< - 2:1 Awakening | 2:3 Rage of the Winter - >
Symphony 2: Rhapsody of the Blood Thirsty
2st Movement: Unknown Allegiance
-| Cue: Rhapsody – Symphony of Enchanted Lands - Epicus Furor. Cut right into - Emerald Sword from the same disk as soon as Epicus Furor ends | -
The sun light overhead beamed brightly down upon the field. Two women who looked disturbingly identical were driving down the open road, without another car visible for at least a few miles. The passenger found herself gazing out the window toward the east; she felt a tremor in her mitochondria.
“Aya,” the woman asked the driver, “Do you feel that?”
Quae mala venientia metuuntur
eadem afficiunt aegritudine instantia
The driver didn’t take her eyes off the road. “Yes, Eve,” she replied, “I’ve been feeling that ever since we met him about twenty years ago.”
“Eighteen,” the once childish clone of Aya, created by the Neo Ark Project, replied, “Eighteen years. And there is something different about it now.”
Aya sighed. “I thought you had lost all interest in him. He doesn’t cause any trouble for us and we don’t kill him. That was the deal, remember?”
“This isn’t him,” Eve replied, “Aya, please... let’s go there.”
*****
Crystal, Favumar, and Favdee prepared themselves for Void’s onslaught. The genetically engineered angel had to fight to control his laughter at this makeshift resistance. Where is Vergil? he asked himself, Why doesn’t he care for his decoys?
Meanwhile, about half a battlefield away, two avatars of evil were staring each other down.
“Master Akron... do we even have a chance?” Raven asked.
B’harroth bellowed with his daemonic voice: “Who do you speak to, little vampire? Whatever dark lord you pray to will soon be my $&@*! anyway, so how about you actually prepare to fight instead of just talking?”
Raven replied only by placing Kurogatana in a combat position, reading for the daemon’s attack.
Start “Emerald Sword”
B’harroth rushed forward, axes of Khorne brought to bear on the half vampire. Raven raised the Kurogatana and parried the first axe’s blow. B’harroth brought the second axe around to swing at his side, and Raven turned his weight so that his long sword could parry both blows. He then leaned back, letting B’harroth’s massive weight lean into his dodge, and leaped into the air. Raven came crashing down towards B’harroth’s head, but an invisible barrier formed around the daemon where the Raven’s dark blade would have split his enemy in two. Faster than Raven could react, B’harroth swung his axe over his head and into Raven, sending the half-vampire flying.
B’harroth turned his head in amusement. “A normal vampire would have been cut in two by that attack. You might be more fun than I thought!”
Raven simply growled and used the momentum of his landing to propel himself towards the daemon again.
Meanwhile, Void stood with his arms crossed before Crystal, Favmar, and Favdee. The stand off came to a halt when Crystal charged towards him.
I crossed the valleys the dust of midlands
to search for the third key to open the gates
Now I'm near the altar the secret inside
As legend told my beloved sun light the dragons eyes!
“Don’t make this so easy!” Void yelled as he threw his palm forward. There was a loud, high pitched, sound as an energy attack flew out from his hand. Crystal threw her arms up in an attempt to block the attack. The beam knocked her back for at least a hundred yards, breaking apart to form a cross before extending to its full length.
On the way to the glory I'll honour my sword
to serve right ideals and justice for all
“Crystal!” Favdee cried. Favmar didn’t waste anytime opening fire with his guns at Void, who simply raised his AT Field which deflected every last shot. It did not, however, deflect Favdee’s attack, which came from the left.
“The light of your soul cannot protect you from those who are made of such!” he cried as he threw out his floating, white gloved hands at Void. They contacted the AT Field and tore it to shreds like a wet paper towel. Favmar resumed fire, but right behind the AT Field was Void’s Light Hawk Wings.
Finally happened the sun lit their eyes
the spell was creating strange games of light
Thanks to hidden mirrors I found my lost way
over the stones I reached the place it was a secret cave
“Errrggh... FOOLISH MARKETING PLOYS!” Void cried. He hefted the sword he had made to fight Crystal with and slashed out, trying to hit Favmar and Favdee in one swing. The power of the sword radiated far outside the length of the blade and sent Favmar and his guns flying into the air, while Favdee simply leapt over the attack as fast as Void swung it.
In a long bloody battle that prophecies told
the light will prevail hence wisdom is gold!
Some distance away, Crystal shook her head in pain. “Mental note... don’t charge at arrogant R&D masters,” she muttered as she stood back up. It was then that a new wave of pain hit her as she realized the same left arm that she had lost to Shais had been severely charred by the attack. She looked at in horror, but she had only begun to fall into shock when her whole arm simply restored itself. Crystal blinked as she examined her once wounded limb. “What the... is this one of the things Vergil could do?”
For the king, for the land, for the mountains;
For the green valleys where dragons fly
Favmar leaped back onto his feet. “Oh, now that punk is gonna eat ION BEAMS!” Favmar produced a small remote from his inventory space, and pressed a few buttons. A few seconds later, a great column of blue light impacted Void’s Light Hawk Wings, taking a few down, but not all of them. Favdee was unharmed by the blast as he had simply dematerialized himself when it hit.
For the glory: the power to win the black lord
I will search for the emerald sword!
Crystal noticed the column of light over where she had been fighting Void. Wasting no time, she got on her feet and ran back to the battle, paying no attention to the fact Void’s attack seemed to have no detrimental effect on her stamina at all.
On the other side of the battlefield, Raven was still trying in vain to attack the avatar of Khorne. He leapt at the monster’s back, but the sword slid off the barrier. He fired off blasts of dark energy like Shais had used, and those too were simply deflected. Finally, in a blatant Chrono Trigger reference, he leaped into the air and started slashing at B’harroth repeatedly. Through all this, the daemon stood motionless until around the tenth swing of the Kurogatana. It was then that B’harroth brought one of his axes around and swung it into Raven’s gut. The half-vampire hunched over in pain. B’harroth brought his other axe around and hit the same area again, this time with enough force to send Raven into the air. As Raven was free-flying away, B’harroth flapped his wings once and then took off after him. As Raven reached the apex of his ascension, B’harroth was already there to clobber him several times with his axes and then send him back down into the ground.
Raven struggled to get back up. You moron! I give you all this power and you can’t handle a mere demon? Akron protested.
“This is no mere demon, master,” Raven replied between coughs. “He is the daemon master of Khorne’s Research & Development branch! I warned mother of the power of the R&D Masters! The fault is not with me but your inability to give me enough strength.”
SILENCE, FOOL! Akron cried. How dare you say such things! You are my servant, and so you are the incompetent one. Raven looked over his shoulder and noticed B’harroth slowly advancing to finish him off. Alright, Raven, I think I’ve found a potential universe where we can find Vergil. We will finish this fight later, once you are stronger!
“But if Vergil is anywhere, he is here!” Raven protested.
B’harroth stopped. “Vergil? What do you want with that @#%$-and-bull excuse for an ultimate life form anyway?”
“Mighty R&D Lord, my name is Raven, servant of Akron. Vergil has committed a transgression against my master and I seek vengeance.”
B’harroth rubbed his chin. “Heh. At your power, Vergil would reduce you to nothing. As much as I would love to take that task on myself, I’ll let you go if you tell me where he is.”
Raven hesitated. “You mean he isn’t at his headquarters?”
B’harroth shook his head. “No. We’ve been trying to reach him for some time, yet he refuses to speak to the other R&D masters. These actions will not be tolerated!”
Raven stood up straight. Perhaps my master is right after all, he thought. Without a word, Raven swung his blade at the air, creating a tear again and leapt through it.
B’harroth remained indifferent to his retreat. “Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows. If Vergil takes it or I do, he’ll still be happy.” With that, he took off into the air to find Void.
Only a warrior with a clear heart
could have the honour to be kissed by the sun
Yes, I'm that warrior I followed my way
led by the force of cosmic soul -- I can reach the sword
Meanwhile, Void and Favdee were exchanging blows between Void’s Light Hawk Wing Sword and his floating gloved hands. “You know I’m just playing with you, right?” Void asked.
“Oh, are you, foul genetic freak?” Favdee replied. “You would be wise not to belittle High favus!”
On the way to the glory I'll honour my sword
to serve right ideals and justice for all
Void smirked as he swung his sword again. “Look, I don’t have a master who mutates into things during a fight okay? If anyone’s a foul genetic freak, it’s him.” He made the sword disappear and stood his ground. “As for belittling you, I’m not. I’m simply being a realist.” Favdee charged towards his idle nemesis. Suddenly all of Void’s Light Hawk Wings came to life. In a speed the human eye cannot trace, the wings reached out and beat on the high favu repeatedly for about a minute until Void finished charging up a huge blast of angel energy in his left hand. As he was about to fire the blast, he cried out, “From soul energy you came, to soul energy you will return!”
For the king, for the land, for the mountains;
For the green valleys where dragons fly
Just as he was about to fire the blast, however, Crystal leapt in between the two of them. The full force of the blast impacted against her, yet she stood her ground. Her DDS cards had made her impervious to holy damage. Void, who was still surprised by her not being dead, wasn’t ready for her to leap out at him after the blast. While she swung her sword with her right arm, she placed her left arm behind her back and swapped her DDS card combo to Venus and Thunderbird, augmenting her attack strength. The charge ended with her blade causing an open wound on Void’s cheek.
For the glory: the power to win the black lord
I will search for the emerald sword!
“WHELP!” Void cried angrily as he swung his burning arm into Crystal’s head, knocking her over. He was about to make another Light Hawk Wing blade to cut her down when she leapt back on her feet and threw her arms forward.
For the king, for the land, for the mountains;
For the green valleys where dragons fly
Warm... Crystal thought. Why is my body so warm! How am I able to do these things?! She let out a battle cry as a blast of Parasite Energy flew from her hands at Void who was forced to deflect the blast with his Light Hawk Wings. When the dust settled, Void stood, still unscathed, but very very angry.
For the glory: the power to win the black lord
I will search for the emerald sword!
“You have seen the last of my mercy, woman,” Void said as he threw his hands to his sides and balled up his fists. Electricity began to leap from the ground to his body and back again and his face looked like it was about to contort. “I will crush you under my feet!” his voice cried out in a frightening reverb style.
-| Song ends | -
Suddenly, the blunt end of an axe-pole struck Void in the head and his transformation stopped. Rubbing the point of impact, Void turned his head and saw B’harroth looking right at him. “You stupid daemon! What was that for?!”
B’harroth laughed at his rival as Crystal looked on confused. Who is this one? she thought, Is he friend of foe...
The daemon turned to Crystal, Favdee, and Favmar, who were all preparing for his next move. In a great resounding wail, the warp energy of B’harroth’s daemon form fell apart and dissipated into the air. When all the energy had gone, alone stood a nearly six foot tall pale man with long, curly black hair, tied into a pony tail that reached half way down his back. He stood before them in black jeans and a white shirt with a fancy dragon pattern on it. He smiled smugly at Favutech’s defenders.
“I am B’harroth, Lord Chosen of Khorne, destroyer of worlds, harvester of souls, yadda yadda,” the man said. “I hail as master of the Blood God’s Research and Development Department, and, through my many millennia of service, have been given the gifts and powers of a Chaos Lord, including the mighty form of the Blood Thirstier.” He made a dramatic paused and then nodded to Crystal. “And you are?”
Crystal relaxed her stance a little, but didn’t lower he defense. “I am Crystal Graves, descendant of the legendary Belmont clan of vampire hunters. I come from another dimension as this, a dimension that was aided by Vergil. I assume you know him?”
“Tell me, Crystal,” B’harroth said. “Where is everyone’s favorite purple eyed hippie as of late?”
“What’s... a hippie?” Crystal asked.
“We told you B’harrie,” Favmar yelled. “Vergil is away! You can speak with him when he returns!”
Void growled. “We’re not buying that anymore, Favu!” He was about to strike out again when Crystal threw her hand out.
“Wait!” She cried. “Enough of these lies, they are only getting people hurt!” All eyes turned to her and she took a deep breath to prepare for what she had to say. “I... don’t know where Vergil is now, but I do know what he was doing before he disappeared.” In ten minutes, Crystal managed to fill in the favus, B’harroth, and Void completely in the events that took place on her world. She didn’t miss a single detail, hoping that they would offer up hints to where Vergil was that she herself might not understand.
At the end of her story, and a Q&A to clarify details, B’harroth laughed. “Ha! That moron! He probably got himself killed by that vampire queen trying to save you!” Crystal’s eyes shifted downward, her spirits waning at the thought that she might be responsible for Vergil’s demise.
“Nonsense,” Void replied. “Vergil is alive and well. We must give him far more credit than that. He has always proved resourceful in the past.”
“I know,” B’harroth answered his companion/competitor between chuckles. “Knowing Vergil, he’ll come out of this stronger than he was before he left, which means you and I have some training to do.”
Void gave B’harroth a sideways glance. “Training? Why? This is a golden opportunity! Vergil’s gone and no one knows when he’ll be back! If we call The Dominion now, we can end Favutech forever, and split the Home Office shares between us all!”
A wave of terror and nervousness ran down Crystal’s spine, which she struggled to keep from making her scream at the thought. Her efforts failed when B’harroth replied Void with an inhuman roar, at which she did scream.
“I WILL NOT STAND FOR THAT!” B’harroth cried. “What fun would that be? To destroy everything a great warrior has fought to build and protect while he’s recovering from battle? There will be no glory for Khorne in such an act of cowardice! We can crush Favutech with our combined might with or without Vergil, so why do it when it doesn’t stand a chance?”
Void gave B’harroth a look like he was crazy. “But B’harroth, I thought Khorne cares not from whence the blood flows...”
“ENOUGH!” B’harroth yelled again. “NO ONE WILL CRUSH VERGIL’S WORK UNTIL HE IS BACK HERE AND READY TO FIGHT!” Void made a look at B’harroth as if to ask how he was going to stop him, and B’harroth returned it with a look like he was going to eat Void’s face. Without another word, both R&D masters stomped off, still staring at each other in the face, and walked all the way back to the forward command groups of the attack forces they brought with them. A few minutes later, Nanimo Co. and the Khornate forces engaged each other in combat.
Crystal looked perplexed. “Weren’t they just here trying to kill us?”
Favdee reached up with his gloved hand and grabbed Crystal’s as he and Favmar started walking back to Favutech HQ. “Just ignore them, this sort of thing happens all the time.” With the sounds of war at their backs, the defenders returned to their base.
*****
The door opened in a flash into the Athenian Armory. Sanguineous made an impressed whistle as he and Zeth entered the room. “So, um, you must have connections with the NRA, then, huh?”
Zeth advanced into the room and started looking at some of the weapons. “There is no NRA here. These weapons were designed and given to us to fight dimensional violators like Akron.”
Sanguineous scratched his head. “So then why do these all look like typical sci-fi rifles and pistols?” Zeth didn’t answer that one.
“For this assignment, we’re allowed one side arm and one primary weapon,” Zeth stated, passing something that looked like an assault rifle to his new partner. “The side arm must be no greater size or cost than a standard Arc-Laser pistol.”
“A what?”
“One of these,” Zeth answered, throwing a pistol with several small chambers on around its casing as well as a larger center chamber. The pistol was slightly heavy for your average side-arm. “It fires harmless targeting crystals which then use gravity to bend laser beams fired from the pistol at the target.”
“Sounds fancy and flashy,” Sanguineous replied, placing both on the floor. “Got anything in the close combat department? I obviously don’t remember for sure, but feeling these guns makes me think I was more of a fighter type before I lost my memory.”
Zeth gave his partner a concerned look. “Can you fire a gun?” The half vampire picked up one of the simpler energy pistols, and pointed it at Zeth. Zeth’s eyes boggled out of his head as the vampire took aim for his head. He stuttered as San-san closed one eye and just before he pulled the trigger, adjusted his aim. The blast from the pistol hit a whole foot from Zeth’s head, leaving a charred mark on the wall. “WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA?” Zeth cried.
Sanguineous put the gun in a pocket on the inside of his coat. “Yeah, that’ll do for the sidearm, now what about my primary weapon?” He walked around the armory looking for weapons and Zeth regained his composure. Searching the weapons lockers, San-san was pleased to find a variety of close combat weapons available. The generic energy saber, the plasma-gunblade, the European looking sword forged with magical powers, and so on and so forth. He reached for the gunblade, and gave it a few swings in the air. His first swings were clumsy as he tried to adjust to the weight, but after that he managed to make several elegant swings with the large weapon, never hitting anything but air with his swings.
He set that weapon down and tried a pair of small blades. Again, he was awkward with them at first, but in not too long he began to make use the weapons as if he had trained for a long time with them. Sanguineous repeated this process with the large sword and another gunblade he found, but still never felt fully comfortable with them. Finally, he noticed a katana on the locker. Smiling as he picked it up, Sanguineous took the blade and held its ornate black and silver scabbard in front of his face. He pulled the sword out just enough to look at the blade, and he immediately found himself attached to it. He slowly finished drawing it and then set the scabbard down where he had found it. Taking the blade in both hands, Sanguineous proceeded to swing the blade masterfully several times. An experienced swordsman could tell you he still had much to learn as far as techniques were concerned, but the few he knew, he performed with beautiful elegance unbecoming of the walking-dead.
Zeth clapped as Sanguineous placed the blade back in the scabbard. “So I take it you like that one the most?” Zeth asked. “That blade was created by a now extinct people called the Makei. They were masters of soul energy... something that lead to their eventual demise. That blade is forged through the heat of soul energy and thus is capable of cutting through materials the alloy the blade is made of normally couldn’t.” He smiled as he looked at one of the deactivated energy sabers. “It can even stand up to an energy beam. The Makei had quite powerful devices. It is tragic that their own creations destroyed them.”
Sanguineous turned and faced Zeth. “May I take this one?” No sooner did Zeth nod in response than did Sanguineous take the sword and strap it onto his belt. He then closed his eyes and recited something that came to him automatically. He couldn’t place the significance what he said, yet he allowed himself to say it anyway.
“Without a warrior, a blade is but a decoration. Without a blade, a warrior is but a man. Together, they create a warrior.”
“What’s that?” Zeth asked, but before San-san could answer, the devices on Zeth’s wrist beeped. Flipping back the cover panel, Zeth pushed two buttons and said, “Go ahead, Piecis.”
“We just picked up an unauthorized dimensional jump from Universe0RD321 to Universe 0PSO123,” the woman on the other side answered. “Jump signature matches that of Akron... he’s on the move again.”
“Alright, Piecis,” Zeth replied. “San-san and I will get over to the portals immediately.” He pushed a button and closed the panel. “All done here, San-san?”
Sanguineous glared at Zeth. “Yes, but do you have to call me that?” Zeth chuckled and moved swiftly past Sanguineous and out the door. San-san swiftly moved to keep up with him. “Hey?” he asked as they left the armory. “Don’t you need to pick up some stuff?”
Zeth raised his hands up as he started making a light jog down the walkway. He pointed to the devices on his wrist. “I earned these saving a merchant’s daughter three years ago. With them I can remain in contact with mission command at all times as well as control ‘ki’ energy as I see fit. I’d rather take these than anything in that room.” Sanguineous nodded in agreement and the duo lightly jogged down the pathway towards the room where the portals were kept.
*****
Crystal stepped into the briefing room. She sat down in a random chair around the table, dressed in a new set of what she was wearing to the battle earlier that day. “So what did you find out?” she asked Favmar who sat on the table going over some printouts as Favdee talked on the phone.
“Actually, we found out something rather interesting,” Favmar replied. “There might be more than one reason why our scanners thought you were Vergil.”
Crystal was so used to be confused that she didn’t look shocked by the statement, only impatient for an explanation. “And? Go on.”
“Well, we hadn’t run a check on your soul energy readings,” Favmar replied pulling out one piece of paper. “And what we found was quite interesting.”
“Soul energy readings?” Crystal asked. “Is that like some complicated way of checking my sign?”
Favdee put down the phone and turned to face Crystal. “No, actually. Let me ask you this, what makes the difference between you and a machine?”
Crystal thought for a moment. “That I can think for myself. I breathe. I am organic.”
“Try moving beyond the technical,” Favdee suggested.
“I don’t understand,” Crystal replied, a little frustrated that these favus hadn’t figured out that she hasn’t exactly benefited from the same technology level of education as them.
“Very well,” Favdee replied, beginning his explanation. “The difference is soul energy, a power that flows freely throughout the universe. Soul energy is attracted to certain bodies more so than others, so it will collect in such places. For example, planets tend to attract a lot of soul energy, even if they aren’t capable of supporting life.
“When a planet matures to be able to support the first evolutionary stages of life,” Favdee continued, “then it gives some of its soul energy to initiate the process. That energy is given to the life forms and they become ‘alive.’ They have ‘souls’ at that point.”
Crystal nodded. “I think I get you so far.”
“Whenever these organisms reproduce, they create more soul energy in the new life form, thus eventually giving back to, and even increasing, the planet that ‘lent’ them that soul energy. So, in short, you, myself, and Vergil all consist of soul energy. The difference between me and you, however, is that I was created by soul energy that was not a part of a planet condensing freely into this form.” At this point Favdee would be smiling if he had a mouth. “That is how you are able to perceive me on the physical plane even though I technically have no physical form.”
“Now you’re losing me,” Crystal stated.
“That’s all you really need to know anyway,” Favmar interrupted. “According to this data, your soul energy has been tainted. Someone appears to have given you a generous donation.”
“What?” Crystal asked, now looking a little surprised. “How?”
Favmar handed her the paper, even though she had no prayer of understanding what it meant. “The amount of soul energy you have that was your original soul is insufficient for you to still be alive. I am guessing that what Shais did to you really put you your life beyond repair.” He then pointed to an image on the sheet were the wavelength patterns changed drastically. “However, if you are given the soul energy of another, you can live on, but not without taking a part of that person with you.”
Vergil’s voice rang through Crystal’s head suddenly. I am always with you... from here on out
“A normal person,” Favmar continued, “cannot pray to perform such a feat. But Vergil’s soul wasn’t completely his own either. It is custom for a dying Favu Chieftain to pass his failing soul energy to the succeeding chief, and so he did when Vergil took over. Doing so gave Vergil control over his soul energy, and it seems he gave you some of his to keep you alive.”
“In fact,” Favdee added, waving his floating hand in the air. “After careful consideration, we think it was the soul energy that fought of the vampiric curse, not Vergil’s Neo-Mitochondria.”
“I see,” Crystal replied, trying to take everything in. “So... I might have what’s left of Vergil inside me right now.”
Favmar and Favdee exchanged nervous glances. “Well... um... I wouldn’t say it that way because this isn’t a bishojo anime and you’re not pregnant.” Favmar said cynically. “Also, from the look of things, the soul energy he gave you is a little closer to our old chieftain’s wave length than his, so you’re more our next chief than what’s left of Vergil if he’s dead.”
Crystal blinked in shock. “Would you mind running that by me again?” Before Favmar had a chance to say anything, an alarm went off in the room. The lights turned off and ceiling and wall paneling gave way to flashing red lights. “Warning! Warning!” A digitized voice that sounded a little like Vergil said. “The System detects an unidentified Class Eve NMC approaching the base. Necessary counter-measures are not available. Please take necessary precautions.”
All three of them cried out at once. “WHAT?!”
Just outside the Favutech base, a lone woman dressed in a long black coat with red stripes on it flew towards the base at high speed. As she drew near, Obelisks of Light de-cloaked and charged their lasers, but failed to acquire a target before she had flown by too quickly. A couple of SAM sites opened fire as well, but the missiles exploded before the got close enough to the advancing woman. She flew right at the building, not slowing down for a second, and when she was just about to hit, she disappeared into a ripple effect that looked if she had bent time and space.
Suddenly, the ripple appeared on the table where Crystal and the favus were talking. The trio leaped away from the table just in time before the woman emerged from the distortion and then hovered in place before them. The woman shot her glowing azure eyes at Crystal’s, sizing her up as if she was some great threat.
What... what is going on?! Crystal thought in terror. Suddenly, she grabbed her chest and leaned against the wall. “W... warm...” she muttered out loud. “Why am I getting so warm?”
“So, you’re the one I am sensing,” the woman spoke softly. “What’s your deal? Why haven’t I sensed you before? Are you another Neo Ark survivor?”
Favmar leaped up on his feet. “Eve? Eve is that you? What are you doing here... why...” The ball of soul energy shook in frustration. “We had a deal!”
“That deal was with Vergil, not with you,” the woman replied. “And my concern is with this threat to humanity, also not with you.”
Crystal threw her arm out. “Wait! It’s not what you think! I’m not an NMC!”
The young clone of Aya Brea charged a ball of Parasite Energy in her hand and threw it at Crystal. The blast nailed her up against the wall, but did no obvious damage. “You cannot lie to me,” Eve stated, still in a soft and eerie voice. “Your mitochondria and mine are resonating, I can feel it.”
Crystal coughed and stood up straight. “Look, if it’s a fight you want, then ask for one! I’m telling you, I’m not what you think I am!”
“Then explain why your mitochondria are awakened!” Eve shot back.
“Vergil did this to me! He was trying to save my life!”
A look of shock filled Eve’s face. She began to sweat as she considered the possible truth in Crystal’s words. Then she laughed nervously. “Never! Vergil knows the hell we live through, why would he want to make someone one of us?”
Favdee growled. “You know Eve, you still have a lot to learn from your ‘sister.’ Things like patience and some other social courtesies!”
“Can it, old man!” Eve retorted. “I told you my business is not with you!” Favdee replied to this by leaping in the air at Eve. She glided to the side to get out of the way, but Favdee’s hands moved independently and still punched her in the face. As Eve grabbed for her face after the hit, Favdee’s other hand slammed into her side and sent her against the wall. When Eve looked up to get back on her feet, Favmar hovered over her with several guns pointed at her.
“You’re threatening our new potential chief,” Favmar stated. “I think it’s our business.”
Eve upturned her lip. “Where’s Vergil? I demand to know what is going on and why Vergil would create an NMC.”
“We don’t know,” Crystal answered, her injuries inflicted by Eve already healing. “The last I saw him was just before I should have died on the field of battle. He might be alive or he might... the point is we don’t know where he is.”
Eve’s rage seemed to melt as she thought about this. “He’s not dead,” she replied. “Vergil doesn’t die. It’s not on the expansive list of things he can do.”
Favdee smiled at the calming Eve. “We know my dear. If you’ll get a hold of yourself, we’ll explain everything.”
*****
The room had a very strange lighting arrangement to it. There were no overhead lights, just the light cast by the consoles and florescent lights on the walls. Across from each console was a ring-shaped object with a glowing pool of light in the middle. Most of them were off, but only seconds after Sanguineous and Zeth entered, one of them came to life and a man dressed much like Zeth jumped out of it, carrying what looked like a knocked out thug over his shoulder.
The pair walked past three or four consoles before they stopped at the one Piecis was manning. Between her simple dress and simple looks she had a sort of subtle beauty about her, one that both men found captivating. Her voice was as soft as her sea-blue eyes and as light as her natural looking white hair. Sanguineous didn’t know what the pair of dark blue dots tattooed on her forehead meant, but they seemed to add mystery to her otherwise plain form. She wore a black blouse and black pants which were ornamented only by the occasional silver detail and her name tag, which read “Piecis Alistair.” She appeared to be in her early 20s.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” she said as they approached her. She sat behind a massive console which had 3D holographic displays as well as 2D screen on it. San-san took note that her chair looked very comfortable. “We’re not sure how he moved so fast, but as you entered the room, our Akron has started preparations to jump dimensions again. I recommend you wait until we can get a fix on his new location to go jumping after him.”
“Thank you, Piecis,” Zeth replied, nodding. He then turned slightly and extended his arm to San-san. “This is our double agent, the vampire I told you I found around Shais’s old castle. He still doesn’t know his name or much about his past, but he’s currently going as Sanguineous.”
The half vampire took a step forward, bowing slightly. “A pleasure to meet you, Piecis.” He said as he took the hand she had extended to shake his. Leaning down he gave her hand a gentle kiss. “It brings me sorrow that my memory cannot conjure up places I might have been to that are as beautiful as you.”
Peicis blushed. “W... why, thank you, Sanguineous. That’s awfully kind of you.”
Steam shot out from Zeth’s ears. “Alright, San-san, let’s remember we’re on the job here...!”
“Don’t call me San-san!” Sanguineous protested, but Piecis giggled.
“I think San-san is a cute name,” she stated, making a cute, closed eyed smile as she giggled.
Sanguineous quickly recovered. “Well, you can feel free to call me that if you want,” he said smiling. Zeth’s face turned red with fury.
“Look, can we please just get going?” He asked.
Piecis put on her headset and started playing with the console. “Alright, he’s jumped. I’ve got a fix on the location and we’re ready to send you at any time.”
“Good!” Zeth replied. “Come on, Casanova, let’s get going.”
Sanguineous turned to follow Zeth and stopped just short of the portal. “I’ll look forward to coming back to see you, Piecis!” he said.
“I look forward to seeing you again too, San-san,” She replied. Zeth grabbed San-san by the coat collar and threw him into the portal. He then turned to Piecis.
“Alright, I’m going in,” he said, waving to his mission supervisor. Piecis made an amused chuckle and waved back and he leaped in.
*****
It amazed Crystal how much the sunset here was like the one back home. Still filled with beauty and radiance, the sun of this planet worked to soother her stressed soul. Neo-Mitochondria, R&Ds, Soul Energy... she would be perfectly happy to never hear these words again. She didn’t really want to be here, in a way she felt as if she was being held against her will, even though she wasn’t. Favmar tried a few times throughout the day to tell her she didn’t have to stick around. “With Eve here now, and willing to help, she can help fill Vergil’s place while we keep looking. If you want to go home, see your family, help them rebuild, please do.”
Her family. All that’s left now is her father, at least she thought so. There’s no telling how Vergil’s battle with Shais ended. It was as if everyone who was there died, including the victorious hero. Why would he run away? Why would he go into hiding after that fight? He seemed so confident that Shais was a small threat he could crush in his sleep. Was he wrong? Is the last of Vergil really now intermixed with her own soul?
Crystal sighed as she tried to think of something else than these questions. “It’s like Eve said... Vergil can’t die.” She said to herself. “He might be killable, but he’s not at a point in his life where he can afford to give up. But if he is alive, why is he hiding?”
She couldn’t go home. Not now. Vergil gave her these abilities and left her for Favutech to find. Surely this was part of the plan? Maybe he’s on his way home right now and he’ll show up tomorrow. “That has to be it!” she said aloud, “I’m sure it's a long journey between dimensions without that Chronowhatever of his.”
The sound of a pressurized door opening could be heard from behind her. She turned her head from the sunset to notice Favdee walking onto the platform with her. The high favu leaped up onto top of the guard rail and stood next to Crystal. “Favmar and I have contacted the various armies under Favutech’s control to keep an eye open for him. If he’s anywhere in the reffable universes, I’m sure we’ll see him soon.”
Crystal sighed. “Favdee, what kind of relationship does Vergil have with that woman?” She asked.
“Eve?” Favdee replied. “Why do you ask?” Crystal didn’t reply, she only turned her head and mumbled something incoherent, at which Favdee smiled. “Vergil and Eve are a lot alike. They are both creations of a project called ‘Neo Ark.’ The goal of the project was to produce the artificial evolution of the entire human race into Neo-Mitochondrial Creatures that fed on each other, thus balancing out the over populating humans. Early in the project they needed something to control the ANMCs, and so they made a clone of the first NMC hunter, Aya Brea, and named her ‘Eve’ after the first NMC.
“Vergil, however, was part of a different aspect of the project. Sometime after Eve was created, the researchers finally got their hands on genetic samples from Eve and the Ultimate Being from the New York incident. They began research on creating the ultimate NMC that combined the potential of Aya, and the NY Eve and Ultimate Being. The result was the Vergil you know now.”
Crystal looked at Favdee with concern. “Is Eve as powerful as Vergil?”
Favdee laughed at the prospect. “Oh, of course not! Aya’s Neo Mitochondrial powers were never as strong as the first Eve or the Ultimate Being. Eve, however, being born an NMC has an entire body’s worth of Neo-mitochondria, as opposed to Aya’s left eye, so she is still the second most powerful NMC I’ve ever seen or heard of. And as Vergil’s senior, she probably has more powerful versions of whatever abilities they share.”
Crystal nodded. “That makes sense, I guess. I still don’t quite understand all the details to this ‘Neo-Mitochondria’ stuff. Maybe I’ll look it up when I’m a little less exhausted.” She yawned and then turned her face back to the setting sun. “Do she and Vergil get along?”
“When Eve and Aya found Vergil, we hadn’t taken him in yet,” Favdee replied, his tone of voice changing to a serious one. “Vergil was a threat and menace to human society, and it took the combined efforts of Eve and Aya to put his rampage to an end. When they did though, neither of them could bring themselves to destroy him. Eve felt as if Vergil was like a brother to her, as the two went through similar trauma being raised by the Neo Ark researchers and being guarded by the Golem Soldiers. When things were over, the trio made a deal. If Vergil never became a threat to human society again, then Eve and Aya would forget they ever found them and the FBI MIST department would think he was destroyed.”
“So, creating more NMCs violates that deal?” Crystal asked.
“Yes,” Favdee stated. “That’s why Vergil’s placed strict limits on how much research he allows us to do on him and his mitochondria. That’s why we were so unsure about what he had done to you.”
“How long ago was this?”
“About 18 years ago,” Favdee replied. “They found Vergil when he was only a year or so old and we found him when he was about three. Neo Mitochondria like their hosts to be an optimal age, so they age their hosts to maturity as fast as they can and then hold them there. We have yet to find out if this grants their host immortality, but we think it does.”
Crystal yawned and then stretched out. “I’m exhausted, Favdee. I think I need to get some sleep.”
”Sleep well, future chief,” Favdee replied. “Tomorrow you’ll have an even rougher day ahead of you.”
Crystal blinked. “Why?”
“Eve has agreed to train you to unlock your Parasite Energy abilities,” Favdee stated as he hopped down from the guard rail. “In the event some of our armies rebel, one of the R&Ds attack us again, or that Vergil is dead and you need to take his place, you’ll need to be as powerful and NMC you can be.”
“But I don’t want take over for Vergil permanently!” Crystal protested. “I don’t want to be a powerful NMC either! I just want to be a vampire hunter back at home with my family!”
Favdee gave Crystal an angry stare. “Then go home. If you’re not going to help Vergil, then get out of my sight. We don’t like freeloaders here.”
Crystal struggled to keep from crying. Finally she raised her face and looked Favdee in the eyes. “If it’s to help Vergil, then fine, I’ll do it.”
Favdee nodded. “Good, now go to sleep. You’ll need the rest.”
< - 2:1 Awakening | 2:3 Rage of the Winter - >
