head shook in surprise of herself, then jerked to attention when she heard a loud BOOM that wasn’t too far in the distance since most students didn’t live too far away for the campus. Kanthaya said her name and she looked at the girl with a concentrating face. She had no idea what was going on, and then her phone beeped. “What the….” She mumbled under her breath as she read the message and shook her head. “No way.” She wasn’t going to do as Johan asked. She wasn’t going to hide! She was so tired of having to hide and now that she knew who she was, and who she had been, she knew what she needed to do and even Johan couldn’t make her do anything different.

 

“Kanthaya, we are leaving the house. Come on.” She looked at the girl for a second as she walked to the stairs that lead to the bottom floor and grabbed a pair of keys. She didn’t like driving, but she had to and right now she had to forget everything about her fears for this was the lives of others that were in trouble more than anything in the entire world. As she walked down the stairs quickly, she texted Johan back and stated this.

 

No. I won’t hide anymore. I know the dangers. I know my enemy. You can call me a foolish child, I don’t care. I’m going to go and see them Johan and I have to get them to help. They will ask me to explain things even if a bomb has gone off. I have the ring on my finger and my phone. Be careful.

Love,

Your daughter.

 

She admitted that the text was rather blunt and sounded off, but he had to know what she was doing. The funny thing was, was that she actually cared that he knew. Her first father, she would have rathered to have kept everything from him and never let him into her life. But Johan? He loved her as a daughter and that was something that she had never had.

 

When she slipped into the car, she noticed that Kanthaya was already there although a bit surprised as to what she was doing, in fact she seemed confused and curious.

 

“What?” she said more harshly than she had wanted to. Kanthaya ducked back a bit. She had seen just a glance of what Marcy had been typing to Johan, but it was long enough for her to read the entire message with her new reflexes. “Nothing,” she said quietly, “let’s go.” Her mind was racing. An explosion, a message from Johan and now Marcy’s sudden urge to get going… what if Johan was injured? What if he was fighting some other Vampire, and now Marcy expected Kanthaya to go help him? Kanthaya had never fought anyone before. The first person she had hit in a long time was Johan, and she hadn’t even been able to watch herself do that. She swallowed her fears and hoped for the best.

 

The rest of the drive was rather quiet after their confrontation, but Marcy knew what she had to do to be able to get things right. To the way that they needed to be. When she passed by the restaurant that she had once loved, the same one where she was nearly murdered, she felt herself tense even more than she should have. Kanthaya noticed this and almost asked if Marcy wanted her to drive, but she decided not to break the silence. Once Marcy had passed it though, she was able to relax and speed up as she sped around the curves of the mountain that lead to the Crystal House. The drive would have brought back memories of being held in the back of a truck by Max, Carmandy and one of the professors that was also a werewolf. The trees often gave way to the bright blue sky as well as the several valleys beside the mountain.

 

As they drew closer to the house, Kanthaya smelled the faint tinge of wet dog and animal blood, and also the distinct scent of Vampyres. Their smell was like that of the blood that they drank making it hard for Vampires to distinguish their scent from the animal, but it made Kanthaya shudder (though her mouth watered at the same time). Marcy noticed a few forms appearing beside the car and distinguished the distinct, towering figure of werewolves. But alongside them, were wraithlike beings that she knew were newly turned Vampyres. They were training with their fellow immortals to be sure to be up to any task that they had. There was a gate that blocked them from coming in and only if you knew the code were you allowed to enter. Because of her mind wipe, she was sure that they hadn’t changed anything about their house. Kanthaya’s eyes widened at the sight before her and she gave a worried glance at Marcy. Finding her glance ignored, she swallowed her fear and held her head high. I will not cower, I will not cower…

 

Marcy stepped out of the car knowing that both her scent, Johan’s and Kanthaya’s newly turned scent would be smelled. The post that held the code box for the house was a crystal that was taller than Marcy. It was a single perfect crystal that was older than she was, that much she was sure. Kanthaya followed close behind Marcy, awed by the sight before her. She noticed Marcy’s breathing change. Her breathing was shallow as she stepped near to the crystal and pressed her hand in a certain position on a sensor. It beeped once, turned green then opened a box. She first entered a number which then opened another panel and she spoke quickly and with perfect articulation, a sentence in ancient Hebrew, then in Ancient Latin and finally in French. With each pass code given, the gate turned a pale green and opened.

 

With her mind whirling as to what was going on, she sat back in the car (as did Kanthaya) and drove for at least another mile to get to the house. If she didn’t get there soon, then things were going to happen in a way that she didn’t want. The beings that had been in the forest, had disappeared and now it seemed that things went back to normal with birds chirping and animals going about their daily business. But beyond that, she could hear… children. It sounded as though there were some new members to the Clan and that they were children. She didn’t much care, but at least there was something to keep them joyful. Kanthaya tried to piece things together as they drove. Marcy had of course now told Kanthaya of her past, and it was a bitter-sweet past, but Kanthaya wasn’t sure why Marcy was returning now or what had happened to the school.

 

Marcy skidded to a stop at the front of house as several people who were outside stared at her. Some of them started to walk her way, but she ignored them. Within a second, she noticed the door open and a small woman stood there, then, as Marcy’s brain barely recognized her as Carmandy, Carmandy had shifted into her werewolf form and crashed into Marcy on the grass. A snarl was deep in her throat and her teeth were barely above Marcy’s face as her paw pressed down on Marcy’s neck.

 

Kanthaya tensed and almost screamed, but instead began to race forward with her only thoughts to push the terrifying beast off of Marcy. Fortunately for Kanthaya, Marcy’s hand came up just in time; Marcy held out a hand to stop Kanthaya so that she wouldn’t do anything irrational especially with all of those that were there and immortal. Yes, Kanthaya was the thrall of a Vampire older than any that had converted that way, but there were too many for her to take care of. She could barely breathe and the growling made her heart pound until she allowed herself to calm down. With the breath that she had been able to gather, she calmly uttered Carmandy’s name.

 

“please, let me speak!”

 

Carmandy had been about to run out of the house to go and find Arata and Dana especially since there was an odd scent in the air that was neither human, or immortal but almost a combination of the two. It caused her to not even think as she ran out of the door. Immediately she noticed that there was an all too familiar and all too painful smell that she had learned to know after a time of her being friends with said scent. When she landed atop of the girl in her anger and frustration, she looked into her eyes and noticed something different as she begged her to let her speak. There was an urgency behind this murderer’s eyes that showed she wasn’t here to fight or to lay blame. But Carmandy would. She killed her future mate and killed all hope that she had ever had in her entire life.

“Why should I let the murderer of my mate speak?” she growled angrily but lifted her paw from Marcy’s throat just enough to let her speak. Kanthaya’s eyes darted in shock towards Carmandy’s face, but she stayed silent as Marcy replied.

“Because, there are things that you need to know… things that you would never know without me.”

 

At that point, and directly beside Carmandy, a dark snarl came. It was from the largest wolf of the pack who was full grown as every werewolf was at 100 years old. He towered above Carmandy until she stood up and then she was at his shoulder. It was hard for Marcy to stand for a moment until Rollo, and now Victoria helped her up. With the attention drawn the to them she was able to see that there were several more that had gathered here at this house than when she had first arrived there to meet everyone. Amongst them, she was able to spot at least twenty of the professors in the school with others that she knew went there. Amongst them were Aloysius and Montague. They stared at her harshly as they also did Kanthaya because they knew that she was no longer human. Kanthaya avoided their eyes and kept her eyes on Marcy. It took all her guts to keep from staring at the ground and hiding herself next to the vehicle. There were so many… so many hateful and harsh eyes, so many assuming blames. What would they think if they knew the truth? If they knew how she had become what she was… and what she really thought of it?

 

Carmandy had already sent off a message to Xander but stayed where she was in her correct form to make sure that all went well. Her parents watched her for a second before moving to stand beside her in her fury.

 

Xander looked at Joran and frowned. “I think it is high time that you learned who you are and who is willing to protect you Joran. We leave no man alone, and no man behind. We have far larger enemies than a small Australian pack who seems to leave well enough alone anyways. Things are about to change.” He said and grabbed Joran by the arm firmly and ran off. Joran stumbled a bit but managed to keep pace mostly with Xander. It took all his energy to run and think, and so nothing coherent came out of his mouth except for a mumbled Icelandic prayer directed at no one and nothing specific. Rals… they were leaving her there, in her weakened state. Even with her pack there, Joran didn’t know if she’d be safe. Eventually Joran finally managed to return his thoughts to the present and he almost let out a gasp as he suddenly found he and Xander had landed in the middle of a huge amount of werewolves and Vampyres. He swallowed, the embarrassment of the previous night returning… but Rals was what mattered, not yesterday night.

 

Xander ran as fast as he possibly could to land beside Rollo and look at someone that they all knew as the defiant poorling who hated everyone. She had gotten into the Crystal House territory which meant only one thing, her memory was back. “Stand still.” He whispered to Joran as he watched Lord Zebulon and Lady Jamila appear behind Marcy and walk around her with surprise etched into their wizened features.

 

Marcy looked ashamed for a moment before she took a deep breath and leaned on Kanthaya until her head stopped swimming. Kanthaya held her firmly, and her protective nature came back. She managed a timid half-glare at everyone in front of her. When Marcy looked back at them, it was with a look that spoke volumes of everything that had happened, and so she began to speak so that everyone, including the newest members would know.

 

She quickly and heartily apologized for all of the strife that she had caused both Clan and Pack and then went into everything that Johan had told her about himself, well, just the general knowledge that they would need including his experiment. She reaffirmed that he was not hostile and was in fact, rather willing to help those that he deemed good and willing and was now as they spoke. The Silverhand was operational here in Canyon City and was actually the people that set off the bomb on campus which they all would have heard.

 

She told them of her new heritage and the fact that Kanthaya was her guardian. Everything she told them was truth and she even told them about how her memory was returned. After she had spoken all that needed to be spoken, she took a deep breath and had to blink her eyes a few times to erase the memories that wished to come forward and skip across her view.

 

“This is not good, this is not good.” Xander mumbled as he crossed his arms in front of him.

Joran could hardly believe everything he was hearing. The Johan guy was a Vampire? Not a Vampyre, but a Vampire… and he had turned the dark-skinned poorling into one too, deeming her the other poorling’s guardian and bringing them both to live in his mansion… in Joran’s view this was very messed up, but he supposed that was an Icelandic thing too. Still, one cannot just forget one’s heritage. And Silverhands… he wanted to ask what a Silverhand was, but after a moment of racking his brain he remembered. His Grandfather had given him a quick warning about them before sending him off to America. Apparently the Silverhands were a group that existed everywhere except for Russia and most of the Nordic lands, where they had been rooted out and destroyed during World-War One. They had tried to reinstate themselves later and had been destroyed again during World-War Two. Since then they had given up on Russia and such lands, so Joran had hardly been informed about them. They were Vampire and Werewolf hunters, and that was about as much as he knew about them.

 

Kanthaya, on the other hand, knew nothing except what she had just heard Marcy say. But if such people were willing to bomb a school just to get their subjects… they were evil indeed. Kanthaya looked at Marcy with a worried expression. “Are you okay? Where’s Johan?”

 

Marcy looked up at Kanthaya and sighed. “he’s meeting with the Silver Hands now. He used to be one of them and he is trying to help us all. To him, this is his territory….I can see it going through his mind now.” She chuckled and then looked out at those that were new in the group. From what she understood, Vampyre didn’t change others unless they so wished it. There were quite a few.

 

Zebulon and Jamila looked at the two girls their eyes not angry, but somewhat harsh until they suddenly softened. “You! Get them both what they will need. The youngling requires human blood…no…our blood.” Stated Jamila as she stepped closer to Kanthaya and Marcy. Tears were visible in her eyes as she close in on them and her fangs appeared for a moment before they retracted and a sad smile crossed her lips.

 

“Kanthaya, you were changed, but it looks like from skin contact…” she chuckled lightly and made sure that the others were taken care of while her husband walked up to them.

 

Zebulon looked down at Marcy who was rubbing the muscles on her neck to get them to loosen up instead of being so tense. “you have both done a brave thing. You are welcome here and so is your master. He seems to be far more kind than we originally thought, so please stay here underneath our protection.”

 

“WHAT?!” Carmandy shouted as she walked over to the three of them, disregarding her rank and the position of Zebulon. “This woman is a murderer! Even if it is indirectly! She destroyed what peace we were to have and even made the strongest Vampyre there has ever been leave! She doesn’t deserve protection and neither does the shifter of a Vampire.” She was growling by this point and felt a hand on her shoulder telling her that it was time for her to go and think about what she was saying. Carmandy growled once more before running off into the forest.

 

Marcy looked where Carmandy ran off, her throat still sore. “I’m sorry.”

“All is forgiven Marcy. Max was our friend, but we do not blame it on you. Carmandy has not yet had enough time to heal and even the Vampyres are still healing from the disappearance of young Lord Sheehan.” It was the voice of Rollo, deep and resounding like the ocean.

 

“Please don’t say his name…” Marcy asked and stayed with kanthaya as the rest of the Vampyres and Werewolves walked off save Xander who was standing next to Joran.

 

“Joran, do you understand what is going on here?” Xander asked the young man.

 

Inside the house, Zebulon and Jamila started to put together their forces to be ready for a movement to squash the advancement of the Silver Hand should Johan not prevail.

 

[Darkshadow]

{{I counter your long post with a long post of my own!}}

???

"A bit ticked off actually." Johan replied casually, leaning back in the chair and folding his hands in his lap. "The school is my territory, I've been setting things up there for two years now, and if your little incursion against the werewolves didn't happen to coincidentally contribute to my goals there... If I wasn't quite so curious as to speak with you even... we wouldn't be having this conversation and your men wouldn't be making it back alive." Johan steeped his fingers and continued. "Hungry though, if you want to know how I feel, it's a state of being, ever since I hit fifteen hundred three hundred years ago. But as I'm sure you know" He grinned, bearing his fangs, "some infirmities we must simply learn to live with am I right?"

 

Johan didn't wait for a reply. "As for what I'm doing, that's my business, but for old time's sake, I'll share some of it with you." Johan continued. "In less than a decade I'll have a cure for humans afflicted by vampirism. Since our last meeting, my family has grown and rivals your organization in size, Marcy is simply my newest child, and I have chosen her to be the harbinger of a new era in human society. This leaves us at a crossroads old friend, we can either oppose one another and fight a bloody war with death for much of both our families, and while you may not value your thralls as I do my children, you do value your life and that I would take in the end. Or we can continue as we have been, ignoring one another in our own ways. And, twenty years from now, there won't be any vampires or werewolves, the ShS will be obsolete, and you and I will find that life has moved beyond us relics of an older era. And then what will you do? You're an intelligent man, not a megalomaniac, simply calculative and paranoid, old and broken, though if you end up fixing yourself then congratulations, send me a card when that happens so we can meet face to face without worry of you dying of heart failure."

Johan winked, "So, how would you like to spend the next two decades of what you seem to consider living? I want you to remove your men from the campus and release anyone you've attempted to take. You're embarrassing yourself and wasting manpower. It's my territory, tell me what the real mission is, send me instead of your lap dogs, just like old times. Then find yourself a new playground, this one is mine, and I won't tolerate a second intrusion."

The creature sighed. The vampire had a point there. "This is very true, Mr. Johan. Very true. I shall do as you ask, but first, come in. I must speak to you face to face." It pressed a button on the side of the chair-like apparatus, and a door opened in the wall of the room where Johan currently was. The creature was on the other side, sitting in the room with the glowing green tubes. "I have one request to ask, Mr. Johan, and then I will do as you ask, and we can be on best terms for the rest of our lives. I want you to read this, and then I will tell you my request." The creature pressed another button, and a small drawer popped out of the chair. Inside was a leather-bound book; a journal. "This," the creature said, lifting up the journal, "is how I became this way. I want you to read it, and then I will make my request."

 

 

Journal of Thomas Harker

Today was the day I left the farm to join the local militia. Rumor was that there was a roving gang of bandits pillaging the countryside of our homeland Romania. I left the farm in the hands of my youngest son, Jacob, and my wife, Linda. We'd only been recently married, after I had acquired a large parcel of land from my dead father and a healthy sum of money. It had been enough to impress Linda's father, the town mayor. But enough of this, I'm only rambling about the past. It's the present I should talk about. The leader of our large band of militia was a charismatic man named Vance Stoker. Yes, he was a trained soldier who would train us all so that we could take down the gang of bandits in the name of Romania.

Today I met personally with Vance Stoker. He had brilliant, blonde hair, and ghostly blue eyes that seemed to stare directly into my soul. Here was a man who had seen horrors and survived. We all immediately accepted his orders without question. His welcoming speech is something I will never forget. "Welcome, farmers, countrymen. My name is Vance Stoker, and I will be your leader. The government sent me here to keep me out of the way, to avoid causing trouble in the high places. Before we begin training, let me tell you this. The troubles we're facing aren't just regular bandits. These are vampires and werewolves." At his words, most of the assembled 'troops' began to laugh half-heartedly, no doubt each man believing Mr. Stoker to be mad. Vance Stoker watched them all, shadows clouding his face. I just simply stared at him. The man sounded quite sane, but it just didn't sound possible. True, we had witch burnings every year, but those weren't the same. How could figures from mere stories come to life? "Now, before we begin training, I want you all to drink some of this," Vance indicated around a hundred glasses full of a red liquid, which resembled wine, "it will help me pick which ones to depend on in a fight against the freaks." The men assembled around me chuckled again, but eyed the wine-like liquid with greed in their eyes. Wine was rare in the countryside, and this stuff looked expensive. We all took the glasses, and drank along with Vance in a giant toast. As the stuff entered my mouth, I could tell it was not wine. Still, I swallowed, and then felt a sudden surge of strength. All around me, men were retching and heaving on the ground. Everyone but me was on the ground. Vance smiled at me; he too was still standing, his eyes turning a reddish color. "It seems I have found my second in command." he said, and I lowered my eyes. Hadn't his eyes been a blue color before? What was the stuff I just drank? As if he had just read my mind, Vance smiled and said, "This stuff you all believed was wine is actually the blood of a vampire I recently killed. Now, the young man in the back there, you know, the one that's still standing, trying running and jumping back up to here. The rest of you should be recovering, since the stuff had no effect on you." Blood of a vampire? I didn't know what he meant then, but I had to do what he ordered. So I tried to run and jump up to the platform. As soon as I moved, I felt the ground just -whoosh- underneath me. It was quick and easy to jump up to the platform, where Vance was standing. The other men goggled at me, their eyes wide and their mouths open. (I had just moved in a blinding flash, the men told me later) Vance shook my hand warmly, his eyes returning to their normal blue color. I shook my head as I grasped his hand, confused. Had it just been my imagination that his eyes had become so red?

 

Journal of Thomas Harker

It's been a month since I last wrote in this journal. It's been so hard working under Vance Stoker. He's definitely a trained solider, and he knows what he's doing. Last night he caught a lurker around the camp who was snooping in on our training. Vance chained the guy to a pole in the center of camp, so we could all see what it was. It was what Vance called a vampire! It had red eyes, and long fangs that were visible. It got a hold of one of the soldiers, and within seconds had drained him of at least half of his blood. By the time Vance and I got there, the soldier was dead, drained of all blood. The vampire was openly taunting us, hissing like a wet cat. That was all ended when I shoved a stake in his chest and pierced through his heart. The vampire died then, and Vance collected the blood for future purposes, for my training. You see, I was a rare case. I was a 'berserker', a person who became a savage beast when in a state fueled by vampiric blood. Vance was one as well, and was overseeing my training. I would become one of the true berserkers, and would be able to combat vampires and werewolves (I haven't seen a werewolf yet; I wonder what their blood tastes like? NO, no, I must not think like that...) hand to hand, or even wielding a blade. I have slowly begun to master the process, and Vance has high hopes for me. We are on the trail of the bandits, who have fled into the mountains. I hope they do not strike at the villages hidden in the mountains, but I fear my hope will be in vain.

On the road today, we went to one of the villages that was ransacked by the bandits. Many of them were hollowed eyed and terrified of the militia. Two of the children had been bitten, they villagers described, and had become demons themselves. Vance and I left the other soldiers to guard the villagers while we went to see the children. Both of them were red-eyed and long fanged, and both of them desperately craved human blood. I staked both of them, and Vance collected the blood. The blood of vampires was too scarce and rare right now for us to spare the children's bodies. We burned the bodies afterward and returned to the village. The villagers thanked us profusely and the company left again, trekking towards the mountains. I hope we can put an end to these vampires; they do nothing but harm the lives of humans who should be left in peace, and Vance Stoker agrees with me. I look up to him as a fatherly figure, him being over forty years and I being only twenty. He too, has a wife, and about five sons as well. I hope that after this journey Vance can travel to my farmer and meet Linda, who was with child when I left.

 

I record this with the utmost sorrow. Last night, we were attacked by giant, wolf-like creatures that surprised our company just as we reached the foothills of the mountains. They tore apart our party, and now only ten of us, including Vance, and myself are left. I was able to use my berserker abilities to kill around five last night, an astounding number according to Vance. We managed to get one of the werewolves to convert back to human form, so that we could question them. The thing said it was a pack member of a werewolf pack lead by a certain James Jackson, an Australian werewolf that was aiding a Romanian vampire, the leader of the 'bandits'. The other men are heading back home to their families, back to the warm firesides and their children. Vance called them bloody cowards, but did not stop them. I, however, decided to stay with Mr. Stoker. He had trained me well in the abilities of a berserker, and I truly wanted to see this scourge wiped off the face of the Earth. Only then would every innocent countryman and his family be safe. I then took a vow of revenge.

 

It has been over a week since I have written in this journal. The first snows have fallen in the mountains, and Vance forced us to take shelter in a village. I would have gone on, but Vance’s words of wisdom made me see the truth. It would be suicide to track the supernaturals in the freezing snow, since being a berserker gave no protection to dying of cold. He also assured me that the vampires and werewolves would also be holed up in a village. Apparently, their bodies were also weak to the biting frost and snow. That is a relief. The village we are in have not been touched by the horde of supernaturals.

 

Disaster has struck the village. The winter has been too harsh for the monstrosities that roamed the mountains. Half dead, and with a desperate hunger, they raided the village. Vance and I fought like monsters ourselves, but we were overwhelmed. Two men could not take on so many supernaturals at once. In the end, we managed to kill about half of their numbers, and then fled farther into the mountains with the remaining villagers. They had a secret system of carved tunnels and passages for refuge. I was horribly injured from the battle in the village. My whole body was covered in deep wounds, and I had a raging fever. I was shivering, and my body wracked with spasms. There was nothing to do but wait for me to heal. My mind kept wandering into a place I cannot describe in words… but it was where I reached a sense of peace in my feverish mind, a place of light, and silence. I can only describe it as… heaven. I wasn’t much of a religious man, but that experience shook me to the inner core of my being. I remained in that state for more than a week, and in that place, that beautiful, quiet place, I learned many things about the world. I also learned to accept myself. And in doing so, I realized my purpose in life. I must rid the world of all the evil beings that cause so much chaos and destruction. I had the skills, and I had the mindset. With Vance as my guiding light, I could achieve my dream. Vance is my idol, and I will worship him until the end of days when my soul will pass on, whether back into the light, or elsewhere. I do not know. All I know is my mission. Vance will guide me to victory.

 

After a week, my wounds had healed perfectly thanks to my abilities as a berserker and some of the vampire blood Vance had force-fed me. I was eager to set off right away, but Vance bade me rest for a while. I was not used to the enormous strength berserkers wielded, which could be deadly for an untrained body. Vance had perfected his skills over ten years of hard training, but I had achieved the same strength with only a few months. He could tell that I was going to be a powerful weapon against the evil, and so he wanted to keep me alive at all costs. I am glad he thinks so highly of me like this. But what are we to do? The villagers are frightened, and we dare not leave them to their fate. But we cannot come out of hiding, or risk the werewolves and vampires attacking the villagers. The weather is worsening, and everything seems bleak. Hopefully Vance will be able to come up with a plan.

 

Today has been a long, hard, and sorrowful day. A few of the villagers decided to head to a village further into the mountains, and leave the rest to be eaten by the evils that now inhabit the village. I know the vampires have killed them and drained them dry of blood, because they hung the corpses on the village wall after the werewolves tore apart the bodies for their meat. I have seen a few patrolling outside the wall. The werewolves are extremely thin; I could count all of their ribs from my hiding spot over a hundred feet away. They are getting desperate for food, since the villagers managed to get away with the bulk of their winter supplies. I fear that the werewolves will start attacking other nearby villages soon. In the constant blizzards, all tracks are buried quickly and the scent dies instantly. It is impossible for any supernatural to find us. But we will not last the entire winter. We have to exterminate every so-called ‘immortal’ before we starve to death. Vance plans to hit the supernaturals tonight, and I will assist him.

 

 

I cannot even speak to put my horror and grief into words. Forgive me; it has been two months since my last entry. We slaughtered half of the starving supernaturals in the village, and the rest fled to where Vance could not track them. Frustrated, Vance told me to return to my own village and left to track the supernaturals. I tried for hours to convince him otherwise, but to no avail. And so I made the long, long trek home. Even if I could not fulfill my duty to the world, I could not conceal the inexpressible joy I felt when my young, beautiful wife and my son came out to greet me. Linda looked exactly the same as when I left, and perhaps even a tad more beautiful than before. Jacob was beginning to learn how to speak and walk. I was so proud of him that I began to cry. The simplicity and gentle love of a family life made me forget the bitter regrets of my journey with Vance. Ah, Vance. I could not forget him, even if I aged past 100 years. Vance is a person that only comes once in a lifetime, and I was proud that I was chosen by him to help the world. I returned to farming the land, but it was dull work. I could not forget the wonderful ferocity of battle; the clash of steel on fang, the ripping of flesh when I made a kill. I mentioned nothing to my sweet wife, and hid this gruesome journal away from sight. Linda was a sweet, innocent being, and I did not want my deeds to corrupt her. She was just too precious. And so, a month and a half passed by with blissful sweetness. I was starting to forget the adventure, the battles, and even the goal I had promised to dedicate my life to. And then things started to turn for the worse.

 

Vance arrived back in town, bleeding heavily and missing a part of his hand. He was spattered with mud, blood, and grime. His eyes were bloodshot, and his look was that of a demon. He had been fighting for three days while traveling here. And behind him was a horde of the supernaturals. They wanted revenge upon Vance, and upon me as well. They had tracked me back to my village, and Vance had realized it only too late. I could see the Alpha howling out challenges to me alongside a vampire, presumably the head of the horde. Fury rose within me. First the monsters killed innocents and ruined the countryside, and now they were after my village and my family. I thought of my unborn son, and of Linda and Jacob as well. They were worth far more than my life. And so the battle began. I began to howl like a madman, tearing off limbs, wielding a sword with no more skill than a common butcher. Vance was killing more than I was, focusing his fury into his power. He looked like a proper God of War, his eyes glowing an insane bloody red. I knew my eyes were the same color, but it did not matter. We were slowly pushing back the tide of the monsters. The villagers started to cheer behind us. But it was too late. A large group of the monsters flanked us and started to slaughter the villagers. Panicking, the villagers fled, despite our warnings. In the midst of the crowd I saw Linda, clutching Jacob tightly as a werewolf slowly advanced upon them. It was the Alpha of the pack, James Jackson. He was laughing in his bestial form as he lunged out, his claws tearing through Linda’s chest. Time seemed to slow down and freeze. I couldn’t move, shout, or do anything while I saw the blood appear, and Linda fell like a red leaf in an autumn breeze. She crumpled to the ground, and James Jackson leaned down, clawing at her. My rage mounted beyond reasoning. I didn’t care if my body was ripped to pieces. All I could see through the red mist was the face of Linda screaming, and the monster laughing. The werewolf was eating her heart, and he didn’t notice me as I stalked towards him, fury channeling my power. The stake I held went straight through his heart and out the other side. But it wasn’t enough. My fury was not quenched. I bent down and ripped his heart out of his body, howling in a victorious requiem. The werewolf Alpha looked up at me from his position on the ground and laughed the hollow laugh of the dead. “You may take my heart, human, but I have kin. They are far away, in a place called Australia. You will never be able to touch them in your lifetime. The Jackson Family will live on, and I swear that they will have revenge!” he choked, but then the life faded from his eyes. I tore at his heart with my teeth, devouring it in bloody gulps. And then I fell onto my knees, right next to the body of my wife and son. My unborn son would never see the light of day, but would perish in the darkness. My son Jacob would never be able to learn how to ride a horse, harvest wheat, or use a sword. And my wife, my poor wife… She had been the only light in my life, and now she was gone. Slain by a monster.

 

And then Vance staggered up to me. I turned around and knew he was on his last legs. Both of his arms were torn off, and I could see bone through the wounds on his chest. Once the vampire blood wore off, Vance Stoker would be gone from the world. I wept as he came closer. These were going to be his last moments on Earth. “Thomas, I want to t-tell you something, “ Vance gasped, and I came closer to him, enraptured by his dying words, “I-I belong to an organization dedicated to slaying these evil creatures. The evil fears my name, and I have kept this country safe for decades. But once it is clear that I am dead, the evil will return, and what happened to your village will be happening everywhere. I want you-“ here he leaned against my shoulder and whispered in my ear, “to take on my name. Become Vance Stoker. Drive fear into the heart of the darkness. My organization will find you before you. Take control. Become the leader. Rid this place of evil, and then my soul will be at rest. Will you do this for me?”

I nodded, tears running openly down my cheeks. If it meant throwing my life away, I would do it. Linda, Jacob, Vance, and my unborn son were all victims of an evil too vile to die. I will take up the mantle of Vance Stoker, and punish all evil. The Jackson Family would die too, but they will die slow, painful deaths. I want to hear all their screams and pleas of agony so that they too can feel my pain of losing my wife. I will stop writing in this journal. It will be a written source to remind my inheritors of the evil in this world that needs to be destroyed.

--

 

 

Retrieved: Log of Vance Stoker #10093

 

At last, it is done! All the years of suffering and madness I endured. Finally, my lineage can be continued. I have managed to collect the remaining sperm within my own body. I will freeze it until I need a son to enter the world. All these years, I thought that I could have no more children, that I would be alone. Oh, Linda! Should I fail, I will still have a son to avenge your memory! But what will he be named? No, I will not use the last name of Stoker. Vance entrusted his title to me, but not his lineage. His great great grandsons serve within the SS ranks, and so I will not use the name of Stoker. I will use the name I abandoned so many years ago. Harker. Yes, my name was Thomas Harker, after all. The boy will be called Jonathan. Yes, Jonathan Harker. Linda, I hope you will smile on our son from where you are in heaven. At last, I will not be alone!

 

--

Retrieved: Log of Vance Stoker #22845

 

I am so sorry, Linda. I have done a horrible thing today. Nine months ago, Jonathan Harker was born. He was a beautiful baby boy. He looks so much like you, Linda, and his eyes are the same color as yours. I treasure him so much, but now it is too late. I have turned him into a Vampire, one of the monsters that I hate so much. The desperate times have forced my hand. The government is collapsing thanks to the supernaturals, and I have to work so hard to keep everything running. The Russian Vampires are stirring up trouble, and I need a weapon. Who else but my son? He has the berserker power, which will grow ten times more powerful with vampire blood running through his veins. I can tell that he will grow to be more of a powerful berserker than I was, even without the vampiric nature. Jonathan will grow up hating Vampire and Werewolves, all for your sake, Linda. I hope Jonathan can find it in his heart to forgive me when he gets over. This war has gone on for centuries…

P.S.: Speaking of werewolves, I have finally found the Jackson Family. As James Jackson said, I would not find his family in a human lifetime. James’s daughter, Caroline, was already dead when I discovered the family. Ironically, it was James’s granddaughter, Rals, who murdered her mother. Ha! And now I shall finally have my revenge. I look forward to seeing Rals die slowly and painfully, spending fifty years or more wishing for death. And then my thirst for revenge might be appeased… for a short while.

 

The creature coughed again, and then sat up straight in it's chair. "Yes, my name is Vance Stoker." he said, and acknowledged Johan again. "Now, my favor is this: You will hand over Rals Jackson, and her entire werewolf clan to me. After that, you will not ask questions about their wellfare. I only ask this, and I will do everything else that you have asked. There will be no war between the Silverhands Society and the supernaturals of your campus. Will you fulfill my request?" Vance said, pressing his hands together.

{{>.> Yeah, yeah. I decided to post the journal here instead of elsewhere.}}

[Rakashua]

Johan entered the room slowly, and moved about carefully, knowing full well what a privilege it was. He didn't have a reverence for the creature, but he was polite, even to such a being.

 

He entered and read, slowly and carefully, because the information was private and important. It took a full twenty minutes to read and then he took longer to think it over.

 

"No, I'm sorry, that's unacceptable," he replied with a sigh as he put the documents down. "The school is not under my ownership, I've marked it yes, and I'm working there, and I do have at least two beings I care for. But I can't trade two lives for hundreds."

 

Johan knelt beside the creature, being sure to stay a foot away and not look threatening, who knows what the room might do if anyone got the wrong impression.

 

"Thomas..." Johan sighed, "I've never had a wife, but I have a fiancee, and I had a mother. What was done to her, by my father, a vampire, was terrible, she was a human when he took her, and..." Johan closed his eyes and reopened them a moment later. "That was almost two thousand years ago. Thomas, what you're asking me to do, I've done that. I raised an army of the poor, the oppressed people my father and my... brothers and sisters ruled in tyranny over. I slaughtered... my family, and finally my father."

 

He took a deep breath and continued, "I took revenge on her death, and the death of all the unborn brothers and sisters I watched her be forced to abort, my family, I killed them all for it, and do you know, what I've learned, in the last eighteen hundred years of my life... that there is nothing good, I can do, to make up for that action. I didn't bring me peace, it turned me into the same thing that I had killed, worse, because I thought I was doing what was right."

 

Johan took his helmet and set it beside him on the floor. He noticed that he had a message, but now was not the time for that.

 

"I cannot give you back your wife, your children, any more than I can turn back the tables of time. But, my life, and the suffering of those who love me, I do not count more important than the suffering you will cause the grand children, of murderers and savages, who died long ago. I would not see you make my same mistake, or burden your child with it... I never did... remove the self destruct devices you use in your suits, however, only I can trigger mine."

 

Johan gave the creature a sad smile, "I will get rid of the relics of a long dead era, our lives, our hatred, our love, everything about us," he snapped his fingers, "because the children of this age, do not deserve to suffer for my mistakes, for your mistakes, the suffering caused to us must not be allowed to grow and spread and consume even more lives."

 

Johan's mask turned red, "I won't do this unless you give me no other choice. I will take you to meet Rals Jackson, and you can speak with her. But I will not do as you ask. If I thought you would listen, I would suggest you do what I did, find faith in God, interestingly enough he forgave me, even though, and though it may be a sin, I still don't forgive myself."

 

Johan held out his hand above the creature, "come with me old friend, let's end this war we've both been fighting with our pasts, my blood will sustain you, and I will protect you, I know where to find them. You have my word."

Edited March 15, 2012 by Rakashua

[Darkshadow]

{{Sorry for taking so long.}}

 

???

 

"I cannot give you back your wife, your children, any more than I can turn back the tables of time. But, my life, and the suffering of those who love me, I do not count more important than the suffering you will cause the grand children, of murderers and savages, who died long ago. I would not see you make my same mistake, or burden your child with it... I never did... remove the self destruct devices you use in your suits, however, only I can trigger mine."

Johan gave the creature a sad smile, "I will get rid of the relics of a long dead era, our lives, our hatred, our love, everything about us," he snapped his fingers, "because the children of this age, do not deserve to suffer for my mistakes, for your mistakes, the suffering caused to us must not be allowed to grow and spread and consume even more lives."

Johan's mask turned red, "I won't do this unless you give me no other choice. I will take you to meet Rals Jackson, and you can speak with her. But I will not do as you ask. If I thought you would listen, I would suggest you do what I did, find faith in God, interestingly enough he forgave me, even though, and though it may be a sin, I still don't forgive myself."

Johan held out his hand above the creature, "come with me old friend, let's end this war we've both been fighting with our pasts, my blood will sustain you, and I will protect you, I know where to find them. You have my word."

 

The creature looked up at the man, for once lost for words. Those words that Johan spoke... they were words he had hoped to hear for many, many years. But he did not take Johan's hand. "I am sorry," Thomas Harker said, in a voice barely above a whisper, "but I cannot take your hand. Your offer, it is tempting, but I feel my time has come. I wasn't supposed to have lived this long. I am living out a wretched half-life, barely able to keep life within this fragile shell." With that, Thomas Harker looked at his hands, his body. "I look like something that should have never existed, and it is too late for me. If I leave this chair, I would die within the hour."

 

"I want to atone for this... sin." Thomas said, putting his face into his hands. "I will free everyone that I have kept imprisoned, on one condition." He bent over the apparatus, typing furiously. A small screen popped up, and he typed in the code that would free everyone and the exit that would allow them to exit to the world above. "I want you to take care of Jonathan, Johan. I want you to raise him as if he was your son. I... never told him who his parents were. He was told that two members of the Silverhand gave him to me, but that is not true at all. He does not know that I am his father. Give this-" here Thomas handed Johan the drawing of his wife, his most precious object, "to him, and tell him nothing of his past. He will remember nothing of me, or the Silverhand, when I am done. He has a chip implanted into his brain, but it will dissolve with a press of a button, causing his memory to lapse. He will not remember anything. And I want you to keep it that way, Johan."

 

Thomas gestured to the space around both of them, dark and silent. "I am going to destroy this place, this wretched place. After everyone is evacuated, of course. And I intend to be destroyed as well. I want nothing of the foul place to remain for any reuse." he said, and then placed his fingertips together and stared intently at Johan. "Now, I want your word. Will you do this for me, as a last favor?"

 

{{Sorry if this is short. I haven't typed in a long time.}}

[Rakashua]

Johan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He felt the creature's words reach out and touch his very core, the part of him that wished to die, to cease existing. He had stopped living for himself a long time ago, and not because of any higher sense of altruism, simply because he felt no need to live, if only for himself.

 

His thoughts turned to Eve, and home, England and the mansion, and the hundreds of people who bore the last name, Hawkthorne, all people he had rescued, or their children, or grand children, most didn't even know anything about him, such knowledge was reserved only for the first generation. And Eve... she had agreed to marry him, they couldn't have children of course, not biologically, he'd never turn her into a vampire, but Jonathan, they could adopt him.

 

"Be a full time parent..." Johan remarked in his thoughts, switching off his suit's auto destruct. "I'm tired... so tired of... living." He paused, "Yes, I can do this for you. I will be turning my responsibilities over to Marcy within a few years, then I'll disappear, raise Jonathan as my son, let the world worry about itself for a few years... You have my word."

 

Johan paused, "And I'll do better, I'll speak to the ancient ones, older than me, who run the school, see if they will take in some of those you are releasing who need help adjusting to the regular world."

 

Johan bent forward and kissed the creature's forehead gently, "die well old friend, you honor your principles now in death that you fought for in life, there is no shame in that." Johan turned and placed his helmet back onto his head. "Have Jonathan meat me at the entrance, I'll take him from there... goodbye..."

 

Johan turned and walked slowly out of the room, leaving behind a long standing enemy a close friend, and one of the few beings he had ever met, that he believed could understand how he felt, every day.

 

"Yes... this is goodbye..." He said softly, taking a moment to remember the man he was leaving behind, before his mind shifted back to other things, protecting Marcy and Kanthaya from Carmandy came to mind... and meeting with an assassin, and organizing a truce with a werewolf pack....

 

"Just another ordinary average day..." He smiled viciously under his helmet and drew his sword, gripping it tightly as he enjoyed the weight in his hand, "Look out big bad world... here I come... for the millionth time..."

[Darkshadow]

Thomas Harker

 

"Be a full time parent... I'm tired... so tired of... living."

At last, someone who understood! He looked up at Johan again, this time with tired, old eyes, lacking the fanatical energy from before. It was strange to think about it; being tired of living. It felt like he was staying up late into the night, when he really should be asleep. With every passing year the tiredness had increased, and his own body wasn't capable of handling the strain. Soon, Thomas had expected Johan's body to be the same, though it was far more powerful than his frail human body.

 

Johan paused, and Thomas held his breath. Would the Vampire he had considered his half-enemy for the past years fulfill his final request? "Yes, I can do this for you. I will be turning my responsibilities over to Marcy within a few years, then I'll disappear, raise Jonathan as my son, let the world worry about itself for a few years... You have my word."

 

Thomas let out a small sigh of relief, letting out a breath he hadn't known that he had been holding all this time. That was good. Jonathan would have a proper Vampire father/tutor, just like he should have had when he was converted. Not a half-mad human with a grudge against supernaturals!

 

Johan paused again, and then said, "And I'll do better, I'll speak to the ancient ones, older than me, who run the school, see if they will take in some of those you are releasing who need help adjusting to the regular world." Johan then bent forward and kissed the creature's forehead gently, "Die well old friend, you honor your principles now in death that you fought for in life, there is no shame in that." Johan turned and placed his helmet back onto his head. "Have Jonathan meet me at the entrance, I'll take him from there... goodbye..."

 

Thomas nodded, his eyes full of tears, and before Johan left he flicked his hands upward, in an old warrior salute used in the days of old between friends. He then leaned back against his chair-like apparatus, suddenly relieved of a huge burden that had been lying in his chest. He pressed a button, and the familiar voice of his son echoed through the chamber. "Yes, Master?" Jonathan said, and Thomas flinched at those words. I forced my own son to call me Master. I just hope Linda will forgive me if I do not join her in the heavens above. Heavens knows I have suffered for my sins. Thomas cleared his throat once, twice, three times before he spoke. "Jonathan, meet Mr. Johan at the entrance of the hideout, please" Thomas said, unintentionally adding the please at the end. This was going to be the last moment on the mortal Earth with his son, and he was going to make it the most memorable moment of his life. He watched through the cameras as Jonathan made his way to the entrance, blinking as he encountered the sudden sunlight. Thomas smiled at the image of his son. The boy looked just like he did when Thomas had been young, but with his mother's beautiful facial features. Thomas winced as he remembered that the boy's blue eyes had long been replaced with the scarlet of a Vampire. "Now, Jonathan, I want you to hear this one thing, and do not be afraid," he said, speaking softly now as tears rolled down his cheeks. Jonathan said nothing in reply, but merely nodded up at the camera, confusion evident on his face.

 

"I love you, my son." Thomas said, and with that triggered the destruction sequence of the chip in his son's brain. Jonathan's eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. The chip would erase all previous memories, and then would harmlessly dissolve into nothingness, leaving no trace of the boy's early life. And Thomas wanted it this way. Hands trembling, he pulled out his journal stroked the old cover, relishing the memories. He switched off the cameras and bright screens, allowing himself a moment of silence in the darkness. All the SS members were gone, along with the prisoners and test subjects. Johan would be gone by now with Jonathan. It was just Thomas in the abandoned facility now. "Goodbye, Johan. Goodbye, Jonathan." he whispered, and his hand found the self-destruction sequence button and pushed it down.

 

An image of Linda appeared before him, with straw blonde hair and her beautiful, sky-blue eyes twinkling in happiness. Thomas rose to greet her, the years of suffering and torment cast off as his spirit exited his shriveled body. He spotted Jacob, peeking shyly out from behind Linda's skirts, and Thomas let a smile appear on his face. Linda stretched out a hand; he took it, and took Jacob by the hand as well. Smiling, the three of them vanished into the air, leaving behind the buried facility with a whisper of wind.

 

 

 

[LadyNatasha]

((when I return, I am making a new character... actually I may send in her profile tomorrow just so she exists :3))

 

~Joran~

 

Joran was amazed and confused at everything that was going on. Xander's words rang through his head...

 

“I think it is high time that you learned who you are and who is willing to protect you Joran. We leave no man alone, and no man behind. We have far larger enemies than a small Australian pack who seems to leave well enough alone anyways. Things are about to change.”

 

Joran had stood as stock still as possible throughout the whole ordeal. He had attempted to be as unnoticed as possible while paying attention, but he couldn't help but think of Rals. Someone was after her, and now these Vampyres were talking about the Silverhands. Putting two and two together wasn't hard, and even if Joran wasn't right he thought he was; the Silverhands were after Rals and her pack. We have far larger enemies. Things are about to change.

 

“Joran, do you understand what is going on here?”

 

Joran turned to look at Xander, then back at Kanthaya and Marcy. Kanthaya gave him a strange look but broke off eye-contact. "Yah," Joran said quietly, "I think I do. I've never had to deal with the Silverhands, but I know that they are trouble for Vampyres and... and Werewolves." He swallowed and looked quickly to Xander. "Xander, there's a lot I haven't told you or... the elders here. I want to help; I am still Nordic and am proud of my heritage, but I consider you my allies now. My grandfather... his age has corrupted him."

 

These last words were sad, and Kanthaya's own expression because worried for a moment. Joran continued then. "He is... no longer fit to lead my clan." Joran tightened his jaw as he said this. There was no more running away. Far too long, he had lived only for himself. He had lived only for the slight pleasure he got from his grandfather's smiles, the slight pleasure of someday ruling a kingdom and living in luxury with many friends. When push came to shove, he would have lived for himself; he would have pressed the button on a bomb to destroy the school if it meant saving his own skin. People were little more than temporary comrades or allies to him... or so they had been. It was all becoming so clear now; he had been extremely selfish because he had no one to live for that he truly cared about. Now that Rals' life was in danger, he felt himself changing. "I shall assist you in any way I can, until I can claim the throne of the Bampaia family and..." and then what? He knew what; "and make peace with the Vampyres of America and the Werewolves of Australia!"

 

He nodded his head quickly, then felt rather abashed at his little speech. He grinned sheepishly at Xander. "I have a feeling that'll be a ways off, but I can at least help you stop the destruction of your government." So much to worry about, so much to think about; the Silverhands, Rals, the government, Steel... but at least Steel also had to be concerned with the Silverhands. That was the one thing Joran had going for him--Steel was preoccupied for the moment. Hopefully.

 

~~~~

 

Kanthaya

 

Kanthaya looked sad for a moment when Jamila mentioned her change. She was still unsure what to think about it; it was hard for her to forgive Johan for his rough mannerism. She decided he must have a lot of experience dealing with such things, and now that she was a Vampire she would no longer have to worry about touching Vampire venom. Now she could research a cure in peace. But... that was another thought, for another time.

 

“You have both done a brave thing. You are welcome here and so is your master. He seems to be far more kind than we originally thought, so please stay here underneath our protection.”

 

Kanthaya looked at her feet as Carmandy protested their staying. She felt bad, but she knew that Marcy had done what she had to. She did wonder about the Vampyre who left, but Carmandy's comment about Kanthaya's Vampirism made her flinch and forget about it. She was used to being yelled at, but coming from someone she had once thought of as quite nice, it hurt. She was what she was, and it hadn't been her choice either.

 

At the mention of Sheehan, Kanthaya noticed Marcy seemed especially sad. She put a hand on her friend's shoulder as the Vampyres cleared out. She managed a glance or two at Joran as he spoke of Nordic lands and his Grandfather and a destroyed government and such. She wasn't quite sure what he was talking about, but she figured all would be revealed in due time. It was still all totally unbelievable. When Joran mentioned his Grandfather becoming corrupt with age, Kanthaya shuddered. She was going to live so many years... would she go crazy? Everyone she knew (not that many people really) was going to get old and die, and their children would get old and die... but I will find a cure to this. It has to be curable, and I will find out more about it as time goes on.

 

She smiled at Marcy. "That was really brave of you. I don't think I've seen anyone, richie or poorling, stand up to a group of people like that with so much bravery." She felt her stomach grumble, but Marcy wasn't even appetizing. It was like comparing a plate of hot, steaming spaghetti covered in sauce to a cold, uncooked potato. It was also quite disgusting, comparing people to food. Kanthaya shook herself back to the present. "But... now what? With these Silverhand people about... do you really think Johan can stop them?"