FicWad

Chapter 23



As was the typical fashion of what they fought, they headed more into the poorer parts of Brasov, following the normal patterns. Even though it was Europe, the "language" of vampire was international. It may have changed face with the culture, but the mindset was no different. Indeed, the area to which they traveled seemed built up enough, but it was more of a night club district filled with everything one would expect from a European city. He was now glad that they kept the children back, because their trip was taking them into a red light district. Considering that prostitution was legal in most of Europe, there was plenty of sleaze on display, including having whatever it was for sale in the area of fornication displayed in some shop windows like living mannequins. Indeed, the spirit there was icky, and so much so, that it looked like Anjou and Jean-Claude was literally trying to wipe the nasty sensation off their bodies. If vampires like to hang out in areas such as this in America, it was more so here, and worse, because some "soft" drug use was also legal, and there were certain things to which the law turned ablind eye, especially if the law was controlled by the undead to an extent in an attempt to make things more serviceable to their needs. The scent of cannabis, and other substances were wreaking havoc with the olfactory of all involved, and more for eight, considering how strong their ability to smell was. They sucked it up and kept marching, looking for Vlad's glyph on the walls of one place or another. "They hunt more in here, keeping these poor people like cattle," said Romulus, "It's easier to do it here in an area where no one cares about the people there, or what happens to them."

"Very typical set up actually," Chiyuki nodded, "It's not uncommon."

"That's why Detroit was such a haven for the undead," said J-C, "That city is dying-almost the whole city is now a slum."

Chiyuki nodded and looked around, sighing at knowing the fate of most of these peoples' families, including the undead. She knew the harshness that Jean-Claude often issued, and indeed, there was logic to his approach. However, he seldom gave mercy to the undead, knowing that her crew and Aurelius were the rare exceptions to the rule. However, because of her daughter, could all that change? She pondered this, and hoped that there could be a good time to propose this. "Well, let's get ready to raise some hell," said Jean-Claude, with Chiyuki grinning at that phrase.



They approached what could best be described as acombination Techno club with a honky-tonk. The place did not have the same regard as the States in certain areas, as the place was filled with a haze of cigarette smoke, amongst other things. Chiyuki coughed slightly, hating the change in air quality. It was dark, with the typical disco lights, with the loud driving bass beat of the techno music, with people gyrating with abandon. Jean-Claude looked around the place, noticing the body heat-or lack thereof-of the patrons in there. The majority were room temperature, while the rest were humans. A few were working behind the counters and at the turn tables, so they must have been familiars. The rest had to be completely ignorant of their company. "It's a feeding trough," said Jean-Claude "Like the Venus flytrap or the Sundew lures in its prey with its beauty and scent, these undead lure the humans in."

"Not much of a scent," said Chiyuki, aggravated at the scent, "You'd get better air in a dump!"

"Regardless," said Jean-Claude, "I think, in truth, it's the scent of sex that drew them in. Nonetheless, we need to try to find some of Vlad's cronies here and get to work."

Jean-Claude said, "Karin, Anjou, Chiyuki, see if you can't sweet talk the barkeep. The rest of us will spread out."

Chiyuki shrugged and went to the bar. "Sounds like some fun to me," she said, walking up to the barkeep and attempted to get on his friendly good side. The keeper saw the stranger walk up, and her Romanian was good, but she definitely was a foreigner. Thus, she had to be one of the meals. Because of her beauty, he would try to set her up with one of the elders, knowing he would probably like a good meal. Therefore, he figured that getting her soused would help. He started off and said, "Well, hello, beautiful! What's your poison?"

Chiyuki watched carefully, "No alcohol please," she said, "Maybe a virgin pina colada. That wouldn't be that hard would it?" she asked, fluttering her eyelids flirtatiously.

He gave her the eyebrow, and said, "Whatever the lady wishes."

Yet, as he prepared it, he decided to slip her a Mickey, hoping she wouldn't notice, and then bring it to his master's attention. Chiyuki sniffed the cup, and then glanced up at him. "You're not trying to drug me are you?" she asked.

He stiffened, but covered it well, but his heart was racing."Me, drug you?" he said, "Why would I have need to do that?"

"Because you serve a higher up?" she guessed, "And he wants to make me one of his courses," she answered as she glanced up at him. He now went pale as a sheet, and said, "Who are you?" and started to back away, looking ready to bolt. Both Karin and Chiyuki were over the bar with daggers to his crotch, and Karin said, "You scream out, or make one false move, and we remove your manhood! Behave as normal!"

The barkeep froze, not knowing now what to do. If he panicked, it would cause everyone to flee. If he moved, this...whoever they were...would try to hurt him. He did not know if she was a vampire or not, and he did not wish to risk it, and said, "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to answer my questions, if you don't, well, Imight just kill you right now, and no one would know the difference," Chiyuki said, nonchalantly as Karin added, "And if you don't answer my questions honestly, or make and suspicious gestures or movements. I'll keep to my promise of removing your manhood."

"Alright, I get the point: whatever you want!" he flustered out.

"Behave...normally." Chiyuki warned.

They both hopped back over the bar and he gave Chiyuki what she ordered. Chiyuki sniffed it to be sure, and then sipped as she asked, "Okay, who do you serve?"

"I serve a woman named Evan. She's in the third story room, well-guarded!" he said, now frightened for his life.

"And she serves who?" Anjou asked.

"You don't know," he said, "I thought you all did?"

"I know who, but I want you to say it," Chiyuki said, sipping her drink again.

He leaned in and whispered, "To the outsiders, he is known simply as Vlad."

"How hard do you think it would be to set up a personal meeting with this Vlad and myself, with a few of my friends, by getting through his security?" asked Karin.

He started to shake and fluster, "P...p...p...please, don't ask me to do that! I don't have that power! Please, my life is in constant jeopardy as it is! I'm just trying to earn my right to be turned. Please, don't spoil it for me!"

The three listening could not believe it. They knew that, with that attitude, none of them would ever wish to see someone like that become a vampire. However, they had a lead, and they did not want to blow it. Chiyuki looked at him with disgust for such an attitude, knowing that she had been turned against her will, and would never have chosen that life, much less go through the things that he was doing to get into the world of the night. As if reading Chiyuki's mind, Anjou said, "Why do you want to be changed so badly, what are they offering you that is so good?"

"Come on," he said, "There may be a few drawbacks, but, eternal life, youth, power. Why did you turn?"

Chiyuki sighed and said, "I was created against my will one thousand years ago and not by choice. Being created as an undead is nothing good, it's excruciatingly painful, and with the eternal life, youth, power. You also have a hunger with which I have nothing else to compare. It eats at your sanity, at your well-being, and that hunger will break any person. No matter how strong you think you are, the first time you take blood as an undead, you have to kill. The need is simply too great."

Her face seemed slightly distant as she recalled memories she hadn't thought about in a while. Karin, to add to the mix, said, "Plus, what would you plan to do with that eternal life, may I ask? It's nothing overtly interesting. Eternal life seems so pointless sometimes when you're alone."

"But, you have other vampires around," he said, befuddled,"How can you be alone?"

"Being alone is being left in your solitude," said Anjou, "Because even vampires die, and going straight into immortal life without someone beside you always is pointless. What is the point of living with only the need to survive keeping you alive?"

"Why are you telling me this?" he said, "I thought you didn't really care about all that for us humans?"

His whole posture changed, and he was now concerned. "I care about humans: I'm more of a rogue vampire you see," she said, "Humans alittle more to me then food, but it is a little hard to be friendly with them when they either only want me dead, or only want me for the immortal life I can offer them."

Although such things had changed for her, she spoke to him in such a fashion to let him know that this could very well be the life he would have if he went the road he was on. "Are you saying that I should get out of here?" he asked, now terrified, not knowing who to trust.

"I'm saying that you need to behave calmly and give me the information I need," said Karin, "I promise that if you do, you won't die-not by my hand or theirs."

"Look, she's up on the third floor," he said, "She knows far more than I. They keep us in the dark around here. But, now what do I do. My life may well be forfeit. If they think I'm trying to betray them...well, Idon't know."

"Okay, good," Chiyuki said, glancing back at Ryuu and indicating him over, "This is a trusted friend of mine, He'll watch over you while you gather your things...if you want to come of course."

"Whatever," he said, "I just don't want to die! Please, don't kill me!"

"I won't kill you," she said, sighing, "...so long as you're cooperative."

Ryuu came over, looking like an intimidating bodyguard. "Now, we're going to go talk this woman you serve, be good till I get back," she said, standing up.

He hung his head as if his life was over. Chiyuki sighed and said, "Chill dude: this is better for you then what would have happened to you here. They would have never turned you most likely. They just would have fed on you when they got hungry."

He went with Ryuu as if he were a condemned criminal. Ryuu noticed this, and chilled with his scary face.



As they went, the man started to mutter, saying, "I don't understand anything. I thought Dracula was trying to reunite all the remnants of the 12 houses in America. That psycho day walker Blade and some strange Caucasian copy he picked up somewhere really shook things up. What is going on?Why are you wanting to know all this...unless..."

He stopped as if he was having an epiphany. Ryuu glanced down at him and asked, "Unless what?"

"Don't tell me you're them?" he said, "I've heard stories about the living vampires, but..."

He dropped to his knees, "Please, please don't lump me in with them! Are you come to destroy them all?" he referring to the undead as"them". Ryuu, growing frustrated, said, "We aren't going to kill you. Chiyuki told you that already, she has a decent amount of authority so I'd take her word for it."

"Is it true, then?" he said, "Are there really living vampires willing to make friends with humans? That's the rumor, anyway."

"Yes, it's true," Ryuu said, glancing around.

"Take me in!" he pleaded, "Get me out of this Hell!"

At this, a bouncer began to approach, looked at Ryuu, and asked, "What's going on? Who brought you in here?"

Ryuu raised an eyebrow, "It's none of your business; get out of my way."

"No nonmembers get in here unless they are the guest of amember," said the bouncer, knowing that his warm blood and heartbeat meant that he was a mortal, and was to be one of the fed upon. The bouncer looked at his watch, looked over to the door and nodded. At this, the doors were closed, and all the humans, (save those that worked there,) were being herded into the center, not realizing what was happening, considering that it all seemed part of the dancing. The bouncer looked at Ryuu and said, "No matter, just go to the middle."

What he did not see was that the group that had come to raise havoc had not going to the middle. They were staying to the edges. The undead were trying to herd them, but they would not budge. In addition to that, there was someone else that had been staying to the side, watching the ordeal unfold. She also would not budge. Ryuu glanced back at Jean-Claude, looking for permission to get violent. "I won't move, you over-sized gorilla!"he said to the bouncer.

"Who do you think..." he stared to say, but Jean-Claude threw back about four undead, saying, "Prepare for your judgment day!"

A semi-circle formed around the others, seeing their fangs, and one of them screamed, "It's the day walker!"

"That's not Blade," another said, but it was about to get worse.

Ryuu then punched the bouncer in the head, knocking him out, then turning to the converted familiar, he said, "Where did Chiyuki go? The redhead...where did she go?"

"S...s...She went to confront Evan," he said, "She's on the third floor!"

As that was happening, Anjou opened up with her Uzi while Karin did with her MP-5 on the perimeters, away from the humans, as Jean-Claude had his Beowulf rifle out in a flash and was also opening up. The eight went to the humans and said to them, "Follow us if you want to live!"

They were being ushered out as undead after undead were turning into ash. Ryuu looked at them escorting the humans. "Go with them,"Ryuu said, pushing on the guy's back to get him to go.



Meanwhile, Chiyuki was looking for Evan, whose scent she figured would not be hard to catch. However, she did not need to look hard as there was a new arrival. The barkeep went with the humans as they, and then undead followed behind to escape the slaughter. Chiyuki did not have to go all the way up to the third floor, as Evan came down on the other side with about 15 of her biggest, and who were her best warriors. On the one side was Jean-Claude, Karin, Anjou, Ryuu and the eight, and she stood on the other. "YOU,"she thundered, "How DARE you come in here and disrupt things! Boys, jack them up!"

Chiyuki smiled. For her, it was going to get fun. "Let's go Ryuu," she said.

Ryuu took off any and all illusions he might have had on him. Away went the guns as everyone pulled their blades. However, behind Evan's crew, the new presence had taken position with her own sword drawn-a medieval long sword. Ryuu and Chiyuki went all out and slaughtered the men sent after them, for they had no chance against their kind when they weren't playing. Yet, Remus noticed the new scent, and saw a slightly longer haired version of Karin in a black leather biker suit with a leather cloak also striking. Since she was fighting with them, they were not going to question it, but they were going to find out who this was one way or another. One ran off and Jean-Claude was in hot pursuit. He cornered the man in the toilets, and he said, "You would taste too disgusting to me to kill right now. Perhaps some fire to cook you up right first."

He then pulled an incendiary grenade from his jacket, cooked it off, and stuffed it down his trousers. Instantly, he burst into flames, and Jean-Claude walked out, knowing that it would be, for him, slow and agonizing. That left Evan, and she tried to make for the door as fast as she could. Ryuu moved, leaving the one's he had been taking on to Chiyuki, and dashed after the female. She looked in horror at the one who now stood before them, and she recognized the mark. "YOU!" she snarled in Romanian, "How DARE you defy Teresa's minions! You shall pay dearly for your treachery-you and that abominable day walker!"

However, her body English was one that wanted to run in fear, as she began to slowly back away. Ryuu walked forward, saying "Slave of Teresa...prepare to die!"

She wanted to lash out at him, but it seemed her body knew better, and wanted to flee, and thus she was locked in place by fear, shaking like a leaf. Ryuu glanced over at Jean-Claude, seeing if she was wanted dead. "See what she knows, and then...whatever," he said as he said, "Alright team, let's head out and leave them be, because I think I don't want to watch this."

He then turned his back, and the others followed him out.



Ryuu smirked as Chiyuki followed Jean-Claude out. Shortly after, lots of loud and creepy screaming came out, making even the most tough person in the world, vampire or not, shiver in fear and the blood run cold. At this point he pondered what all this would lead to, and he said, "You know, all the same, this would be easier if we did not still have to hide. I mean, we got a good deal and all, but this still isn't easy. I still feel like I failed to do something right along the way."

"You've done perfectly," Chiyuki reassured, "I, nor Ryuu, could have done better."

"Well, it's just the promise I made to mom and dad that we wouldn't have to hide anymore," he said, "That what happened wouldn't have to happen again. Is there going to be another little boy crying in the woods because some ignorant boob took the law into his own hands?"

Chiyuki smirked and said, "Jean-Claude....All the people we killed today: how many of them do you think were actually serving that woman for their own purposes?"

"Oh, plenty," he said, "but what does that have to do with what I am saying?"

Chiyuki then used this to bring out something that had sat in her craw for some time, but only now gained expression. She felt now was the best time to deal with it. Chiyuki smirked, "Many of them have families they were protecting, little children we left fatherless who will grow up hating all vampires, and only believe that their father or mother was innocent. Wizard's first rule: people are stupid. Given the proper motivation, they'll believe anything before they believe the truth."

"Well I have to concede that point a bit, but..." he stopped, and suddenly Jean-Claude did not like what that implied and he turned a bit cross, saying, "Wait a minute: what I do and what happened to me are two completely different things! I fight those who go after innocent people, Irarely kill humans, and only when they are either a part of the renegades or undead that I fight, and I never kill any of the criminals I fight. What they did to me was deliberately hunt down my mom, dad, and granddad, and they would have done me that night had not a miracle taken place! I did nothing wrong, nor did my family. Those who die here, we well know why."

"And they did it for the safety of their families," stated Chiyuki, marking the familiars that did die, not necessarily by his hands, but of the others, "Just because you stand for a greater cause doesn't mean that other people who are opposed to you are wrong. If I'm not mistaken you'd do the same thing for your family, would you not?"

"They tried to kill me for the safety of their families-a ten year old boy whose worst crime was sneaking a cookie from the jar when he shouldn't have?" said Jean-Claude, now a bit irate to this sudden psychological session, "You're not making any sense! You think they're right for trying to stop all this? You out yo' mind! I only would have done it if they came for my family directly, which they did, and at ten, there was little I could do! How can you equate what I do to what they did to me? I told you-the only ones who die by my hand are renegade vampires who are hungry for power and think nothing of the harm it would do their families by doing so, and what we faced tonight. The inquisition was an exception to the rule. War is ugly. Hey, do you think any of those German families in World War II wanted their daddies to die? Do you think they thought well of the American and Russian soldiers? Probably not!But, when they grew up, they still had people around them that taught them the bigger picture, and why they ended up fighting. Indeed some did go to protect their families, because if they did not, the Nazis would have come after them. However, what Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini did was inexcusable! If anyone is to blame for their daddies' deaths, it was them, not the Americans, Russians, or even the Brits. They came after us because the only crime I committed was that I was born. What these humans do by allying themselves with the undead, though it may be to keep them from coming after their families, is not the whole picture. There is justice to be done, and if they are found in the act of injustice, there is not much to be done, save try not to kill them and put the fear of God into them when it happens so they never get involved when that does happen. Ido this frequently with humans. Those in charge that cause this, well...if there is collateral damage, it's their fault, not mine! They may oppose me, but rarely do I kill a human without giving him a chance to get it right. As for vampires, well, they are normally too power hungry and gone in the head to listen to reason. Believe me, when I was 15, and started in on this mess, Itried-believe me I tried! Yet, in every case of vampire and undead, none of them had a heart to repent. I have mercy, they didn't with my family. That is aBIG difference. Yes, someone may cry. But I can put my head down at night guilt free, knowing that I tried to give someone a chance to get it right so they can see their family again. If not, they prove their own guilt. What about the elders that you helped kill that first time, huh? Just because they opposed you, does that make THEM wrong? Let's turn the tables on this! Was your revenge in the right? You know, before you go pointing fingers at someone, Chiyuki, you need to look at the three on your own hand pointing right back at you!"

"I'm not pointing fingers Jean-Claude," answered Chiyuki, frustrated that he didn't seem to be getting what she was saying, "I'm questioning your resolve. Before you go again and assume things you do not know a thing about, think your answer out, instead of answering in the heat of your anger. Think your answer through, think through how you could possibly get your cause in the minds of everyone. Your faith in this plan has flaws and I'm here to make sure that you can patch those up, especially if you have any intention of speaking to Vlad."

That stopped him dead in his tracks. That WAS something he had not quite factored in. He then said, "Are you saying that there is a way to try to offer to every vampire what I offer to foolish humans who don't know into what they head?"

"Considering my daughter, that's precisely what I mean!"

He sat there stunned, because this was something that he had never really considered, and he immediately hung his head and said, 'Lord Jesus, please forgive me for my pride again. My ego got in the way."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, big guy," said Chiyuki, seeing that his sensibility was coming back to him, and she said, "Then, from this point forward, if you want to see all you said, then, please, as much as we trust you, please start to trust that we have brains as well, and that we may help you see things you can't. Give me a little credit in thinking that a thousand years may have given me a mite of wisdom."

"Indeed," said another voice that was similar, but not so, "Because if he doesn't, then everything my aunt told me about you was marred, and I should kill you where you stand, mutt!"

The voice suddenly found a nest of blades to her throat, and all she did was smile, saying, "And now it's time for this cause to go to the next level."

When their eyes had focused, they all could have sworn they were looking at Karin!