FicWad

Chapter 23



The Clan arrived, which was by that point 300 strong, with 200 of them effective fighters. When all had gathered, Jean-Claude stepped forward and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, you are all well aware of the threat we face, and it shall soon come to a head. However, what we face is going to be greater than anything we could have expected. The kind of training that you would need would take longer than what I would have time to tend to, thus, the men who trained me are here to assist us in our fight. Using our abilities, we will be implanting into you that which you would need to stand in this fight. In addition, you are going to get the 'gentlemen's course' in what I received. Normally, Iwould rather put you through the extensive training that you would have the discipline needed to withstand some of the extremes you could face. I feel that you already have the discipline, but you still need the knowledge. With that, I present the seven vampires responsible for making me what I am. If something should happen to me, they will be the ones in charge. Follow them as you have followed me. Just have the sense that seven more of me have shown up. Let's get to work."

With that, they spent the lion's share of the night learning what they would need to know. However, Jean-Claude was not sure that it would be enough, but it would have to be. The bokor they would face could well be doped up on that stuff the others were, and vamped out to boot. What would they do?



Plans were made, and Clarice went undercover to the shrine, lest she tip off the bokor before the time. She explained who she was and what was happening. She gained the permission to use the clearing, but then she explained that there would be danger lurking. The one in charge of the shrine assured her that they would have precautions ready for them, for the right price, of course. Yet, he also said that, when the danger had passed, they would love to have the real event there, because it would be a way to chase off the bad spirits once and for all once victory had been gained. Once that was done, all the principles were put together, and news of the wedding day spread. In fact, it was pushed fairly publicly, just to insure that the word got out well. In the interim between then and the wedding day, the Clan took every opportunity to train that they could. The more they got in, the better prepared they would be. Karin spent time preparing her wedding dress, while the other girls, (Maki, Yuriya, the Devil sisters, the Innocent sisters, and Yukkiko,) were helping her with that, and their own bride's maid gowns. Calera was all agog about it, while Eldafelt a bit out of place. Things like this did not happen in the vampire world, but this was different. She helped where she could, but it still did not seem normal. However, there was one thing that was a bit different. All the girls' dresses were being designed for the purpose of instant alteration. That way, they could be ready for anything. What they were doing felt enough like a real wedding to the point where they often forgot what the real purpose of this thing was. They had to remember that this was going to be a counter trap to whatever trap they thought they might be springing.



Indeed, in all this time, Teresa was making preparations. By this point, about 100 bokor foot soldiers arrived. All the sorcerers were vamped out save for Mimoun, because he wanted to remain human for the sake of the situation. Teresa could not figure out why he would refuse a ticket to immortality, but his real reasons were such that he knew who would be in charge at that point. There was no way that he was going to take orders from a spirit he knew he could eventually control by the loas and the erzulie. However, Teresa did not feel these enough, so she went around Tokyo trying to recruit as many as she could from the outcasts and the street punks to build things up. She would have a complete force of over 200 by this point. Thus, she would be ready. She loved the concept that they wanted to be so open, and not in a church somewhere. That would make for some easy pickings. They would wait until everyone was in place, and then pounce. The first thing to do was to have them take care of the mule, and then snatch his children. They may be powerful now, but if they could snuff them out before they could realize the danger, her goal would be achieved. She could then take control of the vampires there, and then kill all the humans. Mimoun would then be last on the list, because his goals were petty compared to her own. She did want a mixing, but with her in charge, all the vampires under her control, and all the humans as their cattle. That, she figured, should be the natural order to things, and it was going to happen no matter who protested.



By the end of the next week, all was set. The clearing was set out with rows of benches in a beautiful forest setting. It was early May by this point, and the nights were just right. A small platform was built, and, at Tony's insistence, a cross was fashioned out of sticks and limbs, and hung just above and behind the platform. Although he knew what the true purpose of things was, he knew it had to look as authentic as possible. Besides, when things were tended to, they would truly take care of things there, and it would be ready. However, the Shinto priests and maidens were walking about both areas, tying slips of paper with Japanese writing on them, stating things like, "Evil, be gone," and, "Demons not welcome," and, "Bad spirits be purged."

This was also being done around the shrine, and Jean-Claude was taking the time for some serious prayer. He prayed both for the wedding spot, but also at the shrine. At the shrine, he prayed, "Father, I know that to see religious practices outside your word mixing with what I believe is not what you would call pleasing. Know that I truly believe that You are the true power in the universe. However, for the others, though they may worship you in ignorance, I would ask you to honor all that they do. There are people in danger, and I do not need this to turn into a snit over 'my belief is better than yours', nor do I want to see this become some kind of object lesson for those that do not know the truth-you know, when their ways fail, people get killed, and then the truth prevails at a big cost. Too many in the Clan, whether they believe or not, do believe in the dream, and they are all we have right now. To lose them would shatter all that. Lord, if this was not what you truly wanted, tell me now, and I will stop it all, scatter the Clan, take my wife, my children, and leave them behind forever. I would not want to act outside your will. Yet, if this is the right thing, give me your peace that all will be well, no matter what seems to be happening."

He had no sooner said this when he felt awash of God's presence fall over him. His hands went into the air as he dropped to his knees, and he began to pray in tongues. What he did not see was those of the shrine standing around him in awe. He seemed to glow by their eyes, and they realized that he was someone upon whom the good spirits rested. Jean-Claude then said, "Father, place a ward over this place, and let all who may flee here have your protection from Teresa. I can only think that your not banishing her to outer darkness falls in line with a greater purpose. Help me to know what that is so that my hands can be your tools in this fight."

When he stood, the man in charge of the shrine said, "The spirits flow closely around you, my son. Here, take this."

He handed him a white silk scarf, and said, "Wear this at all times, and I guarantee you, no matter how bad it may be, you shall prevail."

Jean-Claude knew better about things, but he accepted the old man's kind gesture graciously, and figured that he could wear it underneath his own scarf, just as a token of good will to the old man.



Finally the night had come. Slowly, but surely, the principles were making their way to the site, Maki was the maid of honor, and Jean-Claude the best man. There were many wedding guests, in fact, and it seemed like it was going to be a grand affair. As they were going up, Jean-Claude was bringing up the rear, because, at his own admittance, something did not feel right. He let them get out of sight and hung back. He started to move about in the woods, and that is when they hit. He could normally take on a handful here or there, but not the 100 that came out to face him at once. Needless to say, he was quickly subdued and taken away. He was dragged before Mimoun and Teresa. Both had a confident look on their faces, as Teresa came up and said, "So, where's your God now?"

She raked his face and let out a hearty laugh. Mimoun asked, "Do we kill him right away?"

"Not just yet," she said, "Bring him to the wedding, because I want him to watch the end of his meddling. Then we will kill him. There is nothing greater than adding insult to injury. Without him, they are useless."

With that, they made their way to the clearing. While all that was going on, everyone was becoming worried. It was true that this was being staged, but they could not do it with the best man missing. Confusion was setting in, and that was exactly what Teresa was waiting for. Before anyone could think, the wedding was overrun. Many tried to react, but they were not fast enough. Orders were being shouted, but no one knew which end was up. The Clan was fighting valiantly, but they were being subdued. In the confusion, Karin and Kenta were taken prisoner. They went after Maki, but Wiener was right there to pull her out. He plunged his rapier deep into his opponent, and had his head off in a matter of moments. Chiyuki saw this, and began to rally the survivors to her. This included the adults, save for Elda and Victor, the Innocent sisters, Maki and Wiener. She began to get them all to the shrine, because, somehow, she felt there would be safety there. However, she tried to locate Karin and Kenta, but she could not find them. She figured that she could look for them, or hope they would know where to go. There was no time. She had to get as many to safety as possible. One thing was for certain, they underestimated their foes, and now they were paying for it. Yet, the worst was yet to come for Chiyuki. She began to look for Ai and Ryuu, but they were nowhere to be seen. Then, she finally saw them, and they were standing by Teresa. Apparently, she had managed to take control of them, and now that meant that things would be worse. Teresa then said, "Mimoun, see what you can do about the shrine. I have other matters to tend to."

Chiyuki felt rage, but there was no time for tears. She had to get them to safety no matter the cost. Tragically, half of the Clan foot soldiers were killed or wounded. Yet, there would be no survivors in that area. About 40 of them were human, and the undead began to get a crazed look on their faces. They were all wounded, and could not fight, or get away. This was followed by an orgy of blood and death as they were all dove upon, and fed upon as if they were some poor animals trapped in a river of piranha. Jean-Claude, Karin, and Kenta were forced to watch this as Teresa laughed. She then went over to Karin and Jean-Claude, and said, "Now, see what happens when my children decide to be naughty," as she stroked their faces as if she truly were their mother. She tapped Karin's nose, and said, "Now you will know to leave well enough alone."

She turned to Mimoun, and said, "Go to the shrine. I need the Fountain of Psyche, because the vampires I shall create shall be those of a new paradigm-one of MY choosing!"

Then she turned to her minions, and said, "As for these three, I want their deaths to be slow. About four miles from here is a swamp. Find a good quicksand patch and dispose of them there. In the meantime, Ryuu, Ai, there are others that separated from the main group. You need to find them. I think they tried to spirit away the twins. They need to be found."



Indeed, there were two rouge factors out there. Eldaand Victor managed to go with the seven, who immediately took Yuriya and the twins out of the area. They were going as far as they could from the proceedings, and looking for a proper point from which to work. They knew that most of that had to be because Jean-Claude was subdued before things happened. They did not know if he was dead or alive but they knew that they had to act in his stead, or all was lost. Another rogue factor was Anjou. She had separated herself from the fray, and used her bats to conceal her movements. Of all those there, she had the best chance to rescue Karin, Kenta, and maybe Jean-Claude, if he were still alive. If he were, she could now repay him for rescuing her three years before. Her bats were picking up Teresa's trail, and she was now following it. She was not sure what she would do when she got there, but she had to do something.



Because it was undead carrying them, they were in the marsh in a matter of minutes. "Prepare to die, sub-creatures!" he said as he cast them far into the quagmire. Without even a backwards glance, they were off, going to aid in the assault on the survivors. Immediately, Karin and Kenta started to panic and struggle. Of course, that started them sinking. Jean-Claude sank to the top of his thighs when he regained his faculties, and stopped. However, he saw the other two, screaming and struggling. "Stop struggling, you'll only go deeper!" he hollered. "HELP US," she screamed, but Jean-Claude picked up two hands full of mud and flung it at them. They made contact, and that shocked them into stopping. When they did, they then noticed that they had stopped sinking. "Now, don't move!" he said, "If you stay perfectly still, you won't sink."

"How do we get out of this," said Karin, tears streaming down.

"Look, this isn't like in the movies,"said Jean-Claude, "We can actually get ourselves out of this. We just have to be methodical. The first thing we have to do is redirect our weight."

He saw that they were past their navels, so it would be a bit of a struggle for them. Thus, he said, "Now stay still and I'll be right there to help you."

With that, he began to lean forward, and then to lurch from side to side. Soon, his belly was almost on the surface, and he spread his arms out. When he did, he then lifted his legs out, and then he began to monkey crawl across the surface of the quicksand to the other two. "How are you doing that?" said Kenta.

"This stuff is so much like water that if you spread your weight out on it, you displace more, and stay afloat. Now you two went deeper in, so you are going to have to work at this. You sink because you have all your weight on your feet, and your thrashing spread out the sand, allowed water in, and you sank. Then the sand moved back in, and the process repeated itself. What you two need to do now is start to lean forward. As you do, stretch out our arms."

When they did, he grabbed their wrists and began to pull. He pushed some blood to add strength, and he was actually sliding them up onto the sand. He then said, "Now, slowly lift one leg, then the other, and then back to the first. Give time for sand to gather under your leg before you lift the other."

They did, and before long, their legs were on top. He then said, "Now, monkey crawl across the surface."

They did this, and as the got closer, astaff landed before Karin's face. She traced it up to find Friar Antonio standing there. "I knew if I followed them, I'd find you," he said.

He pulled her out, and then pulled out Kenta, as Jean-Claude made it to solid ground. "How did you get out, friar?" asked Karin.

"I spied a few escape routes before everything got started," said the friar, "I knew if it got bad, I could get to a place where I could better operate."

"How bad was it," Jean-Claude asked.

"Your children are safe, for now," said Tony,"But Teresa took control of Ai and Ryuu, and they are both searching for them now. The rest are holed up at the Shinto shrine, except that no one seems to know where Anjouis."

Quickly, Karin and Jean-Claude said, "She wasn't among...," and Tony was just as quick to say, "No, she wasn't."

"How, many, friar?" asked Jean-Claude.

"About 100, all your fighters," he said grimly, "Whoever wasn't killed outright were then fed upon until they were dry. It was not pretty."

Jean-Claude dropped to his knees, and smacked the surface of the quicksand. "How did this happen?" he asked, "It was as if they knew everything in advance!"

"By the looks of it," said the friar, "there were those there that were of the same ilk that some Clan members came from. It could be that they were coerced by Teresa, and forced to reveal everything. Anything is possible at this point."

Jean-Claude sat there, and said, "Was Ioverconfident? Did I take too much on myself? Was I arrogant?"

Karin slipped beside him and said, "Please, brother, don't blame yourself. You couldn't have foreseen this. There is no way. We were all blindsided. We didn't underestimate the enemy; we just really did not know what they could do. Sadly, now we know. It's not the way we wanted to learn, but we have to fight now, for their sakes. We can't stay here. There is still more night left, but we only have so much time before sunrise, and you know that the undead will be able to stand in it whereas the others cannot."

Jean-Claude thought for a moment, and tried to find the best in this. First, He, Karin, Kenta, and other certain ones were still alive. They caused damage, but they still did not have the victory. "We have to find the seven, and then find a way to counterattack. Anjouis still a rouge factor, and knowing her, she is planning something. She was a prodigy as a child, and she has become far stronger since that time. If we can locate some of her bats, they can guide us to the seven. This is not over!"

He then stood with a new confidence, and said, "Let's go!"

Antonio began to guide them back down the trail he came so they did not become lost. With that, Jean-Claude started to form some plans.



Back at the temple, the Shinto were tending to the wounds of the others, and they were taking up the perimeter around. However, what they found odd was the fact that the enemy was reluctant to approach it. It was as if they were being kept at bay by something. The Shinto attested it to their wards, but no one was really sure if that was the case. Wiener and Ren were taking charge, barking out orders, and generally trying to keep morale up. As long as they stayed at bay, there was time, and hope that those that were not accounted for could act. However, when the sun came up, could all those that could not be in sunlight find shelter? For Chiyuki, it was doubly hard. Her good friends were now under the control of Teresa, and she did not know if that would be permanent, or if she would have to fight them. Could she fight them? It was not so much ability as it was that she did not want to kill her friends. Meanwhile, the bokor were shouting taunts and threats to try to shake them up. Soon, a bat flew in, and it informed them that she came directly from Teresa with an offer. If they surrendered, and gave up their silly fight, no one had to die. Everyone would just go home and leave things be. If they resisted, they would then be annihilated. There would be no prisoners at that point. Clarice and the Shinto both said they sensed alying spirit about the bat, while Henry and Calera were looking at Chiyuki, saying, "Karin's still out there, and I refuse to leave her behind."

"I trust Teresa about as far as I can throw her," said Calera, "She would slaughter us the second she thought us clear from whatever it is keeping them at bay. At this, Ren said, "Nuts!" and that shook Chiyuki to some sensibility. She called over the bat, got some ink, a brush, and a slip of paper. She then wrote some Japanese onto it, waved it dry, rolled it up, and handed it to the bat. "This is our response!"



The bat returned to Teresa, and it said it had the response from the foe. She opened up the slip of paper, and it read, "NUTS!"

She was confused to the response. Yet, Ryuu looked at it, and whispered into her ear where it was they were telling her to go. The note burst into flame, and she thundered, "SLAUGHTER THEM ALL! KILL EVERYONE, THE TWINS, CHIYUKI, EVERYONE!"

With that, the remaining troops there fanned out and went in two groups, each one led by either Ryuu or Ai. She would have the final say, and she would not be mocked! In her rage, however, she did not notice a blur in black move through the camp, grabbing two items-a Toledo Salamanca broadsword and a Marine Corps saber.