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Symphony 1: Requiem of an Undead Queen

Second Movement - Beyond the Gates of Infinity

“Oh man... not again...” Crystal groaned as she came to. “Did Alucard really need to give me such a painful method of jumping dimensions?” Shaking her head as she tried to stand up, Crystal surveyed her surroundings. She was in the same wooded clearing that she was in when she had left. In fact, from the look of the strange burn marks on the ground where she sat, it was probably even the exact same spot. A pain shot through her body as if it was yelling at her for putting it through that again. She fell down on one knee as the pain made her groan in protest at the thought of standing up. It was then that she looked up and noticed a hand out stretched to her.

”Are you alright?” Vergil asked, offering to help her up. Crystal gazed up at the man who had triggered this latest trip. She still wasn’t sure what to think of him. Vergil offered to help her, no doubt, but his methods of payment and demeanor were odd enough to keep her on edge. Still, based off what she had seen so far, he was an ally worth keeping.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Crystal replied, taking Vergil’s hand and standing up. “It looks like we’re back home again.”

Vergil let go of Crystal’s hand and made a quick glance of the clearing. “Hmm... a wooded area. The night sky seems nicely clear, no sign of jet streaks,” he observed, and then shot Crystal a question. “What’s the technology level of your world?”

“The what?” Crystal asked. She pondered on how best to answer for a moment. “We don’t have any giant robots, that’s for sure.”

Vergil nodded. “Internal combustion engines?”

“What?”

“Never mind. Guns?”

Crystal nodded. “Yes, we’ve developed guns. I am sorry; I’m not a frequent dimensional traveler. I don’t really know any other world than the one I was born in.”

Vergil rubbed his chin in deep thought. “Hmm... I see. So based of this, your enemy must not be much trouble. You simply haven’t had the proper weapons to fight her.”

Crystal crossed her arms in mild disgust. “Well, sorry if we don’t have giant robots, but it’s not like we haven’t tried. Besides, how many vampire stories have you heard of that involve giant robots?”

“Not too many,” Vergil jokingly replied, “And that is what I am here to remedy. You do have a point though. One does normally hunt vampires with silver, garlic, holy things, and sun light.” The caster gun was then drawn. Vergil continued speaking. “Too bad I hate garlic, so let’s replace that ingredient with some good old fashioned blasty!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t,” Crystal replied, “If you were paying attention, you’d notice that your technology is well beyond ours.” Crystal began to make various protesting gestures. “I mean, if you just go running around with all this outstanding gear, Queen Shais is going to have no problem singling you out and hunting you down!”

Vergil looked perplexed. “Wait, so you mean we’re not going over to her castle and taking her down right now? I’ve got C4, caster shells, and other fun things that go boom in my inventory right now.”

Crystal yawned. “Actually, I’m rather tired. You see, I went for that visit to your dimension when I was supposed to be sleeping.”

A quiet whimper escaped Vergil’s lips as he put the caster gun away. “Okay, so I guess I actually have to live with you incognito then huh?” Crystal nodded and Vergil sighed. “You know, if you keep making this harder, I will so re-upgrade your fee from a kiss to a date.”

“You could have just let me have the robot,” Crystal stated, turning up her nose.

”Wait, you just told me I shouldn’t use my high tech stuff!”

Crystal stuttered with a response for a few moments but then gave up. “Oh, forget it. Come on, I’ll take you to my home.”

Twenty minutes or so later, Vergil and Crystal arrived at a quiet village resting near a ridge built into a clearing of trees. Several guard towers stood where the paths linked up with the town. It was a simple town that had about one of everything it needed but houses, and of those, it was not in short supply. An actual road seemed to lead into the town on both sides, but changed into dirt paths once in town.

The entire hamlet was still asleep despite the fact the sky was starting to brighten. A few guards maintained their night shift on the towers, protecting it from any terrors that might go bump in the night. As the unlikely pair approached, Crystal came to a halt and motioned to Vergil to do the same. “You know, that costume of yours really isn’t going to work.”

Vergil looked at himself and noticed he was still wearing the GDI Jump-Jet Trooper armor. “Oh... right. No, I’d say this wouldn’t count as the height of your world’s fashion. What do you recommend?”

Crystal started walking around Vergil as if to size him up. After a few full circles, she said, “We’ll need a story first. I can’t just have you show up all of a sudden, and they won’t believe that I went jumping into another dimension just to find some guy who...” She then paused. “Who... yeah, um, what the heck do you do anyway? In fact, I don’t even think you answered me when I asked what you were!”

“I,” Vergil replied with a proud smile, “am the ultimate Neo Mitochondrion Creature.” Crystal started to ask what that was but Vergil hushed her. “I imagine you have no clue what that is, so the short of it is that I can do this.” He out stretched his left arm and showed it to Crystal. His eyes flashed a bright shade of purple and the arm stretched out another two feet out, its muscles bulging and its fingernails becoming glowing claws.

Crystal made a mild yelp in surprise. “I can do this too,” Vergil continued as his eyes flashed again. A shocked yelp escaped Crystal’s mouth as random bird of prey fell out of the sky, incinerated. She bent over to inspect the burning bird when the flames suddenly died down and it leaped upright. Crystal flat out screamed and fell over when the bird’s beak grew out into the size of a small scythe and its feathers fell off its wings, turning them to bone blades. “I can do that too,” Vergil continued calmly.

Crystal sat on the ground with a dumb-founded look on her face. She gazed at the bird, and then at Vergil, and then back. The face didn’t disappear until the bird and Vergil reverted to normal and the bird went back on its way as if nothing had happened, at which point Crystal still stuttered as she spoke. “W... w... what was that?!”

“The ability to control the mitochondria of myself and others allows what you have just seen,” Vergil stated. “The energy producing microorganisms in our bodies are capable of amazing things when they are allowed to control your body instead of the nucleus of your cells.” Vergil then walked over to Crystal to help her back up. “There, did you get all that?”

“H – h – how am I supposed to explain a monster is working for us to my family?” Crystal stuttered. “The robot I could have maybe explained, but you’re not even human! Heck, they might even think you’re one of the vampires at this point!”

Just then Vergil snapped his fingers. “That’s it! We’ll tell them just that! I’m a half-vampire!” Crystal gave him a look of disgust but Vergil was convinced this was the way to go. “Think about it! I could limit myself to forms that only a vampire could take and bust around with some equipment more your time!”

Crystal accepted Vergil’s assistance standing up and started to ponder. “I suppose that would work. The great Alucard is a half-vampire, and I suppose every half-vampire I’ve ever heard of helps humans hunt vampires, so I supposes that works.”

“Great!” Vergil cried in excitement. “I love half-vampires! They are so the 1337est things next to NMCs like myself and Favus.”

Crystal looked at Vergil with one of the most confused faces she’d ever made. Vergil decided it best not to explain himself. “So, um, all I need is clothes fitting of my part.”

”I suppose you could use some of my brother’s vampire hunter gear,” Crystal commented. “Thought I don’t know if you’d fit in it.”

Vergil waved his hand. “I can make myself fit into it. My only concern is if your brother’s going to miss his gear.”

“My brother is dead.”

An uncomfortable silence came over the both of them. Vergil lowered his head. “Gomen,” he said to Crystal in a flat tone. “I.. I didn’t...”

“I’ll go get you some clothes,” Crystal stated flatly as she looked away. “Wait here.”

Vergil watched as Crystal walked into town slowly. “Oh man,” he muttered to himself. “Way to go, man, now you went and made her sad.” He sighed and stared over the horizon, pausing only to notice the large full moon, and what appeared to be a castle tower obstructing it. “Hmm, might as well make use of this time,” he stated. With that, he pulled out his glasses from a compartment on his armor and put them on. Seeking higher ground to observe the area around him, Vergil leapt high into the air and landed on the rock cliff over looking town.

He sat on the grass covering the top of the cliff and pushed a switch on his glasses. As if it were a HUD, the glasses displayed information before him without getting in the way of his vision. The glasses muttered some computer jargon about connecting to the nearest Vergil System Gateway, and then began running through scans of the area. In a few moments, Vergil had access to an infrared scan and a satellite scan of the area he was in available on his glasses.

Hmmm, Vergil thought. It appears that there are heat signatures all over the space between here and that castle like thing over the horizon. Since those signatures seem to be fading instead of remaining constant, I’ll assume those are the undead friends of Crystal’s enemy who perhaps recently ate.

Flipping another switch the satellite image appeared. That building obstructing my view of the moon is most definitely a castle, and a huge one at that. It appears that it was built on a cliff so that there was only one land route in, and I’d bet my collector’s edition of Warcraft 3 that those towers facing that one land route in are of defensive importance. Zooming in on the towers revealed what appeared to be a pair of gigantic gargoyles perched on the top of them, from which the satellite image proclaimed energy signatures were detected. Bingo.

Suddenly a beep went off on his glasses. Vergil flipped another switch and an odd looking creature appeared next to the satellite image. The creature appeared to be a white ball with flat, round, blue eyes, and Kirby-like red feet. A pair of antennae shot out from its head, which were held down by a tactical headset.

“Hi, Favmar,” Vergil said the creature. “How’s life?”

“It’d be better if I didn’t have to keep worrying about where you went.” Favmar said in a nagging tone. “I suddenly lost your system connection after you took back the Mammoth Gear and I was starting to get worried.”

”Favmar,” Vergil replied, laughing. “You should know better than to worry about me.”

”You could have at least told me where you were going,” the favu replied in a frustrated tone.

”I hopped dimensions to help out the girl who stole the prototype.” Vergil replied like a nagged teenager. “I’m playing vampire slayer for this one so I imagine I’ll be home in a couple of days. There, happy?”

“Oh I see, so no big... waitaminute... you’re helping the person who was stealing your robot?”

Vergil laughed at Favmar’s expression. “Yeah, she’s kind of cute. A bit of a tomboy, but cute.”

“Vergil, we’ve been through this,” Favmar started with a frustrated sigh. “I thought I explained to you when you were a lot younger. Going out of your way just to help some girl who just stole your giant robot and might happen to look cute is a bad idea!”

A confused look appeared on Vergil’s face. “Are you sure you said exactly that when I was younger?” Favmar stuttered something about that not mattering before Vergil continued. “Don’t worry, Favmar, I’ll be back in one piece, including my heart okay? I’m really not that fond of her anyway.”

“Alright Vergil,” Favmar said, giving in. “I’ll leave whatever resources you need available to you through the system. Happy hunting.” The image of the favu disappeared from Vergil’s glasses. It was not a moment too soon, as Vergil noticed Crystal coming back from the town with clothing in her arms. He quickly ran towards the cliff edge he had jumped onto and leaped down, landing with a roll onto the ground below him. As he completed the roll, he stood back up and leaned against a near by tree and started humming a random Linkin Park song to himself.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Crystal stated as she approached Vergil. “Here’s my brother’s vampire hunter outfit.”

Vergil bowed his head in thanks and took the clothing. He then walked behind a few trees and Crystal turned around. As Vergil started taking off the armor he asked, “So your brother was a vampire hunter too?”

“Yes,” Crystal replied. “Chrétien and Christopher were my two older brothers, and they were both vampire hunters.”

“Are they both dead?”

“Yes,” Crystal replied solemnly. “That’s why I became a vampire hunter. Queen Shais has killed so many of us that there aren’t many left who can claim lineage to the Belmont family. As it is, we’re not directly related.”

Large pieces of the armor whet flying across the clearing making clanging noises as they landed against each other in the grass. “Which would explain Crystal Graves instead of Crystal Belmont,” Vergil commented. “So how long ago did they die? I mean, it’s not like you can train overnight to become a vampire hunter, at least not one good enough to steal one of my giant robots.”

Crystal leaned against a tree. “My father, Brian Graves, didn’t want any of us to be vampire hunters. He always thought that Dracula was the Belmont’s problem and that even if we carried some of that blood with us, it was not our direct concern.”

“I see,” Vergil replied as he threw on the new shirt.

“My eldest brother Christopher however,” Crystal continued, “had a stronger sense of responsibility than father when Queen Shais arrived. At that point, we all swore we’d become vampire hunters if we had to and trained in secret with our cousins. They trained together in both the whip and the sword and even went and got great grandfather Nathan Grave’s Dual-Set-up Magic Cards and a number of his old Magic items.”

“I am sure you all trained hard,” Vergil commented.

Crystal sighed, staring up at the stars. “Not hard enough, otherwise they wouldn’t be dead.” A nervous smile crept across her face as she continued. “Of course, the reason I’m here telling you the story and they’re not is because they never took me seriously. My brothers always thought I was a little tag along whenever I went to train with them, and when they started going on vampire hunts, they always made me stay behind. Bitterly, I’d practice harder by myself, never satisfied until I would surpass where I was the day before. Finally, when I was eleven, Christopher died and Chrétien started asking me to come with him. I kept up with him quite nicely for a few years and some people even began teasing him that I was a better hunter than he was. They were unfortunately right.. when we fought the vampire prince Raven and he killed Chrétien.”

“Wait a minute!” Vergil yelled out from the other side of the trees. “Did you say Raven?!”

Crystal peeked behind her toward the trees that Vergil was changing behind. “Yes... why do you know him?”

A victorious chuckle came out from behind the trees. “That fool’s been like an annoying fly for the last couple of months now!”

Crystal snapped her fingers.  “Oh yes!  You thought I was with him back on the robot.”

Vergil laughed to himself. “Oh man, I get to deal with him and help out a cute girl at the same time!”

Crystal nervously blushed at the last comment and tried to change the subject. “Yeah, so I... I... I  don’t even know why I’m telling you all this anyway.”

A warm hand landed on Crystal’s shoulder. “Perhaps because it needed to be said,” Vergil stated in an attempt to comfort her. “You’ve been through a lot, and sometimes it just helps to talk about it.” Dumbfounded, Crystal just stared at Vergil’s deep purple eyes, not sure what to say. She felt an odd sense of comfort being around him, which made her concerned since she hardly knew him. “Come on,” Vergil said, stepping away from her, tell me what you think of this get-up!”

Crystal tilted her head from side to side as she considered, and then made a nod of approval. “You look like a genuine vampire hunter,” she replied cheerfully. Vergil made a proud smile as he struck a pose befitting his costume. He had on a simple dark green shirt, over which he wore an open, light brown leather vest. The vest appeared to be designed purposely so that it would not close, as indicated by the lack of buttons. The gear part of the outfit was the light chest armor that could be worn under the vest, leg guards which covered black pants, and set of light gauntlets that protected Vergil’s hand and his lower arm.

“There is one problem though,” Crystal commented. “You look too much like a vampire hunter. We’ll need some changes to pull of the half-vampire bit.”

It was then that Vergil’s proud smile widened. “Oh, don’t worry; I’ve got that part taken care of.” He then pulled out his glasses and put them on. He flipped a switch and then said, “Personal Chronospere Duo; transport to my location: one mysterious, black trench coat with dark red lining; one High Elven light armor, upper body only; one Undead Death Knight Runeblade. Acquire Frostmourne if possible; prepare arrival of equipment on my person in 20 seconds.” The glasses beeped in confirmation, and Vergil took off the vest and the armor and the gauntlets. His eyes flashed, and then closed as his body began to transform again. Like it was a plant growing in fast-forward, his hair spouted up from his head and lengthened itself to the top of his neck, his bangs resting messily just over his eyes. His height increased and his frame shrank as his skin lightened from its tanner shade to something more becoming of a vampire. Once his eyes opened again, his body was consumed with a bright light, which once faded, left behind the items he requested. The coat hung open except for the top button, which held the tall collar in place. The fading moonlight reflected well on the crest of his elven mail as he threw open his coat and drew forth the runeblade half his height, the Legendary Frostmourne, from its sheath. The blade sung as it was drawn, shining through the icy, eerie mist it emitted, and came to rest before Vergil, held vertically against the ground.

No sooner did the blade contact the grass than did an evil voice speak from the blade. “You no longer need to sacrifice for your people,” it said. “You no longer need to bare the weight of your crown! I have taken care... of everything...”

Vergil made an irked face and then muttered under his breath. “Ner’zul... this is Vergil, not your favorite little Death Knight. I do believe I made it clear to you that unless you wanted the Swarm to consume the Scourge, you’d allow me and my company to use your resources without any BS... riiiiggghhhhtttt?”

“Errr... um... right!” the voice muttered, and was then silent.

“So, Crystal,” Vergil asked, returning his attention to matters at hand. “What do you think?” His voice was now deeper, more subtle, and thus more becoming of a potential half-vampire.

Crystal wore a gaze of shock and wonderment. “I’m... amazed,” Crystal stuttered. “How di... did you... I don’t even know how you did that... but... DAMN THAT’S COOL!”

Vergil smiled and made an amused “feh” under his breath. “I will gladly explain to you in full how that was possible,” Vergil declared. “But as you said, night grows old, and you have yet to sleep. I think it is best we take care of that and save further talking for the morning.”

Crystal yawned and nodded at the same time. “Agreed, Vergil... we’ll do just that.”

 

*****

 

Meanwhile, at the dark castle upon the cliff several miles from Crystal’s hometown, the night was slowly turning back into day. Looking out the openings in the wall of her highest tower, Queen Shais could see her vampire princes returning to the castle before the morning’s light would destroy them. They arrived mostly in bat form, except for one, her own son, who arrived in the form of a shiny black bird. As the princes landed in the tower, one by one, they changed their forms back to that of a humanoid vampire.

Each of them fit the tall, dark, and handsome description, having not suffered any disgusting mutations that could have resulted from their undead state. As the princes bowed, their large black cloaks bent and curved so that one couldn’t see the fancy dark tunics and pants they wore underneath. All of them remained bowed except the one who had arrived as a bird. He stood straight before the vampiric queen, pushing his long, steel blue hair over his shoulder.

“What did you find this eve, my servants of the night?” the queen asked, her voice dark, and yet undeniably beautiful. Not only was her voice unbecoming of her title, but at first glance she would appear to be a middle aged woman who managed to retain much of her beauty. The only giveaways to her undead status were her incredibly pale skin, her dark red eyes, and the obvious fangs in her teeth. Other than that, her tall, slim, elegant nature would have fooled even vampire hunters.

”Mistress,” one of the princes spoke. “I believe I have finally found the resting place of Dracula’s son. With your permission, I’d like to head out tomorrow evening with a division of zombies to see to it that the humans’ last hope is killed.”

“Very well,” Queen Shais replied. “Do not underestimate this Alucard, however. If he is anywhere near as powerful as the vampire hunters say he is, then he will most certainly be a thorn in our sides.” The prince bowed and then excused himself from the tower. “Anyone else learn of anything of importance?”

“I noticed odd lights during my watch, my queen,” another prince spoke. “It occurred not far from the hunter’s village. I suggest we send your day-walking son to investigate.”

“That will not be necessary,” the only prince standing replied. “I am fully aware of the incident of which you speak and I will be the one to take care of it.”

Queen Shais gave this prince a look of mild surprise. “You speak lightly of something that we know little about, my son. Is there something you know that I should be informed of?”

“Nothing these ones need know about,” the queen’s son replied. The vampires made grunts of anger, but Shais shushed them.

“The sun rises, my servants,” she declared. “We must go into the castle before all of us but my son are turned to dust. Raven, my son, I wish for you to enlighten me further on the subject when we get inside.”

Moments later, Queen Shais and Raven descended down the spiral staircase of the tallest tower. “So, my son,” Shais began, “why do I get the feeling that these lights had something to do with that... oh, what’s his name...”

“Vergil, mother,” Raven replied.

“Yes, Vergil,” the queen continued. “You know my son, in a few days, I will have enough souls to summon our lord, Akron of the Abyss, and at that point, this world and others will fall to his power. I still don’t understand why you are so obsessed with this ‘babu-technologies’ and its owner.”

Raven sighed. He’d been through this before with his powerful mother. “Mom, let me put it this way: Dark Lords of the Abyss aren’t as powerful as they once were. Nowadays, there are would-be heroes all over that can shut down a predictable plot like that. If you frequented the internet at all, you’d know what I am talking about.”

Queen Shais made a disgusted grunt. “Raven, my son, do you see any mighty parties of SeeDs amassing at our doorstep? Did we not crush an invading army with the might of Akron just the other night?” Shais came to a stop on the staircase and began laughing like a typical villainess. “Trust me, my son, when Akron comes, no would be RPG Heroes will save this world. Why do you think I’ve had the Belmonts systematically wiped out? Why do you think we’re hunting Alucard?”

“And after we take this pitiful planet mother,” Raven protested, “We’ll be like weaklings to be consumed by the likes of the R&Ds!”

“R&Ds?” Queen Shais asked looking perplexed. “Is that an acronym?”

“Research and Development,” Raven replied, “But that title hardly does them justice.” At this point, Raven became frantic. “There are four of them, and each of them is headed by some powerful being. Each Research and Development company has some front they use, but in reality they are part of some huge balance of power game, and the result has been an insane arms race betwee them all!” Raven then recomposed himself before continuing. “Favu-Technologies is one such company and, according to my calculations, would be the easiest for me to take over.”

“Why is that?” Queen Shais asked, now mildly interested.

“You see,” Raven began, “Two of the R&D’s masters are cold-hearted killers who use their forces ruthlessly and have histories of brutality. The other two of them tend only to wage war and kill out of necessity. One of those two Favu-Tech’s master, might as well not like Gears or fighting.” After noticing his mother’s confused glance, Raven decided he’d best continue. “Vergil seems to prefer to hide in the shadows during his battles, commanding his forces with tactical efficiency while not participating directly in the bloodshed as it doesn’t please him. To make maters even better, Vergil is a ranged weapons specialist, which means he isn’t as skilled in close range, which is where I have been trained.”

“My son,” Queen Shais mused, “If this Vergil is weak enough for YOU to kill on your own, then these R&Ds are not worth our time.”

Raven growled in frustration, “But mother!”

“But mother nothing!” Shais retorted, continuing to walk down the stairs. “I’ll have no more of your wasting time on these R&Ds until after Lord Akron is summoned. Now get some rest. Tomorrow night you’re leading the zombies I rose last night to invade that Graves girl’s home.”

Begrudgingly, Raven nodded in confirmation. “Yes, mother...”

*****

 

“So let me see if I understand correctly. You are a half vampire from a land far from here, who remembers nothing of who his parents were, and wishes to aid us?”

Vergil, dressed in his half-vampire decor from the night before, nodded in reply. Himself, Crystal, and three other men were sitting at a wooden table in Crystal’s home. The men were the leaders of the town’s defense and they were currently discussing Vergil’s sudden appearance and request to assist them.

“Tell me,” the man questioning him continued, “There aren’t many half-vampires around. Without being able to explain who your parents are, how do you expect me to believe you?”

“Father!” Crystal protested to the man sitting across the wood table from her. “Why would he lie about that?”

“I don’t know,” the man replied, “Ask him.”

“Brian,” Another man sitting across from Vergil piped up, “If I may, whether this young man is a half-vampire or not isn’t the issue. After our failed last ditch effort to destroy Shais, we need all the help we can get.”

“And how do we know he’ll be a hope instead of a backstabbing hindrance?” Brian Graves replied.

Vergil stood up. “I can understand you having a hard time trusting someone who came out of nowhere asking to help,” he began, “However, I swear to you that I mean only to help you. If it helps any, I have a bone to pick with a vampire by the name of Raven.”

Mr. Graves thought about this for a few minutes. “Alright, Vergil, I have a job for you to prove your loyalty with. About three miles north of town is a graveyard where we fear there is undead activity. If they are preparing a counterattack, then we must prepare to defend as best we can. I’ll send Crystal with you and the two of you are only to recon the area... do not engage them, however! Do I make myself clear?”

“Clear as crystal,” Vergil replied, and then noticed he’d made an unintentional pun and grumbled as Crystal giggled.

A warm meal and quick briefing later, Vergil and Crystal were on the road to the graveyard. The path was cleanly maintained for a good distance out of the town, but about one and a half miles out, the dying plants and occasional dead bodies made it clear that they were nearer to Queen Shais’s castle.

“So, Vergil,” Crystal asked nervously, “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

Vergil gave Crystal a perplexed glance. “Ready for what?”

“The undead are quite terrifying the first time you see them,” Crystal replied. “And they can be quite ferocious fighters. You might be good with all your toys, but are you sure you can handle the restrictions you’ve placed on yourself?”

Vergil smiled at Crystal’s concern. “If you had any idea what I went through every day for my job, you wouldn’t even bother asking that question.”

Crystal smiled at her traveling companion as they continued down the beaten trail. “Enlighten me. You said you were going to explain what was up with all you flashy junk anyway.”

“You’re right, I did,” Vergil stated. He then started humming to himself as he tried to figure out how best to explain his occupation. “Okay, well, for starters, my official title is Chieftain High Favu Vergil, CEO and Master of Favu Technologies Incorporated. My job entails maintaining alliances with all of Favu Tech’s associates, coordinating battle groups and leading them to victory, engaging enemy commanders in personal combat, and managing the resources of a company that is responsible for lives of over 100 million military personnel across several dimensions and alternate realities.”

Crystal blinked in shock. “That sounds... overwhelming. I’m not sure I understand all of it, but it sounds like a big responsibility.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Vergil replied, losing his half-vampire demeanor to be a little bit lighter about the subject. “But it is also a lot of fun. I have at my finger tips the ability to do a whole bunch of things that people only dream they can! I mean, have you ever called an orbital Ion Cannon blast down on a car that was in your way in traffic? Oh, it is the greatest!” Vergil noticed Crystal’s confused smirk and decided to continue. “You are right, it is a large responsibility. Everyday, I have to ensure that Favu Tech maintains its hold of planets, resources, allies, and most importantly, its shares in Home Office, so that our competitors don’t take us over.”

“I think I’m still lost,” Crystal stated. “Could you start over from the beginning of all of this. maybe?”

“The beginning?” Vergil asked. “Well, I guess it all started a long time ago in my Earth’s history. At one point it was under the guidance and protection of one Omnipotent Guardian. Some people referred to it as God, other as Allah, others as Zeus, so on and so forth. This Guardian had many servants who helped to carry out their work, many having the power to control things like Time, Fate, Life and even Death. Eventually, the mortals that the Guardian protected discovered things like democracy, and free enterprise, and things like that, and the Guardian’s servants wanted to share in control of the whole deal. They eventually kicked the Guardian out and formed small organizations founded by mortals and the immortal protectors, each group continuing to use their abilities for fun and profit. At the same time, many organizations from other planets, galaxies, and dimensions, saw the power struggle going on Earth and decided to try and grab a piece of the pie.

“Years passed, and eventually all the former powers held by the Guardian were under the control of two organizations: Home Office, and Mortality Inc. Home Office controls mostly fate, occurrence, and time, while Mortality Inc controls Life and Death, but not the point of being able to deprive people of immortality. Of the groups that came to planet seeking power, many of them were gobbled up by competing companies, and now only a few remain. The four most powerful of which currently equally share all the stock in Home Office, and those four are: Nanimo Company, The R&Ds of Khorne, The Dominion, and Favu Technologies Inc.”

Crystal’s eyes turned wide. “So you’re the head of one of those companies?!”

Vergil nodded. “You better believe it! We have some other competitors as well, but none of them hold any stock in Home Office, so they are off less importance. Those other three companies with shares in Home Office are my primary concern.”

“So what, are you at full war with them?” Crystal asked.

At this, Vergil made a sour face. “Well... sorta yes and sorta no. See, the four of us are supposed to be competing with each other for complete control of Home Office, but so long as we own equal stock, we can’t destroy each other because we can use our ownership of home office to cancel each other’s movements. So the only way to fight each other we have left is to try and exhaust each other’s resources until someone sells their shares, and then we buy them back up. So the four companies have been at war for generations, but for generations no one has bought or sold any Home Office stock. So when the current generation of R&D Masters took over, we all agreed to be friends and enemies at the same time. I mean, we have to fight each other because of our jobs, but we know we’ll never actually win, so no point going on to hate each other. So I might fight one of the other R&D Masters in bloody combat one day, and then go buy a pizza with them or go chick surfing with them the next.”

“That’s... a little odd,” Crystal stated.

Vergil nodded. “It was hard to get used to at first... but I managed...”

“Shh!” Crystal cut him off. “We’re here! Get back in character and keep quiet!” Vergil did as he was told as he and Crystal ducked off the path and then climbed up a small hill overlooking the graveyard. Sure enough, the site where the dead should be resting eternally was crawling with zombies and the alike. What was most concerning to Vergil about the whole scene was the fact that there were far more zombies at the graveyard then there were graves...

“Crystal,” he whispered, “I fear your father may have been correct. I count many more of the enemy then potential sources for their numbers.”

Crystal nodded in agreement. “However, they seem to be wondering aimlessly at the moment. If this was a counterattack we’d see a vampire prince or...” Crystal snapped to attention. She sensed it... a vampire was near by. Gazing frantically at the moving corpses, she tried to find the source of her shock, and discovered a man standing on a bent tree. The man was gazing at the ground, his arms folded, his steel blue hair and black cloak blowing in the wind. “Vergil,” she whispered loudly. “There is one of Queen Shais’s Vampire Princes! That’s proof this is a counterattack!”

-| Cue: Rhapsody – Symphony of Enchanted Lands – Beyond the Gates of Infinity |-

Vergil frowned. “That’s not only a Vampire Prince... that’s Raven!” Carefully, the NMC disguised as a half-vampire drew Frostmourne from its sheath and prepared to strike.

“No!” Crystal whispered. “We’re you paying attention? We’re not supposed to attack, remember!”

“I know,” Vergil replied softly. “Call this going beyond the call of duty. I will need to earn your father’s trust if I’m to pull this disguise off.” Before Crystal could say another word, Vergil was on his feet and leaped high into the air. Frostmoure sung as it glided through the air and Vergil brought it down on one of the zombies, cutting it in half. As one of the other zombies had taken notice of him, Vergil threw a ball of flame out of his hands and scorched it. Vergil then stood his ground and waited as a large pack of zombies converged on his location.

As the zombies drew close, Vergil was surrounded in an explosion of green Parasite-Plasma-Energy and the zombies' dark magic was undone. It was to this event that Raven finally took notice of the warrior fighting his army and he raised his head to make eye contact with him.

“Foolish warrior,” Raven spoke, “I know not why you wish to met with death this day, but I will not deny you your desire.”

Vergil turned to face Raven and raised Frostmourne to his face. “When I’m through,” he began, “It will be you who meets with death.”

 

Raven smirked in reply and raised his hand. As he did, hundreds of skeletons clad in chain mail and other heavy armors and armed with swords and axes raised out of the ground. Vergil uttered a Japanese swear word under his breath and proceeded to cut down one skeleton after another.

Fire of wisdom light the sky
let me go on through this dark evil ground
A veil of fog now covers all
something is happening my heart must be strong


Back at the hilltop, Crystal sighed to herself. “Men,” she groaned as she drew her whip. “They always have to go and try to prove themselves and then we girls have to save their asses.”

Keep away, monsters of hell!
No, I won't give you my inviting flesh


Following Vergil’s cue, she leap into the air and commenced taking out the skeletons with her whip. Skeleton after skeleton tried to attack her, but, following Castlevania policy, skeletons are no match for someone wielding a vampire hunter’s whip. At some point, she lead herself into a pack of then and got surrounded -- a problem she fixed by tossing a few holy-water vials at the ground. Their righteous flames burned and consumed many of the skeletons as they foolishly tried to approach.

Deformed creatures all around me
crept out from ancient and unholy crypts
They'll be your madness they'll be your end
they'll lick your bones and they'll drink your brain


“You fight well,” Raven called out to Vergil, who was continuing to fight with zombies and skeletons. “You still have long to go before you can decimate my army!” Vergil ignored the comment and continued cutting down undead after undead. Occasionally he tried to make Alucard references by firing fireballs out of his coat and healing himself after the blood of a zombie contacted his skin. Still, there were just too many of them for his average sword skills alone, and he struggled, at the risk of getting cut or injured, to not use his mitochondrial powers.

Keep away, monsters of hell!
No, I won't give you my inviting flesh..


Crystal, meanwhile, faired much better than he. One of the skeletons tried getting smart and grabbed at her whip, but once he held it, Crystal drew her sword with her other hand and relieved that skeleton of its hand. Quickly, she replaced it and then used her DSS cards to charge her fists and feet with thunder energy. As the skeletons and zombies drew near, she began punching and kicking her way through them, each only taking one hit to fall.

Your tongue will be torn, your bowels my food
your body impaled of #$%# will be full


As about the fiftieth undead warrior fell to Vergil’s blade he reached a gap in the enemy ranks and he was allowed to catch his breath. His break didn’t last for long when he glanced over his shoulder and noticed Raven had drawn his katana-like blade. “You fight well, young warrior. Tell me your name so I can write it on my bed room wall with the other worthy foes I have slain.”

Now foolish warrior, hear my words:
You are condemned


“Oh, shut up,” Vergil replied, wincing his face at Raven’s words. “My name is not important right now. Simply be happy knowing that a fellow half-vampire is about to do you in!”

And you will come with us all
Beyond the gates of infinity


“So, you are a day-walker as well! It will be my pleasure to kill you myself.” Vergil bent his knees and raised Frostmourne in defense as Raven leapt into the air and made a dropping cutting blow at Vergil. Vergil managed to parry the first strike, but he didn’t even see Raven move to nail the next one into his side. His armor protected him from damage, but he still went flying into some zombies. The undead he crashed into were too distracted by Crystal to notice him and Vergil simply leaped back on his feet and faced Raven again.

Raven smirked arrogantly. “You’ll have to be faster than that to hit me,” he said as he rushed at Vergil. Once again, the NMC tried to defend, and once again Vergil parried the first blow, but the second appeared out of no where; this time a cutting blow to his rib cage. As the sword cut into his flesh, Raven pulled out his sword and bashed Vergil in the face, sending him to the ground.

I'm the mighty warrior -- hero of the northern lands
Algalord is calling, so your hell must wait


“Only human,” Raven muttered as he lowered the blade for the final blow, but then his opponent suddenly leaped high in the air. He landed behind Raven and yelled “Dodge this!” as he made a cut for the vampire’s neck. Unfortunately for Vergil, Raven’s vampiric speed and strength allowed him to dodge it and run Vergil through with his blade. Raven arrogantly kicked Vergil off his sword and then swung it quick enough to clean it of all its blood.

“VERGIL!” Crystal cried out from her swirling Melee. Fearing for her companion, she kicked over one of the zombies and then used another as a kick stand to leap into the air over them and outside to Raven and Vergil’s battle.

“Vergil?!” Raven asked the moment Crystal landed. Sure enough, his opponent stood up from the ground, all his wounds perfectly healed. It was then that Raven noticed the purple eyes, a shade of which only the Vergil he feared it was had. “Wait a minute... you’re no half-vampire!”

“Indeed,” Vergil replied. “It is I.”

Your tongue will be torn, your bowels my food!
Your body impaled of @#$% will be full


“Then I now have real reason to kill you!” Raven yelled as he placed his katana in a Gatotsu attack stance.

Now, foolish warrior, hear my words:
You are condemned and you will come with us all


He held it there for several moments, judging when best to attack his opponent. Finally Raven charged, and Vergil didn’t flinch until the last second, when he parried the strike with Frostmourne.

Beyond the gates of infinity

As Raven used the momentum of the parry to spin himself around for another attack, Vergil reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his already-loaded caster gun. Just as Raven was about to finish his move, Vergil pressed the gun into Raven’s gut and pulled the trigger.

Large amounts of blasty ensued.

 

*****

Queen Shais stood alone on her observation tower. The sun’s light was already lightening the sky, threatening the vampire with dawn. The queen intently searched the landscape with her eyes as one of her princes appeared at her side. “My queen... the sun approaches, and we have all searched all night for some trace of Lord Raven. I know you may not be happy about it, but you must accept the thought my queen that Raven may be gone forever.”

Queen Shais didn’t move. Who could have killed him? She thought. We’ve killed all the threatening vampire hunters but that girl, and Raven should have been more than a match for her. Looking out towards the town at which Crystal lived her eyes narrowed. He never finished telling me about that light... did this... Vergil... follow him here?

“Please, my Queen,” the vampire beseeched her, “Return to the castle before the sun claims you.”

At this, Queen Shais sighed. “Deathshrike, you are my new general and second-in-command.” She turned around and started walking down the tower and into the castle, the whole time never making eye contact with the prince. “I want you to personally see to it that whoever is responsible for Raven’s death is brought here alive in three days so that I might properly sacrifice them to Akron.”

Fearing the sun would appear over the horizon at any moment, the prince known as Deathshrike spoke: “Yes, my Queen.” He hurriedly made his way down the same steps.

*****

 

Not but one hour later the sun rose, and gave way to a new day. A new day of promise, challenges, and unexpected training for one of our heroes...

“Come on, Crystal!” Vergil yelled as he parried another strike with Frostmourne. “This isn’t necessary!”

Crystal’s face wore exhaustion and joy at the same time. “Oh yes it is, Mr. Half-vampire!” she replied, “I can’t believe you went through all that talk and you couldn’t even handle Raven and some undead on your own!” Crystal’s silver short sword impacted Frostmourne with ferocity and locked against the blade.

“What do you mean?!” Vergil exclaimed, using his enhanced strength to slowly win the struggle against the vampire hunter. “I took Raven and his undead out once and for all!” Crystal pulled away with her blade, causing Vergil to fall forward with the weight of Frostmourne. As he did, Crystal smacked him in the face with the flat side of her sword and her opponent fell to the ground. When Vergil leaned back up, the point of her sword was pointed inches away from his head.

“Yes, you defeated Raven,” Crystal stated, “But with that gun of yours, not your sword. If you actually hope to convince my father you’re a powerful half-vampire, you’ll need to get a lot better at close combat!”

Vergil growled. “Your father was impressed with our job with Raven, and he even believes I’m a half-vampire! Why are you so uptight!”

Because I don’t want your arrogance to kill you like it did my brothers... “’Cause it’s fun getting back at you for how you embarrassed me when I tried to steal the Mammoth Gear,” Crystal replied, smirking as she put her sword away and helped Vergil on his feet. “Now, try and attack me again!”

“You are so paying me more than a kiss now...”

< - 1:1 - Overture | 1:3 - Queen of Dark Horizons - >

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