< - 1:3 Queen of Dark Horizons | 2:2 Unknown Allegiance - >
Symphony 2: Rhapsody of the Blood Thirsty
1st Movement: Awakening
-| Cue: Andrew Lloyd Webber –Requiem Mass - Requiem & Kyrie |-
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
It was not too long after dawn. The sun had risen over the remains of Queen Shais’s castle, which, to be technically correct, wasn’t much as far as remains go. The cliff it once stood on wore cracks and tears from where the Ion Cannon and other bombardments hit it. There were some signs of its existence still there . . . the main tower, for example, which was cast over the side of the cliff and broken into uncountable pieces upon impact.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Zion,
Et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem
For the last few days, nothing living or undead had dared come near that spot. The people from Crystal’s town weren’t sure what the man named Vergil had done to that location, or that Shais hadn’t cursed it as a result of that destruction. They assumed that Vergil had won since they hadn’t heard anything from the undead wench since he went over there. Unfortunately, they had heard nothing from Vergil or Crystal, either.
This morning, however, someone dared to walk the desolate land. The figure stood in the outer edges of the destruction. After shaking his head at the damage, he adjusted his sunglasses, which seemed designed to hang low down his nose, and proceeded to push several buttons on a device on his arm. He pointed the device at area around him and swept his arm back and forth as if he were scanning for something. A light breeze blew dust and his golden blonde, messy hair around. His dress was rather clean and not at all appropriate for someone on that particular world. As he took a moment to marvel at ground zero, he fixed his open, long, white overcoat.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
“My god...” he muttered. “I should not be so surprised at the magnitude of destruction here. It is Akron’s power I am here to investigate, and if someone fought him here on even footing, this should be the result.”
A voice spoke at him from the device. The sound was slightly garbled and had a delay before it answered, as if to indicate the transmission was coming from very far away. “It's your first time being put on an assignment of his import, isn’t it, Zeth? Of course you will be shocked by the level of destruction here. Akron isn’t your average low level dimensional travel violator.”
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Zion,
Et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem
“Yes, yes, I know,” the man identified as Zeth replied, “I still haven’t found anything of interest...” He cut himself off. Leaning forward and squinting as if it would allow him to see clearer, Zeth stared at the strange orange ooze before him. “Hang on a second, Piecis, I’m getting huge readings of an unidentified biological matter.”
“Unidentified?” the woman’s voice replied curiously, “That’s bizarre. Our records should know of all the various obscure biological matter in the reference-able universes. What does it look like?”
Exaudi orationem meam
Ad te omnis caro veniet.
Zeth moved a little closer. “From what I can see the best I can describe it is as an orange and green ooze. I’m not seeing any movement.”
“I wouldn’t touch it,” the woman replied to him, “Heck, I wouldn’t get near it. It might be carrying disease.”
Requiem aeternam (aeternam) dona defunctis, Domine!
Et lux perpetua luceat eis!
Before Zeth could reply, a loud sound broke out above his head. Turning his head, he saw a large vehicle that looked like a gold and brown painted naval battleship of the 20th century, only it was flying high in the air. It was a ship of identical design to GDI’s Kodak command ship.
“Holy smokes....” Zeth muttered. “Now I’ve got a huge battleship flying above my head out of no where!” He looked at the scanner device. “No doubt about it, that ship emerged from a shift in the space time continuum.”
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua eis.
“I am detecting the signature too,” Piecis stated as Zeth’s device made warning klaxons. “Based off the signature, I imagine it was a Chronosphere, and only one organization uses the risky physics of Chronospheres as a method of cross-dimensional transport.”
Kyrie, eleison!
Eleison!
Kyrie!
Zeth nodded as he watched the ship fly over the ooze. “Favu Technologies, Inc.,” he replied, “I should have figured one of those megalomaniacs from Earth would be responsible for this.” He watched as the ship closed in on something. Realizing the ship was going to nab whatever it came for before he could get to it, Zeth cursed under his breath. Sure enough, the ship descended and hovered in place for a pair of minutes and then took off again, disappearing in a flash of blue light.
“Well,” Zeth said into the device, “Whatever we were going to nab, Favu Tech got it first. Damn them and that system of theirs!”
Kyrie, eleison!
Eleison!
“Don’t give up yet, Zeth,” Piecis ordered. “Search around the perimeter of the oozed area and see if you can’t find something else. We might have missed our chance at the responsible party, but all we really need is a clue anyway.”
Christe, eleison!
Zeth nodded and continued looking around ground zero, taking much care to avoid getting close to the mysterious ooze. After a few hours of combing the area, he heard footsteps coming from behind him.
Requiem aeternam!
Requiem aeternam
Dona eis, Domine!
Turning around, he saw a solitary figure walking out the ooze. Zeth closed the panel on the device and pulled out a pair of typical sci-fi binoculars. The figure approaching was a man, pale and sickly looking. His body looked lightly bruised and battered. Bright red eyes shown at Zeth as the man attempted to make his way across the ooze toward him. There was a painful looking stiffness in his step.
Zeth waited patiently for the man to reach the edge of the ooze before he said anything. “You there,” he cried out. “Who are you? What has happened to you?”
Requiem aeternam
Aeternam
Dona eis...
The man did not reply at first, only kept walking forward. At length, he finally replied, “He .... help me....” He made it just beyond the ooze and then collapsed on the ground before Zeth. Fearing for the man’s health, Zeth rushed toward him, disregarding his previous fear of the orange ooze from wince the man came, pulling some emergency equipment from his coat.
Kyrie, eleison!
Eleison!
Kyrie, eleison!
Zeth rolled the man over, and the noticed a pair of bite marks on his neck that looked as if he had been bitten several days ago. Zeth placed the emergency equipment back in his coat and drew his hands together. He then moved his hands in a quick flurry of mutras -- hand motions -- and blue ki energy collected around them. He was about to place his hands as if to destroy the new vampire right then and there when the sun got in his eyes. Zeth put the attack on hold as he raised one of his arms to block out the sunlight.
Christe, eleison!
Christe, eleison!
It was then that he realized the sun was out, brightly in fact. It became apparent to Zeth that this was no ordinary new vampire if it wasn’t burning like a Roman candle under the sun. “Piecis, I’ve found something interesting. I’m heading back with it now.”
Christe, eleison!
*****
“V... Vergil ...”
No answer.
“V... Vergil can you hear me?”
Crystal... a voice replied. I can always hear you.
“What?”
I am always with you... from here on out...
“Wait, Vergil.... what are you talking abo-...”
Suddenly, the dream ended. Crystal opened her eyes to the bright florescent light on the unfamiliar ceiling. She was in a haze and not really sure as to what had happened, or where she was. She sat up in the bed which she had laid in, stretching as she did. She yawned once more and then tried to get a better hold of her surroundings, and maybe what had happened before she was here.
“I was... captured by Shais...” she muttered to herself, “Vergil came to rescue me when and then we fought her as a team. What happened after that... ?”
“Now you die, girl!” Crystal moved to dodge as Shais raised her knife...
..and Shais’s blade relieved Crystal of her left arm... completely.
“CRYSTAL!!!!” Vergil’s voice strained as he watched Shais grab her fainting body.
Shais smiled as she bit into Crystal’s neck and drew as much blood as she could in one suck. She then pulled away, smiling at Vergil, and stabbed the crude knife into Crystal’s back, drawing her blood into the knife. “NOW, LORD AKRON! WITH HER BLOOD, COME TO THIS WORLD!”
“HOW DARE YOU!” Vergil yelled, firing a parasite energy blast at Shais. The vampire threw Crystal out the window and tried to dodge, but she was too late. The blast sent Shais clear through the tower and she needed to turn herself into a bat to stop from falling to her death...
She gasped in shock. Urgently, she grabbed for her left arm as she recalled just what had happened to her. Realizing she still had her left arm and, upon looking at it, it looked as good as it always had, she looked at her body closely. She inspected it for any injuries, but everything looked perfect. In a way, she almost felt... younger. She then grabbed her neck nervously, worrying about the vampire bite. She had heard that those fang marks stay with new vampires for decades before they go away, and yet she found none.
Did any of that actually happen? she asked herself. It was then that she figured it must have, or why else would she be in a place she didn’t recognize in a simple thin, light blue colored shirt and pants in a bed that smelled of cleaning solvents? As her gaze continued taking in everything around her she suddenly became aware of a stuffed object on the chair next to her. The object was white in color and was shaped mostly like a ball with three white knobs sticking out the top and little cloves resting next to it.
“Well, isn’t that cute?” she said, thinking aloud. She then reached over the bed and picked whatever it was and looked at it. Oddly enough, its gloves seemed to be separate from the rest of it, and yet they hovered with it. Without thinking, she placed the object on her lap and started petting it. The repetitive motion and supposed joy of the object relaxed her, something she needed at that moment.
Sighing, she spoke. “What are you, anyway?” she asked it, “You look awfully cute, at least...”
“Why, thank you!” the thing replied as it yawned and awoke. Crystal screamed.
*****
“....awaken....”
He gave no response.
“Awaken, damn it!”
Still no response.
The voice sighed. “You really aren’t as useful as your mother, are you? Alright, I’ll wake you up myself.”
There was a flash of light, as if he hadn’t seen light for months. Suddenly, everything flowed back to him. Memories, feelings, even a body. He distinctly remembered getting blown away by something but only a few days ago though... what happened?
“There!” the voice cried, “About time you woke up! Now stand up and feel the power again, Raven of Shais’ service!”
The half-vampire stood up for the first time in days. His eyes adjusting to the light, he discovered he was not in the graveyard Vergil that had killed him in. Rather, he was in some dark pocket dimension. The whole sensation reminded him of when he and his mother would jump dimensions to find a new one to host Akron, straight down to the strange wavy colors. Hovering in the air above Raven’s head was a dark, almost intangible mass that was hardly noticeable against the dark flowing reds and purples of the pocket dimension. Once he got over the initial wooziness, he knelt down on one knee before the mass, bowing his head. “Master Akron, I know not the reason for you resurrecting me, but I am grateful for the offer.”
“Spare it,” Akron replied, “Normally I do not restore those who fail me, but the one who killed you left you as the only one with enough of a body left for me to restore.”
Raven shot his eyes open. “What?! What about mother? Deathshrike? The others?”
“All destroyed beyond repair, even for my abilities,” The entity replied, “You’re lucky that ‘Vergil’ used that gun on you instead of what he did to your mother. I can’t even find a trace of her left.”
“Master Akron, if I may interrupt,” Raven said, “Why do you appear before me in this form? If you are here in this dimension, should you not have the form of your powerful body?”
“Alas,” Akron replied angrily, “That @*#&@! fought with your mother before she could finish summoning me, so my transference is incomplete. That is why I have awakened you.”
Raven stood and smiled, “Let me guess,” he said, “This is like the one time the Athenian Order interrupted your summoning and mother had to kill the infidel to complete the routine?”
The voice chuckled a little. “Yes, exactly, and this time the infidel is this Vergil person.”
“Fear not, master,” Raven replied excitedly, “I shall see to it that the nasty NMC pays for his deeds against us with his very life!”
Akron struck Raven with a blast of dark energy. “You won’t do anything of the sort, dunpeal.” Raven tried to stand back up as the entity continued. “Every time you’ve fought Vergil, he has dismissed you as if you were last week’s trash, and that has not changed. That is why I will accompany you.”
Raven growled. “Wait a moment! If you possess me, then I’ll cease to be when you’re summoned! Isn’t there another way we can do this?” The argument was made moot as the entity flew towards Raven at high speed. Raven cried out in pain as if he was being cut in several directions as the entity flew in and out of him several times. Finally, it came to a stop and Raven stood up straight again.
“This... power...” he muttered, “It... it ... it...”
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Akron’s voice spoke in his head. “Realize the perks to this possession; you now have more than enough power to vanquish this Vergil fool.” At that moment, dark energy collected before Raven. “Part of my power will not connect with you directly, but will become your powerful equipment.” Some of the energy then flew at Raven, destroying his old armor and replacing on him a new suit of armor that had ‘Warcraft 3 Death Knight’ written all over it. The remaining energy placed itself into Raven’s hand. “The remaining energy will create for you Kurogatana, a blade made from my essence. With it, you will be able to strike down the strongest foes, and I will consume their souls if you can wound them. The sword will take any form you please at that time so long as it is the form of at least one bladed weapon.”
Raven grabbed at the energy and it took the form of a large broadsword with a silver skull on the hilt. The sword’s black colored blade came out of the skull for quite some distance, at least half of Raven’s height. “Alright, master, we shall take our revenge on Vergil.”
“We still don’t know where he resides,” Akron noted. To this, Raven chuckled.
“Provide me with a way to get to his dimension, and I can find it.”
Akron’s voice rose in anticipation. “Simply strike your sword into the air while thinking of the place you desire. A tear will open and you, and only you, will be able to step through it. Since we are only moving our combined power through dimensions, we can cross them easily without a summoning ritual.”
Raven raised the Kurogatana and struck at the air of the pocket dimension to create a tear large enough for him. “Beware, Vergil,” Raven called as he walked into the tear. “For this dark bird of prey will be the deliverance of your destruction.”
“Raven...” Akron said in his head, “Leave the tacky threats to me okay?”
*****
It was one of those funny one-way mirror type things. The kind that always gets used in Resident Evil games and cop movies, where you can see through one end, and it’s a mirror on the other.
You would think Zeth thought to himself, that in this day and age enough people would have seen enough movies to know that when you’re being interrogated, if there is a giant mirror on one side of the room, you’re being watched. I don’t know why people even bother...
Zeth gazed through the window at the man he found at ground zero earlier that day. The man’s condition looked much improved, at least in the sense that he could walk and talk. Yet, he remained pale in both his skin and his short silver-blue hair. The man was dressed in a bright orange medical get up; this was no doubt the only clothing available to him since Zeth recovered him with absolutely nothing.
The only thing not pale about the recovered man was his bright red eyes, which seemed to glow a little every time Zeth looked at them. He supposed that was a result of the bite marks on his neck.
This many pieces had been fit into the puzzle thus far. The man had no name, and hardly any memory at all. He couldn’t remember the incident for the life of him, but he some how knew he was bit by a vampire. He seemed to have all the fixings of your normal amnesia case, right down the ability to remember all the basic things like how to read and write, but nothing of himself or anyone close to him. Biological and spiritual analysis revealed that the man was indeed vampiric, but not all of him. Some other force, which the agency’s scans could not identify, seemed to be contending with the vampire curse. The result was that the intensity of the competitive vampiric energies within him made it appear as if he was at least a hundred-year-old vampire, and yet, he spoke of being bit yesterday. Whatever it is that is fighting the vampire energies is probably what lets him walk at day, Zeth thought.
The officer on the other side of the mirror completed his questions. He informed the man that another person would have to speak to him, so he remained in his seat. This was Zeth’s cue. Unfolding his arms, he walked out of the room and just down the hall to the door leading into the interrogation room. When he entered, he was momentarily taken aback by the half-vampire’s glowing eyes.
“Hello there,” Zeth said as he regained his composure, “I am sure you remember me.”
“Yes,” the man replied, “You’re about the only thing I remember from that day.”
Zeth slowly walked over the table and pulled out the chair across from the man he saved. He sat down and rested his elbows on the table as he continued to speak. “That is tragic,” he said. “We were hoping you could be of more assistance to us. You see, my name is Zeth Regalia. I am an investigative agent for the Athenian Order. My job is primarily to investigate incidents of illegal dimensional travel and try and bring the perpetrator to justice.”
Much to Zeth’s surprise, his listener was not taken aback by his story. Instead, he nodded and waited for Zeth to continue. So Zeth did. “I found you while I was investigating one of our biggest cases, an entity known as Akron. You see, this entity has been responsible for the hallmark destruction of worlds using his great power and forces of the abyss to overwhelm the planet, conquer it, and add its life energy to his own power.”
“Sounds like a bad Warcraft 3 reference to me,” the man replied. Zeth simply coughed and continued.
“Akron, however, is so powerful in his completed form that he cannot travel through the dimensions as freely as you and I can. He can only do so through a summoning ritual that lets him bend the boundaries of dimensions.”
“The Warcraft 3 reference continues!”
Zeth’s eyes narrowed at his companion’s interruptions. Sensing hostility, the man smiled and closed his mouth, content with his work. You know, for someone with amnesia, Zeth thought. He sure does think he knows a lot. “So... um... well, look, Mr... alright, we need to give you a temporary name so that I can call you something and the author can stop calling you ‘the man’.”
“But I like being called ‘the man!’” the man replied.
Zeth fought the urge to hit his head on the desk. “Are you going to work with me or do I have to call you Que-Chan for the rest of this fic?”
Not wanting to be named after the vampire with questionable sexual orientation from Cha-Cha Red Riding Hood, the man shut up and cooperated. “How about ‘Virgil?” he asked.
Zeth gave the man an evil eye. “No, that’s the name of the hero of this story, moron! Haven’t you been paying any attention?!”
“Um... I don’t remember my own name... I don’t remember anything from earlier in the story, so I didn’t know that,” The man said smirking. “Who’s the moron now?” Seeing a blood vessel on Zeth’s head begin to bulge prompted the man to offer another solution. “Well, how about something Latin? Latin always sounds cool.”
Zeth sat down again and thought for a moment. After several minutes of intense thinking, Zeth came up with an answer. “How about Sanguineous? It means ‘blood thirsty’, a name I find quite fitting for a vampire.”
The man played with the name for a second. “Sang... gua... neee... us....” He repeated it to himself several times. “Yeah... I like that! From now on, you can call me Sanguineous!”
“Sure thing, San-san!” Zeth laughed as he stood up. Sanguineous began to protest about his chosen name, but no amount of argument was going to get it back from Zeth now.
“Come on,” Zeth motioned towards the door. “I have some things to discuss with you that we can talk about in a more comfortable place.”
Sanguineous coughed. “Um, could we get me in something more presentable than hospital clothes first?”
*****
“Master Favmar,” a favu called out across the large command room. “The Dominion’s forces are continuing to push farther onto Tau’saeara 23, taking out the installations one by one. If we don’t send re-enforcements soon, he’ll overtake the planet.”
“How many times do I have to tell you?” Favmar replied, “Vergil is those re-enforcements and he’s...”
“We have B’harroth on Channel 8, Favmar,” a human reported. “He seems just as impatient as he was yesterday.”
“Alright, let me talk to him,” Favmar replied as he approached the console to Channel 8. The large and unpleasant daemon’s face took up most of the display once again and the large Khornate sigil on the lower right hand corner of the screen could not be ignored.
“Favmar?!” the champion of Warhammer 40,000’s Blood God cried out. “I asked for that effete Neo-Mitochondrial @*#$%!!, not you! Where is Vergil?!”
“I told you yesterday: he’s on a business trip!” Favmar replied, “I’ll let him know you called when he gets back.”
“And I told you yesterday,” B’harroth replied, “That YOU can tell me where he is so I can get a hold of him! This is too important for me to wait for him to get back from his fairy saving trip of love and peace.”
Favmar sighed. “And my answer remains the same, you monster. Vergil did not want to be disturbed.”
“That is most unfortunate,” another voice spoke up from Channel 8, “we were hoping you’d be more cooperative today.”
“Void?” Favmar asked, “What in all blazes are you doing at B’harroth’s place?”
“We just finished a fight and thought we’d hang out and watch some anime when we got into an argument and decided we needed Vergil’s opinion,” Void stated as his face squeezed onto the display next to B’harroth’s. “B’harroth apparently needs him for something more urgent than that, but either way, his decision to escape us without warning us first is not permissible.”
“Well, there is nothing I can do about it,” Favmar replied. It was then that he heard a woman’s scream from down the hallway. “If you will excuse me gentlemen, I have some important business to attend to.” Despite the protests of the two R&D leaders, Favmar ordered the channel cut and walked out of the room. “Page me only if we’re under attack or something as unlikely as that.” Favmar stated.
About twenty rooms down the hall from the main control room and in a room of the VIP medical center, Crystal sat on her bed cringing away from the Favu she was holding. Said favu got itself back on its feet after being thrown to the ground and made a gruff complaint: “Well, gee, don’t act like I looked up your skirt or something.”
”Wha wha wha wha wha wha... !!” Crystal stuttered.
“What am I?” the creature finished for her, “I am a Favu, a High Favu to be exact. I am a condensed ball of soul energy given life through the power of free souls. I have no set physical form, but my abilities give me the option to exist in the physical plane if I condense my soul energy enough, which I am doing to appear visible before you.”
Crystal remained boggling her eyes at the Favu. Then she suddenly recognized the creature’s appearance from somewhere before. “Wait a second,” she said, “You have something to do with Vergil, don’t you?”
The favu leaped for joy. “Yes, yes! You know Vergil after all! Thank goodness! When did you last seem him??”
Crystal was taken aback by the favu’s burst of joy. “Actually, I don’t know what happened to him. When I last saw him, we were fighting Shais, and I wasn’t being of much help...”
“I am sure Vergil would not have let you fight if he wasn’t sure you could help,” the favu replied, “He isn’t hasty to put people he cares about in danger.”
Crystal blushed, “What leads you to believe he cared about me...” Her question was interrupted as Favmar entered the room. “Oh my g-... another one...”
“Alright, Ms... whatever your name is...” Favmar began, but was cut short by the woman he addressed.
“Crystal. Crystal Graves.”
Favmar nodded... in the way that only favus can. “Very well then, Ms. Graves, who exactly are you and what has happened to Vergil?”
“First,” Crystal replied, sitting up straight in the bed. “Tell me where I am and why you brought me here!”
“Your exact location in unimportant at this point in time and I brought you here to answer questions,” Favmar replied, “Good enough?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Favmar,” the High Favu complained, “Be kinder to the poor girl! She's a little stressed out right now. I can’t tell exactly what has happened, but I can tell her soul is still in shock.”
“Because we don’t have time to be wishy washy, Favdee,” Favmar replied, “We needed Vergil home yesterday, and you and I both know he doesn’t just go missing!”
“Well,” Crystal began, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what happened to him. I can’t even tell you why I’m not a pancake on a cliff with no left arm right now.”
Favdee took a step forward. “That, we can explain. When we went to the battle zone looking for Vergil, we scanned the area for Neo-Mitochondria. The whole area was crawling with it, but not consolidated enough to be a life form. Finally, we found something our scanners called an NMC and that we picked up.”
“Turns out,” Favmar continued for Favdee, “That you are our NMC.”
Crystal look at the pair of favus in absolute shock. “W... what?” she exclaimed, “I.. I am a...”
“You blood content of Neo-Mitochondria is high, and of genetic similarity to Vergil,” Favmar stated, “Otherwise our scanners wouldn’t have picked you up.”
“No,” Crystal whispered. She looked down at her left arm -- the one she shouldn’t have. “No, it can’t be,” she said aloud. “I should be a normal human... a vampire, if not that...”
Favdee shook his head. “We detected no traces of vampire energy on you and lots of Neo-Mitochondria,” At this point, Crystal lowered her head and held onto her arm. “Based off what we know about Vergil and his Neo-Mitochondria,” Favdee continued, “it is highly possible that Vergil might have done something to save you that involved sharing his Neo-Mitochondria with you. By now, those Neo-Mitochondria have probably taken over every cell in your body and you’re likely to become a more full-fledged NMC before too long.”
“What does that mean?” Crystal asked nervously.
Favmar lowered his head. “You could remain human,” he said, “or at least human looking. You also could become a violent, human killing, monster, depending on the path your Neo-Mitochondria take.”
“So in the end,” Favdee continued, “Vergil has saved your life, but at what cost? If he were here, I’m sure he could have guided the path of your mutation, but with him missing...”
“We’re sorry, Ms. Graves,” Favmar stated, “There is nothing we can do to reverse the effect short of killing you.”
There was an awkward silence as Crystal took in what she had just been told. She lowered her head and held the arm that Vergil gave back to her. He couldn’t have done that knowing the risks right? Crystal asked herself. I mean... he had to be sure what he was doing...
“Gentlemen, I’d...” Crystal began nervously. “I’d like to be alone with a while.” Favmar and Favdee nodded and started to walk out of the room when Favmar’s head-set beeped.
“What is it?” Favmar asked. “I thought I told you not to interrupt me unless...”
“Master Favmar! Nanimo Company is attacking our HQ! Void is leading the attack himself!”
Crystal raised her head as Favdee cried out. “Absurd! What does he think he’s doing?!”
“Drawing Vergil out,” Favmar replied grimly, “He knows that if Vergil gets wind that Void is personally taking out his troops with no real reason, he’d come back in a heartbeat.”
“But we have no Vergil to tell that to!” Favdee exclaimed.
Crystal’s body began to grow warm. Something inside her began to react, draw up some sort of strength. Vergil... she thought to herself. Then she recalled her dream before she came to.
Crystal, from here on out, I am always with you....
“We’ll have to face him ourselves,” Favmar said to Favdee, “And hope that the two of us can at least stop him.”
The High Favu cracked his gloved knuckles. “We’ll have to, I guess.” With that, the pair of Favus left the room urgently.
Crystal looked down at the sheets on her bed. Her body grew even warmer, as if reacting to the nervousness she felt. Her mind thought of Vergil. She thought of his smile, his smart remarks, and his odd abilities. Then she thought of what he had done to her, this curse he gave her, assuming she’d prefer it over being a vampire. She wished that purple-eyed freak were here so that she might punch him in the face.
But he wasn’t... and even if she might not like what might come of it, she still owed her life to him. Now he might have well gotten himself killed doing so, and his rivals stood to do considerable damage to everything he worked for.
“I owe it to him...” Crystal muttered. Her mitochondria began to resonate. “I at the very least owe it to him to take his place while he’s away.” Without giving it another thought, she leapt out of bed and ran out the door.
I have to do something! her mind raced as she shot through the hallway with new found strength and stamina. But I’m just running here with no weapon and dressed in these thin clothes! What am I to do... what would Vergil do...?
“HEY, YOU!” A voice cried out from behind her. She brought herself to a halt to see who had addressed her. A peach colored favu with blue eyes stood behind her with bows in its antennae. “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”
“To a fight outside,” Crystal cried, “I don’t have anytime to talk!”
“You’re not going to any fight dressed like that! And what are you going to fight with!” the Favu complained in a feminine voice. “Get your pretty little head in here girl, we need to fix a few things!”
*****
“Hey, Zeth? Are you sure I can only buy one outfit?”
“You sound like a girl, San-san,” Zeth replied from the other side of the dressing room curtain.
“I’d come out there and hit you if I had pants on,” Sanguineous threatened. There was some more shuffling as he finished put on his combined outfit. With a triumphant pose, not at all becoming of a vampire, he leaped out of from behind the curtain. “Behold! I am the heroic trend setter for years to come!”
“You’re definitely... um... not following the crowd,” Zeth commented. Sanguineous stood before him in his silly pose, dressed like some bizarre fusion of Richter Belmont, Squall Lionheart, and Cloud Strife. He had put on a pair of lose fitting blue pants and dark boots complete with belt. He had then put on a white collared shirt with those old-school ruffs hanging over his button down bright red vest. Over that was a dark leather jacket complete with fur trim along the collar. It was an odd combination indeed, but Zeth had to admit that he’d seen worse things than Sanguineous’ fashion sense.
The vampire stood up straight and looked at himself in the mirror. “I think it’s quite nice. It is befitting of a ‘hip’ and ‘today’ vampire, don’t you think?”
“I don’t think such terms should ever be used to describe a vampire,” Zeth replied. “If you like it, though, let’s get to the restaurant so that we can finally talk business.”
And so Zeth paid for the outfit on his company charge card and had an assistant who was with them carry the hospital clothes back to where Sanguineous had been admitted. Leaving the clothing store, Zeth and Sanguineous proceeded down the promenade of the shopping district of the space station. The atmosphere was oddly artificial to Sanguineous, but somehow it didn’t bother him too much. After a short walk, the pair walked into a bar and grill establishment and took their seats.
“So, tell me,” Sanguineous said. “Why are you going through all these lengths to feed me and clothe me? I can’t imagine you’re just being nice; I’m not as dumb as Faye Valentine was, you know.”
Zeth laughed to himself. “You sure do know your references for someone who doesn’t know his own name.”
Sanguineous shrugged. “You know the useless stuff comes back first,” he stated as the waiter approached. Turning to him, he placed his order. “I’ll have the steak, please.”
“How would you like that cooked sir?”
“Bloody,” Sanguineous replied.
Zeth sighed. “He means medium-rare,” he said to the server who wore a slightly disturbed face. “I’ll have the fish and chips please.” The waiter wrote the orders down, took their menus, and walked off. Once he was away, Zeth finally got to explaining himself to Sanguineous.
“You see, as I explained earlier, I was investigating this lord Akron character. I was hot on his trail and I finally was able to track down where his head minion had gone to summon him next. When I got there, however, I found that the area where she was based had been reduced to ground zero.”
“And that’s where you found me?” Sanguineous asked.
Zeth nodded. “Correct. I searched the place for several hours trying to find a trace of Queen Shais or Lord Akron, or the ones who had dispatched her, and found none. The only thing I found was you. We weren’t really sure what to do with you at first... your silver hair indicates that you were created by either Shais or one of her minions, yet your ability to exist during sunlight hours meant that you were not one of her normal minions.”
“I do remember that I was bitten,” Sanguineous interrupted. “I don’t really remember by whom, though...”
“Well,” Zeth continued. “Whatever you are, you are the only link we have to Akron left. We fear he may have possessed someone and is already hopping dimensions trying to rebuild his power base.”
“But I don’t remember a thing,” Sanguineous complained. “How am I going to be of any help?”
“If nothing else than in battle for one thing,” Zeth replied, pushing up his glasses with his finger. “Our scans indicate that you have the power comparable to a 100 year old vampire, which is nothing to laugh at. You also seem to have some other power that we can’t identify that we suspect is the reason why you can walk at day.”
“So I guess that makes me some uber-leet half-vampire then?” Sanguineous asked in an excited tone. “Like D, or Blade?”
“Yeah, but half-vampire half-what is what we don’t know.” Zeth answered in a concerned tone. “To be honest, I’m taking you with me because of orders from higher up. I don’t normally trust blood suckers, even if they can get a tan.”
Sanguineous smirked. “And I don’t trust people willing to feed and clothe a complete stranger without any mention of needed to pay him back.”
“Oh, you’re paying me back,” Zeth said. “One way or another, I’ll see to it you pay me back.” Sanguineous laughed as the waiter brought them their food. “So what do you say? Will you travel through dimensions tracking Akron with me?”
“Why not,” Sanguineous stated, wearing a smirking like Tasuki so that one fang was visible. “I’ve got nothing better to do, and who knows, maybe fighting with whoever bit me will get me my memories back!” He took a bite into his stake. “Mmm... blood...”
“You know, San-san,” Zeth commented. “Most people eat stake for the meat, not the blood.”
“FREAKS!” Sanguineous exclaimed as he took another bite. “And don’t call me San-san.”
*****
Cue: Rhapsody – Epicus Furor.
B’harroth stood impatiently behind Void’s forces as they pressed on further towards Favu Tech’s HQ building. In his arrogant mind, he could have ended this assault in half the time it was taking Void to weed Vergil out. The massive hulking warp daemon swung his axes around eagerly, waiting for the battle to begin for him. At that moment, his prayers were answered as a dark blade punctured through the air in front of him. A moment later, Raven stepped out of the tear Akron’s blade had created.
Raven, Akron’s voice rang loud and clear in Raven’s head. Are you sure this is the right dimension to find Vergil?
“Positive, Lord,” Raven replied out loud. “I’ve made this trip a number of ti...” He was cut short as he noticed the massive daemon standing before him, grinding a pair of massive axes together.
“Hey, look!” B’harroth cried preparing his blades. “Something to play with!”
“Who... what the heck is that?” Raven asked his omnipotent companion as he was taken aback by B’harroth’s massive figure. The daemon ran his axes together and smirked as he drew nearer to Raven.
“Who are you taking to?” B’harroth asked of the vampire. “Are you praying to your god? If you are, I’m sure mine has already feasted on yours’ blood.”
Stand your ground, Raven! Akron cried, again in his head. This mere daemon will be but a demonstration of the newfound power I have given you...!
Meanwhile, at the battle front, Void, standing with two what looked like Eva units on each side of him, advanced towards the last line of defense.
“It is odd,” Void commented to himself. “Normally, Vergil would have shown his purple-eyed self and complained by now...” Void was cut off as a chornosphere effect took place right before him and Favmar and Favdee stepped out.
“Alright, Void!” Favmar cried. “Call of your attack now or you’ll have to ask yourself... do you feel lucky?” As he said this, an uncountable number of personal firearms, ranging from pistols all the way to Redeemer Rocket Launchers, appeared suddenly hovering around his small round body, all pointed at Void. “Well, do ya?”
The Jurai-Angel laughed. “Tell me Favmar,” Void mocked, “Why do you waste your time? Why don’t you send your master Vergil out here instead of getting yourself hurt?”
“He’s told you once already!” Favdee yelled, putting his hands in a kung-fu fighting stance, “Vergil’s busy and we’re sure he’ll talk to you when he gets back.”
“You’re lying,” Void replied, “That little NMC should know better than to hide secrets from us that long, and if he doesn’t...” Void drew forth one of his Light Hawk wings and made a blade out of it. “Then perhaps it is time he relearned that painful lesson!”
“Hold it!” A cry rang out from the sky above. Void and the favus looked up to see what looked like a human woman fall from the sky and land between them in a loud boom. As the dust rose, Crystal stood up from her landing and then assumed a battle position with a silver long sword in her hands. The girl favu did a good job of making her over, replacing Crystal’s hospital clothes with a black body suit and light colored coat reminiscent of Gally from Battle Angel.
“I’m responsible for Vergil’s absence,” Crystal stated, staring Void in eyes. “If anyone is going to fight in his name today, it will be me.”
“That's a pity,” Void said with an evil smirk, “Since it means I’ll have to kill you, now.”
< - 1:3 Queen of Dark Horizons | 2:2 Unknown Allegiance - >
