Categories > Original > Drama > Chibi Vampire: The Selibri's Waltz (Or: The Dream--The Reality.)
Chapter 29
The sun was over the horizon now, and Castle Bran could be seen in the distance. Inside the limos, the combatants were beginning to get antsy. However, it was clear that the Teresa side was beginning to dominate more in the situation than before, and Jean-Claude did not like it one little bit. He had to grit his teeth and bear it. However, as they approached, Keelin/Teresa said, “What a dark, yet tastefully done palace, if only the person running it hadn’t gone psychotic.”
Mina said, “He turned as mad as Ceausescu; he doesn’t really seem like my grandfather at all.”
Keelin sighed and said, “Both of my true children are failures. Ryuu became so pure at heart it makes me wonder if he really is my kid. And Vlad...well, he didn’t take to immortal life and power as well as some of his offspring did.”
Knowing who was speaking made Jean-Claude’s skin crawl, but Mina said, “The only reason why grandfather did what he did was because he was betrayed. He became like Ryuu because of it. I wouldn’t suppose the trickery that caused his wife to kill herself was your doing, was it?”
Keelin chuckled, “No, I only wish I could accept credit for that. That was all treachery planned by humans, I had no say in it, I just took a wounded soul and put a beast in him.”
Mina smiled as innocently as Keelin herself could muster and said, “Oh, it is such a shame that he is not going to have the beast live much longer.”
Jean-Claude added, “By the way...Teresa...there is one thing that I had no chance to put to you when we last met. I was too busy consigning you to Hell with Friar Antonio at the time to have a ‘pleasant conversation’ with you. You can tell me how much all of us were forged by the fires of Hell as much as you like. One thing your idiot hubby forgot to do was to also remove our free will. Because of that, though what forged us may have been evil, that evil only has control if we let it. In other words, you meant it for evil, but just like God does, He turned it for the good, just as God took the evil acts of Joseph’s brothers, and turned it into the salvation of Israel. I reconciled myself with this a long time ago to the point where death and I are constant companions, because his sting no longer can hurt me. O grave, where is thy victory; oh death, where is thy sting? To face life, you have to become familiar with death, and not fear it when it comes.”
Keelin yawned, ‘Yes, and no, and overly evil influence makes you strong, but in the end, you’ll fall. You may succeed with your alliance, maybe even let God’s creation become friends with mine, and some, yes some will save their soul. But I will be alive when I can see you face as it all comes crashing down on you, even if you are dead and in God’s arms. This alliance will come crashing down; eventually someone will get on their high horse, and work my will without realizing it. All alliances do not last forever, so no matter how hard you grind and push for it now, eventually a descendent of yours will suffer, or will be the one causing the suffering, much like Ryuu and Vlad. Eventually someone will fall, and I take pleasure in that.”
He got right in her face and said, "LIAR!"
He held up the Bible in her face and said, “Keep reminding me of my past, and I’ll remind you of your future. Read the back of the book. We win! Get behind me, Satan, for it is written: if God had not shortened those days, there would have been no flesh saved; but for the elect’s sake God had shortened those days. No matter how much you predict doom and gloom, God will always raise someone up to stop you, and this destruction! If it be me, then so be it! I say nothing, but the Lord silences your lying forked tongue!”
Mina just watched the conversation with amused satisfaction. She had a holy warrior on her side now, observing the glowing aura arising from him. It seemed that, the more evil pledged to do harm, the stronger he got to stop it. He was far stronger in his faith than her grandfather ever dreamed of being, and it would serve him and her well. If Superman was real, he now sat in the limo. “If that’s so,” said Keelin, now reflecting a quite annoyed Teresa, “Then what is my purpose here? Why am I here in one of the most powerful people of the future? Answer this, because I surely don’t know the answer.”
Mina then said, quite frankly, “To keep your evil schemes from going forth, and being a plus, not a minus. If you were still free, I am certain you would do everything in your power to stop me!”
“But I offer my self like this, I can choose to do nothing and be of no help to you if I wanted,” answered a confident voice.
“As if there was not anyone else in there,” said Jean-Claude, “I wonder what you would do if what is in Boogie-kun decided to leap in there against you?”
“And Ai doesn't know Keelin’s full abilities,” chuckled Keelin, “and why would Boogie-kun do that? That’s the soul of a mass murderer...”
That caught Jean-Claude's attention. He didn’t know about the last part. He then turned his gaze over to Anjou, who could only shrug her shoulders and give a sheepish grin. Keelin raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t know the therapist is what he is?” she asked. Boogie-kun was staying extremely quiet this entire time. He was afraid of what Jean-Claude would do next. “A mass murderer as a therapist?” snapped Jean-Claude in surprise, “That’s like having Charlie Manson as a male nurse!”
Keelin smiled deviously, “And this is the one that comforted your precious Anjou.”
Jean-Claude looked like he was going to lose his patience, but Mina put a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Easy there, boy, it takes all kinds. Save some of that fierce for this..."
He looked up, and they were now on a dirt road, and it seemed they were about to hit the hill when an entrance opened up, and they slipped in. Mina then said, “Grandfather has been so isolated that he has no idea just how much is down here, or all the entrances.”
Keelin yawned, “So I assume we are taking a secret entrance? I think Ryuu might have tried to take a blunt one and got swallowed into a secret one because he is still alive.”
“Is he in danger?” asked Karin?
“Not from what I can sense,” responded Keelin, now sounding like Ai for the briefest moment.
Mina then said, “Be ready, for we are going into combat! With the cameras off, I may be able to do as I please.”
However, she wasn’t carrying any weapons save for her rapier: just wearing the black skirted sleeveless leotard with the fishnet stockings, black flats and gloves. Keelin blinked, “With no weapon how do you stand a chance against him?”
Mina just stared at her with an evil grin and said, “With the cameras off...you’ll see soon enough.”
Keelin shrugged and said with a faint smirk on her face, “Sounds fun!”
While she was doing that, the maids all were now wearing black tight unitards, each with an AK-103, clip belts, and a Glock 18 strapped to their right thighs, and announced, “We're ready!”
Chiyuki nodded, put her katana to her hip, and glanced to the three, “Where do we go?”
“We go to his brothel and take care of his whores, but, do be careful: they are very powerful!” said Nelly, “Once that is done, we go to Vlad via his antechamber while the others keep much of their force busy.”
Chiyuki nodded, “Let’s go then.”
Nelly then said, “Come, while they are blind to our actions!”
They rushed down the hall towards Vlad's brothel.
Meanwhile, Ryuu and the Beowulf had their own plans ready. The leader, (obviously Wolfgang,) said, “Listen,” he said, “We have to get you hidden and ready. If the girl you look for has red hair and Native American looks to her, she’s okay for now, and she is safe. The three girls who are the head maids here—Nelly, Nella, and Nero—are looking after her. They are also the princess’ personal protectors as is Vera. Your friends are coming, and once they do, it is going to get ugly here. We will do what we can to prevent Vlad from escaping, but essentially, you will be assisting us in a coup d’état.”
“Define safe…is Vlad going to come back to her any time soon?” he asked, his eyes narrowed in disgust at the thought.
“He has sated his lust for the time being,” he said, “It may be months before he even looks at his concubines again.”
“What a worthless piece of trash!” Ryuu growled lowly, his eyes becoming deadly and dangerous, “To use Chiyuki like that...I’ll castrate the monster and force feed them to him!”
A buzzer went off in the control room, and a signal was sent to the five, who then, in turn said, “You may soon have your chance. The princess, the eight, and your friends have entered the fortress. We are to coordinate an attack with them, and with Chiyuki wreaking havoc from where she is. This day, a tyrant falls.”
Ryuu nodded and said, “May the fallen from him seek their revenge in the blades...and in this case guns, of all of us!”
A radio squelched, and one of the men picked it up, saying, “Yes? They're off? Good. Oh, they’ve arrived? Move quickly.”
Wolfgang looked at Ryuu and said, “Your friends are here. It’s time.”
“Good,” he said, sighing.
The men all loaded a clip and charged the weapons, saying, “Would you want one of these?”
“Only one,” Ryuu said, “with just enough to spray the little ankle bitters down.”
“If spraying is what you want and considering the close quarters...” They handed him an MP-5.
Ryuu nodded and held it in his hand as he said, “We ready to go yet?”
“We’re ready," Wolfgang answered, “Considering whom you are, we are the spearhead. We will be taking the brunt of the fighting.”
“Good,” Ryuu said, keeping his answers short so as not to waste time.
They had not gotten far when the children arrived again and said, “That wasn’t nice...running away! COME PLAY WITH US!”
The group there did not even hesitate and opened up. Against his desire to not kill children, Ryuu turned to the children and became trigger-happy; squeezing the trigger of his gun like his life depended on it, because it did. They were turning to ash rapidly, but it began to resemble more of a zombie hunt. Ryuu blinked and yelled over the fire, “I don’t think we have to kill them, I think they are just there to waste our energy on killing!”
“Good point,” Wolfgang said, looked around, and then said, “Through that door!”
As they all rushed for it, he pulled out what looked like a small, green baseball with a piece of metal that roughly looked like a spoon attached to it, and a ring sticking out of the top. “What in the world?” Ryuu asked.
“JUST GET IN THE DOOR!” Wolfgang shouted as he pulled out the pin, shoved him in, and closed the door as he tossed the object. Four seconds later, there was a loud explosion. When they opened the door, there was nothing but ash. “Come on,” one said, “If the girls are who I think them to be, they’ll be tearing up the harem right about now.”
“That was a garlic grenade mixed with a UV flash,” added Wolfgang, “Mina’s scientists are always coming up with new things, including the most recent—a vaccine that prevents vampirism from infecting the bitten.”
Ryuu nodded and glanced around, taking in the sights of the room they had stepped into. It was just a common meeting hall, but one of the wolves said, “Over here,” and a panel opened up in the wall. He then said, “This will lead us right to him. If we get to him, we break the control he has over all that fight us. However, the brunt of the Earth Clan forces cannot attack unless victory can be assured. Thus, let’s make short work of this.”
Ryuu nodded and said, “I never intended to let him live much longer anyway.”
The three opened the door to the harem, and one, not even looking up said, “Nelly, good: fetch more blood, and this time, tell the soldiers to be sure the child is no more than two years old!”
Chiyuki drew her blade, and charged at the one who had spoken. She hardly had time to blink when Chiyuki charged. The other three pulled out their Glocks, sprayed who they could, and then commenced attacking with their blades. Who was not yet dead transformed before them, taking on hideous, demonic-like appearances. Chiyuki took a fighting stance and launched after another, trying to kill them as fast as she could. One large one snarled over Chiyuki and said, “You think you’re special now, whore!”
Suddenly, a stake flew through its chest, stopping about one inch from Chiyuki’s face. When the creature turned to dust, Vera stood in the doorway opposite. She had come by Mina’s request to be sure that her movements synched up with the others. “Thank you,” Chiyuki said, nodding.
Vera smirked and said with relish, “Come, let us finish this mess, and go finish the bastard son of Satan off!”
Chiyuki nodded and continued, putting all of her being into it. Vera then said, “Jean-Claude and the princess are here. They are making their way to the throne now from another direction. Ryuu is somewhere around as well. Let’s go meet them!”
As she made her way, she heard the approach of others from another direction. Chiyuki spun around, and without asking questions, threw her sword back at the noise. Everyone ducked as the sword flew past, as they shouted, “Hey, Chiyuki: ease up! We have Ryuu here!”
Chiyuki blinked, surprised at what had been said. “Ryuu?” she asked, smiling widely.
Ryuu ran faster to catch up to Chiyuki and hugged her tightly. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Sir Wolfgang then said, “Please, I wish not to be heartless, but right now, we have bigger fish to fry. The princess, by this point, is soon to contact the enemy. We must draw off as many as we can.”
Ryuu nodded and said, “Yeah,” letting go of Chiyuki and handing her, her sword back. Chiyuki glanced back at Wolfgang and said, “Which way? I can smell undead all over...but I’d imagine you’d know this place better then I. Do we continue going straight?”
“No, this way,” he said, pushing a button as a panel opened, “The fight is right below us, but our actions will pull some away. When they do, strike hard...no mercy!”
Chiyuki and Ryuu nodded an answer and in agreement to him. They hadn’t planned to show mercy anyway.
Romulus said, “Karin, Mickey, Ren, come with us four. The rest, go with Remus and the other three of the elite eight.”
Keelin went to where she was assigned and waited, as patiently as she could manage. Out of every crevice came foot soldiers, but they didn’t quite look human, although a few well-placed garlic rounds started turning them to ash. They were swarming like a troop of baboons. Keelin glanced around, and grinned, then shot out her power, her eyes glowing brighter red than usual. “Come to me pets, I control you now! He has no mastery over you!”
As they stiffened, Jean-Claude grew tense, not knowing her intentions. Even though they seemed under her control, he, Anjou, and the others watched them, while the Golconda kept a watch on Keelin, waiting to render her unconscious if she stepped out of line. However, Mina stepped forward and said, “Find a place to imprison them. I must overwrite them, but I do not have time now.”
“Where should we put them then?” Keelin asked, “It would be easier to kill them now you know. It would save you lots of pain in the end.”
She sighed and said, "I must concede the point. It's a pity, though. Some may have not wanted this. Boys, annihilate them."
Without so much as a look of remorse, the wolves mowed them down in order. Jean-Claude was shocked that she could go from compassionate to female dog in .02 seconds!
At this, Vera said, “I have to tend to...”
“Of course,” said Mina, “I have to give an audience with grandfather shortly.”
With that, Vera was off to find Chiyuki. Keelin blinked, and grinded her teeth, her eyes going golden for a moment while she said this: “That wretched piece of amphibian feces will pay ten times the agony of what he gave Chiyuki!” then her eyes went red again.
Mina then said, “Then the day of reckoning is come. Please follow.”
With that, she signaled and led the way. The others followed, and they were not certain where it was all going. However, as they went, they ended up one person short. Keelin followed, though it still made her want to barf having to follow another around. She felt like a leaded dog, but she understood the need for the teamwork. However, at the instant that was happening, Sheila sensed the shift, but when they turned around, Jean-Claude was gone, and his AA-12 was laying where he had stood.
“DADDY!” she screamed.
Keelin grinded her teeth, growling lowly, her eyes seem to mix the red with the normal gold of an angry vampire, and she hissed, “Are we going to get there soon? I’m about ready to rip some heads off.”
“Silence, child!” shouted Sheila, “Father is missing!”
“I know that,” snapped Keelin in return, “I am not ignorant! Yet, it looks like he was taken to lure us away from our intended destination!”
“BUT ITS DADDY...” she started to shout, but Mina raised a hand and said, “He will be fine; we must press on.”
She looked stunned at Mina, but she said, “He has trained for things like this, yes?”
Sheila wanted to be mad, but Mina was right, but it still didn’t stop her from shedding some tears, and Mina said, “Let’s go: the enemy is near.”
Keelin nodded, and you could tell, Teresa was having trouble keeping in control, her eyes flickering from gold to red every once in a while. Mina put a hand on Keelin’s shoulder and said, “Be ready: the approach. You shall have your chance.”
Soon, about 100 approached out of the darkness in the massive hallway. Mina stepped forward and said, “I can tell you have come over only recently. Tell me: why do you do this?”
The lead man groaned, “Vlad promised peace in the territory if we did. One village is small compared to his claws being off us.”
She steeled her expression and said, “And, you are also fools! You have been used and duped! Now, you must die!”
Without even a hesitation, the seemingly petit “little girl” leapt 40 feet with the ease of a ballerina and about five feet into the air. With one swipe of her hand, the lead man’s head was off his shoulders in a bloody mess, followed by turning into a pile of ash. It was on! Keelin watched her first attack and charged in for hers, swinging the knife she had at those who were too close, she took control of one of them, and was commanding that one to fight for her. The others could not believe the speed and ferocity with which the other two struck. The had to shoulder their arms because they did not want to hit the others, and instead pulled blades. However, Sheila's third eye opened and a bright blue astral flame shot forth, frying about 15 as they approached. Mina loved the way she commandeered one of the foe, and she knew that having her in the line of royalty would indeed further things for the vampire. Suddenly a group of 30 in the back turned and ran, with everyone at a loss as to why, save for Mina. Keelin blinked, and she was not sure why they fleeing, or if they were going to grab more, or maybe running to protect their boss more. She couldn’t figure it out. Though she was puzzled, it didn’t slow down her fighting. Mina was now using the silver rapier, and the tale was quickly being told. Before long, they were all ash. Yet, before any could catch their breath, Mina said, “We have to go on! The throne room is only three levels up!”
With that, they charged down the hall. Keelin nodded and glanced back at the one she had taken control of. “Kill yourself!” she said, the undead did just that, and Keelin followed after Mina.
Mina smiled and said, “You have learned that trick already? Excellent! Let us go for more!”
They raced down the hall, and the others had all they could do to keep up.
Jean-Claude came to, bound with chains and set on a rack. There were about 20 in there, and one standing by the lever said, “It is time for you to pay the price of your sins, Day Walker!”
He pulled a lever and started to stretch Jean-Claude. He tried to use his strength to rip away, but the alloys were such that even he could not break them. The rack itself was hydraulic, so they could ramp up the strength if he was able to resist. He tried, but it made matters worse. However, he remembered the change that Karin had made, and he remembered what the Selibri had told him: your “true form” matches the shape of your soul, and what is in your heart. He did not know if he could make this change, because he had been told it was impossible for dhampir to do. Yet, he just began to concentrate and pray. He suddenly remembered something from Isaiah: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Mount up with wings... with wings...”
He closed his eyes and focused as his tendons and ligaments were stretched one nanometer from the breaking point…
The 30 that had fled arrived in front of the group that Wolfgang and Ryuu led, and Wolfgang said, “You didn't bring enough.”
At that, the Beowulfs with them suddenly changed, and now stood about eight feet tall, furry, with wolves’ heads and antropomophed bodies, packed with muscles. Chiyuki and Ryuu went after the thirty the instant the others transformed, taking down as many as they could get their hands and swords at. The wolves descended on their foes as well, playing with the vampires as if they were chew toys. Suddenly, a loud screech, as if of an eagle, echoed throughout all the tunnels to the point where everyone heard it—even Vlad. Keelin glanced back slightly at the noise. The noise made Chiyuki freeze for a moment, and almost get struck down, hadn't Ryuu came to her rescue. “Don’t get distracted so easily!” he said, angrily.
The wolves were getting ready to move on when there was the sound of snapping metal, screams, and the sound of a wall being smashed out. When they got there, it was a torture chamber. However, where the door should have been, there was a much bigger hole, piles of ash, and what looked like it had once been a rack, but was now a heap of twisted metal. Wolfgang sniffed and said, “The Day Walker is loose!”
“Well, it looks like someone ticked him off!” Chiyuki said, not looking all that surprised.
“He can leave a hole that big?” asked Nelly.
“Well, I’ve never seen him do it,” said Chiyuki, conceding that point, “But, I wouldn’t doubt his ability to find some way to escape.”
“I just hope he doesn’t jump the gun and touch things off before we were ready,” said Wolfgang.
Chiyuki shrugged, “We can only hope.”
“Follow me,” said Mina, “There is a tunnel that I had set special into the throne room. Not even grandfather knows of this secret passage.”
A door opened, and she rushed in, with everyone else in tow. They now stood just the other side of the door, and Mina said, “Wait for the others. When they enter, we surprise them.”
By this point, Karin’s group was almost there, as was Chiyuki’s, and then Mina said, “NOW!”
They went in, only to find the room filled with undead warriors. As the other groups shot in, chains came from every direction and clasped them by the arms. Everyone was now pulled up and chained to the wall, even the Beowulf. An evil cackle was heard from the back. “So, you fell for all of it, did you?” said Vlad, as he stood, “Did you ever really think I had no clue what was going on? I wouldn’t bother struggling, because the chains that hold you are designed to hold all of you. Oh, granddaughter, you have so much yet to learn, and sad you will not live to learn it. All die...except for you, dearest Chiyuki. You bear the heir that will take over, for my treacherous granddaughter does not deserve it.”
Ren then burst into the room, holding back, just in case. However, Vlad caught him coming and flung him to the wall. His head hit it with a sickening thud, and he fell in a heap. Vlad then said, “And now, it is time to rip you all to pieces, and Chiyuki, you get to watch.”
The chains then started to retract and pull them hard. Chiyuki was pulling hard, growling and struggling as much as she could. “You bastard son of Teresa:” she growled, “I swear I’ll kill you. I swear I’ll kill you if you hurt any of them!”
Ryuu was just watching and staring at Vlad, and smirked, wincing slightly at the pain. Though he wasn’t showing it, he was in a lot of pain. Keelin seemed to be trying to touch Dracula with her power, trying to control his mind. He felt the touch, and flung his hand at her. A hard force push slammed her to the wall, but not enough to put her out. He then stopped her chains and said, “Ah, wait, the Selibri witch: I have use for you! I shall extract the soul of Teresa from you, and place it into the child your whore mother bears! Then I shall dispose of you.”
At that, the doors slammed shut, but before they did, a loud screech was heard, and much closer than the last time. Mina then said, “You never were one for rogue factors, were you grandfather. Before you die, I should explain about a man in history named Heisenberg!”
A smile cracked over her lips as she began to glow. Keelin sighed, and her red eyes stared amusedly at Vlad. Chiyuki glanced confused-like, back at Ryuu's smirk, Keelin’s bemused look, and Mina glowing. Suddenly, there was loud banging on one of the doors, and it was denting in! “What...how?” said Vlad, knowing that there was nothing on the face of the earth that could have done that. The slams on it were loud, giving each time. Mina, now engulfed in a glow, started to enlarge. Karin was also having this happen as well. Though she was not growing, her attack side was again coming forth. In both cases, the chains stopped moving, and the sounds of machinery fighting back were heard, just as a corner of the door started to bend open. Ryuu watched carefully. Keelin giggled girlishly, and childishly. “Hee hee, A man who sees his own death, cannot run from it!” she said, in a softly, creepy sing-song.
The chains of Karin and Mina ripped from the wall just as the door fell flat. In the door stood Jean-Claude, but in what he now knew was his soul form. He had eagle wings, feathers all over, but still looked human, and rather regal despite the beak. Meanwhile, Karin’s eyes were glowing purple, large bat wings were on her back, her fangs were extended, and she had a killer’s look on her face. With haste, she released her friends. Standing behind Jean-Claude was all the Selibri that Mina had been protecting, and they were now all armed. Mina now stood about six foot tall, wearing nothing except an armored bracer and shoulder protector in a scaly fashion, as well as an armored codpiece. However, her skin was glowing in a kaleidoscope fashion, and acted like a body suit for her. She had the appearance of Mina that she would have fully grown, very similar to how Lucretia looked, and large red bat wings out of her back. “And now,” she said, “See that your own death now stands before you! The Beowulfs have sealed off the palace, there is nowhere to run! It is all or nothing now!”
“Minions, after them!” he shouted.
Ryuu right after he was released cracked his neck and waited for the said attack. Keelin was just standing there, waiting. Chiyuki, however was obviously, and extremely, enraged and was about to charge at Vlad and rip his throat out. Hordes of his troops got in front of all of them, but Mina, Karin, and Jean-Claude went ballistic. The Selibri were right behind, but Vlad was eyeing Chiyuki. However, “It was clever of you to hide your true form, Mina! Once this is over, I may let you live, and let you be enslaved to one of the nobles as you deserve! Now that I know you can breed, the child of Chiyuki—Teresa reborn—and your children will be corrupted before your eyes, and rule this world with an iron fist!”
Keelin sighed, and closed her eyes, and they went gold: a shiny, bright, beautiful gold with swirls of red when she re-opened them. She walked through the pawns blocking the way to Vladimir and smiled. “You are a dead king, who has ruled to the point where insanity had taken over your mind,” she said, her voice seemed to be three, distinct, different voices speaking together in sync. Her control over the undead was so much stronger than before, because all three of the entities in her, were working in harmony. Even if it wasn’t strong enough to completely control him, it would affect him. As a result, he was grabbing his head in pain, seeing the girl, but t he was also seeing in a wispy form to either side of her: Ai and Teresa. At this, Miriam stepped forward, who had traveled there with Mina, stepped up, and said, “The spirit of your murdered daughter, the mother of the queen, is borne within me. Now you die...”
As she spoke, it was as if two spoke from her, one being of his daughter, and the same form stood beside Miriam. They then said together, “...and your daughter shall be reborn the good person she was in the child she now bears!” pointing to Chiyuki. They then said, “Your evil will be swallowed up in the good of that child—sweet revenge!”
With that, the form of Mina’s mother shot across the room and entered Chiyuki. However, Vlad was not done yet. “FOOLS!” he thundered, “You are not the only ones with a soul form!” and right before them, he transformed into a large red dragon that was befitting the title he bore: Dracula! Chiyuki seemed slightly disturbed by an entity entering her and blinked in confusion at the dragon that stood in front of her. Ryuu sighed, blinked at Dracula and transformed as well, cat ears and a cat tail, with large, demonic wings, his hair turned a light brown and his eyes a light green. On his right hand, he had a leathery claw, similar to a dragon’s. Keelin stared at Dracula and said, “Why are you resisting me? I know you want to listen. You can hear you own mother’s voice in my voice, do you dare ignore your mother who you admire and want in this world again so much?”
He roared in pain, not only from the force trying to make him obey, but also in confusion that this...whatever she was...was speaking with Teresa’s voice, trying to bring him in subjection, and yet at the same time, wanted to destroy him. He ground his claws into the stones of the floor and said, “NO! YOU WERE THE FOOL THAT PUT THE MARK OF THE VAGABOND ON ME, ALLOWING ME TO BE RULER OF ALL! I SHALL HAVE NO OTHERS BEFORE ME!”
Mina shouted, “He deserves no mercy! KILL HIM!” and the others began to advance. However, he inhaled, and then let out a large fireball. It did not matter to him if any of his minions were killed. He could always make more, and he could take some of the Selibri spawn with them. He always thought they were foolish for seeking some kind of vampire salvation, and now they were going to pay for resisting him. They were going to see him in his fullest wrath. Keelin grinned and advanced on him, Ryuu right behind her, all of them on and attacking Vlad. Ryuu didn’t have his feet on the ground, his wings carrying him, his tail was twitching back and forth irritably and his dragon claw hand was obviously his main weapon, he would swing with that. Keelin would strike like normal, only every time she struck, it was three times the amount of force it should have been. The others joined in, but Mina was busying herself with attacking the minions, and not her grandfather. Meanwhile, though he was swinging and swiping, they were making contact, and hard enough to knock him off his feet. However, it did not seem to be doing any damage, due to the scales. With every rocketing breath, another few Selibri died. With every passing moment, he was becoming less rational, and more of a ravenous animal. Ren tried an attack, but he was flung hard into the wall. That was it for Anjou. She tried to do a sneak attack, but the swipe of his tail hit her and she was flung into the wall with more force than her brother had been. Karin and Jean-Claude saw that and went three shades beyond ballistic. Keelin glanced over at Anjou and back at Vlad. “Dragons...the underscales are softer right?” asked Ai.
“Last I heard.” responded Teresa.
Thus, Keelin started trying to get his underbelly, seeing if it were true. Mina rushed over to Anjou, but, as it was with Karin not too many weeks before, the rage and tremendous pain forced a transformation in her. What now stood in her place was an armored warrior with great dove wings on her back, still bearing her black, dragon-headed katana. Meanwhile, Vlad saw what the child had in mind and kept hopping back. Mina said, “Because of my lineage, I am mentally prevented from destroying him. If I try, my body will lock up. You shall have to do it, and Keelin has the right idea. Aid her!”
With that, Karin, Jean-Claude, and Anjou all managed to get a hold of a limb to try to turn him over. As they struggled, Ren had come to and gained the remaining limb. Vlad was roaring in rage now, spitting flame in random directions. Mina shouted, “KEELIN, NOW!”
When they told her, Keelin struck, deadly, and precise. A blow right to were his heart was. Keelin held the blade in his chest till she was well sure he was dead. As this happened, he let out a death throe, and began to shrink back, saying, “Mother, my Teresa, why? WHY? WHY GOD? YOU TOOK MY WIFE AFTER ALL MY SERVICE TO YOU! YOU TOOK MY MORTALITY AND CURSED ME, AND NOW THIS TREACHERY! I HATE YOU GOD, I DESPISE YOU!”
He didn’t turn to ash right away, but he reverted to himself, and then he began to age rapidly, quickly becoming an old man, an ancient man, and finally, turned into a graying corpse that began to disintegrate into dust. Within ten minutes, the son of the dragon was no more. When the last bits drifted away, all the fighters in the room suddenly stopped and sat in a daze. Mina, (because she did not want anyone else other than the principal ones to know that this was her true form,) reverted back to herself, grabbed some scraps of cloth and wound them around herself. She walked up to Keelin and said, “Come, gather the other royalty, for we must now put them under our subjection.”
All the others began to revert back as this was happening, and then suddenly realizing that they had all ripped out of their clothes, and started to look for any scraps they could put about themselves. Keelin nodded and followed Mina. Ryuu reverted back and glanced around, realized he was naked and glanced around for clothes. As they approached the dazed undead, Mina could not help but chuckle at everyone’s modesty. Keelin glanced up at Mina and her chuckling, looking puzzled by it. Mina then said, “We can eventually loosen them from their inhibitions.”
She then approached the former minions of Vlad with Keelin, Sheila, and Mickey, and said, “Stand forth! Come forward, for, if ye seek a new master, we now stand before you. If ye be willing, bow before us and acknowledge your loyalty to the new paradigm—the new royalty!”
Jean-Claude watched her, as did Karin and the others, and he stood in great awe of her. They had not known how to take her, but now, the only thing they could feel for her was love. As the undead with the Selibri took a knee before them, the others came around and knelt before her as well. She cocked her head at Jean-Claude and said, “You would grant me your loyalty? Do you all?”
Karin spoke as they looked at her in awe, and said, “Greatness stands before us; how can we do anything more?”
Jean-Claude said, “My life for yours! My dream is my reality...I love you!”
He then threw himself at her feet, crying. Ryuu sighed and looked to Keelin, who looked extremely confused. Chiyuki saw Jean-Claude’s reaction and turned to Mina and bowed, saying, “I grant my loyalty, my life, and anything within my power to give.”
She smiled and nodded, saying, “Your days of wandering are over. Wherever you go, you shall always find safety with me. Bear the child, and bring her up right. If everything else fails, she will be the one who shall take over with her sister, (putting a hand on Keelin’s head.) No more do you have to fear. Kneel before me with your husband.”
She then pulled out her rapier—the royal blade—and smiled. Chiyuki and Ren both kneeled.
Keelin however stepped out of the way, away from Mina's hand. Keelin’s confusion was caused by a conflicting nature inside her...she could hear Teresa and Ai saying to be careful, though they both said it in different ways that confused and conflicted the small girl. It was almost like she was a wanderer herself, but having never been cursed. She could feel it though, the desire to live and move on, to not be bound, but she could also feel how much responsibility she had to carry with her and this was what confused her so much. “I dub the lord and lady Makka: you shall always have a mansion on the Bund awaiting you, even if you wish time away from it, even if for years,” said Mina, “Listen people and know: she is under my care. An attack on her is the same as an attack on me, and the same consequences shall befall the attacker!”
She looked at Jean-Claude and said, "The knighthood I bestowed on you normally goes to only the Beowulf, but because of what you have done for all your kind, I shall now make it official, seeing that we are in the throne room. I dub thee Sir Jean-Claude, Knight of the Crown and Blade, and the Queen’s left hand. The right is reserved for another when he returns from his training—you must understand.”
He took her hand and kissed it, still in tears. She then looked at Keelin and knelt to look at her eye to eye, smiling gently, and said, “Dear child, why do you fear? I shall never harm you, and I shall always love you. You have a power as Golconda far beyond normal vampires, and even your fellow Selibri. There are many hurting souls amongst our kind, and you can be that healing salve. I want to help them as well. Help me help them. Would you care to ‘dance’ with me in this the Selibri’s waltz?”
With that, she extended her hand to Keelin. Keelin lowered her eyes slightly, bit back and fought back against her nature to stay away from things like this. While Teresa and Ai were telling her not to, she took Mina's hand that had been offered out to her and smiled. Mina gently took it, smiled and caressed her face. “Thank you, child,” she said.
She then stood up and said, “Ryuu, it is always your option to do as you wish. What role would you care to play in all this?”
“I’m where ever Keelin wants me,” he said, “Whatever she choices I follow, so in all technical, I follow you now.”
“Then it shall be officially decreed: once the Bund is in operation, the living vampires shall be the eyes and ears of the kingdom throughout the world. They shall police up any who would stand in the way of peace, and be the only who have the right to come and go from the Bund as they please, though they have the right to live there as they choose. They are pure bloods, so this is not to be questioned. My word is final on it! We enter a new world—the Dream shall become the Reality. In three days’ time, it shall be my coronation, and all the royalty of the living vampires shall have their titles recognized throughout the world of the night. I now declare a holiday! This is our year of jubilee: let joy be unconfined!”
All in the room started to cheer, and Ren asked Chiyuki, “So, do you want to live on the Bund? It shall be right off of Tokyo.”
Chiyuki sighed, pondering the offer. “Living there would be nice, but I’m not sure...its right next to Japan...and...” she sighed dreamily and living near Japan again.
“Then I’ll decide,” Ren said, “We’re going to live there once it is established. It will be close to home. I will get to see my new kid brother there: James. Mother and father decided on another one; they figured, ‘Why not?’”
Chiyuki nodded and said, “Okay,” as they kissed and embraced happily. Jean-Claude then asked Karin, “So, what do you think?”
She smiled and said, “Since I’ve lived there, I’m a New York City girl now: this place is a bit too quiet for me!”
The sun was over the horizon now, and Castle Bran could be seen in the distance. Inside the limos, the combatants were beginning to get antsy. However, it was clear that the Teresa side was beginning to dominate more in the situation than before, and Jean-Claude did not like it one little bit. He had to grit his teeth and bear it. However, as they approached, Keelin/Teresa said, “What a dark, yet tastefully done palace, if only the person running it hadn’t gone psychotic.”
Mina said, “He turned as mad as Ceausescu; he doesn’t really seem like my grandfather at all.”
Keelin sighed and said, “Both of my true children are failures. Ryuu became so pure at heart it makes me wonder if he really is my kid. And Vlad...well, he didn’t take to immortal life and power as well as some of his offspring did.”
Knowing who was speaking made Jean-Claude’s skin crawl, but Mina said, “The only reason why grandfather did what he did was because he was betrayed. He became like Ryuu because of it. I wouldn’t suppose the trickery that caused his wife to kill herself was your doing, was it?”
Keelin chuckled, “No, I only wish I could accept credit for that. That was all treachery planned by humans, I had no say in it, I just took a wounded soul and put a beast in him.”
Mina smiled as innocently as Keelin herself could muster and said, “Oh, it is such a shame that he is not going to have the beast live much longer.”
Jean-Claude added, “By the way...Teresa...there is one thing that I had no chance to put to you when we last met. I was too busy consigning you to Hell with Friar Antonio at the time to have a ‘pleasant conversation’ with you. You can tell me how much all of us were forged by the fires of Hell as much as you like. One thing your idiot hubby forgot to do was to also remove our free will. Because of that, though what forged us may have been evil, that evil only has control if we let it. In other words, you meant it for evil, but just like God does, He turned it for the good, just as God took the evil acts of Joseph’s brothers, and turned it into the salvation of Israel. I reconciled myself with this a long time ago to the point where death and I are constant companions, because his sting no longer can hurt me. O grave, where is thy victory; oh death, where is thy sting? To face life, you have to become familiar with death, and not fear it when it comes.”
Keelin yawned, ‘Yes, and no, and overly evil influence makes you strong, but in the end, you’ll fall. You may succeed with your alliance, maybe even let God’s creation become friends with mine, and some, yes some will save their soul. But I will be alive when I can see you face as it all comes crashing down on you, even if you are dead and in God’s arms. This alliance will come crashing down; eventually someone will get on their high horse, and work my will without realizing it. All alliances do not last forever, so no matter how hard you grind and push for it now, eventually a descendent of yours will suffer, or will be the one causing the suffering, much like Ryuu and Vlad. Eventually someone will fall, and I take pleasure in that.”
He got right in her face and said, "LIAR!"
He held up the Bible in her face and said, “Keep reminding me of my past, and I’ll remind you of your future. Read the back of the book. We win! Get behind me, Satan, for it is written: if God had not shortened those days, there would have been no flesh saved; but for the elect’s sake God had shortened those days. No matter how much you predict doom and gloom, God will always raise someone up to stop you, and this destruction! If it be me, then so be it! I say nothing, but the Lord silences your lying forked tongue!”
Mina just watched the conversation with amused satisfaction. She had a holy warrior on her side now, observing the glowing aura arising from him. It seemed that, the more evil pledged to do harm, the stronger he got to stop it. He was far stronger in his faith than her grandfather ever dreamed of being, and it would serve him and her well. If Superman was real, he now sat in the limo. “If that’s so,” said Keelin, now reflecting a quite annoyed Teresa, “Then what is my purpose here? Why am I here in one of the most powerful people of the future? Answer this, because I surely don’t know the answer.”
Mina then said, quite frankly, “To keep your evil schemes from going forth, and being a plus, not a minus. If you were still free, I am certain you would do everything in your power to stop me!”
“But I offer my self like this, I can choose to do nothing and be of no help to you if I wanted,” answered a confident voice.
“As if there was not anyone else in there,” said Jean-Claude, “I wonder what you would do if what is in Boogie-kun decided to leap in there against you?”
“And Ai doesn't know Keelin’s full abilities,” chuckled Keelin, “and why would Boogie-kun do that? That’s the soul of a mass murderer...”
That caught Jean-Claude's attention. He didn’t know about the last part. He then turned his gaze over to Anjou, who could only shrug her shoulders and give a sheepish grin. Keelin raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t know the therapist is what he is?” she asked. Boogie-kun was staying extremely quiet this entire time. He was afraid of what Jean-Claude would do next. “A mass murderer as a therapist?” snapped Jean-Claude in surprise, “That’s like having Charlie Manson as a male nurse!”
Keelin smiled deviously, “And this is the one that comforted your precious Anjou.”
Jean-Claude looked like he was going to lose his patience, but Mina put a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Easy there, boy, it takes all kinds. Save some of that fierce for this..."
He looked up, and they were now on a dirt road, and it seemed they were about to hit the hill when an entrance opened up, and they slipped in. Mina then said, “Grandfather has been so isolated that he has no idea just how much is down here, or all the entrances.”
Keelin yawned, “So I assume we are taking a secret entrance? I think Ryuu might have tried to take a blunt one and got swallowed into a secret one because he is still alive.”
“Is he in danger?” asked Karin?
“Not from what I can sense,” responded Keelin, now sounding like Ai for the briefest moment.
Mina then said, “Be ready, for we are going into combat! With the cameras off, I may be able to do as I please.”
However, she wasn’t carrying any weapons save for her rapier: just wearing the black skirted sleeveless leotard with the fishnet stockings, black flats and gloves. Keelin blinked, “With no weapon how do you stand a chance against him?”
Mina just stared at her with an evil grin and said, “With the cameras off...you’ll see soon enough.”
Keelin shrugged and said with a faint smirk on her face, “Sounds fun!”
While she was doing that, the maids all were now wearing black tight unitards, each with an AK-103, clip belts, and a Glock 18 strapped to their right thighs, and announced, “We're ready!”
Chiyuki nodded, put her katana to her hip, and glanced to the three, “Where do we go?”
“We go to his brothel and take care of his whores, but, do be careful: they are very powerful!” said Nelly, “Once that is done, we go to Vlad via his antechamber while the others keep much of their force busy.”
Chiyuki nodded, “Let’s go then.”
Nelly then said, “Come, while they are blind to our actions!”
They rushed down the hall towards Vlad's brothel.
Meanwhile, Ryuu and the Beowulf had their own plans ready. The leader, (obviously Wolfgang,) said, “Listen,” he said, “We have to get you hidden and ready. If the girl you look for has red hair and Native American looks to her, she’s okay for now, and she is safe. The three girls who are the head maids here—Nelly, Nella, and Nero—are looking after her. They are also the princess’ personal protectors as is Vera. Your friends are coming, and once they do, it is going to get ugly here. We will do what we can to prevent Vlad from escaping, but essentially, you will be assisting us in a coup d’état.”
“Define safe…is Vlad going to come back to her any time soon?” he asked, his eyes narrowed in disgust at the thought.
“He has sated his lust for the time being,” he said, “It may be months before he even looks at his concubines again.”
“What a worthless piece of trash!” Ryuu growled lowly, his eyes becoming deadly and dangerous, “To use Chiyuki like that...I’ll castrate the monster and force feed them to him!”
A buzzer went off in the control room, and a signal was sent to the five, who then, in turn said, “You may soon have your chance. The princess, the eight, and your friends have entered the fortress. We are to coordinate an attack with them, and with Chiyuki wreaking havoc from where she is. This day, a tyrant falls.”
Ryuu nodded and said, “May the fallen from him seek their revenge in the blades...and in this case guns, of all of us!”
A radio squelched, and one of the men picked it up, saying, “Yes? They're off? Good. Oh, they’ve arrived? Move quickly.”
Wolfgang looked at Ryuu and said, “Your friends are here. It’s time.”
“Good,” he said, sighing.
The men all loaded a clip and charged the weapons, saying, “Would you want one of these?”
“Only one,” Ryuu said, “with just enough to spray the little ankle bitters down.”
“If spraying is what you want and considering the close quarters...” They handed him an MP-5.
Ryuu nodded and held it in his hand as he said, “We ready to go yet?”
“We’re ready," Wolfgang answered, “Considering whom you are, we are the spearhead. We will be taking the brunt of the fighting.”
“Good,” Ryuu said, keeping his answers short so as not to waste time.
They had not gotten far when the children arrived again and said, “That wasn’t nice...running away! COME PLAY WITH US!”
The group there did not even hesitate and opened up. Against his desire to not kill children, Ryuu turned to the children and became trigger-happy; squeezing the trigger of his gun like his life depended on it, because it did. They were turning to ash rapidly, but it began to resemble more of a zombie hunt. Ryuu blinked and yelled over the fire, “I don’t think we have to kill them, I think they are just there to waste our energy on killing!”
“Good point,” Wolfgang said, looked around, and then said, “Through that door!”
As they all rushed for it, he pulled out what looked like a small, green baseball with a piece of metal that roughly looked like a spoon attached to it, and a ring sticking out of the top. “What in the world?” Ryuu asked.
“JUST GET IN THE DOOR!” Wolfgang shouted as he pulled out the pin, shoved him in, and closed the door as he tossed the object. Four seconds later, there was a loud explosion. When they opened the door, there was nothing but ash. “Come on,” one said, “If the girls are who I think them to be, they’ll be tearing up the harem right about now.”
“That was a garlic grenade mixed with a UV flash,” added Wolfgang, “Mina’s scientists are always coming up with new things, including the most recent—a vaccine that prevents vampirism from infecting the bitten.”
Ryuu nodded and glanced around, taking in the sights of the room they had stepped into. It was just a common meeting hall, but one of the wolves said, “Over here,” and a panel opened up in the wall. He then said, “This will lead us right to him. If we get to him, we break the control he has over all that fight us. However, the brunt of the Earth Clan forces cannot attack unless victory can be assured. Thus, let’s make short work of this.”
Ryuu nodded and said, “I never intended to let him live much longer anyway.”
The three opened the door to the harem, and one, not even looking up said, “Nelly, good: fetch more blood, and this time, tell the soldiers to be sure the child is no more than two years old!”
Chiyuki drew her blade, and charged at the one who had spoken. She hardly had time to blink when Chiyuki charged. The other three pulled out their Glocks, sprayed who they could, and then commenced attacking with their blades. Who was not yet dead transformed before them, taking on hideous, demonic-like appearances. Chiyuki took a fighting stance and launched after another, trying to kill them as fast as she could. One large one snarled over Chiyuki and said, “You think you’re special now, whore!”
Suddenly, a stake flew through its chest, stopping about one inch from Chiyuki’s face. When the creature turned to dust, Vera stood in the doorway opposite. She had come by Mina’s request to be sure that her movements synched up with the others. “Thank you,” Chiyuki said, nodding.
Vera smirked and said with relish, “Come, let us finish this mess, and go finish the bastard son of Satan off!”
Chiyuki nodded and continued, putting all of her being into it. Vera then said, “Jean-Claude and the princess are here. They are making their way to the throne now from another direction. Ryuu is somewhere around as well. Let’s go meet them!”
As she made her way, she heard the approach of others from another direction. Chiyuki spun around, and without asking questions, threw her sword back at the noise. Everyone ducked as the sword flew past, as they shouted, “Hey, Chiyuki: ease up! We have Ryuu here!”
Chiyuki blinked, surprised at what had been said. “Ryuu?” she asked, smiling widely.
Ryuu ran faster to catch up to Chiyuki and hugged her tightly. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Sir Wolfgang then said, “Please, I wish not to be heartless, but right now, we have bigger fish to fry. The princess, by this point, is soon to contact the enemy. We must draw off as many as we can.”
Ryuu nodded and said, “Yeah,” letting go of Chiyuki and handing her, her sword back. Chiyuki glanced back at Wolfgang and said, “Which way? I can smell undead all over...but I’d imagine you’d know this place better then I. Do we continue going straight?”
“No, this way,” he said, pushing a button as a panel opened, “The fight is right below us, but our actions will pull some away. When they do, strike hard...no mercy!”
Chiyuki and Ryuu nodded an answer and in agreement to him. They hadn’t planned to show mercy anyway.
Romulus said, “Karin, Mickey, Ren, come with us four. The rest, go with Remus and the other three of the elite eight.”
Keelin went to where she was assigned and waited, as patiently as she could manage. Out of every crevice came foot soldiers, but they didn’t quite look human, although a few well-placed garlic rounds started turning them to ash. They were swarming like a troop of baboons. Keelin glanced around, and grinned, then shot out her power, her eyes glowing brighter red than usual. “Come to me pets, I control you now! He has no mastery over you!”
As they stiffened, Jean-Claude grew tense, not knowing her intentions. Even though they seemed under her control, he, Anjou, and the others watched them, while the Golconda kept a watch on Keelin, waiting to render her unconscious if she stepped out of line. However, Mina stepped forward and said, “Find a place to imprison them. I must overwrite them, but I do not have time now.”
“Where should we put them then?” Keelin asked, “It would be easier to kill them now you know. It would save you lots of pain in the end.”
She sighed and said, "I must concede the point. It's a pity, though. Some may have not wanted this. Boys, annihilate them."
Without so much as a look of remorse, the wolves mowed them down in order. Jean-Claude was shocked that she could go from compassionate to female dog in .02 seconds!
At this, Vera said, “I have to tend to...”
“Of course,” said Mina, “I have to give an audience with grandfather shortly.”
With that, Vera was off to find Chiyuki. Keelin blinked, and grinded her teeth, her eyes going golden for a moment while she said this: “That wretched piece of amphibian feces will pay ten times the agony of what he gave Chiyuki!” then her eyes went red again.
Mina then said, “Then the day of reckoning is come. Please follow.”
With that, she signaled and led the way. The others followed, and they were not certain where it was all going. However, as they went, they ended up one person short. Keelin followed, though it still made her want to barf having to follow another around. She felt like a leaded dog, but she understood the need for the teamwork. However, at the instant that was happening, Sheila sensed the shift, but when they turned around, Jean-Claude was gone, and his AA-12 was laying where he had stood.
“DADDY!” she screamed.
Keelin grinded her teeth, growling lowly, her eyes seem to mix the red with the normal gold of an angry vampire, and she hissed, “Are we going to get there soon? I’m about ready to rip some heads off.”
“Silence, child!” shouted Sheila, “Father is missing!”
“I know that,” snapped Keelin in return, “I am not ignorant! Yet, it looks like he was taken to lure us away from our intended destination!”
“BUT ITS DADDY...” she started to shout, but Mina raised a hand and said, “He will be fine; we must press on.”
She looked stunned at Mina, but she said, “He has trained for things like this, yes?”
Sheila wanted to be mad, but Mina was right, but it still didn’t stop her from shedding some tears, and Mina said, “Let’s go: the enemy is near.”
Keelin nodded, and you could tell, Teresa was having trouble keeping in control, her eyes flickering from gold to red every once in a while. Mina put a hand on Keelin’s shoulder and said, “Be ready: the approach. You shall have your chance.”
Soon, about 100 approached out of the darkness in the massive hallway. Mina stepped forward and said, “I can tell you have come over only recently. Tell me: why do you do this?”
The lead man groaned, “Vlad promised peace in the territory if we did. One village is small compared to his claws being off us.”
She steeled her expression and said, “And, you are also fools! You have been used and duped! Now, you must die!”
Without even a hesitation, the seemingly petit “little girl” leapt 40 feet with the ease of a ballerina and about five feet into the air. With one swipe of her hand, the lead man’s head was off his shoulders in a bloody mess, followed by turning into a pile of ash. It was on! Keelin watched her first attack and charged in for hers, swinging the knife she had at those who were too close, she took control of one of them, and was commanding that one to fight for her. The others could not believe the speed and ferocity with which the other two struck. The had to shoulder their arms because they did not want to hit the others, and instead pulled blades. However, Sheila's third eye opened and a bright blue astral flame shot forth, frying about 15 as they approached. Mina loved the way she commandeered one of the foe, and she knew that having her in the line of royalty would indeed further things for the vampire. Suddenly a group of 30 in the back turned and ran, with everyone at a loss as to why, save for Mina. Keelin blinked, and she was not sure why they fleeing, or if they were going to grab more, or maybe running to protect their boss more. She couldn’t figure it out. Though she was puzzled, it didn’t slow down her fighting. Mina was now using the silver rapier, and the tale was quickly being told. Before long, they were all ash. Yet, before any could catch their breath, Mina said, “We have to go on! The throne room is only three levels up!”
With that, they charged down the hall. Keelin nodded and glanced back at the one she had taken control of. “Kill yourself!” she said, the undead did just that, and Keelin followed after Mina.
Mina smiled and said, “You have learned that trick already? Excellent! Let us go for more!”
They raced down the hall, and the others had all they could do to keep up.
Jean-Claude came to, bound with chains and set on a rack. There were about 20 in there, and one standing by the lever said, “It is time for you to pay the price of your sins, Day Walker!”
He pulled a lever and started to stretch Jean-Claude. He tried to use his strength to rip away, but the alloys were such that even he could not break them. The rack itself was hydraulic, so they could ramp up the strength if he was able to resist. He tried, but it made matters worse. However, he remembered the change that Karin had made, and he remembered what the Selibri had told him: your “true form” matches the shape of your soul, and what is in your heart. He did not know if he could make this change, because he had been told it was impossible for dhampir to do. Yet, he just began to concentrate and pray. He suddenly remembered something from Isaiah: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Mount up with wings... with wings...”
He closed his eyes and focused as his tendons and ligaments were stretched one nanometer from the breaking point…
The 30 that had fled arrived in front of the group that Wolfgang and Ryuu led, and Wolfgang said, “You didn't bring enough.”
At that, the Beowulfs with them suddenly changed, and now stood about eight feet tall, furry, with wolves’ heads and antropomophed bodies, packed with muscles. Chiyuki and Ryuu went after the thirty the instant the others transformed, taking down as many as they could get their hands and swords at. The wolves descended on their foes as well, playing with the vampires as if they were chew toys. Suddenly, a loud screech, as if of an eagle, echoed throughout all the tunnels to the point where everyone heard it—even Vlad. Keelin glanced back slightly at the noise. The noise made Chiyuki freeze for a moment, and almost get struck down, hadn't Ryuu came to her rescue. “Don’t get distracted so easily!” he said, angrily.
The wolves were getting ready to move on when there was the sound of snapping metal, screams, and the sound of a wall being smashed out. When they got there, it was a torture chamber. However, where the door should have been, there was a much bigger hole, piles of ash, and what looked like it had once been a rack, but was now a heap of twisted metal. Wolfgang sniffed and said, “The Day Walker is loose!”
“Well, it looks like someone ticked him off!” Chiyuki said, not looking all that surprised.
“He can leave a hole that big?” asked Nelly.
“Well, I’ve never seen him do it,” said Chiyuki, conceding that point, “But, I wouldn’t doubt his ability to find some way to escape.”
“I just hope he doesn’t jump the gun and touch things off before we were ready,” said Wolfgang.
Chiyuki shrugged, “We can only hope.”
“Follow me,” said Mina, “There is a tunnel that I had set special into the throne room. Not even grandfather knows of this secret passage.”
A door opened, and she rushed in, with everyone else in tow. They now stood just the other side of the door, and Mina said, “Wait for the others. When they enter, we surprise them.”
By this point, Karin’s group was almost there, as was Chiyuki’s, and then Mina said, “NOW!”
They went in, only to find the room filled with undead warriors. As the other groups shot in, chains came from every direction and clasped them by the arms. Everyone was now pulled up and chained to the wall, even the Beowulf. An evil cackle was heard from the back. “So, you fell for all of it, did you?” said Vlad, as he stood, “Did you ever really think I had no clue what was going on? I wouldn’t bother struggling, because the chains that hold you are designed to hold all of you. Oh, granddaughter, you have so much yet to learn, and sad you will not live to learn it. All die...except for you, dearest Chiyuki. You bear the heir that will take over, for my treacherous granddaughter does not deserve it.”
Ren then burst into the room, holding back, just in case. However, Vlad caught him coming and flung him to the wall. His head hit it with a sickening thud, and he fell in a heap. Vlad then said, “And now, it is time to rip you all to pieces, and Chiyuki, you get to watch.”
The chains then started to retract and pull them hard. Chiyuki was pulling hard, growling and struggling as much as she could. “You bastard son of Teresa:” she growled, “I swear I’ll kill you. I swear I’ll kill you if you hurt any of them!”
Ryuu was just watching and staring at Vlad, and smirked, wincing slightly at the pain. Though he wasn’t showing it, he was in a lot of pain. Keelin seemed to be trying to touch Dracula with her power, trying to control his mind. He felt the touch, and flung his hand at her. A hard force push slammed her to the wall, but not enough to put her out. He then stopped her chains and said, “Ah, wait, the Selibri witch: I have use for you! I shall extract the soul of Teresa from you, and place it into the child your whore mother bears! Then I shall dispose of you.”
At that, the doors slammed shut, but before they did, a loud screech was heard, and much closer than the last time. Mina then said, “You never were one for rogue factors, were you grandfather. Before you die, I should explain about a man in history named Heisenberg!”
A smile cracked over her lips as she began to glow. Keelin sighed, and her red eyes stared amusedly at Vlad. Chiyuki glanced confused-like, back at Ryuu's smirk, Keelin’s bemused look, and Mina glowing. Suddenly, there was loud banging on one of the doors, and it was denting in! “What...how?” said Vlad, knowing that there was nothing on the face of the earth that could have done that. The slams on it were loud, giving each time. Mina, now engulfed in a glow, started to enlarge. Karin was also having this happen as well. Though she was not growing, her attack side was again coming forth. In both cases, the chains stopped moving, and the sounds of machinery fighting back were heard, just as a corner of the door started to bend open. Ryuu watched carefully. Keelin giggled girlishly, and childishly. “Hee hee, A man who sees his own death, cannot run from it!” she said, in a softly, creepy sing-song.
The chains of Karin and Mina ripped from the wall just as the door fell flat. In the door stood Jean-Claude, but in what he now knew was his soul form. He had eagle wings, feathers all over, but still looked human, and rather regal despite the beak. Meanwhile, Karin’s eyes were glowing purple, large bat wings were on her back, her fangs were extended, and she had a killer’s look on her face. With haste, she released her friends. Standing behind Jean-Claude was all the Selibri that Mina had been protecting, and they were now all armed. Mina now stood about six foot tall, wearing nothing except an armored bracer and shoulder protector in a scaly fashion, as well as an armored codpiece. However, her skin was glowing in a kaleidoscope fashion, and acted like a body suit for her. She had the appearance of Mina that she would have fully grown, very similar to how Lucretia looked, and large red bat wings out of her back. “And now,” she said, “See that your own death now stands before you! The Beowulfs have sealed off the palace, there is nowhere to run! It is all or nothing now!”
“Minions, after them!” he shouted.
Ryuu right after he was released cracked his neck and waited for the said attack. Keelin was just standing there, waiting. Chiyuki, however was obviously, and extremely, enraged and was about to charge at Vlad and rip his throat out. Hordes of his troops got in front of all of them, but Mina, Karin, and Jean-Claude went ballistic. The Selibri were right behind, but Vlad was eyeing Chiyuki. However, “It was clever of you to hide your true form, Mina! Once this is over, I may let you live, and let you be enslaved to one of the nobles as you deserve! Now that I know you can breed, the child of Chiyuki—Teresa reborn—and your children will be corrupted before your eyes, and rule this world with an iron fist!”
Keelin sighed, and closed her eyes, and they went gold: a shiny, bright, beautiful gold with swirls of red when she re-opened them. She walked through the pawns blocking the way to Vladimir and smiled. “You are a dead king, who has ruled to the point where insanity had taken over your mind,” she said, her voice seemed to be three, distinct, different voices speaking together in sync. Her control over the undead was so much stronger than before, because all three of the entities in her, were working in harmony. Even if it wasn’t strong enough to completely control him, it would affect him. As a result, he was grabbing his head in pain, seeing the girl, but t he was also seeing in a wispy form to either side of her: Ai and Teresa. At this, Miriam stepped forward, who had traveled there with Mina, stepped up, and said, “The spirit of your murdered daughter, the mother of the queen, is borne within me. Now you die...”
As she spoke, it was as if two spoke from her, one being of his daughter, and the same form stood beside Miriam. They then said together, “...and your daughter shall be reborn the good person she was in the child she now bears!” pointing to Chiyuki. They then said, “Your evil will be swallowed up in the good of that child—sweet revenge!”
With that, the form of Mina’s mother shot across the room and entered Chiyuki. However, Vlad was not done yet. “FOOLS!” he thundered, “You are not the only ones with a soul form!” and right before them, he transformed into a large red dragon that was befitting the title he bore: Dracula! Chiyuki seemed slightly disturbed by an entity entering her and blinked in confusion at the dragon that stood in front of her. Ryuu sighed, blinked at Dracula and transformed as well, cat ears and a cat tail, with large, demonic wings, his hair turned a light brown and his eyes a light green. On his right hand, he had a leathery claw, similar to a dragon’s. Keelin stared at Dracula and said, “Why are you resisting me? I know you want to listen. You can hear you own mother’s voice in my voice, do you dare ignore your mother who you admire and want in this world again so much?”
He roared in pain, not only from the force trying to make him obey, but also in confusion that this...whatever she was...was speaking with Teresa’s voice, trying to bring him in subjection, and yet at the same time, wanted to destroy him. He ground his claws into the stones of the floor and said, “NO! YOU WERE THE FOOL THAT PUT THE MARK OF THE VAGABOND ON ME, ALLOWING ME TO BE RULER OF ALL! I SHALL HAVE NO OTHERS BEFORE ME!”
Mina shouted, “He deserves no mercy! KILL HIM!” and the others began to advance. However, he inhaled, and then let out a large fireball. It did not matter to him if any of his minions were killed. He could always make more, and he could take some of the Selibri spawn with them. He always thought they were foolish for seeking some kind of vampire salvation, and now they were going to pay for resisting him. They were going to see him in his fullest wrath. Keelin grinned and advanced on him, Ryuu right behind her, all of them on and attacking Vlad. Ryuu didn’t have his feet on the ground, his wings carrying him, his tail was twitching back and forth irritably and his dragon claw hand was obviously his main weapon, he would swing with that. Keelin would strike like normal, only every time she struck, it was three times the amount of force it should have been. The others joined in, but Mina was busying herself with attacking the minions, and not her grandfather. Meanwhile, though he was swinging and swiping, they were making contact, and hard enough to knock him off his feet. However, it did not seem to be doing any damage, due to the scales. With every rocketing breath, another few Selibri died. With every passing moment, he was becoming less rational, and more of a ravenous animal. Ren tried an attack, but he was flung hard into the wall. That was it for Anjou. She tried to do a sneak attack, but the swipe of his tail hit her and she was flung into the wall with more force than her brother had been. Karin and Jean-Claude saw that and went three shades beyond ballistic. Keelin glanced over at Anjou and back at Vlad. “Dragons...the underscales are softer right?” asked Ai.
“Last I heard.” responded Teresa.
Thus, Keelin started trying to get his underbelly, seeing if it were true. Mina rushed over to Anjou, but, as it was with Karin not too many weeks before, the rage and tremendous pain forced a transformation in her. What now stood in her place was an armored warrior with great dove wings on her back, still bearing her black, dragon-headed katana. Meanwhile, Vlad saw what the child had in mind and kept hopping back. Mina said, “Because of my lineage, I am mentally prevented from destroying him. If I try, my body will lock up. You shall have to do it, and Keelin has the right idea. Aid her!”
With that, Karin, Jean-Claude, and Anjou all managed to get a hold of a limb to try to turn him over. As they struggled, Ren had come to and gained the remaining limb. Vlad was roaring in rage now, spitting flame in random directions. Mina shouted, “KEELIN, NOW!”
When they told her, Keelin struck, deadly, and precise. A blow right to were his heart was. Keelin held the blade in his chest till she was well sure he was dead. As this happened, he let out a death throe, and began to shrink back, saying, “Mother, my Teresa, why? WHY? WHY GOD? YOU TOOK MY WIFE AFTER ALL MY SERVICE TO YOU! YOU TOOK MY MORTALITY AND CURSED ME, AND NOW THIS TREACHERY! I HATE YOU GOD, I DESPISE YOU!”
He didn’t turn to ash right away, but he reverted to himself, and then he began to age rapidly, quickly becoming an old man, an ancient man, and finally, turned into a graying corpse that began to disintegrate into dust. Within ten minutes, the son of the dragon was no more. When the last bits drifted away, all the fighters in the room suddenly stopped and sat in a daze. Mina, (because she did not want anyone else other than the principal ones to know that this was her true form,) reverted back to herself, grabbed some scraps of cloth and wound them around herself. She walked up to Keelin and said, “Come, gather the other royalty, for we must now put them under our subjection.”
All the others began to revert back as this was happening, and then suddenly realizing that they had all ripped out of their clothes, and started to look for any scraps they could put about themselves. Keelin nodded and followed Mina. Ryuu reverted back and glanced around, realized he was naked and glanced around for clothes. As they approached the dazed undead, Mina could not help but chuckle at everyone’s modesty. Keelin glanced up at Mina and her chuckling, looking puzzled by it. Mina then said, “We can eventually loosen them from their inhibitions.”
She then approached the former minions of Vlad with Keelin, Sheila, and Mickey, and said, “Stand forth! Come forward, for, if ye seek a new master, we now stand before you. If ye be willing, bow before us and acknowledge your loyalty to the new paradigm—the new royalty!”
Jean-Claude watched her, as did Karin and the others, and he stood in great awe of her. They had not known how to take her, but now, the only thing they could feel for her was love. As the undead with the Selibri took a knee before them, the others came around and knelt before her as well. She cocked her head at Jean-Claude and said, “You would grant me your loyalty? Do you all?”
Karin spoke as they looked at her in awe, and said, “Greatness stands before us; how can we do anything more?”
Jean-Claude said, “My life for yours! My dream is my reality...I love you!”
He then threw himself at her feet, crying. Ryuu sighed and looked to Keelin, who looked extremely confused. Chiyuki saw Jean-Claude’s reaction and turned to Mina and bowed, saying, “I grant my loyalty, my life, and anything within my power to give.”
She smiled and nodded, saying, “Your days of wandering are over. Wherever you go, you shall always find safety with me. Bear the child, and bring her up right. If everything else fails, she will be the one who shall take over with her sister, (putting a hand on Keelin’s head.) No more do you have to fear. Kneel before me with your husband.”
She then pulled out her rapier—the royal blade—and smiled. Chiyuki and Ren both kneeled.
Keelin however stepped out of the way, away from Mina's hand. Keelin’s confusion was caused by a conflicting nature inside her...she could hear Teresa and Ai saying to be careful, though they both said it in different ways that confused and conflicted the small girl. It was almost like she was a wanderer herself, but having never been cursed. She could feel it though, the desire to live and move on, to not be bound, but she could also feel how much responsibility she had to carry with her and this was what confused her so much. “I dub the lord and lady Makka: you shall always have a mansion on the Bund awaiting you, even if you wish time away from it, even if for years,” said Mina, “Listen people and know: she is under my care. An attack on her is the same as an attack on me, and the same consequences shall befall the attacker!”
She looked at Jean-Claude and said, "The knighthood I bestowed on you normally goes to only the Beowulf, but because of what you have done for all your kind, I shall now make it official, seeing that we are in the throne room. I dub thee Sir Jean-Claude, Knight of the Crown and Blade, and the Queen’s left hand. The right is reserved for another when he returns from his training—you must understand.”
He took her hand and kissed it, still in tears. She then looked at Keelin and knelt to look at her eye to eye, smiling gently, and said, “Dear child, why do you fear? I shall never harm you, and I shall always love you. You have a power as Golconda far beyond normal vampires, and even your fellow Selibri. There are many hurting souls amongst our kind, and you can be that healing salve. I want to help them as well. Help me help them. Would you care to ‘dance’ with me in this the Selibri’s waltz?”
With that, she extended her hand to Keelin. Keelin lowered her eyes slightly, bit back and fought back against her nature to stay away from things like this. While Teresa and Ai were telling her not to, she took Mina's hand that had been offered out to her and smiled. Mina gently took it, smiled and caressed her face. “Thank you, child,” she said.
She then stood up and said, “Ryuu, it is always your option to do as you wish. What role would you care to play in all this?”
“I’m where ever Keelin wants me,” he said, “Whatever she choices I follow, so in all technical, I follow you now.”
“Then it shall be officially decreed: once the Bund is in operation, the living vampires shall be the eyes and ears of the kingdom throughout the world. They shall police up any who would stand in the way of peace, and be the only who have the right to come and go from the Bund as they please, though they have the right to live there as they choose. They are pure bloods, so this is not to be questioned. My word is final on it! We enter a new world—the Dream shall become the Reality. In three days’ time, it shall be my coronation, and all the royalty of the living vampires shall have their titles recognized throughout the world of the night. I now declare a holiday! This is our year of jubilee: let joy be unconfined!”
All in the room started to cheer, and Ren asked Chiyuki, “So, do you want to live on the Bund? It shall be right off of Tokyo.”
Chiyuki sighed, pondering the offer. “Living there would be nice, but I’m not sure...its right next to Japan...and...” she sighed dreamily and living near Japan again.
“Then I’ll decide,” Ren said, “We’re going to live there once it is established. It will be close to home. I will get to see my new kid brother there: James. Mother and father decided on another one; they figured, ‘Why not?’”
Chiyuki nodded and said, “Okay,” as they kissed and embraced happily. Jean-Claude then asked Karin, “So, what do you think?”
She smiled and said, “Since I’ve lived there, I’m a New York City girl now: this place is a bit too quiet for me!”
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