NationStates Jolt Archive

Those invited:

Tarlachia: Sigrun
Valient: Alexander, Driretlen, Tyr, Daniel Able
Golden Simatar: Stephen Malone
Mercenary Soldiers: Dekker Bray (?)
Wandering Argonians: Arakesh or Whiptail
Gorgamin: Avatre
Gothic Underworld: Zero
Reformed Velmora: Icarus Suraci
Five Civilized Nations: Shea Lancer

Vampire Stats:

Immortal (but not invincible)
Fire kills (takes longer to kill older vamps)
Sun kills
Silver hurts
All normal attacks may hurt but not kill.
Severing of limbs does not kill (can be put back on and healed, save for beheading)
Supernatural speed, strength and endurance/resistance
Telekinetic and Telepathic powers
Flight (only the older vamps, 500yrs +)
Can climb walls/ceilings
Silver bullets to the head/heart kill

Lychan Stats:

Immortal (but not invincible)
Silver hurts
All normal attacks may hurt but not kill.
Severing of limbs does not kill (can be regrown over time, save for beheading)
Greater Supernatural speed, strength and endurance/resistance than Vampires
No telekinetic/telepathic ablities
Great jumping abilities
Can climb walls/ceilings
Silver bullets to the head/heart kill

Human Psychic Stats:

Telekinesis
Telepathy
Pyrokinesis (only the extremely powerful and highly trained)
Electrokinesis (as above)
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http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=299127 < AVI

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=320427 < AVII
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1321 years ago, one of the original Assington vampires created a fledgling. A hunter by the name of Maximus. Unaware of Hondur's plight (Skadi's other fledgling), the pair enjoyed eachother as they feasted upon the people of Assington. Due to the recently passed laws allowing vampires a legal place in Assington, several militia like groups formed, representing different interests.

AGVO was an group of vampires that rebelled against the laws placed upon their kind and were in constant conflict with the government. AVO was the exact opposite. Humans banded together in an attempt to destroy all vampires. In order to police such factions and enforce vampiric laws, the government created the VP.

Within the same day as Maximus' birth, Hondur had been captured by AVO and was being held within their underground HQ, being tortured. Some days later, Skadi was finally able to read the distress of Hondur's mind and discover his situation. Within the night, Skadi had mustered one of the biggest vampiric forces ever known in Assington. AGVO had committed to her cause and support even came from as far as the Hyraphore in Valient. On that night, the streets ran red with the blood of human and vampire alike as a three way battle between AVO, AGVO and VP broke out.

Skadi was able to save Hondur with aid of Maximus, yet Hondur's appreciation soon ran dry at the news of having a half brother. Soon enough, a fight broke out between the two fledglings. Although 25 years older, Hondur fell prey to Maximus' superior combat skills and was banished from the presence of the couple.

By the end of the night, the VP had emerged dominant, AVO was destroyed and AGVO was scattered.
______________

150 years later, Skadi and Maximus returned to Assington to find Hondur in charge of the largest coven in the nation, situated in Emerald City once again. Also in Assington, the pair of Daniel Able and Alexander Kelsing were attempting to negotiate a combining of the Hyraphore and Hondur's coven. These talks failed to combine anything and resulted in increased tensions between the vampires.

Finally the anticipated meeting between Hondur and Maximus came. Hondur was leading a large portion of his coven to meet an anti-vampiric human faction when he caught sight of his sworn enemy. Seconds later the pair were squaring off in an epic battle that will not leave the memories of any that witnessed. Soon enough the VP arrived and another three way battle broke out.

Alexander caused any trouble he could whilst Skadi and Maximus disappeared into the forest outside the city, where Maximus was stung by a swamp beast and fell into a coma. Leaving Maximus in safety, Skadi returned to set things right in Emerald City. Joined with his sire once again, Hondur followed Alexander to a nearby church where a battle was about to erupt, save for the intervention of Driretlen, the leader of the Hyraphore.

Soon after the Hyraphore vampires departed, Skadi and Hondur were surrounded by ASA forces. Knowing when to run, Skadi quickly departed but Hondur intended to remain in a blatant act of arrogance. As his sire predicted, Hondur was quickly captured along with the VP passerby, Garm. After a few discussions, Hondur and Garm agreed to help form a new government agency, ASHVO.
_________

1171 years later, the present. Maximus has died the previous year and Skadi remains in Assington. Hondur sits at the throne of ASHVO, Garm's descendant next to him. Most of Hondur's coven is part of ASHVO, yet there are still small covens littered around the city. As always, humans are present to hunt them.

This time, a greater threat looms over the streets of Emerald City. A foreign threat...

I amar prestar aen.
The world is changed.

Han mathon ne nen.
I feel it in the water.

Han mathon ne chae.
I feel it in the earth.

A han noston ne 'wilith.
I smell it in the air.*

Above the lone figure the sunset painted wondrous displays of colors ranging from deep red to the faint purple of the eastern sky. The wind whistled with a tension amongst the few trees within the city landscape. The figure reached down next to the nearest tree and scraped the soil into his hand and held it to his face. He smelled it carefully before gently lying it down back where he had gotten it before.

The figure stood, looking to the east once more and watching the moon rise from the depths of the night, a beacon of light for some...and for others, a curse.

Memories ran slowly through the figure's mind, memories of long years of struggle, hate, love, honor, war, death, life... War was the inevitable conclusion of many conflicts, and war was once again knocking upon the doors of Emerald City once more. Scars of past battles still remained in the city, a permanant reminder to all of the dangers of self-placancy.

Much has changed since the last war here in Emerald City... thought the Elven figure.

Once, I fought with the curse of darkness being my very strength. Now it is no more. I am no longer Maximus...

Memories of his death at the hands of an ancient foe coursed through his mind. A few moments later, memories of his reincarnation burned brighter in his mind, a reminder of his secret quest.

With a steady voice, the figure continued his thoughts aloud:

"I am Sigrun."

Sigrun looked forward, casting his eyes carefully around. Hardly it seemed to be safe within the streets alone, and he had good reason to say so. Yet, he was alone, and he wasn't afraid.

He was more than capable of handling any threat.

Sigrun began to jog with soft steps down the street toward the residence sector of the city. Five minutes later, he turned a corner and with nimble movements, leapt and swung himself onto a fire escape in an alley and moved quickly to the rooftop. Once there, he continued his movements, always keeping close watch around him. Finally, he halted, directly overhead of a familiar location, a modest, humble, carefully darkened apartment where two of his friends slept: Skadi in her bedroom, and Stephen Malone on the couch.

The night sky finally reigned over the horizon, quenching the insaitable fire of the sun...

OOC: * = All credit respectfully given to Tolkien
GS, hope you don't mind me placing Stephen here...

OOC: Just something for Stephen. Tarl, I got no prob with Stephen being there.

IC:

Stephen sensed Sigrun's presence in the room. This woke him, but not all the way. Just a few seconds later he was back to sleep.

Beside him next to the couch was his arm-pit holsters with his two Para P-14 automatics and lying on the floor his 1796 pattern Heavy Cavarly sword. Compared to the graceful swords Sigrun and Skadi carried, his was ugly as sin. The long straight blade could have passed off as nothing short of an eglongated meat cleaver, it ended in a sharp point, and one side was always kept razor sharp. It's clumsy look was something Stephen liked about it, noone expected it to swung like a Samuari sword.

Several minutes later Stephen's eyes opened. His cobalt blue colored eyes moved across the room. He smiled, night had finally come.

OOC: Ok, here comes mine. This is gonna be a long day.........

IC: In the City of Darkness. The capital of the Atrosian Empire of the Gothic Underworld of Atros.......

The Ebony Palace. A great palace built out of black onyx, giving off an aura of darkness, and yet not wholly of evil. The abode of the royal family of Atros. The largest structure in the whole of the City of Darkness, a misnomer for a city filled with bright lights at night.

Along the Red Avenue, the long road that leads to the entrance of the Palace, a dark figure strode. As he neared the great Door, the guards stiffened and waylaid him, but soon waved him in. This was a distinguished guest, whatever his appearance........

30 minutes later.....

In the throne room of the Palace, the King Vampire Louis the First presided on his throne. Seated beside him on a smaller throne was his one-time mortal sister, and now immortal heir, the Crown Princess Adelia. The figure strode in, clad in a black trenchcoat, leather pants, and a blood-red shirt. His long silver hair, tied in a ponytail, whipped behind him, adding to his aura.

He stopped in front of the Royal Couple, making no movement to pay the customary tribute. However, it is as if the King himself did not care, as he descended from his throne, and crossed over to the black-clad figure. Then the dark figure showed his face, and it mirrored the expression of delight on the King's face.

"My dear Zero, old pal!"
"Louis! It's been a while!"

They hugged, while the servants and Adelia looked on with a smile. Disengaging, King Louis and the Ancient Noble known only as Zero started catching up on stuff, since they hadn't met in almost a century. However, the 2 Ancients, along with Adelia, soon retreated into a private negotiating chamber. After all, it was still business that made Zero come at all to the Palace.........

In the negotiating chamber.....

"Zero," Louis begin, "you know of the history between the Noble Brood, and the ancestors of what we now call the Assingtonian Brood. So i shall not elaborate further."

Zero nodded, and wondered what Louis was getting at. Despite his delight at hooking up with his long-time friend again, Zero would not have bothered with Louis' summons, had not it sounded so urgent.

"I had a premonition for the last week, Zero. In my dreams, I envisioned the Assingtonians.......facing a threat, like they have never seen before. Worse, in fact, than the Vulgar crisis, our sires faced........and that.......without the renewed pact between the Nobles, and the Assingtonians.......a dark age for vampires would soon arise......."

At that, Zero cut him off. "But Sir!!! We Nobles have cut ourselves off from the Assingtonians, even before our times! The Assingtonians cut us out, and that's why we are here now, Sir! Don't you......."

He was cut off by a gesture. "Zero. The pact between the Assingtonians and the Nobles remain to this day. I agree that we were forced here because we had no choice. But still......the Assingtonians are in trouble, Zero. I sense it now. And we Nobles are honor-bound to assist them in times of need. I want you to break our long tradition of isolation, Zero, and go out into the world again. Obtain information about the current situation of the Underworld. We have to prepare for the return of the Nobles."

Zero thought about this. He didn't like it much, but it was his King's order. Besides, he could feel the urgency in Louis' voice. Moreover, he could tell Princess Adelia had the sam premonition......and that was cause for concern. This was serious. He still didn't like it much, though.

"I accept your order, Your Majesty."

Louis sighed, then said, "I don't like this step much myself, Zero. But this is crucial." Zero acknowledged that with a nod.

Louis then stood up, and continued. "You will take a chartered flight to Emerald City, Assington, tomorrow night. You will find amenities in Assington paid for, and for contingencies, you will have a briefcase of bearer bonds from the Bank of Atros. Negotiable as cash anywhere in the world. Anything else you need?"

Zero smiled. "Nothing more apart from my guns........" he fingered the ornate Chinese sabre strapped on his back, ".........and the Dragon Saber."

OOC: I will continue with the arrival of Zero in Assington after 24 hours.

"Oh yes my friend, you will not find another product like it in this day of trickery and thievery, oh no! I provide the services of a God my newly found friends, and you get to be lavished with my wondrous luck in acquiring this object!"

The elaborate sale's pitch did nothing but irritate the two rather shifty looking men. They said nothing but looked at each other behind sunglasses, even though it was the middle of the night. They wore large grey trench coats, and held their hands in their pockets. They were taller than the dealer, but the dealer for not one second lost his confidence or strange charm.

The dealer's eyes were looking at each figure in term, making sure he had their rapt and undivided attention. His quick silver eyes where hidden behind those strange red circular glasses which he wore, which made him seem like a mad scientist of sorts. As he moved his head in his elaborate hand gestures and change of postures, little dials and lines changes on the rims of the glasses, but no noise was heard. The gentlemen in front of him, if they were sensitive to magical items, would notice that rather strange magic was upon the pair of glasses.

But the two were simply henchmen, men with the money to go on the streets to look for the deals which were so hard to get. They went for their regular sellers of the desired product, and then left. But this time, they required something that only came rarely into the black market.

And Icarus had it.

http://phatcat.animedominion.com/rpg/portraits/top820.jpg


The men hated him due to his unpredictability and fallibility, but such a promise of the items was too much to resist. They had to take up his offer, which was floating around the ears of the people on the street.

Icarus was rather little known, mostly known as a bumbling thief who occasionally did something extraordinarily amazing or remarkably insane.

He continued his sale's pitch, the two men beginning to get more and more frustrated as the risk of being detected rose. Eventually, as Icarus' shrill voice increased in it's excitement to the item which he so wonderfully claimed to have, the man on the right interrupted Icarus' speech on the value and rarity of the item he had.

"How much?"

Icarus seemed deflated and took off his large black brimmed hat and brushed his long white hair with his hands, sucking air through his teeth as if it was going to be bad news.

Irritating was not the word to use for such a man.

"How much dammit! We don't all night here, and we have as much money as you could need." The man on the right said, moving forward slightly, his hand still in his trench coat pocket.

He had a pistol in each, as did his co-worker on the right. And both were trained by the group they worked for. Icarus did not know who he was dealing to, it was all strictly hush hush, but it seemed to be a very minor one. One with money, but one which still barked more than it bit.

"Easy thier sugar, the stuff you need is right here, but it aint for free! Free free free....that aint a word for me. No no no, just a novelty, for your deal is right here, with myself Icarus the one and on-lee." Icarus said poetically, spinning his hat and placing it upon his head once more.

The three men remained quiet for one moment, Icarus' perfect smile filling the small back street. His smile was perfect and dazzling, but immediately caused distrust due to it.

"50000, is the answer you are looking for my pilgrims." Icarus said, revealing the cryptic number. The two men immediately stepped forwards, outraged by this idiot who thought he could charge that much.

"Why you little-" One began, drawing his pistol in rage.

Icarus held his hands up, but retaining that strange smile which seemed that of a madman.

"I don't think is a good idea my foolish friend, for there are many snipers that could spell your end." Icarus said poetically, as he looked up at the roof of a building, which, did in fact, hold no sniper or threat.

Both men did not believe the man, but they certainly were not going to risk it. A sniper could kill them easily, and they did not know too much about Icarus' connections. This was not worth their lives.

"Listen Icarus you snake, you cannot expect to sell that for that much!" The man on the right said, remaining still.

The groups remained quiet in the tension, Icarus still holding his hands but seeming in a strange control over the situation.

"Now....gentlemen....take a few steps back and walk away before the sniper gets an itchy trigger finger."

There is no sniper. No sniper at all.

The earpiece of the man on the right man who currently had his gun still in his pocket, vibrated the message, whereas the other was pushing his gun in Icarus' face. The earpiece told him that Icarus was lying, and that made Icarus a deadman.

Why buy it for that much when they could just kill him? It was bad business, but Icarus had pissed them off something awful.

"There’s no sniper, whack him!"

But, Icarus had taken the first move. The gun fired, but it certainly was not pointing at Icarus when it did.

The gun had left a twitching hand, as it was sliced off by the small stillieto that Icarus hid within each sleeve of his large black coat of many folds. His smile still remained, as the blood from the stump hissed all over the brick wall to Icarus' right.

The man screamed as Icarus kicked him with his knee, as if the shock of having his hand sliced off was not enough. The gun fired now, as the fingers which were coiled around the trigger fired, allowing the bullet release from it's chamber, making a high pitched whine as it hit a metal ladder of a fire exit, making the ladder come down noisily.

Something else also came down at this point...

The other man went for his gun in his pocket, to try and stop Icarus as he had just kneed his co-worker. A scream finally came from his throat from the combined pain of the stiletto and Icarus' knee crunching into his stomach.

The gun was produced and pointed at Icarus' black form as it threw the handless gangster away. Icarus' sliding form went towards him, although Icarus never got chance to dispatch him.

His fun was spoiled as a vampire just launched itself from the rooftops, straight onto the gangster, the bullets going through him as he crashed into him, ripping some part of him as he screamed.

"Well, hello there." Icarus said as he watched the vampire crash into him, observing and considering what to do next. That certainly was unexpected. He did enjoy killing people....but...he thought that he might not be able to take on that customer. He seemed pretty pissed off and hungry, and even Icarus with his reckless and often insane whims, had no wish to take on a vampire.

Well, Icarus had no reason to stay, so he figured he might as well get the hell out of the dodge while it was good. His black form began running away from this new found interruption, as the sound of the pawn screamed died to distance and the fact that blood was flooding his throat. The vampire it seemed was having dinner.

He ran into the middle of a busy road, while the traffic lurched into gear again, as the red light turned to green. Icarus did not stop his long strides, as his long black clothes streamed behind him, along with his white hair.

"Well, time to dance with traffic!" Icarus said as he jumped onto the roof of a taxi as it started to accelerate. The driver wondered what the hell was going on as he felt and saw a large indentation just above him.

"And wait one, two, three, and jump!" Icarus cried as he jumped onto another car, this time a second hand car with a broken tail light was his trampoline. The overweight man certainly did not enjoy the thought and slammed his breaks on, causing his back to become rammed by the car who was too close behind him, causing much havoc.

Especially for Icarus, who did not anticipate the sudden jolt from the rear of the car, falling onto the wet tarmac with a thud.

Icarus looked around as he tried to recover, as he felt the bright light of headlights on him.

"Time to roll. Come on legs. Roll. Roll damn you!" Icarus commanded his legs with great frustration as the car seemed not to notice a man with a large black clothing and white hair which was draped around his left shoulder in a tangled mess.

The car was approaching, about to crush Icarus' body like a toy.

The car rolled on.

Icarus fortunately, had managed to make his legs work, and rolled backwards into the pavement, greeted by various pedestrians who viewed this entire scene with not the same humour that Icarus did.

"What the hell!"

"Fucking idiot!"

"You could have been killed!"


Icarus barged past and carried on running from the scene, not wanting to relaly be around when the vampire stopped lunching. For all he knew, he was aprt of his game or something. He did not like vampires, because they were like himself.

Unpredictable.

He ran through the alleys of the back streets, avoiding the lights of cars, and the vampire with some luck. The sound of police cars were heard in the distance, as Icarus leaned against a wall, breathing heavily from that recent expenditure.

He reached for his left breast pocket, for a pack of cigarettes and pulled one of the tubes out and placed it between his lips. The light above him swayed a little in the cold night air, and a black cat walked on by.

"Funny." Icarus said quietly as he searched for his lighter, forgetting where he had placed it on his person. "Aren't black cats lucky? Or is it unlucky...hmm."

He eventually found it, and ignited the cigarette in his lips and inhaled through his mouth, breathing out the light blue fumes through his nose.


"Well, either way, I'm still feelin lucky."

"Yo, Henri, you ready in there?"

"Ya, Ya. Hold your horses, Kris. I'm coming."

Kristoff Velic sighed, and allowed the door to the men's change room swing slowly shut. Pulled slowly by its own weight, the black and red door slowly clicked to a close, leaving Velic alone to wait for his duty partner, Henri Rosenberg.

The ASHVO vampire walked across the concourse on the 15th floor of the tower and peered down onto the lit-up skyline of Emerald City from behind the bullet-proof picture glass windows. The tower itself was a front for another business, which was a front for another business. There was no ASHVO, not officially. He probably didn't even exist in official files.

He could see little lights moving winding slowly across the freeways and highways that connected the various townships and burgs of Assington to the city.

Velic briefly touched the window and flashed his fangs. They glinted against the light of the full moon. He wondered where the people were going at such a late time in the evening.

Perhaps to a party, or from one. Maybe that car was leaving town for a wedding, or that truck was arriving for a funeral.

Maybe the driver didn't even know where they were going? Velic shook his head. The officer could sympathize.

From behind him, he heard the door to the changeroom open.

"Alright, mate. Let's get those drinks. You're buying first."

Velic nodded, and grabbed his briefcase from the floor.

Rosenberg smiled, and the two men headed for the elevator down to the parking garage.


********

"Hey, watch it!"

"Jimmy! Another beer, please."

"Yo, I was watching the game. Turn it back on..."

Velic looked around the room from his corner spot with Rosenberg. They were in the Blood Moon Pub, the seediest bar on Emerald City's East end. Velic didn't particularly appreciate the atmosphere, but he supposed that the pub offered some things.

For example, it made him very glad that he was immortal, and didn't have to worry about lung disease.

"Hey, Henri to Kris. Henri to Kris. Wake up man, and drink your beer. It isn't going to drink itself."

Velic looked up at his partner, who smiled with his fangs out. That made Velic smile. Another good thing about the Blood Moon was that it was a safe haven for all beings: vampires, demons, dragonmen, shapeshifters.

A place where all could go to escape, and not worry about being backstabbed.

"Ahhh, I know, I know... it's just."

"Yes?"

"It's just..."

Velic looked around the room, and took in all of the sights. There were some red-scaled men playing darts on the opposite sides of the room, roaring with laughter when one of their shots made it onto the board. There were a small group of male and female dra-men, drinking each pitcher of house beer as if it would be their last drink forever.

And there were two beautiful ladies sitting across the room. One of them caught Velic's eyes, and winked.

He sat back and blinked. He never had that happen before, much less in his uniform.

He couldn't tell what the two women were though. They seemed different...

"Hey. 'It's just... what?'"

Velic turned back to his friend, who had finished off his beer and ordered another.

"It's just... do you remember when the ASHVO was started?"

Rosenberg nodded slowly. "Ya... it was, like, the ASIEA, or somethin. I think."

"Yes. And back then, me, you, James, Tank, Lita... all of us were part of the coven remember? Under Hondur?"

"Yes. I do. What's your point."

Rosenberg's speech had become a little slurred, and he looked at Velic with a little annoyance in his eye.

"My point is... why did we ever join up with the ASHVO in the first place? I mean, we go on stakeouts, and hunt down rogue vampires. We're just another VP"

Rosenburg picked up his new drink, and toasted Velic with a flourish.

"So what do you want, Velic? More action? Intrigue? This isn't some tv show, man - this is your life. We do our jobs, and we get paid, and we go home.

Trust me. Those who wish for more excitement in their lives usually regret it soon enough."

Velic nodded, and swigged back his drink as well. It hit him harder than most others - he knew he was a lightweight drinker, but that was ok. It allowed him to get wasted, and for cheaper.

Still, he thought back to the glory days of when the Assington vampires would battle the Anti-Vampire Organization, and even the Hyraphore. He longed for such action himself.

"Excuse me gentleman..."

Velic put down his glass, and looked up to see the two ladies from across the room standing there. Rosenberg looked up, and smiled his most charming smile.

It came off as a leer.

The two ladies wore similar, fetching outfits: lowcut tops, a short skirt and thigh-high boots

"And what can we do for you two beautiful ladies?" said Rosenberg, staring at the girls chests.

"Well, we're new in town, and we're looking for a nice hotel to stay for the night. We were wondering if you two handsome men would know of a place."

Rosenberg stood, and bowed slightly. "Absolutely, my dears. I know of a wonderful place, called the Chateau Rosenberg. An excellent place, the roomiest beds you have ever slept on."

The two ladies giggled and blushed.

"Well then, lead the way."

Velic got up, and grinned at his partner. He was never too lucky at picking up ladies at bars, and now that fate had delivered two of them to him, he wasn’t about to give that up.

Perhaps things were looking up.

Rosenberg dropped a $50 bill on their table, and offered his arm to one of the ladies. She took his, and the other took Velic’s Together, they all walked out the door of the Blood Moon and turned down the alleyway beside the business.

The alley was a dim, dank place, lit up only by the pale moon which shone above.

“Ok ladies, so where are you from?” asked Rosenburg, stumbling slightly.

“We’re from Valient. My name is Jenna, and my friend over there is Harlot.”

“Harlot? What a beautiful name. Welcome to Assington. My name is…”

“Oh, we already know who you are, Henri Rosenburg. We know all about you.”

Rosenburg stopped, and looked at the beautiful woman who had let go of his arm. Velic noticed that his escort had too stepped away from him.

“Your name is Henri Karl Rosenburg,” said Jenna. “You are half-French, half-English, and was turned less than 300 years ago. You are ASHVO agent number 12546, and have served on the force for 89 years.”

Harlot spoke up right after Jenna, taking up where her friend had left off.

“Your name is Kristoff Liam Velic,” said Harlot. “You are Bosnian, and was turned less than 200 years ago. You are ASHVO agent number 27784, and have served on the force for 75 years.”

Velic stepped towards Harlot. “What… what is the meaning of this?”

Harlot spoke towards Velic, but seemed to be looking beyond him.

“No offense, officer. But you see we have a job to do too.”

All of a sudden, a large, clawed hand reached out of the shadow and cleaved at Rosenburg’s face.

The agent dropped to the cold cement, oozing blood from 5 deep gouges to his head. It was almost completely partitioned.

Velic turned to his friend, and tried not to throw up. Suddenly, another five pair of dark red eyes appeared in the dark alleyway.

He turned back to Harlot, and this time, tried not to scream.

The bones in her body had shifted, reformed, and twisted into something more feral. Her legs grew longer out of her torso, and her arms bulged and burst her tank top.

Velic didn’t look at her naked body. He was too transfixed on her face, which no longer belonged to a sweet, innocent young lady.

It had taken on the visage of the wolf. A Lychan.

“Please understand. I don’t want to do this.”

As she leapt upon him and tore him to shreds, Velic mused that perhaps Rosenberg was right. Perhaps excitement was not always a good thing.

A moot point now, he conceded, as his brain disconnected to his spine and his thoughts became lost once more.

As Harlot finished her job with the hapless vampire, six sorrowful voices cried out in harmony. Above, in the cold wind, the sign to the Blood Moon pub swung gently, painfully, timelessly.

********

In a similarly darkened room in the Hyraphore compound, Alexander Kelsing put down the phone for the tenth time that night. He looked at the two solemn figures seated across the room and smiled.

“It has begun…”

Skadi had already been awake for some time when Sigrun finally arrived. Now at 1944 years of age, she had taken to rising slightly earlier as the lethal effect of the sun upon her pale skin had weakened. It was still a painful experience to be exposed to the rays after so long, but it was no longer lethal unless exposed for long periods of time. Stepping out of the steamy bathroom, clad in her usual black shirt, pants and coat, Skadi laid her eyes upon the reincarnated form of her fledgling.

"What do you think of the changes within your birth into the darkness?"

Wet black hair clung to her leather clad shoulders as Skadi took in Sigrun, her dark eyes not missing a detail. Although it had only been a few years since Maximus' death, it seemed centuries to her. The ancient vampire allowed a quick glance to her blade and twin pistols sprawled across the chair next to Sigrun, a habit that came as naturally as breathing.

After Sigrun had taken care of a few issues, the trio of Skadi, Sigrun and Stephen had ventured into Emerald City once again, awaiting the impending actions of Alexander Kelsing. Skadi's utter spite for that vampire doubled everytime she saw his sly grin and had to endure his immature chatter. She would kill him one of these days.

For now, darkness had covered Emerald City and she was able to roam the streets with her partner once again...
____________

Hondur and Garm sat within the dark abyss of Assington Central Park. The area was densely vegetated and hid all figures well enough. Hondur didn't have any trouble with visibility, 1346 years of vampiric sight allowed him to see much more than any human. The ancient vampire took a glance towards the latest Garm, fiddling with night vision goggles. He couldn't help but sigh. Hondur had lived through Garm II, one of the original ASHVO agents, then a number of his descendants. Although they were all good men, Hondur missed Garm II. The thought brought a slight smirk to his face, he missed a human.

The pair was keeping watch on a small faction of vampires from Hondur's old coven. Those that refused ASHVO, the rebels. Over the years they had become more violent without any clear leadership and so they took to causing trouble amongst the human populace. They would die for that mistake. The pair both sat in black trench coats, an unofficial trademark of ASHVO. Officially, there was no ASHVO, no logo, no uniform, no ID cards, and no rumours. Of course there were suspicions of an organisation, but no name was ever put to it. All top secret.

"Be ready, they are going to move within ten minutes."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I can hear them gathering."

"Oh, right."

Garm was indeed a competent warrior and had made his name in the VP like many of his ancestors, yet he was in many ways different from the others. This young man didn't possess the distinct self-assurance and determination the others did. Hondur had considered this but had figured the boy was young, barely 26 years. He would learn, after all, he was new to ASHVO.

"We strike in five minutes"

"Yes sir."

Sigrun watched Skadi as she looked over him carefully, taking in every detail. Indeed, it had seemed like eons since the two had been together. Alas, the throes of destiny weave strange patterns.

A short while later, the three of them sauntered quietly down the street. The air felt charged, as if a tension line was about to snap, and all hell break loose.

"You ask me of my changes...I can only say that it is good to be back. Yet, the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this was meant to be, that you and I were meant to evolve an alliance that fought in both day and night. We will make the world fear our wrath once more..."

Sigrun looked over to Stephen and smiled, "I don't know about you Skadi, but I don't think it would be a bad idea to have a third to join us. After all, it is said that a triangle is a strong geometric shape..."

The sounds of faraway movements became audible to the elven ear, coming from the direction of the Central Park. Sigrun held up his hand, momentarily halting the trio, as he listened carefully. He knew that they would be able to hear what he was as well, but even then, elven senses were among the finest.

"Vampires, twelve sets of footsteps." Sigrun reported after only a minute.

He narrowed his eyes in the direction from whence the sounds came. Something was about to happen, he could feel it in his fingers for they became restless, a physical sign of his premonition.

OOC: Ok, here comes the introduction of Zero, Part II.......

IC: That night, Zero went straight back to his apartment, after his meeting with King Louis, to pack whatever he might need. Which isn't much, considering he had only 1 change of clothes that is pretty much what he always wore. Then he looked around for his weapons. Zero was pretty good with many weapons, although he didn't depend on them totally, but he had specialized in only a small number.

Silver-bladed throwing knives, tucked into his trenchcoat. His trusty Dual Elite Berettas, complete with magazines of normal and silver-tipped bullets. A silver bladed rapier, flexible enough to be brought anywhere. And........Zero turned to his bed, where he had left the ornate Chinese sabre on the bed.

The Dragon Sabre. A large Chinese sabre, embossed with motifs of Chinese-style dragons. The hilt itself was made in a shape of a dragon, but what's infinitely more interesting about the blade are the small slivers of quartz crystal and silver embedded within the thrice-forged steel of the great blade. As Zero picked it up, it started emitting a purplish glow, and Zero felt part of his consciousness going into the blade, as he always did........

Then he forced himself to snap awake, and the blade subsided. Picking it up, he gently felt the blade over, whispering.......

"Not yet, not yet. Tomorrow, will be a new adventure........."

The Next Night

A chartered Cessna landed at 8:40 PM in the international airport of Emerald City, the capital of Assington. On board was Zero, hidden in the cargo hold to shield him from any effects of any sunlight he might encounter. As the Cessna touched down, Zero finally came out of hiding, and tapped the pilot on the shoulder.

"All clear, Captain?"
"Aye Sir! We are now in Emerald City. Enjoy your stay, sir.

An Hour Later

At the local Emerald City Ritz, Zero checked into his hotel room, paid for by the King of Atros. Leaving his briefcase of bearer bonds and his only other briefcase, Zero decided to check out the city. It's too bad the Atrosian limo that picked him up had tinted windows.........

15 minutes later

He had only been wandering around the famous Emerald City of Assington for a few minutes, but already Zero was feeling at home. The city stylings, the feel, it was almost exactly like the City of Darkness back home. And there are vampires here as well. Although they are but Assingtonians, and Zero is a Noble......maybe it won't be so similar after all.

The prospect of being in an alien city worried Zero, and yet he was thrilled with the feeling of being somewhere new, after isolating himself in the City of Darkness for so long.......the rush almost tempted Zero to go hunting, to have a taste of Assington to remember, but he restrained himself. He didn't know the rules here, and he didn't want to attract too much attention, much less the wrong kind. To that effect, he had wrapped up the Dragon Saber in newspapers, where at home he would have displayed it proudly on his back, and clutched it with his left hand.

Apart from sightseeing, Zero had another agenda. Part of his objective was to lie low, but he had no contacts with the Assington underworld, and by hitting the streets, Zero was hoping to attract, hopefully, the right kind of attention. King Louis was ambiguous as to what kind of trouble the Assingtonians were facing, but Zero had no intention of it claiming him before he had completed his mission. However, he walked on, confident that pretty soon, something will pick up his presence. He could only hope it's the right kind of entity who will sense him.........

OOC: Ok, I now require another RPer to make contact with Zero. If possible, i'll like to have him hook up with Skadi and Sigrun.

He was out selling again.

Sitting behind a old and very dirty wooden table, which seemed to have been recently uprooted from it's old residence of a rubbish tip, Icarus smiled his perfect selling smile of his mostly useless goods. The table had been put to use to display Icarus' products, in which the table seemed to be made for, matching the quality of his products in general.

Icarus was now a street seller of various items, some items of interest and some not. Small watches, a paperback book of "guns and ammo", a pack of detoxicing chewing gum. But most of it was crap Icarus had obtained one way or another, and could be bought in most shops. But there were a few acceptions to this assumption, a small corner of his table which had been reserved for a small card and four vials.

A few special items for the special customer lay in that area, that of vampire items. A few small vials of a dark red liquid lay arranged in a orderly way, a contrast to the sprawl of other trinkets, which Icarus was desperately trying to arrange neatly with his long nimble fingers. He held his tongue out as he tried to stop everything falling over.

People walked by, not paying attention to this rather strange character, although a few were irritated by the fact that this table and his improvised seat of a half smashed stool. A few comments of "Get a job you crazy jipo" or words to that kind of affect were not noticed by Icarus.

He kept on smiling his unstoppably entusiastic smile that Icarus was possessed with.

A gust of wind almost tempted the small piece of card with Icarus' handwriting, more of a illegible scrawl than english, must to Icarus' irritation.

"Damn card, know your place!" Icarus commanded the small folded piece of card threateningly.

The card looked rather blankly, seeming to obay Icarus' reprimand.

"There. Good card."

The card's face held the words, "Want info? I got info. Ask the man." written in black ink from some old pen that Icarus held within his black jacket.

Some time passed, and the people seemed to take no notice of his goods. Icarus was getting bored with people browsing and checking that his' items worked or seemed ok. He did not sell anything, but he did aqquire the one or two items off him would be customers, as Icarus had a tendancy to do when he was bored.

"One long day in the life of a legend. They sure don't tell these kinds of stories in the novels about Kharne do they Mr. Card? Or his name Kern...Kall....I dunno. It doesn't matter anyways."

At this point, the wind decided to take Mr. Card on a little journey, in which Mr. Card was more than happy to take part in.

Mr. Card had a flying lesson, doing a few cartwheels in the air and going to a character which Icarus had never met, a character called Zero.

"Hey there, catch Mr. Card there!", Icarus said as if someone had just stolen his wallet and was running down the street, and he was calling for someone to stop the bastard.

IC: Zero suddenly heard,

"Hey there, catch Mr. Card there!"

Catching sight of a name card flying in the wind, Zero didn't even turn. He just held up his hand......and the card started glowing purple. Then, it flew straight to him, and Zero caught it out of the air, and read it out of hand.

It read:
"Want info? I got info. Ask the man."

Raising his eyebrows at the strange comment, Zero walked to the strange person, wondering what this is going to mean...........

Icarus whistled in something of amazement of the technique which the vampire in front of him just did, that little phychic action. He leaned over his table and uttered a very long, "Ooooo."


"Very-fucking-fancy!" Icarus said slowly, and scarcasticly. It was obvious that he was not impressed, and changed in his tone to being slightly insulting.

"Why didn't you just catch Mr. Card instead of showing off your elite magic skills you flashy vampire! Jesus...I swear, most of you vampires are like teenagers." Icarus complained, throwing his hands up in the air dramaticly and for affect, sending some of his items going accross the floor.

"Now look what you made me do! Gah! Mrs. Tick-tock aint gunna be pleased!" Icarus cried out as he made a dive for the watch named 'Mrs. Tick-tock' for obvious reasons. He dived in a most compassionate action to save his recently aqquired friend, Mrs. Tick-Tock, and as a result, sent the table, his box, and all the items which were upon it, crashing down onto the pavement.

The book, the chewing gun, various books and the the four blood filled vials tumbled to the floor and were promptly crushed, trampled or lost to the crowd of pedestrians which walked the street. People did not really mind crunching on something in the street.

The table however, pissed a few people off as it slided towards them.

Icarus managed to save Mrs. Tick-tock...although as Icarus stood up and looked at what his impulsive dive to save the item had cost.

"See how much I care?" Icarus said to the watch light-heartedly as he watched his items become worthless. He shrugged and looked at Zero.

"Yeah, I see that Mr. Card has told you that I can give ya info. So, unless you want to stand there gauping, start browsing. And while you are at it, can I have Mr. Card back? I have grown rather fond of the little fella."

Icarus called himself one of a kind, a man who smashed social barriers, a man of action and legends, a being like no other, an eccentric genius.



It was rather evident, that Icarus, was in fact, despite his own opinions, was clearly insane.

Stephen smiled back at Sigrun. His fangs shined slightly in the streetlight.

"If it is alright with you Skadi, I wouldn't mind tagging along."

They continued for a few more meters before Sigrun made his announcment. Stephen also sensed the several vampires coming from the Central Park.

Purly out of habit Stephen pulled out one of his P-14s and ejected the magizine, 14 rounds. He slide it back in and pulled the slide back, chambering a round. He repeated the process for the other automatic and placed it back into it's holster.

"Any humans near the vampires in the park Sigrun?"

(OOC: Assington, please check your TGs...)

The night was warm, nothing like his home town, in Hazard KY... Nope, there the mercury dropped pretty low during the evening hours. Dekker Bray, all 6'1" & 242 lbs of him, stood alone in the park. Dressed in his usual urban recon getup of a black hooded sweatshirt, matching fatigue pants, and Magnum duty boots, he didn't stand out much against the oppressive darkness amongst the trees.

The comforting weight of his AMT M1911A1 Hardballer hung under his left shoulder, beneath it was his old K-BAR. Opposite the weaponry where three magazines for his handgun. The right boot held a Glock 22 in a bootlace holster, the left held a Gerber Survival/Explorer knife in an external sheath. Other interesting items on his person where a small can of Freon, a shotgun microphone with earpiece, and an X26 tazer, which sat at the small of his back.

The mercenary flexed his fingerless-gloved hands, working some circulation back into them. It had been nearly an hour since he'd arrived, at the request of an old friend... The scaly bastard was never this late...

His thoughts began to wander, back to his hotel room with the small arsenal he'd brought along for the hunt. Whiptail had left a name for him if he was late...

'Maximus... He ain't gonna be happy to see me, not after we laid waste to that coven back in Valient...'

Something moved to Dekker's left... Someone... Dekker was willing to bet his month's pay that the guy had pointy teeth...

'Stay low, an' keep outta sight...'

The mercenary tugged the ample hood of his sweatshirt off of his head, for the purpose of bettering his corner vision. He crouched, taking cover behind a small hedgerow...

OOC: Do tazers have the same effect on vamps & lycans as they do humans? The things temporarily disable the central nervous system & eliminate all motor functions. Curious because I don't know how vamp & lycan nerves work. OOC'll be kept to a minimum from now on.

Assington...

A familiar hunting ground...

The black-garbed figure with the long & dexterous tail padded softly through the streets of Emerald City, heading for the park... A finely-crafted mithrill saber with a silver filament around the entire edge of the blade hung at his belt, opposite a small knife.

A CZ2000 hung under each shoulder, above several magazines. The pair of Blackwood stakes on the underside of his left arm in a leather holster betrayed his occupation & nationality...

Vampire Hunter, obviously Argonian...

Dark Argonian...

Golden eyes like twin lamps glared out from under the all-enveloping hood of his cloak, taking in the terrain as the hunter moved...

There...

Vampiric scent...

Elf?

The hunter shifted to a low crouch, moving towards a trio of beings at a slow & cautious pace, using avaliable concealment...

'Skadi?'

He called out with his mind, using what little telephathy he posessed...

IC: Zero had tried to take the nonsense of Icarus as well as he could, but the total mess Icarus was making was the limit. Moreover, it attracted attention, and that, Zero didn't want until he knew what he was looking for. Therefore, he had to resort to drastic measures. Before the insane Icarus knew it, Zero had pulled him up by the shirt, and he could feel a cold touch on his neck. Zero had held one of his silver throwing knives to Icarus.

"Ok, look here, fool, you told me you had info, and now you're attracting way too much attention for me" Zero murmured. "If i find you are wasting my time here, you are gonna find yourself in real big trouble."

Throwing Icarus hard onto the ground, Zero considered the Dragon Blade, sheathed in newspapers in his left hand, but instead withdrew his silver-bladed rapier from his coat, and pointed the tip at Icarus' neck again.

"Now, speak. Or you may find yourself a little......bloodless, shall i say?"

Tyr Abel was tired. So very tired.

He was tired of breathing, living, fighting. He was tired of life.

He was tired of being a Lychan. Too bad though. He still did all of those things, whether by some instinct or impulse he did not know.

He was tired of thinking about that too.

Tyr stood up to his full height of over six-and-a-half feet and walked around the lavish state room in the Hyraphore compound. He wore a simple black tuxedo, perhaps a tad much for the occasion at hand, but he preferred to dress up, rather than be caught down.

People like him learned to keep his guard up.

"Okay, Alexander. So my men did your initial work. How long before we can wrap up our business relationship?"

The vampire, dressed in a pola opposite fashion, clad in a white trench coat, steepled his fingers on his desk, and laughed.

"Business relationship? C'mon, Jonathan, I thought we had a better relationship than this..."

Tyr stopped at a glass sculpture of the Twin DEO Towers. He scowled, and moved to crush the figure in his hand.

But he stopped himself. Anger had bested him before, but not anymore. tyr looked over at the beautiful women who scowled even harder at Alexander than he did. She gripped the cushion beneath her, nearly forcing the down stuffing out from within.

"Alexander, it is no longer Jonathan, or Jen, or anything. We go by our new names now, nothing else: Tyr Abel and Avatre Sertava."

Alexander threw his hands up in mock resignation. "Ah, yes. Your identity crisis, or change or whatever. So be it, Tyr. You can have your little code names, but just remember, until I finish what I have started in Assington, you and the Kantrawulves belong to me."

Tyr growled softly, and started to approach the desk.

"Don't start Alexander. You know full well we had to change our identity after that incident in Green Lake. We don't have a choice."

The vampire smiled. "No, I suppose you don't. Then again, it seems like you're not that capable of making decisions, anyways."

The Lychan ran his hands over the front of his tux. It felt smooth and cold, and he did it twice more.

"... So the anti-pheramone treatment your scientists developed work, right?"

"Yes. All ten first wave groups have all reported success with their mission. All went smoothly, with no casualties. None of your lychanthropes were detected by the Assingtonians.

"However, I cannot promise that the same result will happen when the Elders show up..."

Tyr was about to protest when he was waved away by Alexander, who picked up the phone.

"No, you and your lover go and leave me alone for awhile. I have to return some phone calls."

Before Avatre could respond to Alexander's brisk brush-aside, Tyr nodded assent, and bowed.

"Of course, Alexander. We shall be ready when you need us."

After the door closed shut, Alexander picked up the phone and dialed the first of ten numbers, all the while muttering to himself and smiling.

"Damn blood debt... gotta love it."

********

A few minutes later, 10 cellular phones clicked close, and 10 groups of five lychas stalked into the night once more, looking for more vampires to kill, all in the name of the Kantrawulves and the Hyraphore...

Avatre was pissed. Really pissed. How could Tyr lower himself to taking orders from that...that...well, there really wasn't a curse foul enough to describe Alexander. In the first place, he was a vampire which by itself was enough to make her dislike him. Add to that the fact that he obviously held both Avatre and Tyr in contempt, and well, she was definitely fighting an urge to run back into his office and rip out his throat. She stalked off down the hallway, fuming, ignoring the fact that he was beside her. How Tyr had gotten the Kantrawulves into this mess with the Vampires, Avatre wasn't sure. She hadn't asked for Alexander's help, and she certainly didn't feel any obligation to fulfill a life-debt with a Vampire. This was all Tyr's idea. He had changed, Avatre realized, and she didn't like it. He was weak. He wanted peace. Peace? With the Vampires? Avatre found the whole idea ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as the idea that she was actually going to help Alexander. Debt or no debt, Avatre Servata wasn't taking any more orders from his kind.

Suddenly, she spotted an open door. Without thinking, she grabbed Tyr by the arm, hauled him inside and slammed the door shut. With one fluid motion, she whirled and backhanded him across the face. He reeled back, stunned. She faced him, her eyes flashing dangerously. She picked him up by the front of his tuxedo and threw him into a wall. He slumped to the floor, slightly dazed. Blood trickled out of one corner of his mouth. Avatre hauled him to his feet and screamed at him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? You may as well just surrender now and let the fucking Vampires take over."

He looked up at her but did not speak. She let go of him and turned away. Her eyes softened.

"What has happened to you, Tyr? You used to be so strong. In the old days you would have killed Alexander for talking to you as he did. It was your strength and pride that made me fall in love with you. But that's all gone now, isn't it?"

Instantly the anger came back into her eyes, fiercer than before.

"Well, one of us is still strong. I will NEVER kneel to Alexander. I will NEVER kneel to any Vampire. I will stand and fight against them, and our clan will fight with me. And if you are not strong enough to stand with me, I will lead the Kantrawulves alone!"

OOC: MS, tasers do have the same effect on vamps and lychans

IC: Normally Skadi wouldn't consider such a request, to allow a fledgling to join her for an undefined period. Taking a long glance at the younger vampire, she finally nodded. She didn't particularly like Stephen, but he may be useful yet, and Sigrun seemed to enjoy his company.

Skadi had noticed the vampires before Sigrun had voiced his discovery. She wasn't really concerned with the happenings of these creatures. The ancient vampire was more worried about what would happen when Sigrun realised that Hondur was nearby, most likely connected to these vampires somehow.

"There is no need for us to intervene with these creatures..."

Before Skadi could say anymore, the mental whisper of a certain Dark Argonian entered her mind.

The hunter has returned to Assington...

"Whiptail? What brings you to Emerald City once again?"

Skadi didn't like the way things were playing out here. All these certain people in the one place, it wasn't quite right in Skadi's mind.

"Stay wary, something is going on."
____________

Hondur was about to give the command when the familiar scent of Skadi crossed his nostrils, completely halting his train of thought. Skadi had been in Assington for a few years, this was unexpected. He could sense others with her, none of whom he recognised.

Getting back on task, Hondur rose in unison with Garm. The vampire drew his, a silver alloy katana. It was a reasonable blade, yet it barely compared to the quality of Skadi's. She had never told him where it came from. Garm was not a competent swordsman like his ancestors, but his skills with twin deagles were some of the highest Hondur had ever encountered.

The signal was now given, causing a combination of ten other ASHVO humans and vampires to emerge out of the covering brush or from dark alleys. All wore dark clothes, yet nothing quite the same, specifically to appear as if the men were not related. Blades and guns glinted in the moonlight as the agents moved in, surrounding the outside of a large brick building.

Seconds later the twelve vampires burst out the large oak door, guns blazing. Hondur smiled, these vampires thought they had caught his men out, just because they sensed the approach. They would soon find their mistake, upon their death bed...

Gunshots signalled the beginning of bloodshed...

Stephen's ears twitched when he heard the gunfire. He listened. Each firearm had it's own tune and Stephen could still make out what weapons someone was carrying by the shot.

"Someone has started a little battle. Desert Eagles, MP5s, one or two Type 56 Chinese AKs, and that is for starters."

Stephen couldn't see the fight, but from the commotion, he knew it was heavy.

Before Sigrun could answer Stephen's question about humans being in the area, gunfire suddenly reported with a loud opening shot of a shotgun. Barely a second later, returning gunfire was issued.

The tension line that saturated the air was stretched even further, threatening to snap and release the dogs of war upon the city once more.

Without looking back at the others, Sigrun ran forward to the corner and hugged the wall before peering carefully around. A faint whistling sound, heard only by the most capable of hearing was heard by Sigrun. He pulled his head back, watching as a shower of concrete and brick fell to the ground, approximately at the same spot where he had just leaned his head around.

Too close...damn wild shots!

Sigrun popped his head around the corner once more and surveyed the distant battle. A sudden flash of silver blade caught his attention. Eyes followed the blade to the hand, then the arm, then the face turned partially away. Sigrun's eyes widened slightly as he recognized an old foe.

Hondur. The very name stirred an ancient contempt for the overconfident vampire.

Sigrun smiled sinisterly as he imagined Hondur's face once he would find out who Sigrun was. He turned his eyes back to Skadi, whose face was slightly surprised by something, but hidden under her cold demeanor. Sigrun had always been able to read her thoughts through her eyes, no matter how much she hid them.

The time would come when Sigrun would face Hondur once more...

IC: Zero had tried to take the nonsense of Icarus as well as he could, but the total mess Icarus was making was the limit. Moreover, it attracted attention, and that, Zero didn't want until he knew what he was looking for. Therefore, he had to resort to drastic measures. Before the insane Icarus knew it, Zero had pulled him up by the shirt, and he could feel a cold touch on his neck. Zero had held one of his silver throwing knives to Icarus.

"Ok, look here, fool, you told me you had info, and now you're attracting way too much attention for me" Zero murmured. "If i find you are wasting my time here, you are gonna find yourself in real big trouble."

Throwing Icarus hard onto the ground, Zero considered the Dragon Blade, sheathed in newspapers in his left hand, but instead withdrew his silver-bladed rapier from his coat, and pointed the tip at Icarus' neck again.

"Now, speak. Or you may find yourself a little......bloodless, shall i say?"

"Crackers dont matter! Really they don't!" Icarus cried as the blade was placed up against his throat. He squirmed a little, but still had that strange charisma around him. He seemed unpaniced, that it was simply pretend.

"Urgh. Say, whats that sound?" Icarus said curiously, looking over the street to where the gunfire was coming from. His glasses changed colour to gold and then changed colour to green. The rims of the glasses span around and hummed very slightly.

"Must be those old histories blazing up again.." Icarus muttered to himself as looked at Zero who was obviously thinking what he was going to do.

IC: Zero had Icarus at swordtip, but it's like Icarus didn't care at all, based on his expression. Before any more words could be exchanged though, Zero heard something.

Gunshots. A lot of gunshots. A battle was going on. And it's no ordinary gunfight. He sensed the presence of.......vampires. Icarus seemed to hear it too.

Quickly picking up Icarus by the shirt again, Zero growled into Icarus' face.

"I have no time for you right now. If you have anything of value to tell me......" he dug into his coat, and produced a namecard detailing his cellphone, throwing the card in Icarus' face, ".....you call me at this number 2 hours from now. If you give any more trouble, on the other hand.....", he bared his fangs to show he's serious, ".....i'll show you the meaning of Death."

With that, he threw Icarus to one side, and rushed towards the commotion, absent-mindedly keeping Icarus' card. As he ran through the dark alleyways, he sheathed his rapier back into the sheathe in his coat, and shifted the newspaper bundle onto his right hand.

The newspaper bundle started glowing purple. Then, with a burst, the newspapers split apart of its own accord, revealing the Dragon Saber, glowing with a purple light. Drawing near to the fighting, Zero stopped, and watched from a nearby alleyway. It's no good rushing in and not knowing what to kill..............

Icarus watched as Zero ran off to whatever fight was going on.

Icarus lay down on the ground for some time, lying down as if he was now sunbathing, when he was in fact slowly getting colder and colder. He had his hands behind his head, and that placated smile on his lips, his glasses humming still.

"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right..." Icarus sung softly to himself, moving his hands around in the tune of the old song. He whistled to himself as he played with the new item revolving in his deft hands.

"Throwing knife eh? I can see you were brought up properlly." Icarus said, looking at the knife as if he was expecting a responce.

The throwing kinfe has been recently aqquired from one of his would be customers, which was that vampire who was running towards that gunfight. The orange glow from the backally street light sparkled over the wonderfully shaped and made weapon. Icarus played with it, for it was his new toy.

"You need a name. I think I will call you.....actually, I don't know. Hey Mr.Card, what do you think? Mr.Card...? Mr. Card? Where.....oh you son of a bitch!"

Mr. Card, was in the pocket of Zero, and Mr. Card, as always, enjoyed the ride.

Icarus kicked himself to standing, gripping the throwing knife tightly in a tantrum. His brow scrunched up in rage and he stamped his foot against the wet pavement.

"Bloody pick-pockets! Should be shot!" Icarus complained to whoever was listening, and that was a grand total of zero.

Of course, unless you counted such people as Mr. Tick-Tock and Icarus, but they did not really count at all.


Icarus only had that card which the vampire had given him. He looked at it, noticing that the writing was far more legible and understandable, but Icarus thought this card lacked the moral fibre of his previous card companion, under some careful judgements made by Icarus.

"Oh yeah, just....just leave me standing here without my freind eh? Some of us have loyality ya know! Unlike you Zero!" Icarus cried into the night, Icarus using his new found knowledge from the vampire's card.

His voice was only heard by a few pedestrians, the knife in his pocket, and once again, himself.

But Icarus was wrong in assuming that Zero did not have loyality as he had quaintly put it. Zero certainly would notice that one of his own 'family' was missing, he would certainly notice.

"Well, you aint as much as fun as Mr. Card you know Mr.Knife. You aint gunna replace him. No fuggin way. I will get Mr. Card back when that Zero fella is less busy. You aint replacing him. I aint buying you a home or nothing. Noooo way." Icarus said harshly to Mr.Knife, taking no notice of Mr.Knife's blank expression or his feelings.

"Although....I suppose....", Icarus began and started to throw the knife playfully into the air and catch it again, smiling as he did so as he walked to somewhere else entirely, not caring where he went.



Icarus was more like a stray cat or a child than a man.

Outside of the red bricked building, the battle between the vampire/human task force and the rogue vampires raged on.

One of the ASHVO officer's ran away from the melee to get a higher perch, so to cover his team with supressing fire.

The man, dressed in a black jumpsuit, ran through a dark alley, looking for a door that promised a higher spot.

Kruuncchrrk.

The officer stopped for a moment. He thought he heard a loud crunching noise.

He looked down, and saw the tag on the back coller of his suit: his head had turned entirely around.

Mercifully, he eyes rolled up, and he no longer had to worry about collers sticking up anymore. He dropped his assault rifle, and moments later, followed it to the cement alleyway.

A large, blood covered hand retreated into the darkness. It looked matted by the blood, as if covered in fur...

********

"What has happened to you, Tyr? You used to be so strong. In the old days you would have killed Alexander for talking to you as he did. It was your strength and pride that made me fall in love with you. But that's all gone now, isn't it?"

"Well, one of us is still strong. I will NEVER kneel to Alexander. I will NEVER kneel to any Vampire. I will stand and fight against them, and our clan will fight with me. And if you are not strong enough to stand with me, I will lead the Kantrawulves alone!"

Tyr stood up, and growled softly at Avatre. Without warning, he lunged at her, and pressed himself against her in a rough embrace. She did not refuse him, and seemed to relish seeing him angry once more.

"Avatre. My love... You know that I stand by you in all of our endeavors, and I know that you stand by me... but you do not understand the ways... our ways."

"Our ways? I turned you, remember?"

Tyr scowled. "Nevertheless, you should know the importance of honour and pride to a Lychan, and to the Kantrawulves. We... you and I have, done so much to create a life away from our past. But for we... for I to move forward, I need to fulfill this debt to the Hyraphore. Yes, it is unfortunate that Driretlen has gone away, and that Alexander is in charge, but he does not truly mean us any harm. He is too busy fighting his own kind."

Avatre turned away. "You say will stand and fight against them, but... my love, believe me when I say that fighting does no one any good. Better to kneel for a moment, than to fight for an eternity."

All of a sudden, a voice boomed out over the intercom system.

"Tyr, Avatre. I have need of you."

Tyr and Avatre looked at each other, and headed back into Alexander's study.

Avatre spoke up this time. "Yes, vampire? What is it?"

Alexander responded, but looked at Tyr, ignoring Avatre.

"It seems that there has been an incident in Assington, so our mission window has been pushed up. I need you two to go to Emerald City, along with my 'Able' friend, Daniel Able."

OOC: MS, tasers do have the same effect on vamps and lychans

IC: Normally Skadi wouldn't consider such a request, to allow a fledgling to join her for an undefined period. Taking a long glance at the younger vampire, she finally nodded. She didn't particularly like Stephen, but he may be useful yet, and Sigrun seemed to enjoy his company.

Skadi had noticed the vampires before Sigrun had voiced his discovery. She wasn't really concerned with the happenings of these creatures. The ancient vampire was more worried about what would happen when Sigrun realised that Hondur was nearby, most likely connected to these vampires somehow.

"There is no need for us to intervene with these creatures..."

Before Skadi could say anymore, the mental whisper of a certain Dark Argonian entered her mind.

The hunter has returned to Assington...

"Whiptail? What brings you to Emerald City once again?"

Skadi didn't like the way things were playing out here. All these certain people in the one place, it wasn't quite right in Skadi's mind.

"Stay wary, something is going on."


'I have come to check on you & your mate... How is Maximus? And who are your companions?'

Before more thoughts could be exchanged, gunshots shattered the eerie silence of the night... Whiptail pulled his saber from its sheath, moving like a wraith towards the source of the noise, the silver filament around the edge of the mithrill glimmering dimly as he swiftly passed under the streetlamps...

Dekker turned sharply in the direction of gunfire...

'.44 mag... 7.62... 9mm... Either a hard-ass math problem or a gunfight...'

The Hardballer came out from under the hoodie, and Dekker set off at a dead run towards the commotion... Perhaps it was Whiptail enjoying himself too much... Maybe it was just some turf war... He didn't care...

OOC: Good to hear. Hydra-Shok ammo isn't good against anything that isn't mortal, at least Dekker's got one effective weapon.

OOC: Okay, i hope you guys don't mind if i start killing some cannon fodder Lychans.

IC:
Zero was near the scene of the fight now, and he had a clear view of the gunbattle going on, while remaining hidden in a dark alleyway. All he could see was flashes in the house, and a few......fledglings. Moreover, the enemy the fledglings, who were dressed in uniforms Zero could not identify, were fighting, were......also vampires.

As Zero pondered his next move, whether to enter the fight and risk blowing his cover, he fingered the weapons that were still hidden in his coat. The silver alloy rapier, still in its sheathe. The Dual Elites were there. And as always, he had.........ONLY 9 THROWING KNIVES???!!!

In a flash, he realized.

"Icarus", Zero growled. The damned pickpocket......once his job here was done, he would hunt the thief down......and this time, give him what he deserved. But not now. Later.

Lychan!!! Behind you!!! Watch out above!!!"

In that instance, his 6th sense fired, and he turned with great speed, stretching out his left hand 45 degrees upward. A Lychan was coming down at him......

The Lychan growled, certain he had his prey. What he did not expect, was a forcefield of pure purple energy to suddenly materialize between him and the vampire he was set on scalping. Unable to turn in mid-air, he slammed right into the shield.

It felt like slamming right into a wall made of steel.

Stunned, the Lychan fell back, and at this time, Zero dissolved his shield, and drew his rapier with his left hand. The Lychan recovered, but before he could counterattack, Zero swung the Dragon Saber in his direction. Zero was nowhere near the Lychan enough to hit with the blade, but the Lychan did not expect a surge of purple energy shoot out from the blade, and swung in a similar motion towards him.

The man-wolf tried to backtrack, but not fast enough, for the edge of the energy burst nicked his abdomen, cutting what to mortals would have been a fatal wound. The Lychan retreated, in severe pain, but before he could heal, Zero charged up, with a speed the Lychan had never seen in a fledgling.

"An Ancient! With powers i've never seen in any other before!"

That was all the Lychan had left to think, before Zero impaled his chest with the rapier, than cut off his head with the Saber, this time with the very substance of the blade itself, and not the energy inherent with it.

Zero stepped back, and surveyed his work. As the Lychan lay dying, Zero touched his rapier to the Saber, and enveloped both with a purple light. The blood dripped off both blades, until they were both clean.

The blood of a werewolve is the one type of blood a vampire would never touch.

Then, Zero sheathed his rapier, and started running. If one found him, more would come, and Ancient that he is, Zero did not kid himself that he could withstand a whole horde of werewolves. He didn't know where he was going, but he did know that he was not running away from the scene out of fear. Maybe to find an unlikely ally........

OOC: Tarl, i think this would be the time for Zero to bump into Skadi, won't you think?

Dekker's paranoia paid off... Atop a higher position, he came across a lone human, firing madly at a group of what looked like werewolves... The mercenary snapped the man's neck like a dry twig with a tug in opposite directions from both of his large hands...

'Chink SKS... Not bad...'

Dekker's most recent addition to his arsenal was an AK knock-off, a perfect double-tap weapon. He'd need it if this shin-dig elevated to anything more than an asphalt showdown...

OOC: GU, the vamps at the red brick house are two vamp factions: the ASHVO and some rogue figures. The lychans are just off to the side, waiting for a good time to wade in and fight.

Please edit to acknowledge this, GU. Thanks. You can still fight the Lychan, but change the circumstances.

OOC: ok, big flaw here guys...GU and MS, there are no werewolves in the fight right now. It was a fight between rival vampire groups. Nothing else. Please edit your posts to include the correct information. Thanks.

IC:

Sigrun watched as Skadi turned her gaze in the general direction of Whiptail. He followed her gaze, only to briefly catch the backside of Whiptail as he raced away to the battle. Once out of sight, Sigrun turned to Skadi.

"Whiptail. Why is he here?" he questioned. It was now obvious that the two had been having a thought-conversation. Sigrun thought a bit more before pressing further:

"He doesn't know who I am does he? I haven't seen him since before I died. He'll get quite the surprise when he finds out what's happened."

OOC: Ok, ok, Tarl, i'll set things right with this post.

IC: As Zero ran, he sensed 4 more Lychans chasing after him. Sheathing the Saber, he pulled out his Dual Elites, and turning, fired a few shots at them. None hit, but the Lychans dodged, giving Zero more time to turn and run. He couldn't fight 4 Lychans at once, even if they are very much younger than he is........

Rounding a corner, he saw......an Ancient. An Assingtonian Ancient, in the form of a female, who rounded on him, and seemed to growl as if she considered him a threat. And an Elf with her too.

An Elf???!!! That's strange......but then Zero heard the Lychans approach from behind him, and he saw the Ancient and the Elf turn their attention to them too. As they assumed a fighting stance, Zero instinctively knew he had temporary allies who could help him fend off the Lychans, and so turned, the Dragon Saber in his right hand, and a Deagle in the other.........

Sigrun watched with sudden concern as an obvious non-Assingtonian rounded the corner and nearly collided into Skadi. The panting and growling of several unidentified beasts came from behind the fleeing vampire. Instantly, he drew his bow and notched not one, but two silverhead arrows and drew back.

The first two Lycans burst around the corner, keeping close to each other as they scurried with powerful clawed feet after Zero. The two leaped simultaneously toward the vampire, only to watch as two arrows whipped past Zero's head and buried themselves into the Lycans' hearts.

The bodies fell at Zero's feet, completely lifeless. Moments later, they had transformed back into human form, two young men lay before him with tattered clothing, and blood staining the ground.

Zero looked back at Sigrun with a surprised look on his face. Sigrun merely nodded slightly as he drew another arrow and held it notched and waiting, aimed toward the alley entrance.

Stephen pulled out his sword and jumped onto the rooftop. Before he could draw a bead on the Lycans Sigrun had shot them dead.

"Looks like we have a breather." Stephen called down.

Zero looked up as he heard the other vampire. Stephen simply smiled as he carefully moved across the roof to see if there were any enemies on the roof.

IC: "Careful, young one, there's still 2 more out there," cautioned Zero. This new one is obviously a fledgling......but as he observed the newcomer, he realised there's more to him then meets the eye......no time for that now. As he said so himself, there're 2 more of the pesky Lychans out there.

He glanced at the Elf, who nodded at him. Then he turned his glance at the Assingtonian Ancient, who seemed focused on the alley from which he came. Apparently she's gonna be the one who takes down the remaining two, if the young one don't get them first......not likely that would happen. Still, he sensed danger even in these allies, and instinctively knew that once the Lychans were dealt with, he might have to make a run for it yet again, if they decide to turn on him for the stranger he is.

Thus, under the guise of leaving them the spoils, Zero stepped back, until he was behind both the Elf and the Ancient, in order to have a clear space to run if the other Ancient turned on him. Senses hyperalert, he holstered his Desert Eagle, such that all he wielded was the Saber in his right hand, his best fighting position.

He will fight besides them for now, but he had to be ready for every contingency..........

"Hi honey, I'm hoooome!"

Icarus burst open the rotting door with an exuberant kick as he always did, the door groaning under his familar foot.

He waltzed into his dark apartment, the trecherous floor of magazines, various chalks, trinkets, rubbish and various kitchen equipment like pots and pans. There seemed to be something going on in this room constantly, as if a mad scientist or rebel movement was in the middle of a wild movement that was driven by delusional passion. At the moment, the bathtub which was caked with a strange white-orange pastey substance, and it sat rather purposefully in the center of the room. The bathtub had collected a collection of freinds, all appropraitely named, like Mr. Bleach who sat lazily against Mrs. Nictric acid who seemed concerned about something unimportant. Various ingrediants for making explosives lay littered around the place, along with other intreging items.

Icarus went towards the old fridge which constantly hummed and rattled with a strange charm, the rust making it seem experianced in it's job in this little apartment. He opened the door, and placed his hand in, reaching aimlessly for something representing food. He made sure however, not to touch anything on the lowest shelf of the old fridge, because those things were certainly not edible, and highly delicate.

Finally finding a bowl with some old pasta from when he ordered it via the old green telephone which sat observantly looking down on the bathtub on the only seat in the apartment, Icarus took a spoon from the kitchen and planted it within the cold mass of pasta.

Crashing onto the green soft seat which had more burnt matieral than unburnt, he sat in the darkness of the night time and munched happily away at the meal. While chewing his first mouthful, he took off his hat and placed it with great care and purpose upon the wooden pole for that precise purpose. Icarus forgot how he had ever gotten it, but it was there, and Icarus made use of it, no matter what the reason why he originally brought it into the apartment.

Placing another mouthful of the cold pasta into his mouth, Icarus reached within his jacket pocket and searched for something unimportant. But, he touched something very important to someone, and drew it out and looked at the shiney surface and played with it in his hand.

He put down the spoon into the bowl, and used the knife to eat with, deftly stabbing each piece of pasta and putting it into his mouth, playing a little game of "Trying not cutting yourself". Of course, Icarus won the game, because he had been playing it for too long. That game was no longer fun Icarus thought.

"Where is Mr.Storyman folks?" Icarus said, looking at a pile of burnt newspapers for an answer, and then looked at a bottle of bleach when he did not get an answer from the newspapers.

"Oh yeah, fine, blame me that we don't have Mr.Storyman anymore. It was Mr. Boom's fault that he broke because he should have known Mr. Storyman seriously did not like that explosion, his inards went funny and his glass went all over the place. But it was kinda funny when it happened, we all laughed hard at that little prank. Oh boy....heh heh....but I prefered the interesting conversations and stories Mr. Storyman would tell. I believe he said his stories in colour too......"

Icarus sighed in rememberance of the television he once had. Shrugging and tossing the bowl of pasta away, he suggested brightly, "Anyone for a game of cards?"

"Right, thanks mate." Stephen said to Zero.

He moved carefully through the maze of AC units and ventilation shafts of the building. He didn't see them, but he knew they were there. Watching waiting for him.

A black mass shot out of the shadows at Stephen, at the last moment he jumped above the creature and swung down. The heavy blade bit deep into the Lycan's back, sending a small cascade of blood out the massive gash. The Lycan stumbled, trying to regain it's balance and turned to face Stephen.

This was the first time he had ever come up against a Lycan, he had heard of them of course but he never imgained them to be so, ugly. It's partner, moved next to it's friend and bared it's teeth at the vampire.

"Skadi, Sigrun, I found the other two Lycans."

"Grrrowl... Grrrrrrorrr!"

The two Lychans faced off against the vampire, but knew that soon he would be joined by others of his kind.

The uninjured one looked at the other's back. It had a deep gash, blade thin and oozes of red blood poured out.

"Trace... your back."

The female did not look at her partner, keeping a watch on Stephen.

"Go... go get help, Peyotr. Call Alexander and tell him that we have encountered the leaders ahead of schedule. Go... GO."

The male, for a moment, did not respond. And then he turned and leapt off of the building top, yelling back as he jumped.

"We'll see each other again, Tracey. Count on it."

The wounded Lychan started to stalk around Stephen. Before his very eyes, the lychan transformed back into its human form as it walked, morphing, shifting bone structure to fit back into place.

"You...your name is... Stephen Malone... you are the newest one of them all... you shouldn't be so... so... difficult."

She fell to her knee, and swayed a bit from the bloodloss. With a weak hand, she pulled a beretta from her ragged pieced bomber jacket and aimed it at Stephen. Her motion dislodged a sword from within her jacket, and it fell by her side.

"It doesn't need to be this way... if you all were to just die."

She fired.

********

Down on the ground, Peyotr cursed himself and the rest of his group for being caught in such a situation. Now they were all dead: Hamed, Karl, Sheila... and... Tracey. And he was scared that he'd soon be next.

He quickly changed back into his human form, and started running. Away. Anywhere. He dialed a number and prayed for an answer.

***
***
***
"Alexander."

"Alexander... we encountered them. We have met the vampires."

A man walked quickly and quietly through the streets of Assington, contemplating his assignment, oblivious to the tumult occuring around him. He was First Lieutenant Shea Lancer, an officer in the Five Civilized Nations Interior Ministry's Office of Supernatural Activity. A veteran officer of more than ten years, Shea was still shocked by his sudden posting to Assington to investigate a peculiar phenomenon yet unknown to the Five Civilized Nations.

-----

A week earlier, Shea Lancer had stood quietly in the office of his superior office, Deputy Colonel Edward Jonas, to discuss a distressing occurrence that had begun to appear in the Five Civilized Nations.

Entering the office, Shea Lancer saluated and said, "First Lieutenant Shea Lancer reporting for duty, sir."

"Excellent, Lieutenant," the Colonel said, "You're right on time. There is a new assignment for you."

"Where is the posting, sir?"

"In Assington."

"Assington? Sir, my duties in the ministry entail investigating the occurrences of supernatural events within our great, beloved nation. What would a posting in another country help assist our efforts at home?"

"There have been disturbing reports from the creatures that we have captured and interrogated... It seems that something odd is occurring in Assington. Your assignment to investigate and report this event is crucial to many of our investigations here."

"Understood."

"Good..."

-----

Shea Lancer sighed as he continued walking, shaking his head in disgust as he slowly fingered his service revolver, worried about completing his assignment. Damn't... I must help defeat these creatures that destroyed my family, killed my parents and my sister, and annilihated my life. I must work harder...

With newfound determination, Shea Lancer narrowed his eyes and moved through the streets of the city, his concentration back to its keenest as he gazed about, his eyes eating in the details, waiting for something to happen, waiting for something to come up for him to investigate. I hope I can to kill some of these bastards...

Skadi took a look at Sigrun as Whiptail inquired about her mate. She was still getting used to it herself, the Argonian would definitely be surprised.

"Maximus is dead, but his spirit is still within this world. I shall explain once this chaos has been put to an end."

The ancient vampire nodded at Sigrun's presumption and was about to speak when the foreign vampire stormed around a corner, several lychans on his trail. Ignoring the other vampire for the moment, Skadi had withdrawn her blade as Sigrun's arrows were unleashed into the canine pursuers.

Crouched silently, Skadi closed her eyes and waited. The other two lychans were not far off, she could sense them, smell them. In a sudden burst of movement, Skadi launched herself forward, blade outstretched as she rocketed through the air, towards the corner of the building. Just as it appeared Skadi would hit the structure, a massive lychan filled the space and was promptly run through by a silver alloy, dimamond bladed katana. A howl of pain escaped the creature, but Skadi was no longer paying attention.

The second lychan's eyes were wide with fright as it stared into the eyes of a furious ancient. One thing Skadi had learned in her life, was that lychans were almost no better than ordinary dogs. Beasts that could hide under a human guise. Snarling with utter contempt, Skadi gave the command and watched as her powerful grip ripped through the throat of the lychan, spilling blood all over her front. The creature dropped to the ground in shock and quickly recieved a silver bullet from Skadi's beretta.

Now completely ignoring the dead dogs, Skadi advanced towards Zero, her blade slowly trailing behind due to a mental tug. She kept her cold eyes trained on the vampire, disregarding the lychan blood flowing down her flawless face.

"What is one of your kind doing here?"
______________

Hondur ignored all else save for the rebels surrounding him. He slipped through gaps with unnatural ease, bringing his blade around to slice through the pale flesh of other vampires. He could smell lychan on the air and had been expecting such. However, this was not the most ideal time to be worrying about foreign dogs.

The rebel vampires had been met with an unexpected wall solid enough to topple them backwards, yet none could see it. The combined might of the psychic humans in his squad had layed the trap, and it had worked just as planned. Still shocked from the barrier, the rebel vampires barely had time to react before the ASHVO vampires set upon them with silver blades, hacking at their brethren, yet enemies.

The older vampire marvelled at how Garm fought in such a battle. Whilst the young human bore no blade, he was directly in the fray of battle, his machine pistols drawn and firing silver death into any vampire that crossed his path. Incoming blades were dodged with almost vampiric grace and his aim was always true. Two blades swung at the human ASHVO agent, one high and the other low. In an act of incredible agility and grace, Garm timed a perfect jump into the air, twisting until he lay horizontal within the air, causing the blades to pass harmlessly over and beneath him. Hitting the ground with a thud, Garm landed on his back and emptied a few rounds into each blade wielding vampire.

The rebel vampire numbers had dwindled down to four, the four oldest and strongest of the group.

Stephen moved to avoid the barrel, but still recived the bullet. He grunted as he tried to dig it out. (OOC:Guessing bullet is silver) Stephen pulled out a switchblade and used it to get the shell out, it fell to the ground, smoking with his blood.

"I'll be more difficult then you think lycan." Stephen called to Tracy.

Tracy keep the weapon aimed at the AC unit Stephen had taken cover behind. He reappered to her right, smiling his fangs shining in the moonlight. The lycan turned her gaze to what he was holding, two heavy .45 automatics.

"You've been a bad dog."

Stephen opened up.

"Sheesh, those gangs are sure going strong at each other. I am suprised the long and feeble hand of the law has not tried to slap them yet." Icarus said as he heared the background din of the gunshots and sounds of the furious combat going on.

Icarus did not really take sides in such conflicts, but simply profited from the ensuing combat. He always did, moving from place to place, knowing when there would be a conflict due to the word on the street, and his own intuition.

And how did Icarus profit from it?

"Bombs kids! Time to make bombs!" Icarus exclaimed as he turned towards the bathtub, which sat there ready for duty, like a raw green recruit which had just been given a big gun and pointed to the enemy. Icarus clapped his hands and danced over to the ingrediance which where sat all over the room, some possibly hiding.

What occoured now, was a manic movement of mixing, pouring, measuring, heating and inane chatter. Bottles flew around the room as Icarus finished with the ingrediant, only to mix it with a large wooden spoon which looked very worn for wear.

If the Tetris tune was playing in the background, it would have fitted this ecstacy of bomb creation perfectly. So much so, Icarus whistled and hummed it to himself as he turned on the numerous bunsen burners under the blackened bottom of the tub.

"Do do do do...."

The mixtures changed colour, and the thermometer told Icarus when his explosive cake was ready to be taken out of the oven and ready to be left aside to settle.

Icarus has his tongue sticking out as he did all of this, like a child playing his favorite game. It was still a new game, unlike "Not stabbing yourself", and he wasn't skilled enough to make the game boring.

Hence the blackened state of the walls, and the structural damage which often resulted in Icarus having to get a new door or windows. Of course, he put them in himself, he would let no-one near his place.

People were far too uncultured to go in this paradise, Icarus thought.

----

"There! A new freind for you wonderful people! Now don't you go playing just right now, might be a little messy. Just wait."

The napalm obeyed, and sat next to the TNT and various explosives diligently.

"Now, we need some customers....." Icarus said to himself in ponderment, as he tapped his foot against the floor. Well, his foot was very close to the very delicate explosives, and it was tapping rather dangerously, but the explosives were very obediant. At least, today they were.


The God of Mischief and Mayhem seemed to bless Icarus most wonderfully.

Just then, a thought catapulted itself into Icarus' mind.

"His card!" Icarus proclaimed and dived for the green telephone in earnest. He literally hurled himself at the telephone.

Grabbing it in midair and bringing it down with him, Icarus got into a more confortable position from his 'just crashed' status, and looked for the card in his jacket.

Much to his dismay, he could not find it. This meant more than losing a potental customer. This meant losing Mr.Card. And that was something Icarus would not allow.

Not ever.

He then initated a rescue mission, barking orders to all members of the house. The bleach looked under the bathtub, the knife did not do what it was told much to Icarus' annoyance, and the green telephone looked over the room in a very intellegent arial view from it's higher shelf, once Icarus had restored it's original seating.

It took Icarus a while, before he found the card.

And it was in a most interesting position, a position which Icarus did not really think of, and as such, made a mental note to commend the card for it, because it was in fact the last place Icarus looked.


Icarus considered how best to handle the rescue mission.

The phone number on the card, was half-revealed.The other half, along with half of the card, was stuck in a small jelletanous form of napalm.



"You naughty little thing...." Icarus said quietly as he reached out with his deft hands to try and pull the card out....

OOC: Assington.......Zero will be wanting to join the side of Skadi. For the moment, anyway. Velmora, I don't want Icarus calling Zero until he is done talking to Skadi and Co.

IC: Zero tensed as the Ancient walked towards him with cold death in her eyes. He sensed danger. Grave danger. It is almost as he feared, that these vampires would turn on him once the lychans were dealt with. He raised the Saber higher, concentrating more of his essence into it such that the Saber give off a brighter light and aura of power, while his left hand moved to poise in mid-air, as if he was about to do something with it. He knew the Ancient would not miss the message his body language gave out: "Underestimate me at your own peril. I have powers nearly equalling yours."

Then came the question that caught him off guard:

"What is one of your kind doing here?"

"Is it possible she knows of the history of the Nobles? Not unlikely, considering she's almost as ancient as Louis himself.....", thought Zero. If this Ancient does remember that far back, it could save him a lot of explanation about history and go right to the gist of his motives. But if not......Zero will have to explain all over again, taking the risk of misunderstandings that would mean his doom, but even that is better then being ambiguous and risking even more. Thus, he decided to err on the side of caution.

"My name is Zero, and I am of the Noble Brood of Atros. I am here to conduct reconnaissance for my monarch, the King Vampire of the Gothic Underworld of Atros. He has reason to believe the vampires outside of Atros are in grave danger at this point in time, and I am his agent to contact a member of the Assingtonian Brood who has the ability to understand such a danger, and the influence to sway the Assingtonian Brood to defend themselves against a threat as yet unknown."

There. He's said what he could, for now. His next course of action would depend on the reaction of this Assingtonian Ancient. Either parley, or violence.......he caught himself hoping for the former. He glimpsed the companion Elf besides the Ancient, and knew that in a fight, this particular Elf would fight by the Ancient's side against him. Passing strange, that such a thing should happen, but Zero knew that he has as yet little knowledge of the situation. And there's the fledgling, still somewhere on the roofs.........Zero's left hand shifted, just barely, in order to better be able to create the telekinetic energy shield at a moment that would deflect any blow, physical or otherwise, for just long enough for him to flee..........and he was hoping that would not be the path he would have to take..........

(OOC That is perfectly fine, I can keep Icarus occupied for that time, or put him in statis as such. Tell me when I can phone you, do *not* t-gram me though, because I never check them.)

Skadi glared in silence for a few moments, her blade finally resting in the grip of her right hand. She kept her eyes upon Zero as she sheathed her blade within the scabbard upon her back. This was odd indeed. Skadi did know of these other vampires, she had never seen one before but she knew of their differing abilities, such as the shield this one had just displayed previously.

"I have no intention of harming your, 'noble' blood. I know very well that we are being threatened, we are always being threatened by something. From what I have noticed, lychan activity is growing in Assington, that is definitely unusual."

Skadi paused to take a quick look around the trio.

"I don't know what you nobles really want, but you will not find the tip of my blade pointed at you. Also, I believe I'm the only one in Assington of my kind that will know who you are, you're merely another vampire to everyone else here, so don't go throwing your noble blood around as if it is sacred to us, for it is not."
_________

Another two rebels were dead due to the overwhelming force of the ASHVO attack. So far Hondur had only noted one ASHVO casualty, one too many for his liking. The vampire was distracted from his observations by when one of the last rebel vampires burst through the line of ASHVO agents and made a speedy run away from the group, towards the direction where Hondur could sense other creatures of the darkness.

His men were about to take the creature down but a swift hand signal prevented such. Drawing his blade once again, Hondur watched carefully, judging the strength he would have to lift off with if he were to catch the fleeing vampire. Crouching down in preperation, the fleeing vampire arced around a corner, resulting in Hondur launching off the ground.

The rebel vampire was startled to the point of almost falling over when he noticed the two vampires and an elf standing in the middle of the street, seemingly waiting for him. All their eyes turned upon him, yet he was unable to react before an overwhelming weight crashed onto his back.

Hondur landed perfectly, his feet forcing the vampire to the hard road, which was quickly pinned when Hondur's blade plunged through the skull and into the road. Looking up, Hondur blinked a few times, just to make sure what he saw was real.

Skadi, an odd vampire and an elf...

Sigrun didn't react visibly when Hondur flew down from the heavens and destroyed the fleeing vampire in a swift attack. He looked over to Skadi briefly before turning his attention back to Hondur, who still stood half-crouched and holding the hilt of his sword buried in the asphalt and crushed head of the vampire. As the vampire died, its body deteriorated and blew away in the breeze, leaving only the sword buried in the road.

Well...I have an idea Skadi...let me try it out.

Sigrun stepped forward, ignoring the eyes of the others watching him, except for Hondur. Hondur naturally stood up and stepped into a defensive position. Sigrun was the first to speak.

"Well, Hondur...at last we meet again."

Hondur's face twisted in confusion, "Again? I have never met you before."

Sigrun chucked, "Oh, I assure you, you have..."

Hondur tilted his head slightly and pressed for more information, "How?"

Sigrun held up his hand for a moment of silence from Hondur, "You must first give me your word that you will not attack me."

Hondur glanced over to Skadi, before nodding slightly, "All right. Now speak."

Sigrun slung his bow over his shoulder to indicate that he wouldn't fight as well. He looked up to the sky momentarily, watching the clouds move over the moon with slow speed. Finally, he looked down at Hondur and fixed his eyes upon Hondur's own. With a serious tone, he spoke:

"I am Maximus."

Hondur laughed and replied, "Impossible! Maximus is dead!"

Sigrun shook his head negatively, "Skadi? Tell him what you know."

Tyr and Avatre walked together through the crowded city streets towards their interview with Daniel Able. It was raining, a nasty gray drizzle that the citizens of Emerald City were just about knocking each other down to get out of, and the wind had picked up making it quite cold.

Avatre didn't notice any of this. She was completely lost in her thoughts. Tyr had finally shown some of his old spirit! He had actually been angry. Of course, it had only been for a moment, but...Finally!

For weeks Avatre had been working on Tyr. Every outburst, every display of physical violence had been carefully planned. She had been trying to get a rise out of him as she used to in the old days. Avatre had no intention of being the sole leader of the Kantrawulves. She just hated seeing the man she loved so weak and tired.

For the most part, her plan had been unsuccessful. Rather than the violent rages that she anticipated, Tyr had taken her explosions calmly. No matter how hard she beat him he did not reciprocate, and no matter what she said he simply tried to discuss it rationally. Until last night.

Avatre had almost gone into shock when, in a small room in the Hyraphore Complex she had seen the spark of anger in Tyr's eyes.

Soon, she thought. Soon I will be able to make him see. Peace is not the answer. There will never be peace between Lychan and Vampire. No matter what that bastard Alexander says. We must wipe the vermin out. We must end this. Once and for all.

Smiling to herself, Avatre took Tyr's hand in hers and smiled up at him. Despite her feelings about Vampires and especially about that bastard Alexander, she would support her lover. She always had, even when he didn't realize it. But if things didn't change soon, if Tyr didn't come around...

A chill ran down Avatre's spine and she held his hand tighter as she realized what she might have to do.

IC: "She knows!!! She does remember!!!"

Those were the thread of Zero's thoughts, as he noticed that the Ancient has sheathed her weapon. Relaxing the stance of his left hand, and sheathing the Dragon Blade to show no intention of violence, he mentally sighed a breath of relief. It would be parley, then. As he hoped.

"Throwing my weight around as a Noble is not my intention, Ancient of Assington. It is merely the old name for my kind", Zero replied. "My objective here, Miss, is to report to my King the current situation of the underworld outside of Atros."

He hesistated, then,

"Since you have given me your word as to my safety, I shall speak more freely. The King of Atros, the oldest known Noble in Atros, and to which i swore allegiance, has had visions of the demise of the Assingtonian Brood......unless the Nobles revive their pact of assistance to the Assingtonian Brood (OOC: King Louis' visions NEED NOT have any direct relevance to the AV3 plot whatsoever). He has not given me clearer instructions, so i do not know if your Lycan crisis is what he had envisioned. All he has told me to, is to establish contact with an immortal of the Assingtonian Brood, one with the authority to unite the Brood together, and report back to him as to whether it is neccessary to unite the forces of the Noble Brood to assist the Assingtonians once more, before all immortals of the world are vanquished from this unknown force."

He glanced at the gunfight, then turned back to the Ancient and said, "Although, personally, I am starting to get the feeling that my venture is in vain. Your kind are already destroying themselves quite adequately."

Changing tack, he continued, "In the interests of completing this first objective, my King has given me a second objective. I am to offer my temporary services to the one with great authority I must bring this message to, and to make an existance in Assington, in preparation for the time when the Nobles break their isolation and reenter the underworld once more. And, Ancient of the Assingtonian Brood, I have ascertained that you are the oldest Ancient of your Blood i have met so far. Therefore, I ask leave to offer my sword by your side, until circumstances force me to act in other directions."

Before the Ancient could answer, Zero felt yet another vampire running towards them, from the direction of the gunfight. Suddenly, an old vampire, likely near the time to be considered an Ancient, or perhaps already one, came flying down from the skies and took him down. At that, Zero felt a sense of distaste. "No wonder Louis had such a strong premonition. This could be a crisis even the Nobles cannot prevent."

Listening to the conversation between the Elf and the newcomer, Zero heard no important details......excepting the names.

"That new one, the Elf calls Hondur. And the Elf calls himself Maximus....(OOC: Zero has not yet heard Sigrun call himself as Sigrun, and so he will think of Sigrun as Maximus until Sigrun tells him otherwise). And Skadi? Oh, the Ancient. That must be her name. Skadi. Okay, now i must watch and wait."

Hondur looked to Skadi in surprise. He knew that Maximus had elven heritage, but he was still human when he was turned, not elven. Skadi nodded, confirming the words.

"This is indeed Maximus. It is true that as a vampire, he was killed. But his spirit remained, and was returned to his world in a new form, an elven form. Maximus is now known as Sigrun."

Hondur could hardly believe it. He had always imagined killing Maximus and yet it seemed the man would not go away. That was many years ago though. Hondur had moved on, beyond his rivalry with Maximus and onto the leadership of ASHVO, the mentoring of young agents and the continuous line of Garms. Finally he returned his attention to the elf.

"I see. I'll stay by my word and not fight you, there are more important issues at hand, but don't expect us to become friends just because you are hiding under a different body. I don't like you Maximus, Sigrun... whatever you call yourself these days, and I don't see that ever changing."

Hondur wiped off his sword and sheathed it on his back. Vampiric hearing picked up the sounds of the finished battle, Garm would be heading over here soon...
____________

Skadi smiled slightly as Zero talked about the Assingtonian brood. Whilst it was true that they all belonged to the same brood, he spoke as if there was a unity among them. Any unity among vampires had been destroyed long ago. The only thing that existed now was rival covens, freelancers and those that had followed Hondur into his government organisation, something Skadi didn't particularly approve of.

"The only authority I have here is being the oldest. I hold no sway over a coven, nor do I have followers. Uniting the vampires of Assington would be more difficult than fighting this menace blindfolded."

Skadi took another glance at her fledgling, it had been some time since she had seen Hondur.

"You may remain with us and lend your blade to our cause if you wish, but I will not tolerate any attempt of you nobles taking over Assington. I already have to deal with foreign vampires and their determined attempts at assimilating our brood."
____________

Garm panted heavily as he picked the last vampire off himself. It had taken almost two entire clips to bring that one down, the still spasming corpse landing directly atop Garm. His men piled all the bodies together and quickly set light to the mangled mess. The vampiric blood ignited swiftly, creating an intense flame the burned through the piles of flesh and bone.

Looking around, Garm couldn't find Hondur. An image of the ancient vampire flying through the air, over some building flashed through his mind. His companion had raced after a fleeing rebel. Cleaning himself off slightly, Garm holstered his machine pistols and moved off at a slight jog, heading in the direction of Hondur.

Upon reaching a large building, Hondur casually walked around the corner to find Hondur standing before two older vampires and an elf. Garm had never seen an elf before and he knew those vampires weren't part of ASHVO. Drawing his weapons once again, Garm trained one on each vampire.

OOC: Just so you know... Hondur is indeed old enough to be an Ancient.

IC: "Take over Assington? That's the furthest thing on my mind. Have you forgotten the history, Skadi?", Zero seethed. How could it be that she could be so stupid! But then, he quickly calmed himself and put things into perspective. The memory of any vampire, have been known to be notoriously fickle, and it is not unlikely that she herself has had no memory of those days.

Taking a deep breath, Zero continued, "You should remember those early days, Skadi. I know there is no unity amongst the Assingtonian Brood now, but there was, many centuries ago, when the Assingtonians fought against the Vulgar Brood. And the Nobles, created to fight such a menace, are still honor-bound to assist the Assingtonian Brood in their darkest days. That's why I am here. My King senses that these days are back to haunt us, and the Noble Brood must uphold their pact."

Pause. "I take it that I have your permission to assist you then. But for now, I have other appointments. May i know where to find you in upcoming nights?"

Then Zero felt his 6th sense fire again. Holding up his left hand, he created a protective energy shield around Skadi, while his right hand drew in a flash his Desert Eagle, pointing in the direction where the gunfight was.

He turned to the newcomer Ancient:
".....Hondur, ask that.......fledgling (OOC: Garm is a fledgling, right?), to desist from aiming his guns at us. Believe me when i say i can deflect his bullets with my gun alone, and return fire such that he gets incapitated."

OOC: Garm is human... :rolleyes:

IC: Skadi returned a lethal glare to Zero's comments regarding the pact.

"Things change over time. One thing I have learned in this world, one's word is the easiest thing to take back. Don't pretend that all within your brood are worthy of their word, I hold no such delusions of my kind?"

Skadi was getting irritated with this foreigner already, but she would have to tolerate him unless she wanted hostilities with the nobles.

"I have an apartment, but you will not find me there during the night. If you wish to locate me, call out mentally, I'll hear you."

Skadi turned her head slowly to take in the human aiming his weapons at her. He looked vaguely familiar, as if she had seen one like him before in her long life. No matter, he was obviously in league with Hondur.
_________

Hondur didn't need to turn to realise Garm was holding weapons at the party. Smiling to himself, he trained a blank gaze upon Zero.

"I don't know who you are, but if you cause any harm to that man I will personally ensure that you are drowned in your own blood. It's quite obvious you're new around here, and so I'll give you time to learn. This man over here and myself are the law, it would not be wise to get on our bad side."

Not taking his gaze off Zero, Hondur addressed his partner.

"It's alright Garm, their not hostiles. Come over here and I'll give you an introduction."
_________

Garm was dumbfounded. He had never thought that any vampires not within ASHVO wouldn't be hostile towards Hondur. Little did he know there was far more than the two sides. Lowering his weapons but keeping them in hand, Garm promptly moved towards Hondur, keeping his eyes upon the vampires and elf.

"Who are these.... people?"

OOC: Oops, my bad......i'll correct that misconception in this post.

IC: Zero smiled.

"You may drown me in my own blood, Hondur, but I'll make sure your blood is mixed with mine. However......", seeing that Garm has put away his guns, he dissolved the shield around Skadi and put away his Deagle, "......I shall do my best to observe the rules around here, as long as it does not cost me my life in doing so.

He saw the "fledgling", who Hondur had called Garm, come up, and Zero saw that he was, in fact, a human. "Forgive me for my misconception of your man, Hondur. The concentration needed in both the protecting of someone, and the threatening of another, often means that details are missed."

He then turned his attention back on Skadi's words.

"Wise ones from a wise sage, I see. However, you should also not presume of my kind. I know every last member of my kind personally, and they are immortals of their word, honor-bound to King Louis and his Crown Princess. Of course, it helps that there are few Nobles left even in Atros, such that I may safely claim that the honor of the Nobles still hold. Still......to each his or her own beliefs. I respect your beliefs."

He turned away from Skadi. It is obvious that he was dealing with a suspicious one, and it is no good to push such a one too far. He walked over to the Elf they call Maximus....."Or is it Sigrun? I thought I heard Hondur call him Sigrun.....", he thought. Maybe this.....Sigrun, would be more friendly, and more willing to offer him sound advice and information.......

Shea Lancer crept silently through the darkened streets of Assington, his sharp eyes easily picking out the outline and shapes of the objects on the streets, as he moved. Silently cursing under his breath, Shea crouched, pulling his service revolver from its holster, as he slowly felt the sheathed sword behind his back, reassured by its heavy presence.

With a snort, Shea rose from the ground and began to move normally, taking swift, long steps that swiftly ate up the distance. Gazing quietly through the dark, Shea's sharpened senses was caught by a odd sound nearby. With a quiet sigh, Shea slowly moved in the direction of the sound, his revolver up and the safety off as he moved, confident in his abilities.

Glancing up from behind a small barrier, Shea's eyes widened in shock, as his eyes slowly ate in the details of what was happening. What the fuck!?! That's two vampires, one elf, and two humans. Damnable bastards... Inadvertently, Shea shifted his position, slowly moving a bit to get into a more comfortable position, and accidently kicked a piece of pipe, which began to roll. With a low curse, Shea rose from the ground, his weapon raised as he knew that the gathered beings had heard him...

Skadi didn't bother turning around as she withdrew a throwing knife and launched it back over her shoulder. The blade landed with a loud thud, burrying itself deep into the brick directly next to Shea's head.

"Hunter, unless you wish to leave without your head, I suggest you leave us be. Understand?"
________

Hondur turned to his friend with a slight smirk upon his face.

"I'm sure you're a little confused. First of all, this woman here happens to be my sire, Skadi. She is most probably the oldest vampire in our nation."

Garm's jaw almost dropped. Hondur had never mentioned his sire before, never mentioned what he knew about the older vampires of Assington, save that he was fairly old himself.

Hondur turned to face the foreign vampire. He wasn't sure of this one's name, but a quick mental inquiry saved him the trouble of asking.

"This foreigner is Zero, I believe he's here helping Skadi in a few issues regarding threats to our brood. I'd say the increased lychan activity may have something to do with that."

Garm nodded a silent greeting to both vampires, too shocked to even speak.

"And finally, the elf here goes by the name of Sigrun. He too is Skadi's fledgling. I'll have to explain that story later..."

Finally gathering his voice, Garm spoke.

"If you are friends of Hondur, you are welcome in Emerald City."

The human wasn't sure about these people, but he knew Hondur had hundreds of years of experience over him and could make a better judgement.

"Now now, Skadi. Is that anyway to speak to an officer of the law? Have you no sense of propriety?"

Shea looked up, only to see a figure dressed in a white trench coat appear out of the misty shadows on top of a nearby building.

Without a word to Shea, the man threw him a leather covered piece of ID.

Agent Daniel Able, Valient Department of Extranormal Operations

Garm and the others withdrew their swords and guns and steeled themselves for an attack.

"Who the hell are you? Get the hell out of my ci..."

"And this must be Garm," interupted Daniel. "I've read up on you and the ASHVO. Very well done, sir. I must say that I am impressed with the work you and your men have done in Emerald City.

"Alas, all good things... right officer?"

Daniel raised his arms to the night sky, seemingly trying to draw strength from the black expanse of the universe.

Suddenly, a loud rumble could be heard from beneath all of the gathered Assingtonian allies' feet. Before any of them could react, a thirty feet wide chasm three stories deep opened up around the group.

Almost immediately after, a chorus of howls, long, mournful and harmonic echoed across the nightscene.

"Just like Alexander to use his pets to finish a job he doesn't have the strength to see through," shouted Skadi up at Daniel. "And now he has his fledgling here to make threats to us as well. Amusing."

Daniel scowled, breathing heavily. He still hadn't gotten full control over his Strigoi powers, and they took a lot out of him. "Funny... how those who stare into the face of defeat... still find the will to make snide remarks.

But let me tell you this. Let me tell ALL of Emerald City and Assington this: convert now, or fall forever. Let today be the day that the clan of Hyraphore makes its final claim for this country and its people."

Out of Alleyways came dozens, of Lychans, in full animal form. They stood at the edge of the chasm and howled again. They seemed to be waiting for an answer.

********

Tyr flexed his hand as he felt Avatre's closed in tighter. Her grip felt longing, and yet... almost threatening.

He looked away. He could not face her right now: she was right. He was not the man that he once was.

But of course he wasn't. Did he choose to be a Lychan? Of course not. But of course, like many things in his life, some choices were made for him.

Such as the one which saw the two of them in a distant city looking for a man named Able. An ally of Alexander's who could perhaps bring about a faster conclusion to this whole fiasco.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could take of it all, or for that fact, how much Avatre could...

AWHOOOOOoooooooo...

Tyr looked at Avatre, who looked back at him knowingly.

"I can smell them," said Avatre. "They are less than five blocks south."

"Well then, my dear. Shall we?"

Tyr and Avatre shed their human guises, and raced off towards the sounds of their fellow Kantrawulves.

Upon the sight of Daniel, Skadi and Hondur immediately drew their blades. Garm followed suit, drawing his two machine pistols. A few words were exchanged before lychans flooded around the party, threatening to tear them to pieces.

Without hesitation, Garm unleashed round after round into the lychans, dropping them faster than he could count. Skadi and Hondur moved swiftly, cutting through the mass of fur and teeth with relative ease. Even so, the massive amount of lychans continued to pour into the street, surrounding the party and forcing them back.

Able to admit when she can't win a battle, Skadi launched herself into the air and merely hovered, about ten meters above the ground. Hondur soon followed suit, staying out of reach from the lychans. The pair sheathed their blades and both drew pistols. Gunfire filled the air as round after round was fired down upon the lychans.

Garm released a slight scream as he was seemingly lifted by nothing into the air and finally placed upon a nearby builing. Hondur's mental words finally assured the startled human. Garm knew vampires had telekinetic abilities, but he never imagined one could lift a human with such ease.

Skadi and Hondur both turned their attentions away from the lychans and onto the lone vampire. Gunfire erupted around the form of Daniel Able.

Sigrun immediately flew into action when he saw Daniel Able summon the lycans upon his small group. Snarling, he leapt upwards to avoid the ground effect, and bounded between the alley walls of two buildings before reaching the rooftop. He stopped and turned back toward the new canine menaces.

Fury was in his eyes, Skadi could see this as she checked to see where he was. Skadi grinned slightly, knowing what was about to come.

With a harsh voice uttering elven words faster than one could hear them, Sigrun leapt off the rooftop, only to be suspended in air by the anti-gravity spell. Looking down at the lycans that growled and scaled the walls of the buildings, he launched into another set of spells, this time, offensive ones.

On any of the lycans that came within twenty five feet of Sigrun, hundreds of small boils began to grow and erupt upon their bodies, searing each of them with the unbearable pain of torment as it seemed that they were being roasted alive by an unseen source of heat. As they screamed and roared in agony, Sigrun made his hand seem to ripple over the crater in the ground and with magical force, shoved each of the lycans into the tar pit that had been created. Stuck and covered in the burning tar, they screamed in agony as silver darts appeared from every direction and plunged into the hearts of each of the lycans.

The tar pit was fast becoming a graveyard...

Sigrun's eyes burned with anger as he watched the lycans suffering his wrath...

Stephen pocketed Tracy's pistol and sword. The lycan lay in a pool of blood, riddled with .45 bullets. As he turned to get back to Sigrun and Skadi he felt the rumbling. When he got the to edge he already saw the deep chasm. Who could of done this?

A lycan noticed the vampire and leapt at him. Stephen rolled out of the way, as the lycan turned Stephen swung the heavy blade down, cutting the lycan's head in two, stopping at the neck. Sigrun, Skadi, some human, and the other two vampires seemed to be handling the problem. He knew someone did this, he would find him.

Stephen sensed something, Daniel was moving away. Stephen jumped across the chasm and tore after him. He kept his eye on the white trenchcoat. Should of picked something a bit darker.

Daniel slowed and looked behind him. The action was several buildings away, he was safe. Daniel sense the other vampire too late. Stephen appeared out of the shadows, ramming his knee into the man's groin and his fist into his stomach.

Stephen grabbed him by the collar and pinned him aganist an AC unit.

"Who are you!" he demanded.

Stephen didn't reconzie Daniel, yet.

OOC: Val, you think this might be a good point for the two to catch up or something?

OOC: Shit, i am behind the times here.......i'll fix that :p

IC: Zero watched the Lychans pour down upon his group impassively. They were many, he admitted, and he probably could not stand his ground and hope to survive. But standing his ground is not his aim......

With a speed like lighting, the Dragon Saber was drawn at his right hand, while the silver rapier appeared in his left. He leapt away from the chasm, and the slaughter started. One pounced at him face on, and the last lesson that particular one learnt was never to take an Ancient head on, by means of a silver rapier right through the mouth and out the back of its neck. Another tried to take him from behind, and this one learned that doing so isn't exactly a good idea also, through the means of having one of his dead comrades thrown at him from the rapier, before the Saber cut off his head. 2 came at Zero from his 2 blind spots, and that might have worked on a younger vampire, but not on a really old Ancient like Zero, and they learned their last lessons when Zero merely stepped back quickly and allowed them to collide into each other, before dividing both in equal halves with the Saber and the rapier.

But more kept coming, and Zero knew this was not good.

Then he saw Skadi lifting herself into the air, and knew that was a good move he should emulate. Lifting himself into the air, he joined Skadi and Hondur in the air, and saw that both Ancients were firing at the traitor vampire Able. He considered whether to follow suit, then realised that Sigrun is fighting for his life against overwhelming odds, and he can't fly as well. He decided then that Sigrun requires his help more.

Flying closer to Sigrun, he sheathed his blades, and drew out the Deagle. The Lychans were flying thick and fast towards Sigrun, and Zero noted the interesting effects with which Sigrun fought off the Lychans. He still seemed overworked though, almost as if he was about to be overwhelmed by a flood of gray fur. Zero knew he had to act, and he had to act now.

He started firing his Deagle in the direction of Sigrun, and saw the Lychans drop one by one. Meanwhile, his left hand sent out bursts of battle energy that pushed the wolves off the buildings into the tar pit. He fired, and fired, and heard the click that signaled an empty clip. Without even bothering to reload, he holstered the Deagle and brought out his pair of Dual Elites, and resumed firing.

More Lychans fell from the silver hail his guns were shooting. And even more fell from the combined slaughter of Sigrun and Zero. Then with a series of clicks, Zero knew he had run out on his current clips of Dual Elite ammo. He had a few more clips, but he opted to holster them, and draw out his Dragon Saber instead. The wolves don't seem much lesser for his efforts.......but that's about to change.

Zero swung the Dragon Saber at the wolves approaching Sigrun. His battle energy lanced out from the Saber, and struck at a wall of a building, which was literally crawling with Lychans. The effect was terrible, as the energy cut a deep gash across the wall's surface, and halved the lychans unlucky enough to be in the way. The pieces of their bodies dropped into the tar pit.

Zero slashed, and slashed, and slashed. The purplish energy of death struck again and again at the walls of the buildings where the Lychans were coming up from, opening up a crisscross pattern of gashes, and the pieces of lychans keep on falling........blood everywhere.......then he opted to use his energy more efficiently.

Zero started spinning himself in midair, and as his body spun vertically, his outstretched Saber started throwing out small bursts of slicing energy in all directions. The bursts of energy fell on the wolves like rain, and it was a lucky Lychan who was not targeted as yet by these small, yet fatal, bursts of energy. None of these energy bursts, however, came at Sigrun, Hondur, or Skadi, indeed they were all reserved for Lychans.

The severed pieces of Lychans continued dropping into the pit...........

(OOC: Jesus Christ in heaven... I can't even get a human into this... *shakes head and shrugs* Whatever... I'll manage somehow...)

With ice-cold efficiency, Shea shifted his head, as the bullet slammed into the brick behind him. Not even close, thought Shea coldly as he moved from behind the concealment, his service revolver raised as he smoothly unsheathed his sword with his left hand. Taking several steps back onto the broad street to give him more room to swing his sword, Shea kept his eyes upon the gathered vampires, elf, and human.

With speed surprising to a human, Shea moved from behind his cover and back into the streets. With a deep breath, Shea closed his eyes and waited. A patient wait patiently for the hated enemy to come out and fight. But the wait was too long. His eyes flying open, Shea's ears discerned the distinctive bark of revolvers firing. With a snort of disgust, Shea ran once more into the alley, a warcry thousands of years old ringing over the noise of the battle, "CALA, CALA, CAAALLAAA!"

By the time, Shea had entered the alleyway, it was a mass of body, with dead werewolves scattered throughout and in a deep pit. Lychans!?! This cesspool just gets more and more interesting... Suddenly a mass of fur appeared in front of him. Biting his lower lip, Shea raised his revolver and fired three times, sending three rounds of pure silver into the the werewolf. With a great howl of pain, it dropped onto the floor, writhing in pain as it struggled to excruciate the silver bullets from its chest. With cold-blooded ease, Shea stepped forth and seemingly carelessly slammed his revolver into the werewolf's mouth and fired twice. With a loud noise, the werewolf's head exploded in a shower of gore and blood.

Satisfied, Shea stood and with a sudden movement, Shea sent his sword slashing backwards, cutting deeply into a werewolf that had attempted to catch him unawares. Foul beasts... You think you can get me so treacherously!?!

And with another warcry, Shea continued firing his revolver as he swung his sword, adding to the gore and blood and the noise of battle...

Tyr and Avatre arrived to see the bloodbath in full swing. The only problem was, it appeared that the vampire ancients and their associates had gained the upper hand against the greater number of Lychans.

They were being slaughtered. Tyr was almost bemused to see the ingenius ways the vampires had used to fight back.

"Tyr, look at what the vampires are doing to your brothers? Are they so harmless now?" said Avatre almost accusingly.

Tyr closed his eyes, and visably shuddered. Then, he opened his eyes and wailed out a cry of retreat.

Eyawhooo. Eyawhooo. AWHOOOOOooo

Almost as quickly as they appeared, the Lychans disappeared, helping their wounded away and leaving their dead behind.

Lychans had no real burial trends for their dead. Tyr was glad, because if there were it would have taken a while to get through all of the fallen.

"We still have to find Able, Avatre. We still have to finish our mission, and be gone of these besotten vampires."

Avatre nodded. She could see that the sight of so many dead Lychans had shaken up Tyr. It had made him angry.

Good.

"Fair enough, my love.

...
...
...

"My love?"

"Yes, Avatre?"

"Have you ever noticed how this Daniel character and you have similar last names?"

"... I haven't noticed that. Come, we must leave."

Avatre looked after Tyr as he stalked away. She followed suit.

********

Eyawhooo. Eyawhooo. AWHOOOOOooo

Shea charged down the alleyway, into the open street and found... nothing.

"What the hell?"

Kathhhthunk

Right beside his head, a arrow became embedded into wall. Shea looked at it warily, and picked it up. A small note was attached to it.

0900 hrs. Calington Park. Statue Round.

We can help.

********

Eyawhooo. Eyawhooo. AWHOOOOOooo

Stephen turned at the sound of the howls, allowing Daniel a chance to get free.

With his free hand, Daniel formed a fist and punched Stephen across the way, into an adjoining brick wall.

Stephen fell, but then got immediately back up. The light of the lamppost shone down onto the man. Daniel could see his face, and immediately put a name to it.

"Wait. Steph... Stephen. It's me. Daniel. Daniel Able!"

Stephen was about to leap on Daniel and hack him to bits with his heavy sword when he remembered Daniel. He lowered his weapon as both men walked towards each other. Stephen and Daniel couldn't believe thier eyes, both had believe the other was dead; now they were only three feet apart.

"My God...Daniel. Last time I saw you was before the VRO coup in Tarlachia, that was 1000 years ago, you ran out of that pub for some reason. I thought a vampire got you."

Sigrun finally moved back to the rooftop and deactivated his anti-gravity spell. The death pit lay below, covered in tar and dead lycan bodies. Their bodies not only looked gruesome due to the boils all over them, but they also slightly burned from the hot tar.

In a day or so, the city would reek of the stench of death...

Sigrun looked over to Skadi and nodded, becoming more composed of himself. He turned back to look for the source of howling that seemed to be a commanding voice to the lycans, a voice that he would remember next time.

Whoever it was...was gone.

These beasts are stronger than I expected. We won't get caught so openly next time... Sigrun telepathically said to Skadi and Hondur.

The worst part was that this had only been the opening act...

With the lychans either dead or gone, Skadi sighed slightly. She had never seen lychan numbers like that ever before. The unnerving part was that Skadi knew this was only the beginning of it.

"These were just fledglings, many of them. We are yet to encounter the ancient lychans, that is when the real trouble shall begin. I doubt we can defend Assington alone from such a threat."

Skadi sheathed her blade and merely dropped out of the sky, her night black trench coat swirling past her head as she descended quickly. Defying physics once again, Skadi landed lightly and without much force. Looking around at the carnage, she took note of the ASHVO agents approaching, yet knew Garm would handle such.

"It's official now. The Hyraphore is our problem."
__________

Hondur lifted Garm off the building via his abilities and planted him firmly upon the ground before the approaching ASHVO agents. He could rally ASHVO against these lychans, yet that was not a significant force. Yes these vampires were some of the older creatures, yet their numbers were too small.

The other ancient landed softly and sheathed his blade, he too saw the threat the Hyraphore

"ASHVO will combat this lychan threat to the best of its ability. I'll have to take this up with some officials, but I'll make them understand."
__________

The startled ASHVO agents approached the sight of carnage with caution, all weapons drawn and at the ready. The vampires had been aware of the lychan battle whilst the humans were surprised to see all the bloodied, furry corpses.

Garm nodded in greeting to his men, then took a glance back at the pit and the dead beasts.

"It seems we have more trouble to deal with. Lychans are invading Assington, killing off vampires it seems. Hondur and I will have to speak with the government, but be prepared to start battling lychans in the near future."

His men stood in stunned silence, the sheer number of lychan corpses scared the hell out of them...

OOC: Why do i get the feeling that Zero is being ignored? Guys, please don't do this to me :p

IC: Zero landed, having done enough carnage of his own. He observed the lychans retreating, disappearing in the depths. Fledglings all. He turned, and realised that the Assingtonians are conversing amongst themselves, ignoring his presence.

"Hmm. Looks like this will be harder than i thought", Zero thought to himself.

He walked up to the Elf called Sigrun, knowing that it is no use to approach the cold, unapproachable Skadi. He believed that at least, he would get a better response from Sigrun, who seemed more......warm, somehow, despite his not having said a word to Zero.

"Master Sigrun. I have decided that i will aid you with the Hyraphore problem. It appears this has become my problem as well, now that i've had a hand in slaying their kind", Zero said. "Would you accept my sword besides you?"

He waited for Sigrun's response......

Sigrun turned to Zero and looked the Noble vampire up and down. Satisfied, he replied, a somewhat cold look in his eyes.

"Very well, it seems that these lycans are a threat to your species as well. Be warned that you are still a stranger to me, and should you prove to be any threat at all to my friends, even Hondur, I will personally eliminate you from this world..."

With that said, Sigrun shook Zero's hand and smiled somewhat warmly.

I hope this one doesn't become a problem for us Skadi...

humph...why would I know about this if I wasn't invited...gentlefolks...heehee just a randon interruption...check out my twist of the subject....

http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=359186

Daniel looked at Stephen.

Stephen looked at Daniel.

...
...
...

"We need to talk, Stephen, but not here."

Stephen nodded. "Where? And when?"

Daniel looked at a familiar outline hidden beneath Stephen's outfit.

"The Bloodmoon Pub. Tomorrow night around this time.

... oh, and bring the sword."

With that, Daniel ran off into the shadows, leaving Stephen alone to think until their next meeting at the pub.

********

Alexander sat and reviewed the dossiers on each of the players in his push for vampiric supremacy.

He fipped through each one almost non-chalently. He knew most of the people already: Sigrun, or Maximus-cum-Elf. Garm, yet another in the long line of officers of the law in the same name. Hondur, the fledgeling too far out of his depth.

Icarus, he didn't worry too much about. he seemed too psychotic to be a threat. Same for Stephen, though he was a non-threat due to his inexperience.

But he pulled out two folders, and studied them more carefully.

Skadi and Zero. The Lady and the Nobleblood.

Alexander scowled in the dim light of his room. There was not enough information on the noble, but enough was known for him to realize that if the nobles were to join forces with the Assingtonians, his quest would be lost.

And Skadi... dear Skadi. Alexander now knew that she was the true leader of the Assington covens. Even the mighty Sigrun cowed before her.

His face twitched. With practiced hands, he dialed exactly 10 numbers again.

Moments later, exactly 10 buildings in Central Emerald City went up in flames, illuminating the skyline with beacons of destruction and despair.

Alexander pondered. If his plan would play out, the Assington and Co. would seperate.

A house divided cannot stand...


OOC: setting it up for some fights, and some storyline things. GS, meet you at the pub.

OOC: Meet ya at the pub when the next night rolls around

Stephen watched Daniel move away. He stood there and wondered why he would need to bring his sword; he would have brought it anyway, but he wondered why Daniel told him too. He decided it was time to rejoin Sigrun and Skadi. Stephen moved back across the buildings and dropped down into the alley. Several of the ASHVO memebers quickly leveled thier assault rifles at him, Garm and Hondur seemed slightly startled by the apperance of the new vampire.

Stephen took notice of the weapons pointed at him, but he felt something under his foot, a hand. Then he noticed the mass of corpses. The smell of burnt flesh, blood, and sweat filled his nostrils. Haven't smelled anything this bad since when I was in the Rangers. He thought as he looked at the piles of lycan dead. Stephen smiled at Zero.

"I don't believe we introduced ourselves, I'm Stephen."

OOC: I'm thinking there isn't much left to do in this night...

IC: Skadi willed all the lychan corpses into a single pile with the aid of the ASHVO psychics. She hated the stench of lychan, dead or living and wanted the bodies destroyed. Within minutes a single pile existed, which was promptly shoved into the chasm that had somehow opened within the street. The government would have some time working such out.

With all the corpses together in the pit, Skadi allowed a few men to carry out the deed of drenching the beasts in fuel and setting them alight, pouring foul smoke into the night sky.

Finally Skadi returned to Zero and Sigrun.

"The night is near an end, perhaps we shall retire."

Looking over Zero again, Skadi spoke.

"You may seek refuge from the light at my shelter if you wish."
_____________

Hondur good sense the coming sun too and had returned to his men.

"Perhaps it is best that we departed. Have the VP take care of any remains, we have more important things to deal with."

Hondur gave the group of vampires a quick nod before leading Garm and the other ASHVO agents off into the failing darkness...

OOC: I wonder why is Zero being treated so roughly? Lol......nah i understand why. I'll work with what i have now. Erm, I still have something to work out with Velmora though, about the second meeting of Icarus and Zero. Would you guys mind if i add in a side plot with Velmora about the alliance of Zero and Icarus? Velmora, you may have Icarus call Zero now.

IC: Zero smiled. Finally, he was getting some headway into the Assingtonians.

"I give my word of honor, Master Sigrun, that in no way whatsoever shall i ever be a threat to you and the Lady Skadi, unless of course you threaten my life first. You understand. But otherwise, I shall do my best to preserve the lives of those i now call my allies."

He turned to Skadi.

"Lady Skadi, I appreciate your offer. But i have made certain, ah, arrangements, concerning my shelter. I thank you for your offer anyway. I shall meet you again, the night after this."

With that, he walked off, noticing how the streets were painted with blood, even with the bodies being disposed off. Werewolf blood, nothing a vampire will touch. Maybe he'll try to turn the stomach of Sigrun........as he walked past Sigrun, he made a wry observation:

"Blood, blood, everywhere. Not a drop to drink, eh?"

With that, he disappeared down a dark alley.........

________________________________________________

As soon as he was out of sight of the Assingtonians, Zero started running. He felt inside his trenchcoat, fingering the empty slot for his stolen throwing knife.

"Icarus." Zero growled, with a hint of menace in his voice. Then he fingered something else in one of his many pockets.......a card. Make that Icarus' card, which he had asked him to pick up for him before he stole his knife.......he took it out, and made as if to throw it away, before deciding at the last moment to keep it. He didn't know why, but it seemed important.

Zero doubled his speed, hunting for Icarus. He'll get that knife back from him by hook or by crook, and if Icarus gave any trouble........he'll be his first introduction to the tastes of Emerald City........

OOC: Velmora, ignore the hidden threat to Icarus, RP like we have discussed before.

OOC: Anyone notice any buildings burning...

Stephen smelled something, smoke.

"You guys smell that?"

Stephen jumped to the roof and looked across the city.

"Ten buildings are blazing cross town."

He jumped back down as several firetrucks and ambulances race for one of the buildings. Stephen wanted to mention he had meet Daniel, but decided it was for the best if he kept his mouth shut, so he did. His mind drifted to what caused 10 buildings to go up in smoke.

"Someone's going to be pissed off by Mr. Sparkies little stunt." Icarus said, as he peered out of the window, and saw the burning pile of newspapers, cardboard boxes and various other pieces of trash which had acumilated into a magnificant pile of rejected resources.

Well, someone was pissed off as the napalm was thrown out of the window in mid-explosion. The decending conflagration proceeded to spread onto the waste fort, which was holding a tierd and drunken homeless man who had proceeded to notice that he was on fire, and promptly run screaming out of his smoldering home in a great deal of pain.

Icarus would have said sorry, but the darker more humerous light of the event was not wasted as he let out an audiable chuckle, not that the homeless man could hear over his body burning with the rather potent napalm. The homeless man proceeded to run into an open road, and get knocked down by a speeding car, in a rather spectacular fashion, the flaming body catapulted into the air and causing more chaos.

Icarus chuckled and went back to his own buisness, which was the card which was held in his left hand, which held the infomation which had just cost an unfortunate man his life, due to a pyromatic's clumsiness with his personal possessions.

Strolling over to the green phone which was currently unshaken like Icarus about the whole near death experiance the house members just endured, unlike some of the more explosive family members, who were very very quiet at this point, the telephone allowed Icarus to talk to the man who would get Mr. Card back, finally.

"Heylo! It's me, the one and onlee, Icarus, the man with a plan, and a knife that you can.....get back for trade of one Mr.Card!" Icarus said brightly down the phone as Zero picked it up, his shrill voice seeming something out of a gameshow.

IC: Zero, midway through his hunting session, suddenly heard his cellphone ring, and picked it up. Even before he heard the familiar, psychotically chuckling voice, he knew who it was.

"Icarus", Zero growled into the phone, "You will meet me where we met earlier tonight. The night is coming to an end soon, so I will expect you there, now. If i don't see you there by the time i get there, your life is forfeit tomorrow night."

He cut the connection, not wanting to hear any more of Icarus' nonsense. Silently, he thought of what he needed to do by the end of the night, and that was not too far off.........

This night was the happiest and saddest Avatre had seen in a long while. On one had the senseless deaths of her fellow Lychans at the hands of Vampire scum grieved her tremendously, but on the other hand...

Tonight she had seen the Tyr she had known in the old days. The anger and strength she had fallen in love with had come back. She could see it in his eyes. It wouldn't be permanent though, not yet. It was still too soon. But she could see that all he needed was a final push over the edge, and it made her love him even more. She had to resist the urge to fling her arms around his neck.

If she could just give Tyr that tiny push, the vampires would not know what had hit them. They would take out the elders, especially that bitch Skadi. After that, the minions would fall. Hopefully she herself would have the pleasure of tearing out Alexander's throat.

She snapped out of her reverie as she and Tyr entered Calington Park and spotted Daniel Able. He was not alone.

It will not be long now, she thought.

Skadi nodded in acknowledgement as Zero declined her offer and moved off by himself. She wasn't particularly concerned where he took shelter, but Skadi would prefer to have her ally alive.

Hondur had departed with his men, leaving Skadi, Sigrun and Stephen alone. It wasn't long before Skadi picked up the scent of far off smoke, yet she didn't bother acting upon it, fires were not rare in a city of this size. A few moments later Stephen picked up the smoke and scaled a building to discover the source.

["Ten buildings are blazing cross town."]

This startled the ancient slightly. That amount was obviously the result of a deliberate act. Skadi didn't rule out the possibility of more Hyraphore meddling. It didn't matter though, the night was near an end and the humans would take care of the fires.

"Come, let us retire for the night and let the humans worry about the fires."
__________

Garm struggled to keep up with Hondur's stride as the ASHVO group made the trek towards one of the many covert HQ entrances. Hondur seemed to know a lot more than he was letting on, fueling Garm's curiosity even more.

"Hondur, what is this all about. What is that elf doing in Assington, why are there lyhcans pouring into the city?"

The ancient vampire paused and looked down at his human companion.

"Our city is under serious threat. Long before you were born, I controlled the largest coven in Assington, as you know. I was approached by a vampire from Valient, one named Alexander Kelsing of the Hyraphore. The Hyraphore is a highly organised vampiric coven, one that was intent on crushing my coven and absorbing it into itself."

"What did you do?"

"I denied this foreign vampire. Infuriated, he began to cause trouble within the city. Skadi and I located him, but the fool was rescued by his master, the leader of the Hyraphore. Not long afterwards, myself and your ancestor were captured by the ASA and introduced to the concept of ASHVO."

Garm nodded his understanding.

"My coven was split upon this news. Most of it followed me into ASHVO, the older vampires and some of the less arrogant fledglings, but a large portion abandoned me and fell into the streets once again. Some have attempted to create their own feeble covens, some merely gangs, some freelance and a few have become law abiding citizens."

Hondur paused to consider his words as he let the story sink in.

"Now there is no unity among the Assington brood. My coven was the Hyraphore's biggest obstacle, and now it is gone. Therefore, the vampires of Assington shall be easy picking. It seems the Hyraphore have stooped to a new low, employing lychans to do their dirty work.

"But don't lychans hate vampires?"

"Aye. Alexander must have something on them though."

"How does your sire and the elf fit into this?"

"Skadi is the oldest vampire in Assington. I believe she is the only one able to rally our brood and unite against the Hyraphore. She is the biggest threat to their cause. She is also far more powerful than Alexander, something I'm sure he resents.

Sigrun used to go by the name of Maximus. He is the fledgling of Skadi, 25 years my minor. Not long ago, he was killed by one of the Roanian royal family. Somehow he has returned, in elven form."

Garm stood dumbfounded at that last part. He knew nothing of magic and spirits and had never heard of someone coming back from the dead. Hondur returned a blank look.

"Don't ask, I don't understand it myself."

OOC: GU, don't worry about it. That is Skadi's character, she's a hostile bitch... ;)

Stephen nodded as the trio returned to Skadi's apartment. Stephen took off his trenchcoat, pistol hostlers, and sword belt and lay them on a chair. Stephen remembered the other vampire besides Zero, the one with the human. That vampire seemed to know Skadi, Stephen had been wondering for the past few minutes who that other vampire was.

"Skadi? That other vampire, the one with the human. Who is he?"

Skadi removed a single throwing knife, two pistols and her katana and gently placed them upon a chair near her basic yet comfortable bed. Skadi's apartment was large and well furnished, although nothing displayed an abundance of wealth. The fact that Skadi was able to aquire such a place and possessions was a mystery in itself, something she never discussed.

Skadi looked over at Stephen, giving him a face similar to one a teacher would give a completely daft child for asking a stupid question.

"That is Hondur. He was my first. It seems he's got himself involved with the government."

With a sneer and a snort of disgust, Shea bounded into the night, disappearing into the darkness as he slowly digested the words of the letter. Is there someone else hunting these foul creatures of darkness? There may be hope yet... With a grim smile, Shea continued moving, never stopping, as he disappeared into the night, holstering his service revolver and sheathing his sword. Smiling broadly, Shea began to think. I have actually battled against some of these creatures of darkness and I have won... My family will be avenged...

OOC: Erm, guys, can you peeps extend the "night" a little? You know, fill it in with some dialogue or something? Me and Velmora have unfinished business with Zero and Icarus in this "night".

Sigrun hadn't spoken much since the battle. Much had been going through his mind as he thought over many new issues.

First, the Hyraphore was employing an enemy to fight their enemies...

Second, Hondur had agreed to a current cease-fire with his old vampire brother-turned Elf...

Third, a new species of vampires had made itself known to Sigrun, actually not so new, considering they dated their existence to before his time as a vampire.

Fourth, Hondur had been making himself a well connected individual...

Fifth, what the hell was Alexander of the Hyraphore up to now??

Sigrun ceased his thousand yard stare as he walked from the living room of the darkened apartment. Skadi and Stephen were nearby and preparing for their sleep while discussing Hondur. As Sigrun was looking about, still in thoughtful mode, he chuckled aloud for a few moments.

This apartment was getting quite old...probably could be considered a historical piece in Emerald City now. Over a thousand years of existence, under the ownership of Skadi, and still, it stood against the weather of time.

I wonder if the apartment is still meeting safety codes? thought Sigrun humorously to himself.

Sigrun walked into the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. It had been a crazy night, a night that only seemed possible within the borders of Emerald City. As Sigrun drifted off to sleep, an ancient Elven song sung itself softly in the back of his mind, lulling him to sleep. He didn't block his mind from the others, for it was not necessary. Therefore, they also could hear the soothing music that sounded like an eternal song of harmonic notes and lyrics.

IC: Zero, midway through his hunting session, suddenly heard his cellphone ring, and picked it up. Even before he heard the familiar, psychotically chuckling voice, he knew who it was.

"Icarus", Zero growled into the phone, "You will meet me where we met earlier tonight. The night is coming to an end soon, so I will expect you there, now. If i don't see you there by the time i get there, your life is forfeit tomorrow night."

He cut the connection, not wanting to hear any more of Icarus' nonsense. Silently, he thought of what he needed to do by the end of the night, and that was not too far off.........

Zero cut the conversation to the bare demands, and left Icarus with the uninteresting sound of the line's expiration to his chistled ears, which were swamped by Icarus' fine white hair.

He put down the green telephone reciever with a satisfying clunk and stood up, ready to move out in the new mission.

"Well, who is coming with me?" Icarus asked, as if he was the commander asking for forced volunters.

Icarus packed the things he needed on the various methods of storage on his person, and stormed out of the house, carrying many many items which would have raised a bomb squad's pulses.

---

"Yes, this is geniune. It has a mimimum of one second timer, to five days. Simply programs it for a late bomb, or a suicide bomb, it is your choice. The possibilities are endless my freinds!"

The five individuals were different from his last customers. They were calmer, more cool with the situation that they were buying advanced explosives. The dim light of the ally, the frequent place where Icarus did buisness with his customers, and the very close to the place where Icarus had encountered Zero. It would only take one a slight inquisitive look into the small passage to the backally to find the proceedings.

But most people, normal people, did not go into the back allys. People who did that ended up dead.

Or worse.

But Icarus was hardly a man of fear, nor one who did not know and distrust the creatures of the night. In fact, he had a suspicous feeling that these individuals were vampires, although they certainly did not have fangs. Must be lycans then.

The five huddled around, like a stone wall, around Icarus' table, which had the various explosive products on display, glorified in thier splendor. This was the item's big chance to prove themselves.

This was Oxford University, and this was the test to see if they could apply for a job in blowing something up. Of course, they could retake, but no-one really liked retaking. It had that sense of regection as you were left on the table for something more overt or practical. No one wanted an MAYHEM bomb, to which was unique to Icarus' creation. No, people came here to supply the various wars, not to raise too much attention like the MAYHEM bomb did.

Although, it certainly was amusing to watch.

"How much?" One said calmly and professionally. Icarus liked this kind of customer, cool, calm and with cash. One had a briefcase, and none of the others seemed to have guns of any kind. They stood confidant in thier own abilities.

But before Icarus could say anything, one of his would be customers fell over, slumping over the delicate explosives laid out on the table, sending them falling to the ground. Luckily, Icarus obviously had some sense of self-preservation as he prevented the bombs moving too much as he gently put the table on the floor, as the dead Lycan slumped over the table.

The remaining four all snapped thier heads around to see the figure which had just made his presance known....

"Hey Zero!" Icarus exclaimed as the combat threatened to explode.


Literally.

IC: The lycan lay with a silver throwing knife stuck in its forehead. Dead. No lycan can survive a wound like that, made with the silver that curses both vampire and lycan.

The remaining 4 scatter into 2 groups, as Zero made his entrance from a hidden alley. Immediately, they changed into their wolf forms, and 1 of the groups went for Zero, while for some reason, the other groups came at Icarus.

"Icarus, you fool, watch out!"

Zero couldn't get to Icarus, however, as he could not keep his attention away from the 2 attacking him. Fledglings all, but he has to deal with those first. Hoping against hope that the psychotic bomb-seller could hold his own, Zero came at the groups attacking him.

Zero may have problems dealing with 4 at once, but 2 was no problem for him. Drawing the Dragon Saber and the rapier at the same time, he made a concurrent slash with both weapons, that formed an cross. A purplish X was momentarily visible, as Zero came to a stop from his one X-slash.

6 pieces of lycan fell to the ground behind him.

"You set us up!" The lycan growled as he dived for Icarus, who was still holding the underneth of the wooden table which held the current home of the explosives. Icarus could smell the foul breath of the Lycan, as it suddenly transformed into it's more ugly and furry form, it's snout raised up in anger. The other lycan was still confused to what to do, but chose to go for Icarus too.

More fun for Icarus.

As Icarus fell backwards by the increased force on the table which he was holding up, Icarus fell onto his back and kicked the table at the top with his fine and cultured boots of his, making the table act as a temporary wall between Icarus and the werewolves.

The roars of the beasts behind that fragile wooden table came louder now, as thier claws smashed through the wood revealing Icarus' bemused head, still adorned with that large brimmed hat and those strange glasses which glew dark green right now.

"Don't mess me Mr. Melty wolfy!" Icarus said in childish retribution, as the glasses he had went insane with neon colours, and the wolf strangely, began to glow a strange orange colour. A look of confusion came over the lycan, if that was possible to understand by the expression of a very pissed off wolf, and went furious once more, bursting through the wood and outstreaching his paw towards Icarus' neck, while his companion went around the table and attacked Icarus with downward, double axe hand.

Icarus drew his two stilletos from the leather throngs he had within his long black jacket, and dealt with the one who was bringing his intensely powerful hands towards him in a swooping strike.

The werewolf which had tried to go for Icarus' throat was now on Icarus.

Only in liquid form.

His grey and red form a sickly liquid which clung onto Icarus, still retaining the form of the werewolf in a horrifying way, as the hands flowed onto Icarus, moistening his clothes with his own oozing remains.

The stillettos were drawn, and Icarus looked up grinningly with his perfect mischievoussmile of his to reply to the two hands which were chopping down as one, his hands holding together. He put the ultra thin blade up to meet the fists.


And the fists became disattacted, sliced off by the werewolf's own power of his attack. Blood streamed over Icarus' black hat the red perfume pleasant to Icarus as he became covered in both the blood from the stumps of the werewolf and the jelly of the other.

This was being very interesting, if messy, Icarus thought as he span his blades still in a sitting position as the momentum of the Lycan's attack carried him forward a few steps, allowing Icarus the chance to thurst forward in a duel attack the stilletos entered the Lycan's heart and the other into his throat. Icarus ripped upwards into his face and exiting around the nose area, leaving the muzzle rather disected, a fountain of blood following, which of course, went all over Icarus most wonderfully.

The werewolf slumped down on Icarus with a dead growl in it's split voicebox, much to Icarus' misfortune. He now was a sight to behold. A broken, clawed and very messy table, a oozy form of a werewolf who's brain could still be seen mixing with the rest of his body, and a handless werewolf with a sliced face, all held Icarus in this interesting position.

"Could someone gimme a hand up? Ugh, you guys stink." Icarus commented, as he put the stilletos back with a correct snap of the wrists, activating the leather straps which held the stilletos which would feed the blades into Icarus' hands within a moments notice.

Skadi removed a single throwing knife, two pistols and her katana and gently placed them upon a chair near her basic yet comfortable bed. Skadi's apartment was large and well furnished, although nothing displayed an abundance of wealth. The fact that Skadi was able to aquire such a place and possessions was a mystery in itself, something she never discussed.

Skadi looked over at Stephen, giving him a face similar to one a teacher would give a completely daft child for asking a stupid question.

"That is Hondur. He was my first. It seems he's got himself involved with the government."


"Okay." Stephen said. He had known that Skadi had sired a vampire before Maximus, but never paid it much notice.

He heard Sigrun's elven song in his head, and found it relaxing, but he had other things on his mind. Stephen smiled at Skadi as she went off to bed. When the door shut he sat on the couch and stared off into space.

He thought about the meeting he would have with Daniel when night fell. He knew both of them would be shooting off questions wanting to know how the other became immortal, what kept them busy for the past 1000 years, and other things.

Stephen also didn't rule out the possiblity that Daniel might try to convince him to side with him and the Hyraphore.

He took off his shoes and lay down. His head resting on a pillow he stared at the ceiling for several mintues before drifting off to sleep.

OOC: Can someone shoot me a TG about what the hell's happened in the past five days?

OOC: 5CN, I hope you don't mind me doing this.

IC:

Shea bounded up behind Daniel, perched on top of the hill near the alcove of the Statue round of Calington Park. He withdrew his side arm and aimed it at Daniel's head. It appeared that the DEO agent had just finished talking on the cell phone.

"Alright, Agent Able. You have exactly 5 seconds to tell me why I should believe anything you say here on out."

Daniel did not turn around, but instead, chose to speak out into the night.

"You know, Mr. Lancer. I would hope that a gentleman who has had such a rough life would be more willing to learn of ways to avenge his family. I mean, a man of your standing in Five Civilized Nations Interior Ministry's Office of Supernatural Activity should perhaps know when a man is on the level."

Shea jumped down and faced Daniel, gun still trained on him.

"What do you know of my family. WHat do you want?"

Daniel raised his hands, and continued. "Look, Mr. Lancer. I know that it may be hard to believe, but I represent a group of vampires that is on your side. It is a terribly long story, but time is of the essence."

In the far distance, the wail of sirens could be heard, cutting through the night.

"See! Those fires were set by Assington's own Secret Human Vampire Organization, all in an attempt to disway the public that the vampires should join the Hyraphore -"

"The What?"

"The Hyraphore. Look, I have a meeting to get to, but I will be in touch..."

Tyr and Avatre stepped out into the clearing.

"...but if you have any questions, ask them."

Daniel ran away from the statue, dropping a cellphone onto the ground.

Tyr and Avatre walked up and nodded at Shea.

"And... you are..?" Tyr asked.

IC: Zero had turned to Icarus almost immediately, worried for his survival, but soon decided to sit back and enjoy the show. To his pleasant surprise, not only did Icarus fend them off, he fended them off competently. And considering he's only human, that's an even greater achievement.

Striding over to Icarus, he put the tip of the Saber to Icarus' forehead. The Saber glowed purple.......and so did Icarus. The blood of the Lycans all dripped off from the Saber, and its effect also spread to Icarus. Soon both blade and Icarus were clean. Only then did Zero offer his hand.

"Thankee, mate", Icarus replied in a Cockney accent, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Ok, now we have that out of the way," Zero said, "I think you want this back. And i want my knife back too."

He handed over Icarus' card to him. All this while, he was starting to gain some respect for the psychotic Icarus. He may be unpredictable......but he could very well be a valuable ally if he could deal with Lycans like that. And looking through his merchandise, Zero realised he could have stumbled onto a gold mine of a resupply point here.

His mind went back to the street brawl, and focused on the moment where he was fighting with the Saber in his right hand and his Deagle in his left. That Deagle didn't do much good at all.......maybe if he could trade it in for an Uzi.......

"By the way, Icarus, you know where i can trade in this Desert Eagle.....", holding out the Deagle in question, "for an Uzi?"

Skadi nodded goodnight to Stephen before passing into the bedroom and joining Sigrun. It had been a long time since the two had lay down together, let alone fully enjoyed eachother's company.

Lying down, the ancient vampire sighed. The burden of what lay ahead sat heavily upon her. The well being of Assingtonian darkness rested upon her pale shoulders. Skadi held no loyalty to vampires of her brood, but Assington was her nation, she didn't want some foreign fledgling attempting to take it away from her.

"Alexander will be stopped and his lychan pets crushed. If I have to rally the darkness of Assington again, I will do so to put a stop to his arrogant attempts. He will feel my wrath for this constant intervention."

Although Skadi's voice remained steady, it was obvious she was furious with the foreign coven and the instigator of this mess...

Sigrun was called out of his sleep by Skadi's voice talking to him.

"Unfortunately, Alexander has yet to realize that he will fail. One day, he will go too far, and his destiny will come, the day he is utterly and completely repulsed for his arrogance. And I have little doubt that you will be the one to cast that fateful day upon his head.

As for these Lycans...do you think we'll be able to talk to them and get them to turn on the Hyraphore if we make them aware that the they are being manipulated...that will be Alexander's ultimate demise in this conflict..."

Sigrun lifted himself and looked over at Skadi, propping his head upon his hand. He looked over her features and spoke softly,

"Even after all this time, you retain your youth through the countless battles...you're still the beautiful one I fell in love with..."

Sigrun placed a gentle kiss upon Skadi's lips.

Skadi didn't want to be dealing with lychans, but Sigrun had a point. There were no native lychans in Assington and none had been seen within the borders for over a thousand years. The two species might be enemies, but those in Assington had nothing to do with lychans, they keep to their own lands. If they could come to a mutual agreement to stay out of eachother's way, perhaps the source of everyone's trouble could be focused upon. Alexander.

"Perhaps we can talk to the dogs, but I don't trust them at all."

Skadi smiled at Sigrun's compliment, something she hadn't done in years.

"You always knew how to lighten my mood, my elven companion."

Skadi returned the kiss as she drew Sigrun into a passionate embrace.

"By the way, Icarus, you know where i can trade in this Desert Eagle.....", holding out the Deagle in question, "for an Uzi?"

(OOC I hope you don't mind me doing this, but I have had reasons for not posting. Personal buisness and all. This should remedy the problem, if you have a problem with this, please tell me and I will see what I can do. Just this approach is a hell of a lot faster and sets things down.)

And with that, buisness was made.

Icarus, to Zero's new found knowledge, was a dealer in a great deal of items which causes mayhem and destruction. A dealer to anyone and everyone, Icarus was someone who was very hard to find and harder to hold onto. Gangs paid huge amounts of money for his items, and services.

As Icarus explained in the time that the two were together, he could be hired for numerous high-risk jobs normally involving explosives or assassination. Icarus was a jack of all trades, and a powerful asset to have, if you could tolerate his character and unpredicable nature.

And high costs for the jobs.

Icarus only charged a high amount for a job that did not take his fancy, or was deemed uninteresting.

The two got talking about weapons and such, ammunition and money and items were exchanged at Icarus' home. Of course, Mr. Card was returned without harm as was Zero's knife.

---

"So, you have any jobs for myself? You obviously are part of the vampire groups. Most freelance vampires stay clear of politics and get out of town if they don't wanna fight." Icarus said as he looked at a pistol from his storage cupboard, which Zero had been browsing, along with all the other items in Icarus' small flat.

Upon asked the previous question on how Icarus could keep all these things without the landlord knowing, Icarus replied with the assurance that he performed certain jobs for the landlord like kill her husband and various other jobs. Icarus corrected himself, by replacing landlord with landlady, and reminded himself strongly never to call her a landlord. "Feminist you see. Say something like that, and you get a rant. Not what I need right now."

As long as she still had her temper and vendettas, Icarus could stay there and pay very little rent indeed, even gaining more money by actually staying there. "Keeps money and home secure don't it?" Icarus said as he explained the situation previously as they walked up the stairs to his apartment.

Icarus smiled as he waited Zero's reply, hoping for a new oppertunity or something more interesting than the dull life of selling bombs and guns.

OOC: It's perfectly fine Velmora. I was almost ready to bypass you and do a flashback scene anyway if you hadn't replied :p Ok then, i'll see what i can do with this material.

IC: Zero considered the new situation. Icarus was useful, and Zero had a huge budget, but he didn't know if it was enough to satisfy a mercenary like Icarus. Besides, he would have to account to Louis if he had to spend more money than he expected to. Still, it wouldn't harm to have Icarus kept in contact, maybe paid a big sum to boost numbers for one particular fight where he knew Skadi and Co. would be outnumbered..........then he made a compromise with himself.

He turned to Icarus.

"Ok then, I know you may charge a high price, and perhaps i might be able to afford your services, but my budget is not limitless, you got to understand, and I have found that using mercenaries invariably end up not being worth value for money. Still......", Zero checked his received calls on his cellphone, and sure enough, he could find Icarus' number on it. "I'll make you a deal. I will stay in contact with you, but I cannot offer you any jobs now, since any situation which might require me to hire your services have, up to now, tend to be a split-second thing. However, if i do encounter such a situation again, and if i think i need you, i'll call you. And, if you can turn up and do your share of fighting, we can negotiate a price per job. How's that sound?"

(OOC: Velmora, i'm sorry to do this, but i need to advance the plot quickly, so i'll take it that Icarus agrees to this. Contact me if you want me to edit the post. Basically, i've done my best to give Icarus a share of the fighting here, so next time you want Icarus to join in the fight on the Assington vampires' side, just post to assume that Zero has already called Icarus for assistance.)

30 minutes later......

Zero returned to the Emerald City Ritz, after a long night. Already, the sunlight is near, barely a couple of hours away. Returning to his room, he found the window curtains double-sealed against sunlight, and he smiled at the sight.

"If there is any definition of personalized room service, this would be it", Zero thought to himself, as he started stripping himself of all his weapons, including his newly-acquired Uzi from Icarus.

tap tap

"Who's that at my door?"
"Sir Zero?"
"What is it? Quickly now!"
"You have a package, Sir. From Atros."

"From Atros?", Zero thought incredulously. Who would send him a package all the way from Atros, unless......he opened the door, picked up his package from the bellboy, and summarily dismissed him with a tip which was spare change to Zero, but obviously a substantial sum to the bellboy from the look on his face.

Placing the paper-wrapped package on the bed, Zero studied it. It is long, rather thin, but actually feels wieldy.......Zero quickly tore it apart, and his face showed astonishment as he beheld an ornately-decorated Chinese longsword, in its beautiful scabbard. Picking up a note attached to the package, he read.


Agent Zero,
I have sent you this Chinese longsword, which i have personally forged, to you, as a recognition that you will require this in your new mission. This is the sword that I have promised to you, to complement the power of the Dragon Saber, that my brother King Louis presented to you, and like the Dragon Saber, quartz crystals have been embedded in the substance of the blade to enhance your powers, like any other weapons the Nobles use. This treasure amongst swords, I name the Heaven Sword. Keep it well, for it will aid you well in the future to come.

Yours Truly,
The Crown Princess Adelia
Heir Apparent of Atrosian Empire of the Gothic Underworld of Atros


He took off the sheathe that held his Dragon Saber, drew out the Saber, and then drew the longsword out, laying them side by side to study his newest gift from the Princess Adelia:

http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0bAD!Ag0i*1Q6onoFkguLZvTy0n8pwHu1QvB2BoNjzxI2ZzSQPf9MmiiWNQLKLO6YDyc22e93WJf3hF0xCmYYJFWmz63Ny2sWZT* YcNU1l!EJv2WpqjcMXbV4196Ihb5JPLb8oE3DRHlC1nOrGneCSj!O*tCGHOiz/Heaven%20Sword%20and%20Dragon%20Saber.bmp
(OOC: The Heaven Sword is the blade on top, while the Dragon Saber is the "willow leaf" broadsword on the bottom)

Having studied it for a few moments, Zero picked up the Heaven Sword, his Dragon Saber, given to him by Louis himself, and walked out the hotel room.......

_____________________________________________________________

At a city park near the Ritz

Zero sat on the ground in a dark clearing, laying both Sword and Saber in front of him. After building up his energy, Zero picked up the Sword, and concentrated his energy into the well-made blade. The Sword glowed lightly with a barely-visible purple aura.....it got brighter, flickered.......then got brighter, finally reaching the level of brightness often seen with the Dragon Saber.

It was done. The crystals in the Sword has been tuned to his battle energy. And now it is truly his. He had claimed the Heaven Sword for his own.

Standing up, Zero picked up the Saber in his left hand, and the Sword on the right. Time to put it to the test........Zero slashed at a tree with the Saber, and his battle energy lanced out, and severed the trunk cleanly. The tree fell, with a rustling of leaves, and finally a loud crash.

Then, Zero slashed the Sword at another tree, and felt his energy flowing through the Sword.......the energy lanced out and hit the tree, as he expected.

Except this time, it did not cut through the trunk cleanly, as the energy dissipated halfway through cutting the trunk. Only 4/5 of the trunk was severed, and the tree fell with the remain 1/5 of its trunk splintering from the immense weight of the tree itself.

Zero frowned. He was disappointed with the Heaven Sword's performance......then, slashing and stabbing the air with the Sword, he sensed that the Sword was to be used differently.......he stabbed with the Dragon Saber at a third tree, and as expected, the energy lance that issued forth from the Saber formed a straight trajectory, hit the tree and drilled a hole through the trunk, only to dissipate before the hole was halfway done. Then, Zero selected a 4th tree......and stabbed with the Sword at the tree.

His battle energy lanced out from the Sword, much like it had from the Saber, in a straight trajectory. Only this time, the power issuing forth was more exponential than was the case with the Saber, and Zero note how it drilled through the trunks so cleanly, that a noticable hole in the trunk was created out of the energy lance.

Zero smiled. The Heaven Sword complemented the Dragon Saber well enough, indeed. The former was better at stabbing attacks with battle energy, while the latter was better at slashing attacks. Twin treasures, indeed. He got up and exodused from the park before anyone could catch him for vandalization of public property.

Reaching his hotel room, he plunked himself onto the bed. Just to be sure though, he made sure he was well-covered up by blankets, in case the patch-job the Ritz staff had done failed to keep out the sunlight. Having made the precautions, he prepared himself for a day of sleep.

Tomorrow would be a new night...........

OOC: Well, the next night, if the situation is conducive enough, I will introduce Aeris into the picture. She will not be playing a big role in AV3, but for those in the know about the Celadrin thread, will know that she becomes more important in that story.

(OOC Yeah I am cool with that whole situation. Icarus is staying home, and maybe wondering around the place. So...he can jump in wherever.)

(Erm, bump?)

OOC: This scene is during the day. Unless anyone else has anything they want to post that is set during the day, we'll go ahead onto the next night. :)

IC: Garm sat upon a lone chair within a dark room. The only light hovered above his head and did not allow the ASHVO officer to see the faces of the two men behind the desk. President Jadugar and Defence Minister Archon. Outside of ASHVO, these two men were the only men to give Garm orders.

Garm hadn't hesitated in giving all the details about Skadi and her companions to these two inquisitive men. It was his duty to tell all he knew, so they could make the best possible choices in regard to this situation. Garm waited patiently as the two men held a private conversation in hushed whispers.

Being inside the dark Presidential office, Garm couldn't even tell it was a bright sunny day. Finally the whispers ceased and the two men spun to face Garm. Jadugar's husky voice echoed around the room first.

"Officer Garm. You have done well informing us of the current situation involving these lychans and ancient vampires. We now have a few certain tasks for you, if you feel that you can perform?"

The young ASHVO officer nodded eagerly.

"Of course I can Mr President. You can rely on me."

Archon chimed into the conversation.

"Good. We realise the threat these lychans pose not just to the vampiric population of Assington, but our ordinary citizens as well. That is why we give full permission for ASHVO to act against these lychans as they see fit."

"Thankyour sir, that is most kind and wise of you."

"But, you have a special task. Once the fighting is over, you must kill the ancient Skadi..."

"Skadi? Why? She is Hondur's sire!"

"So you said, but we have records on this woman. She is a dangerous criminal that has eluded government agencies, police, VP and countless other organisations. She is a menace to society, we cannot allow one with her power to roam the streets of Emerald City without our strict control. I hope you understand how vital this is, you must not fail or the people of this city and possibly the whole nation will be at risk."

Garm sighed.

"I understand sir. You have my word that she will taste my silver bullets until she can taste them no more."

Both shadowed men released a unnerving chuckle.

"Good. You will be rewarded significantly if your efforts are successful. Dismissed officer."

Garm stood and promptly exited the office, emerging into a corridor naturally lit by the sun. Mixed emotions and thoughts flowed through Garm. He knew Hondur would not be happy and would try and stop him from performing his duty. He would have to keep such information from Hondur. That would be easy enough, with his extreme telepathic abilities, Garm was mentally stronger than many vampires.

OOC: Lets just go to the next night. Skadi has a hit out on her, I was wondering when that would happen.

IC:

Stephen stirred. The last rays of the sun disappered across the horizon. Blanketing the land in darkness, the only natural light came many stars dotted across the sky, but many were quickly extinquished by streetlights.

Stephen sat up on the couch. Skadi and Sigrun were still asleep, so Stephen would be quiet as he could. This was the only time he could get out to meet with Daniel, so he would take advantage of it.

Putting on a fresh change of clothes he put on the armpit holsters, sword belt, and finally put on his trenchcoat. He quietly opened the window and moved out onto the fire escape. He closed the window and jumped down into the alley.

Stephen walked out onto the street and headed for the pub.

The next night.....

"It is time......."
"Wha.......what?"
"......the time for strife is at hand......"
"Wha......who are you?"
"That's not important. All you have to know, is that war is coming....."
"Yes.....I know."
"But you are not expecting how great it will turn out to be.......a catastrophe befalling all, mankind, vampires, werewolves, none will be spared......"
"I.......see."
"Casualties will be many. It is all ordained......"
"Is there no way to avert this?"
"It will come.....no matter what is done to avert it. You must prepare.......beware of the snake in your ranks........it will be the one most unexpected......the one who will be least noticed, the one no one will expect......"
"Hey.....HEY!!! I need answers dammit, what is this you talk of, HEY......."


"WAIT!!!"

Zero sat up, shocked awake by something he couldn't explain. He sat for a while, panting, then turned to watch the windows, screened of all sunlight by the special curtains put up by the room staff for him. He looked around, then consulted his digital timepiece, which told him it was night. The new night.

He wondered at the dream. Prophesy is a gift few have, and even in Nobles, a rare few are gifted with foreknowledge, and even fewer can reliably interpret what they have seen, or heard, as was the case just now. It has been long since he had a dream like that.......and of the few dreams he had, not all of them ultimately turn out to be true......he wondered. Could this be applied to the events coming up? No matter......if it will come, it will come. All he could do was to prepare himself.

He stood up, and dressed himself up in his outfit. Then he equipped himself. The Dual Elites. The Uzi. His ten throwing knives, tucked into the many pockets of the inside of his coat. His Dragon Saber, the treasure blade he had kept with him these many years, with which he now strapped the sheathe on, to carry the Saber on his back.

He then picked up the Heaven Sword. But before he put the strap on, that would allow him to carry the sheathe and Sword on his back, Zero regarded it, then drew it out of its sheathe. He studied the many details carved into the design of the blade, admired its fine worksmanship. It was as much a treasure as the Dragon Saber. Swinging it about, he admired how well it handled. Finally, he sheathed it, and strapped it on.

He then regarded the fleur-de-lis rapier he had carried with him on this mission, before the Sword came along. It had been a fine sword, staying with him so many long years, never failing of its caliber......but now, Zero picked up the rapier, still in its sheathe.

"Rest well, old friend. You deserved it." Zero whispered to the rapier, before setting it gently on the bed. No more would his 'old friend' accompany him on his trips, as it had done. No more would it participate in the bloodshed. That lycan he killed with the rapier last night, would be the last kill of the rapier.

Finally, he walked out of the hotel room. The night is young.......

Skadi awoke with a jolt. Dreams had plagued her sleep for the first time since Maximus' death. Images of all that was important to her dying had prevented a peaceful slumber and left the ancient vampire restless. As she dressed, Skadi noticed that Stephen was gone, but thought nothing of it. He was young, the thirst was still strong within him.

Now dressed in her usual black attire, Skadi placed her usual weapons in their appropriate places, minus one throw knife. Noticing the empty scabbard, Skadi moved over to a long mirror upon the wall and merely gazed into the surface. Triggered by Skadi's mental abilities, the mechanism of the mirror activated and it slid to the side, revealing a rather large cache of guns, blades and ammunition. One thing that did stand out from the other blades was a mounted katana upon the middle wall. A blade identical to Skadi's. Sighing as she remembered Uller, Skadi floated a throwing knife into place and closed the mirror.

Skadi had never even considered moving that blade. She did not trust anyone enough to take responsibility of the weapon. It wasn't that the weapon was anything out of the ordinary, besides the highly refined craftsmanship, but the sentimental value was high. That was Uller's blade, one of the original Assington's vampires, almost like a father to her. Unfortunately for him, Uller died rather early into his vampiric existence.

Skadi stood ready, waiting for Sigrun to join her. Her elven companion wasn't quite used to getting up at sundown since he no longer needed to remain in the darkness. Tonight would be busy indeed. Besides whatever Alexander would throw at them, Skadi intended to begin her rally of the Assingtonian brood. She would raise an army to combat these dogs and their misguided masters.

"It is time we showed these foreign beasts what my brood can do."

OOC: Depending on how long it takes until Tarl gets back, I may do some basic rp'ing of Sigrun.

IC: Now where would he go? That is the question.

Zero wondered where he would have to go now. Obviously, he had no need of Icarus now, so there's no point going to look for him. Skadi. Yes. He had to go find her. She did say to contact her through mental means, but for now, Zero wanted to avoid having to do so, for he knew all too well that she could be difficult to deal with. If he can find them without having to bother Skadi, all the better. He made as if to fly, his Noble purple aura enveloping him as he prepared to take to the air.

But then, he suddenly felt weak, and dropped down to the ground before he could get a feet up. Wondering at his sudden weakness, Zero realised that he had expended much of his battle energy last night.......and he had yet to feed. Although he need not feed, such expenditure of energy often magnifies his blood thrist to the point where he can no longer function effectively without feeding somewhat........to hunt, it is.

30 minutes later......

A figure hidden in shadow leaned against a wall in a back alley, seemingly drunk. Having got his bearings, the figure straightened, and walked out, seemingly none the worse for wear.

It was Zero, flush with blood he had drunk. As is the habit of a Noble, none of those he had taken were dead, merely half-drained, as is the law amongst Nobles. Zero didn't know if a similar law existed in Assington, but he didn't want to risk it. It had required an orgy of binging though. He reflected on those he had drunk from. The first was a punk who tried to waylay him, probably trying to rob him, and had paid for it with a sleep in the back alleys, while Zero walked away, refreshed. The second was a woman, who decided to take a shortcut through the back alleys, and whom Zero had seduced with the vampiric swoon. Finally, a wino staggering in the streets, who was knocked out all too easily by a mere push of battle energy force. Zero was starting to regret his last choice though, as the copious amounts of cheap wine the wino must have drunk made him slightly tipsy.

It'll pass, though. And he has found the energy to fight another night.

Now where would he go? That is the question.

(OOC: Okay... Now this is only my third post in this thread... :p )

Shea Lancer sat quietly on the bed in his hotel room, quietly checking out his loadout for the night. The previous night, Shea had brought barely enough equipment, ammunition, and weaponry, a horrendous mistake that Shea wanted more than anything to rectify. Swiftly, he removed his worn service revolver from its holster. With a quick check that a magazine of special silver bullets were uploaded, Shea stuffed it back into its holster, safetying the weapon as he did so. Shea's attention turned to his personal HK-33 Assault Rifle with the HK79A1 grenade launcher. With a grunt, Shea lifted the medium weight weeapon from his bed and hefted it. With a satisfying smile, Shea slung the weapon over his shoulder. Picking up his sheathed sword, he tied it over his back.

Without another look back, Shea opened the window of his hotel room and climbed out of it, onto a fire escape. With cold-hearted swiftness, Shea climbed up the fire escape and onto the roof of the hotel. With sure footed movements, Shea seemed to glide over the various building tops as he moved towards the park, his keen eyes swiftly eating in the details as he moved. He would be early. Good, I'll have enough time to scout out the place... If these buggers try to do anything stupid, bang... And their dead...

Standing in an alley, Stephen finished sucking the last drops of blood from the young woman he held. Dropping the corpse he licked his lips, enjoying the sweet taste of fresh blood; he cut along his wrist and dripped a little blood on the wound, healing it over. Several minutes before the woman was walking with Stephen, expecting to go back to his apartment and spend a night in bed with him; the next thing she knew she was in an alley, with Stephen drinking her blood.

He jumped onto a building and moved the last few blocks to the pub where he would meet Daniel. When he walked in he was greeted with smell of booze and cigarette smoke, he also took note of all the exits. Walking through the pub he noticed Daniel sitting in a booth in the corner. Walking behind him Stephen appeared in front of Daniel and slide in the bench opposite him.

"How are you doing Daniel?"

Whiptail had taken note of the suspicious actions of a couple during his nightly patrols... Two into the alley, one out... The hunter investigated, and found the corpse of a young woman, drained of her life-blood...

The burning scent of vampire hung heavily in the air...

Whiptail followed the smell to a local pub, which he carefully entered with his hood obscuring his facial features...

'Two... Odd... There must be a meeting of somekind...'

The hunter positioned himself near the pair, with their booth to his right. This way he could eavesdrop without having his back to them or the door...

Dekker's moral was dropping... He'd spent the night up on that damn rooftop, waiting... Nothing... The SKS sat in the corner of the warehouse office he was using as a staging area, with his holstered Hardballer & K-BAR on the worn desk beside his Colt Defender. A Gold Cup of the same manufacture & model lay next to it...

He'd come prepared for this mission, an M4A1 in a softcase was under the small cot he'd set up in the corner. A Sony Viao laptop was open next to the Gold Cup & the Defender... Ammo boxes where stacked in a corner, .45 ACP's & 5.56mm's.

The mercenary leaned back in the decrepit office chair, propping his feet up on the desk... He'd need a gameplan & an employer to provide backup if he going to get anything accomplished...

The idea hit him like a Mac truck... Email...

The mercenary sent an email to the websites of the two major factions: The vamps & the lycans... Now all he had to do was wait...

Sigrun awoke to slight sounds of Skadi moving about. He watched Skadi reveal the hidden compartment in her mirror with interest, noting as she seemed to linger her gaze upon a particular weapon, another katana. Sigrun didn't know why she did so, but attributed it as another of her vast array of weaponry.

Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and stood, shaking his head to loosen the hair and allow it to fall around his shoulders. A few hand strokes gently pulled the knots out and smoothed the hair down. As he did this, he heard Skadi talking to herself, a growing hint of deadly earnest in her voice.

Sigrun cut into her thoughts with a quiet voice, "A wise philosopher of China once said, 'One who speaks deferentially but increases his preparations will advance; one who speaks belligerently and advances hastily will retreat.'..."

Skadi turned and smiled at Sigrun. She knew he was right, and the quote described her thoughts exactly.

"Are you ready? We have an appointment with a few veterinarians...and they want to neuter our canine friends..."

Skadi grinned, her eyes alight with maliciousness... Sigrun grinned in response.

"You bet."

Sigrun stood and walked to the window, surveying the weather. It was dark and overcast, threatening to drench the city.

With what's going to happen tonight, the rain's going to be required to clean up... Sigrun thought to himself, before turning back to Skadi.

"It's probably a good idea to get Whiptail and maybe some other mercenaries on our side as well..." he offered, while getting himself prepared to leave.

Zero stopped in his tracks, in the midst of his reverie. It felt to him that he had seen something flitting along the skyline of the Emerald City, and although Zero knew by instinct that the figure was not a vampire, much less an Ancient, he also knew that he would want to avoid confrontation until it is neccessary.

Then, he saw a white figure walk into a cafe from his hidden vantage point. A........neonate vampire? He looked closely, and saw......a lizardlike figure walk in after him, hidden by a disguise.

"Lizardman.......Argonian......the name is......Whiptail?", Zero thought to himself. Whatever is happening, he will have to pass investigating the going ons. Now is time to contact Skadi, since he felt he had little choice but to risk the Lady's wrath if he even wanted to get anywhere.

He felt with his mind......the City was too big, but then......yes, that's the Lady Skadi, not too far from here. Swiftly, he composed a quick mental message, shouting soundlessly to her.

"Lady Skadi, this is Zero of the Nobles of Atros here. I await your summons."

At the mention of Whiptail, Skadi nodded. She didn't like the idea of mercenaries, especially humans but Whiptail was an honourable warrior and she was happy to fight by his side. Adding that to her mentali list of things to take care of that night, Skadi was interrupted by Zero.

"I know who you are Zero. Tonight I shall begin a rally of the Emerald City vampires. We need an army of our own kind to combat the canine filth infesting this city. You are allowed to accompany us if you so wish. The choice is yours."

"Our main priority should be to rally the natives. There is a huge amount of vampiric kind in this city, with that force acting against the lychans as one, Alexander's little Hyraphore will have no chance of taking Assington."

Skadi moved out onto her balcony, listening as the night stirred into activity...
__________

Garm finished suiting up and waited for the rest of his men to do the same. Ever since his meeting with the President and the Security Minister Garm had been pondering his oppurtunities. He must follow his orders, it was a matter of national security. And defiance would mean death for treason. Garm would kill Skadi, even if Hondur would hate him.

The President had said things about Hondur and his past, how he wasn't the most trustworthy man and he could still have many connections with underground vampire movements. Garm didn't know what to believe anymore. He hadn't know Hondur for that long and didn't know much about him, but the ancient vampire didn't seem like a criminal. Nevertheless, he must obey the President.

For the moment, ASHVO's main focus was the lychans. They must be expelled from Assington before Skadi could die. Hondur approached his partner, his usual bland yet disturbingly observant face weaving amongst the other men.

"Garm, you look troubled. Is everything alright?"

"Yeh, it's just daunthing considering how many lychans are out there and how few of us there are. The odds are not in our favour."

Hondur grinned.

"Don't worry, I can gather some reinforcements, if you can tolerate them. I'm sure Skadi will rally some vampires as well. This is our home turf, there are many more vampires out there than those dogs."

That confirmed it in Garm's mind. Hondur wasn't to be trusted...

"I will do so, Lady Skadi. I have pledged to lend my sword to help in your mission, and I will help you deal with the Lycans. Where shall I meet you?" Zero mentally communicated with Skadi.

Sigrun finally attached Lanta to his belt. His lightweight yet strong Elven armor shone faintly in the moonlight filtering through the open balcony doors. Skadi turned to look at him and was struck by an awe of the power that seemed to echo from Sigrun, simply by his appearance.

"And so the dogs of war begin their horrendous song..." she muttered and turned back to the city. Sigrun came and stood by her on the balcony.

The two looked at each other and grinned before leaping off the balcony. Sigrun curled himself and then moved himself to bouce upon the differing surfaces of the city until he landed gracefully upon the street below, lowering himself to reduce the shock of the impact.

He stood and began walking down the street, an old familiar route taken so many times before. Sigrun's ears picked up the ever so faint movements of the various night creatures.

Yes...tonight was going to be bloody indeed...

Daniel looked up at Stephen, and nodded. He had a drink in his hand, but it was a pale white. Not red...

Stephen's eyes looked at the drink, which made Daniel smirk. "No, it's not blood, but this place will serve it if you ask.

"I... am doing fine, Stephen. Fine, I suppose if you think about the last couple of days. Did you bring the sword?"

Stephen nodded, and brought out the Upir that the Lychan he had killed had dropped. Daniel picked it up and studied it in the pale light of the pub. He then brought out his own Strigoi Upir, and laid it down beside the other.

The Strigoi sword was a tad thinner, but had more elegant etches on it, and seemed to radiate a reddish glow.

Stephen looked at Daniel. "So you're a Strigoi eh? How did that happen?"

"It's a long story, Stephen. Long story short, this sword... is the source of my powers. It was given to me by Alexander during a mission, and now... now, here I am. A vampire borne not by blood, but by steel."

"Tell me, what can you do?"

Daniel looked around the pub, and saw few stragglers. Most of the regular patrons had gotten out of the city as word of the battles had gotten around.

There was one hooded figure that Daniel had not seen before.

"Well, for the most part, I can do what all vampires can do, but... I have these other powers. I am a geo-kinetic. I have the power to control various earth properties, and can cause certain things."

"Like that pit thing?"

"Yes... and this..."

Daniel closed his eyes and bit his lips. Stephen looked outside and saw as the dark night had turned to a musty gray and brown.

A sandstorm had kicked up, and covered the whole of Emerald city.

Daniel winced, and groaned. "The catch is... it takes a lot out of me to do this sort of stuff, eh?

"Huh... huh... ahuh... so... tell, Mr. Malone... why are we going to fight?"

********

As Sigrun and Skadi walked down the street, the Sandstrom swirled around them, covering their tracks and making it very difficult to go ahead.

Suddenly, a cellphone ring startled them from their sand-induced reverie. Out of nowwhere, a cellphone skidded to the feet of Sigrun. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID.

Alexander Kelsing, Hyraphore.

"I'm fine, just ate. Dan, that sword is not the only one I brought." Stephen pulled out his personal 1796 sword.

"Ugly thing." Daniel said eyeing it.

"She is, but it is nothing short than a meat cleaver, can cut through a man...or lycan with one stroke." Stephen said with a smile before putting it away.

"You're asking why we are going to fight. I don't wish to fight you, unless you attack me, Skadi, Sigrun first, or...if you decide to stay with the Hyraphore and that arogant bastard Alexander.

"I want to get through you thick skull what you are about to do. The Hyraphore has no control over the covens here in Assington. Alexander has tried before, what does he believe that getting some dogs to help will change anything? How would you feel if Skadi lead a group of vampires to take over the Hyraphore and the other vampires in Valient?

"Daniel, what we have brewing here is a full scale war. You will have the blood of dozens on your hands. We are trying to keep it vampires and lycans, but who is to say an innocent human would get injured or killed?

"I know I feed of humans, thier food. But that doesn't mean I want unnessary casualites. Daniel, it would be wise to help the Assington vampires."

Daniel looked at Stephen, and nodded slowly, not really able to figure out a ready retort for Stephen.

"Look, Stephen. We were both police officers before, so we know how this sort of things work. Of course there will be collateral casualties, but its too be expected.

Look, I don't really know why we are both here discussing this. I know why you say what you say, but I do believe in what Alexander is doing. Yes, he can be... a tad much, but what he wants is truly better for our adoptive race. he wants a true collaberation of our kind, under one roof of the Hyraphore. Are the Assingington vampires doing themselves any good with the so called-ASHVO? And what of those who do not wish to join?"

Stephen started to speak, but Daniel raised his hand to stop him.

"And... and, I think Alexander is the only one who can help me realize my true Strigoi heritage.

... if I have to have blood on my hands, so be it."

Daniel got up and looked down on Stephen.

"Blood washes off..."

He threw down a $20 on the table, and exited the Bloodmoon pub. Mysteriously, the sandstorm died down shortly after.

I was a soldier, who worked to keep civs out of the line of fire, but I guess he is right. I'll see him on the battlefield. Stephen thought as he left. He didn't wish to fight Daniel, but if he was content in helping Alexander rule the Assington Vampires, he would stand in his way. He also knew civilian casualites were expected, but it was the way Daniel said "Blood washes off" that made him angry.

Stephen jumped onto some buildings across the street and began searching for Sigrun and Skadi. Several mintues later he found them, he jumped down onto the street and smiled at them.

"I got a little hungry so I ran off before you two woke." Stephen noticed the cell phone Sigrun was holding. "What is with the cell phone?"

Sigrun flipped the phone's lid closed and looked carefully at Stephen.

"A sandstorm came. As did this cell. There was a name on the phone...Alexander Kelsing..."

Sigrun considered calling him, but paused as he weighed the options. His dark eyes looked up to Skadi, who merely glared at the phone as if it were Alexander himself. Her eyes changed from their blackness to blood-red, a side effect of her anger.

He wants to speak to me alone, that I can tell...you go on Skadi, take the runt with you. I'll deal with Alexander personally, and knock some sense into him, one way or another...

Sigrun looked over at Stephen, who merely looked at him with an all-too-easy attitude.

Sigrun's eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, with quick movements that surprised the fledgling vampire, Sigrun had pinned him against the wall, his forearm pressing into Stephen's throat. Sigrun growled into Stephen's face:

"What were you doing this evening? You were gone longer than it takes to feed..."

Stephen merely gasped for air, as thoughts ran through his mind. It was obvious...Sigrun knew the general times it took to do various vampiric activities...and he had taken too long...enough of time to raise alarm in Sigrun's mind.

"Speak!" commanded Sigrun.

Stephen squrimed but stopped when he noticed there was no way he was going to get out of the Elf's grasp. He spoke in a calm tone, but there was a hint of nervousness.

"I meet Daniel Able last night. We hadn't seen each other in over 1000 years so, why not meet and catch up a little. I tried to convince Daniel to help us instead of helping the Hyraphore and the lycans. He firmly believes in Alexander's efforts. In his word Alexander wants collabertation of our kind, under the roof of the Hyraphore."

Stephen stared at Sigurn. Sigrun could tell there was slight fear behind Stephen's blue eyes, not directed at him, but at Skadi. Stephen was frightened of what she might do to him.

"Sigrun, I wouldn't do anything to put you, Skadi, or myself in danger and I never work with the Hyraphore."

(OOC: Valient, we need to change the time from 0900 hours to 2100 hours, because Assington/Arithon decided to skip through the day... *swears colorfully...)

Crouching quietly in the darkness atop a roof, Shea waited patiently for the time to pass, cradling the assault rifle in his arms, as he slowly dialed his voice messaging system on his cellphone. With a low grunt, Shea listened to the message left by his superior.

This is Colonel Iskawasi. First Lieutenant Shea Lancer, you were ordered to return immediately to the Five Civilized Nations after two weeks in Assington. IT HAS NOW BEEN ONE MONTH since your assignment began. You are hereby ordered to return to the Five Civilized Nations to await your military court marital under charges of insubordination.

With a snort of disgust, Shea glanced up at the dark sky, staring intently on the stars as he thought out an appropriate solution to this new dilemma. The fools... With a sigh, Shea dialed his superior's secure number. In a quiet voice, Shea left a message, "I am sorry, Colonel Iskawasi, but I hereby resign my commission in the Ministry of Interior's Bureau of Supernatural Investigations. My commission as First Lieutenant is hereby moot... I am seeking redemption, so do attempt to stop me. Over and out..." Satisfied, Shea turned off his cellphone and returned to his vigilance.

Sigrun growled into Stephen's face once more, "You better not..."

Stephen was released, who reached up to rub his neck. Even for a Elf, Sigrun had a powerful grip.

"I'll be back." Sigrun said to the two, before disappearing into the alley from which the phone had come from. A quick scan about told Sigrun that no one was in the alley, save for a few felines.

Sigrun walked deeper into the alley, keeping his ears alert for any sign of Lycans. Satisfied that he was alone for the moment, he pulled out the cell phone and hit the auto-dial.

The slight sound of ten beeps could be heard as the phone made the long-distance call and began to ring on the other end of the line.

Why don't you come out and play Alexander? Sigrun thought to himself.

OOC: Sorry for the wait... *Curses computer*

IC: Brushing the dust off her shoulders and face, Skadi gave Sigrun a final nod before taking hold of Stephen and draggin him in the opposite direction.

"You're coming with me, we have some business to take care of tonight."

Skadi moved with a confident stride down the deserted street, the street being deserted because of the recent unexplained dust storm. She didn't turn to see if Stephen was following, she presumed he had enough sense to do what she said.

Searching across the city, Skadi's mind came across several reasonably sized congregations of vampires, she would find them first. Before she could do such, Skadi would enlist some help.

"Hondur, perhaps it is time you walked these streets by my side again. We have more important things to worry about than a few words some hundreds of years ago. Come with me and we shall rally the vampires of Emerald against the foreign scum."
__________

The ASHVO force led by Hondur and Garm advanced quietly through the quieter part of Emerald City, where they were most likely to find covens or other creatures of the night. Hondur was letting Garm handle everything and merely observed the human's tactics and leadership. The ancient vampire pondered his human companion's potential and smiled, he had the ability to be just as good as all the Garms before him.

Hondur was slightly surprised by the communication from his sire but wouldn't hesitate to join her. Their years apart had caused him to respect her even more, she was a unique woman indeed. Turning to Garm, Hondur sighed.

"It seems I won't be joining this hunt my friend, I have some other business to attend to. I'll leave the force in your capable hands whilst I organise a few other things. Good hunting."

Without another word Hondur took off, quickly disappearing behind buildings as the distance grew. Garm merely watched carefully, his suspicions fuelled all the more.

Stephen followed Skadi, very happy she didn't explode and try to kill him after she learned he meet with the enemy. He knew enough to do what she said, when she said it. Several minutes passed as Stephen moved next to Skadi, searching for any possible dangers.

"Skadi, should we get the Noble to help us out?"

Skadi didn't bother glancing at Stephen as she spoke.

"I suppose so, he may be of use yet."

Reaching out with her mind once again, Skadi made contact with Zero.

"Zero, I assume you would wish to accompany us upon rallying the rest of my brood?"

Skadi also planted images of her location, making note of key buildings to help Zero find his way through the vast city.

Seconds later Hondur dropped out of the sky and gracefully hit the ground before the vampiric pair. Stephen was obviously startled to see the ancient vampire merely appear like so, but Hondur took little notice.

"I have come at your request. Do you truly intend to unify our kind once again? That is something I have not been able to accomplish in all this time."

Skadi smiled.

"That may be so, but keep in mind I did it to save your hide once before, I can do it again."

Hondur nodded and finally turned to Stephen.

"And who is this... fledgling?"

After having done some sightseeing about the City, Zero finally got a reply from Skadi. Listening intently to what Skadi was saying, and taking note of the landmarks that would show where she is, Zero replied,

"Yes, I will join you now, Lady Skadi. Meet you in a few."

With that, he looked around to make sure nobody was following him or getting ready to take a potshot at him, and then took off into the air........

_________________________________________________________________

Within a few minutes of Hondur landing within the group, Zero touched down as well, close to Skadi. A bit too close to Skadi, in fact, as she turned and snarled at Zero, causing him to back off. "Just as well she should", Zero thought in hindsight, "anyone would think I'm about to attack her, much less Skadi herself, landing so close to her."

Quickly assuming a non-threatening position, Zero said, "I apologize for spooking you, Lady Skadi, I failed to slow myself in time." He looked around at the others. Strangely enough, the Ancient named Hondur was here, yet Skadi's frequent Elf companion Sigrun wasn't.....and the fledgling Stephen looked more than a bit spooked himself. What had happened?

Zero turned back to Skadi.

"So what needs doing, Lady Skadi?"

Glaring at Zero once more, Skadi continued walking down the street.

"We are to visit several vampiric gangs around the city and rally them to our cause. I imagine it won't be easy but I don't want you to try anything before passing it be me. This brood is far differen to you Nobles, we don't share a sense of comradship amongst us."

Hondur considered her words carefully. He knew he would play a vital part in this rally, many vampires in Emerald City respected him, all knew of him.

"We can use my mansion, the ex-coven house."

Skadi nodded her approval. Hondur glared over at Zero for a few moments before speaking.

"What makes your kind different?"

Zero looked at Hondur, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to glaze over at Hondur's question. Then, he said, "Try shooting me with your Desert Eagle under your arm there?"

Hondur wondered at this outrageous request. "It's loaded with silver, you dolt!"

"Try me."

Hondur stared at this flippant reply. "You don't really know what you're asking for, do you?" And in reply to that, Zero started insulting Hondur, in order to get a reaction from him.

"What's the matter, buddy, scared? C'mon, come to me, come here and HIT me, why don't you?"

In a flash, Hondur drew the Deagle and aimed it point blank at Zero. A gunshot sounded in the night. And when the smoke cleared, Hondur couldn't believe what he saw.

Zero had reacted with faster speed, and his hand was held out, mere inches away from the barrel of the Deagle. What's more interesting is that a sheathe of a purplish energy forcefield enveloped Zero's hand, and as Hondur saw, it acted as a shield, protecting Zero from a gunshot. Zero then expanded the shield so that it created a full-body shield in front of him, then dissipated it.

"Well, there you have it, the main difference between Nobles and Assingtonians", Zero explained. "Our telekinetic powers take on a slightly different form. And it can be magnified with weapons that have quartz crystals in them, somewhat like this........

Zero drew the Heaven Sword, and stabbed it in the air towards a nearby trashcan. A lance of purple shot out from the blade, and hit the trashcan, slicing it in 2 pieces with an explosion of rubbish. Zero then sheathed the Sword again.

"Of course, what we can do with it has its limitations, and it increases our blood thirst if we overuse these powers. The Ancients of my kind, which is all that's left of us, really, can also go without feeding for an indefinite length of time, although i don't really know if Assingtonians can do it as well, and not feeding has its costs as well. I apologize for insulting you like that, Master Hondur, but i had to get a reaction from you." Zero shrugged.

Hondur couldn't help but grin. He knew Zero wouldn't ask to be shot if he wasn't confident of being able to save himself, yet this energy was interesting. It seemed just like a telekinetic force, yet visible.

"Interesting. Is this ability powerful amongst your kind?"

Hondur idly flicked things out of his path with his own mental abilities as if it came naturally.

"Aye, we can go without feeding for some time, especially if we go into a hibernation. But it does leave one weaker and the thirst eventually gets to a point where one either gives in or goes mad. It seems we aren't so different after all."

Hondur holstered his weapon and continued walking alongside Skadi and Zero.

Breeeep... Breeeep... Bree

"Hello, Maximus..."

Sigrun swallowed a bitter response, and continued. "Alright, Alexander. I'm returning your call. What do you want?"

"Why... Maximus. It has been ages since we last talked. Why, in that period, you've died, and was reborn as an elf. That must be an interesting story."

"..."

"Alright, it is simple, Maximus. It is like this: fly out to the Hyraphore, and I'll give you the chance to try and convince me to end this war. Straight up. What do you say?"

********

(10 minutes earlier)

Daniel walked slowly away from the Bloodmoon pub. He hated having to end on such harsh terms again with Stephen, but he didn't really have a choice. It was too bad that the other vampire did not see the truth that Alexander proscribed. If only all of the vampires could work together, without fighting. They belonged together. It was their manifest destiny: couldn't he see that?

But he did hate having to say what he did, and he wasn't so sure that he believed it himself: Blood washes off alright, but the smell always lingers.

Breeeep... Breeeep... Bree

"Ya?"

"Mr. Able, this is Alexander. Operation Fool-The-Elf is under way. Are you ready?"

"... yes. I am on my way to meet Tyr and Avatre."

"Good. I'll be in touch."

Clickk. berrrr...

********

Tyr and Avatre stood at the top of a four-story building and looked across the nightscape. Tyr looked down, and tentatively grabbed Avatre's hand.

"My love... I wish that we have never entered into this bargain with Alexander. There can be no good done for our people through this. Nothing but pain and death awaits. There is truly no honour in dying a death in a war not of your own."

Avatre looked at Tyr, and nodded, but did not say anything. Tyr continued.

"My love. Whatever else we are asked to do, trust that I will always be there for you. You will never be alone as long as I breath. I will always come for you."

Tyr raised Avatre's hand to his lips and kissed them tenderly.

...
...

Kwumpp.

The Lychans turned around and saw Daniel standing behind them.

"Call out the Lychans. The time is now." said Daniel.

Tyr nodded, and reverted back into wolf state. He dropped Avatre's hand, and howled deep, long and painfully.

AWHOOOIIOOOooo...

In the distance, howls were returned, short, staccato, but returned nontheless.

Daniel turned, and made to leap from the roof-top.

"Alright. With luck, the elders will split up to deal with this current offensive by us. And then, we have to deal with them."

Daniel leapt off, leaving Tyr and Avatre to ponder what was coming ahead for them all.

Stephen held out his hand as he intoduced himself.

"I'm Stephen."

Hondur didn't make any attempt to shake hands so Stephen lowered his hand.

"I bet you are wondering why would Skadi allow a fledgling to be with her and Sigrun, even though I'm not her fledgling nor am I Maximus'. I've known Skadi and Maximus, who we know know as Sigrun since the coup in Tarlachia."

Hondur opened his mouth but couldn't find any words to say. Stephen smiled, relishing Hondur's confusion.

"I'll tell you my story when time is on our side."

It was then Zero showed up. Stephen enjoyed his little display as the group continued to move towards Hondur's old mansion.

They paused as the howls went across the city. Noone spoke, they all knew that they needed to get the various vampire groups in Emerald City together to combat the Lycans, fast.

Sigrun closed the lid once again and pocketed the phone into a pocket. He growled silently. He knew that Alexander was up to something, something that required him to be out of Emerald City...

Skadi! Keep your guard up. They're going to gun for you and the others. I'll be back soon...

Sigrun moved his hands in an intricate pattern before himself, and soon, a green swirl of energy appeared before him and grew in size. Once completed in its growth its surface appeared to be watery ripples holding a green hue.

"Alexander Kelsing."

Sigrun stepped through...
____________________________

Behind Alexander, Sigrun appeared silently. It had only been minutes before that they had spoken on the phone, and already Sigrun was in the Hyraphore.

Lanta drew quickly and was swung about and pressed into Alexander's neck. Alexander froze completely still.

"Is this enough for you to change your mind?" Sigrun growled with a menacing voice.

Alexander slowly crept his hands up, and a mock smile arose to hsi face.

"Why, Maximus. Why such shabby treatment? I thought we were better friends than that?"

Out of the four corner's of the room crept four cloaked vampires, brandishing semi-automatic weapons.

"I doubt even in your new form you could dodge all of these bullets."

Maximus pressed the blade deeper. "Shall I try?"

Ker-chakk The weapons forced a fresh silver-bullet into their chambers.

"Please don't. I just redid this room."

Maximus looked around, and then withdrew his sword. He walked around to the front of Alexander's desk, and sat on one of the cushioned chairs. Alexander nodded at each of the men, and they withdrew back o their corners.

The co-leader of the vampires got out of his chair and walked to the near wall. On it rested a picture of Driretlen and Maximus, circa... many years ago.

"So, Maximus, or Sigrun. Tell me, how is it that you turned into an Elf and I've turned into the megalomaniac?"

Sigrun glanced at the co-leader of the subjugate vampires, before turning his attention back to Alexander.

"My life was taken before its time. One by the name of Damien Black is responsible. I have yet to enact my vengeance, but his time is coming, rest assured. As for you and your change to psychotic mentality, only you can answer."

Hondur merely nodded at Stephen's quick explanation but was interrupted by the howls of lychans all over the city. Skadi stopped and turned to face them.

"This will end. Zero, come with me and we shall deal with these lychans now. My fledgling, I believe you can rally our kind to the right cause, you've come close before."

Skadi's voice had taken on a chilling tone as she gave instructions. It was obvious she had had enough of these threats to her homeland and was ready to tear them apart. Turning to Stephen, Skadi paused in thought for a moment.

"Are you able to handle yourself fledgling? We shall be splitting up to take care of these creatures, can you hold your own?"
__________

Garm heard sharp canine cries and winced. There were many of the beasts around the city. Gathering his men together, Garm began outlining the nights strategy.

"Alright men. Our main goal is to take out these lychans. Obviously we're not going to ignore any criminal vamps we come across, but the lychans are our first priority. We take as many down as we can, fast. Understand?"

All men replied swiftly and began to spread out, weaving through alleyways as the force drew closer to the source of the cries.

Stephen nodded.

"I can handle myself against these lycans Skadi. I'll also be searching for Daniel Able, he is number one on my sh*t list."

Zero grinned at Hondur's question.

"Like the powers of the Assingtonian Brood, the power of the battle energy of the Noble Brood increases with age. Only the Ancients and a few Elders are all that remains of my Brood, as my monarch had passed a law prohibiting siring in my homeland, but i'll tell you what i remember. The fledglings of my kind are almost indistinguishable than that of yours, and when they become neonates, you can only tell something is different between their powers, as everything we try to do with our energy starts becoming visible. It is not until we are Elders, however, that we become truly proficient in using our battle energy, and only when we are Ancients, can we do feats like the "rain of energy" i did last night. I know you were not there when i did it, so you'll have to ask the Lady Skadi or your elf friend Sigrun about that. However, I need quite a bit of concentration to do this, and what we can do with this power is limited, and for example, i can only hold the shield i just created for only about 10 minutes, and way less than that if i have to hold myself against a hail of bullets, or meet a counterforce that could break my will, though not many excepting Ancients have a chance of doing that. Also, we tend to require feeding after strenous use of our powers if we want to avoid the pain from the intense thirst. Rumor says that a special line of the Nobles, called the Firstsired, are even more powerful and can do many effects with their energy other Nobles can't, and my friend and monarch of my homeland, the King Vampire Louis, is of that line, but i can't confirm anything, since i've never seen Louis exercise his increased powers before."

Hondur then asked, "And just what is the Firstsired of your kind?"

"Well......legends say that the Firstsired are the line of Nobles who were the first childer of another of the Firstsired, going back to what is supposedly the first of the Nobles to be ever created. King Louis is of that line, as is his sister-in-mortal-life and heir apparent Crown Princess Adelia. Beyond that i have nothing more to say, for the memories of those times are vague beyond recall."

Hondur nodded, absorbing the information he had just heard. Then the howling of wolfs started resonating throughout the City.

Hearing what Skadi said, Zero nodded, "I will follow you, Lady Skadi. It's time." As if to accentuate his word, Zero drew his Dual Elite Berettas, and readied it.

Time for the bloodbath.

Hondur nodded at Zero's explanation and was about to reply when howls filled the night sky. Skadi immediately began giving instructions, not allowing Hondur to ask another question. He now had more important things at hand.

Nodding his understanding, Hondur took one last glance at his sire and the other two vampires.

"I shall convince our brethren to act against Alexander and his pets. He shall know the bitter taste of failure once again."

Without another word, the ancient vampire slipped off into the shadows and quickly disappeared from all senses, save for those of the mind.
________

Facing Zero and Stephen once again, Skadi pointed towards a massive building behind her. Towering up into the dark sky, the Roanian Pharmaceuticals Assington HQ was one of the tallest buildings in Emerald City. The dark structure was a reminder to all of the tragic struggles of a young lady long ago and her marriage to the President's of the time brother. It also served as a good vantage point.

"We're going up there to gain a better view of the city."

Turning to Stephen, Skadi's tone almost sounded as if she was mocking the younger vampire.

"If you are unable to scale the building, the humans have provided a more conventional method of ascending the structure."

Spinning around, Skadi crouched slightly and launched upwards in a blur of movement. Shooting through the air, Skadi finally began to lose momentum from the jump once she was a few levels up. Instead of plunging back to the ground as physics would dictate, Skadi continued to ascend at a casual rate until she finally passed the top of the building. A slight push of will and she was now hovering over the flat roof, waiting for the others.

Zero looked up at Skadi leaping up to the HQ building, then turned to Stephen, who was looking at him expectantly. He smiled evilly.

"Sorry Stephen, but i should have told you that my kind is weak in normal telekinesis, in exchange for our battle energy powers, so i can't pull you up there telekinetically, and i have no mind to drag you up there. Looks like you'll have to foot it yourself."

With that, Zero glowed purple all over, and leapt off after Skadi. He turned his eyes back at Stephen, still stuck on the ground.

"If you can't try the lifts, there's always the stairs. See you on the other side."

With that, he flew off in pursuit of Skadi.

Stephen looked at the two older vampires. He was the youngest by a long shot in terms of being a full vampire, but that didn't mean he was weak like a new fledgling. He smiled slightly at Skadi's comment, it wasn't the first time she had made some kind of comment like this. He paid little attention to Zero's comment as well.

"I can get up there myself."

Stephen prefered jumping long distances with a bit of a running start, so he ran at full speed before he jumped. Zero stared at Stephen, half expecting the younger vampire only to reach a few stories up, and was stunned as Stephen made it a little more than half-way.

Grasping onto the wall Stephen quickly climbed the rest of the way onto the roof and smiled at the two vampires.

"Scaling large buildings, reminds me of my days in the Special Forces."

Zero looked at Stephen's jump with not a little bit of surprise, as he cleared the building in 2 leaps.

"This ain't no fledgling", Zero thought, "He's something else."

Getting his mind off of Stephen, Zero turned back to Skadi.

"What now, Lady Skadi? Do we wait here and let the dogs find us?"

OOC: This would be a good time for Avatre to drop in... :rolleyes:

IC: Skadi smiled slightly as Stephen made the ascent with relative ease. She knew he would be able to do so but still liked to taunt the younger vampire a little, just so he didn't get too headstrong over his newfound abilities.

"We need to determine where these lychans are. Starting looking over the city and see what you can find, I'm sure it won't be too difficult to locate the beasts."

Skadi's hair and coat jumped around in the wind as she squinted upon the city, searching for the foreign beasts. She could smell them in the air, some were nearby.

OOC: Ok, I need Stephen to hightail it to face Daniel, and Zero to go to face Tyr.

IC:

Later that evening, Daniel, Tyr and Avatre met for the final time before they would begin Operation Head-Hunter. Daniel looked at the Lychans, and nodded. They all knew what they had to do, and where it would all go down. All they needed now was a little luck, and little more skill.

"Alright, you two. You have your assignments. Alexander says that if this doesn't work, we're finished, so make this count," said Daniel, looking up at the dark sky, littered with stars.

"We'll do the best we can, vampire. But I begin to grow weary of this sordid affair," said Tyr, squeezing Avatre's hand softly.

Daniel nodded again. "I understand. I am truly sorry your kind had to have been mixed up in this, but it is almost over."

With that, Daniel turned and fled away down the alley, leaving Tyr and Avatre alone.

"My love, I am sorry. I know that you will represent our kind against the one called Skadi," said Tyr lovingly and mournfully. "You will always have my love."

Avatre looked up at Tyr, and whispered: "And you will always have mine. Be honourable, dear heart."

They kissed, a brushing together of cold, tender lips that seemed to linger forever on the battlefields of minds.

Then, Tyr and Avatre parted, both heading for their particular place of battle.

********

Daniel Able ascended the stairs of the North Haverbrook Way Tram Station and stopped at the very top of the stairs. Shortly after, the ten-member strong Bravo Lychan pack stopped behind him. The other people on the track looked around at the strange appearance, and screamed when Daniel pulled a gun.

"Alright everyone. This is your last stop."

Daniel fired the gun twice in the air, sending the group scattering. Soon, the platform was empty, and so was the train at the station. They Lychans and Daniel climbed into the front car, and Daniel started it up, sending the car forward in lurching motion.

The plan was to send the train hurtling off the end of the track. It was meant to cause havoc and chaos. Daniel just hoped that it did not mean anyone's blood would be on his hand.

********

Tyr and the Romeo pack entered the Emerald City docks and noticed that it was empty. Tyr was glad: he didn't want to have to deal with anyone. At least, not until the vampire Zero.

One Lychan slinked forward and attached a small package to the side of a fishing trawler.

30 seconds later, the boat blew up, adding it's light to the stars in the sky.

********

Avatre waited at the foot of Roanian Pharmaceuticals. The 120-floor building towered over her, but she was not the least bit impressed.

She waited until she could be certain Stephen and Zero were gone. Only then could she face Skadi in honourable battle.

Whiptail's cloaked form waited atop the Roanian building, having tailed Avatre to the location... Skadi would soon arrive.

The lizard-man observed the lone female through the 10x optic scope of his R93 assassins' rifle. Four .308 rounds with silver jackets hung in an elastic sleeves on the back of his left hand tactical glove, not that he'd need them...

For now, recon was the name of the game...

Stepehen head turned when he heard the gunshots.

"Able...that little prick isn't going to leave here alive. Skadi, I'll deal with him."

Stephen leapt across buildings towards the tram station. Leaping onto the last car he climbed in. It was deserted, but he could smell the dogs and Daniel further up the tram. It took him little time to figure what he was going to do. He's going to run it off the track!

He knew the only way to stop the tram was to stop Daniel. Running down the tram he opened the door of the last car. The ten lycans, clutching thier automatic weapons, turned and opened fire. Silver bullets tore down the tram, but nothing seemed hit. One stood and walked down to the end of the car.

Stephen was hanging above the door. His sword was drawn and jumped down in front of the lycan. The vampire moved faster then the lycan and Stephen quickly had his sword imbedded in the lycan's head. A twist of his wrist and a chunk of head fell next to the body, brain matter slide out down to the other end of the car, leaving a thin trail of blood.

"You've going to let dogs do your work huh Able? To scared to face me in combat so you get dogs to do the master's work. You might run, thinking I won't chase, but you're wrong. I will hunt you down till you are dead Daniel Able. Now, draw your sword."

Skadi nodded as Stephen departed, hunting his old time friend. Seconds later her attention was occupied with the arcing ball of flame jetting off into the sky around the city docks. Such explosions were not common within the city and Skadi had no doubts it was caused by one of the beasts.

"Zero, could you check that out. I'm sure you'll find the place stinking of dog. Do the city a service and put them down."

"Way ahead of you, Lady Skadi, I'm on my way." With that, Zero glowed purplish again, and sped off towards the explosion.

At the dock

Zero landed at the dock, and slowly walked towards the explosion. It was a boat that had exploded......but why? Why would anyone want to destroy a boat.....Skadi! Must be an ambush!

Then, he sensed the presence of......Lycans! Quickly, he shrunk into the shadows, and readied himself for battle. Doubtless his hiding in the shadows is of no avail, but then again, it's not that great an idea to be out in the open, especially if he's outnumbered. Both of his hands flexed, ready to draw out any of his numerous weapons to fit the moment of need.

Then he sensed the presence....of an Ancient Lycan.

This is bad. Looks like neither his Dual Elites, nor his Uzi, not even his throwing knives, could be any use against that one Ancient. He'll have to fend him off in melee, and only the Sword and Saber could help him in that respect. So be it then.

First, he'll have to see whether the Ancient or the fledglings attack first.......

Hondur stood before a large basement full of vampires, all eyes trained upon his still form. A little persuasion had gained Hondur entrance into what he determined as the largest rebel faction of vampires in Emerald City. Around eighty pairs of eyes trained on Hondur, waiting for the words of the supposed wise ancient.

"My brethren. We have fought amongst eachother for too long. Petty strifes and arguments have escalated into blood wars that have raged for generations. The only result being the weakening of our covens, making us easy pickings for foreign beasts."

"Aye, and who do we have to blame for that? Without any ancients left to lead us?"

Hondur turned to face the bold fledgling.

"I doubt you were of our kind at the time, but every vampire that once existed within my coven was given the oppurtunity to follow me. We did not start hostilities with those that chose otherwise. Keep that in mind."

The vampire remained silent, obviously embarrassed yet unable to blush for obvious reasons.

"That is in the past. Now we as a brood are under threat from the foreign scum known as the Hyraphore. This time they have employed lychans, dogs, to do their dirty work. Alexander Kelsing is the enemy and he is a true coward."

Hondur paused to let his information sink in.

"They may be dogs, but they hunt in packs, large packs. I'm sure many of you have already noticed the killings of our kind. It is time we stood together as a wave of darkness, creatures of the night and banished these beasts from our home!"

Hondur noted many nods and mumbles of agreement yet one face in the front row was obviously not so easily swayed. He was the so called leader of this coven. They called him Phoenix since he had survived being set alight, due to a nearby toilet. The younger vampire stepped forward and glared at Hondur.

"Are you going to hang on the every word of this traitor just because he comes seeking our help? We don't need him, we can defeat the beasts ourselves and his pitiful government funded coven! I say we kill him right now and deliver his human friends his head on a blade!"

The vampire began turning around again to face Hondur. Before he could make the full turn, the sting of silver slicing across his throat became top priority. Phoenix fell to his knees as blood gushed out of his neck, the wound not healing due to it being inflicted by silver. Hondur addressed the stunned vampires.

"You are free to make your own choices, but I will not tolerate fledgling arrogance! The fact is I could kill every one of you. I don't see a face in here that looks over one thousand years. If you were all trained in your abilities, perhaps then you would pose a threat. I am asking you to join me and the other vampires of Emerald and form one whole coven. A coven to defend our home, a coven to strike our enemies and a coven to support eachother. Walk away from this and you're likely to find yourself being the meal of a dog!"

Hondur faced the bleeding Phoenix once again and withdrew his deagle, quickly chambering a round.

"There is no place in our coven for arrogance and disunity!"

Hondur squeezed the trigger and Phoenix plunged into a darkness that he would never awaken from.

"Psychotic Mentality?"

Alexander stood up and deliberately turned his back on Sigrun. He looked out he large bay window, towards Alexandria and its majestic night lights dotting the city.

"Maximus... it has been a long time. A terribly long time since I could talk to someone so much like myself. Driretlen is... to old-fashioned to understand what I feel, and Daniel is much, much too young."

"And that is why you brought me here? To talk?"

Alexander turned around, and faced the elf.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose it is. You see Maximus. I always felt that their must have been some sort of connection between us. A bond perhaps brothers share, or teamates. And I want you to realize this. Realize that I am not some psycho, or predator, or megalomaniac. I am not some lurid beast trying to lure some children to my bed.

I just want the Assington covens, Maximus. That's all I want, and I know that if they give me a chance - if you give me a chance - that you'll see that my way is truly the only way to go."

********

Daniel didn't turn at the sound of Stephen's voice, but he cursed anyways. He feared having to face down one so... similar to him, but he supposed it was going to happen anyways.

Didn't make it better.

"Stephen. You don't want to do this... I don't want to hurt you. Get... off... my...train."

Daniel pushed the accelerator to full throttle, sending the train hurtling around the bend. The lights dimed momentarily.

When they came back on, Stephen saw a line of Lychans advancing towards him, guns cocked and ready for action. They still maintained their human forms.

For now...

********

Tyr didn't need to turn around to feel the Noble Blood.

He could smell him in the air. He smelled... powerful.

He knew that though he was strong in his own right, he had better play it careful. After all, this Zero was not any normal Vampire.

With a nod of his head, the nine other Lychans changed into their were-form, and approached Zero warily, looking for an opening.

OOC: I'll take it i can start killing Lycans now. Tell me if you want anything changed.

IC: Zero moved away from the shadows, and faced the 9 Lycans facing him. Fledglings all......but they outnumber and surround him, and there's the Ancient wolf to consider. Still......he may have run when he first made contact with Lycans here in Assington, but now that he's got the measure of these fledgling dogs......it's time to take them on.

His hands flicked, ready to bring out anything, anything at all.

With a simultaneous howl, the 9 Lycans charged. Three came running at him head on. Another three made a running leap, and jumped, bearing down on Zero. The remaining three strafed around Zero, trying to take him from a blind spot. All very well choreographed, almost with military discipline.

Like that's gonna help them.

With senses fully attuned, Zero sensed the positions of all 9 Lycans, and deduced that those charging him head-on would reach him first......swiftly, the Dual Elites were out, and with both guns in his hand, Zero fired round after round into the 3 charging Lycans, who fell to the ground dead.

But the airborne attackers were almost upon him. Dropping his Dual Elites, the Dragon Saber was brought out on his right hand, and the Uzi on his left.....the lead wolf of that pack was almost upon him. A slash of the Saber's silver alloy blade right into that one's torso, dividing him, then Zero tried to duck under the trajectory of the landing wolves. A quick turnaround, and a burst of silvery death into the second wolf before it could land, but the 3rd compensated enough to deal a strike on Zero before also getting some in the head.

Then it was the turn of the backstabbers, and Zero sensed, rather than saw, 1 on his right, 2 on his left......ah, so they know which hand is lethal, eh? Dropping the spent Uzi, Zero threw the Dragon Saber up in the air, and twisted his body in a horizontal spinning hop, while the Lycans came at him from both sides.

3 silver throwing knives came flying out from the spinning Zero. One hit a wolf on the left, causing him to flop to the ground mid-leap, and so did the one coming in on the right, but the demands on Zero's attention was so great, he missed the second attacker on the left, and that one, although missing Zero in its pounce, flew over Zero, close enough to deal him another gash, and landed on the other side. Before it could get out of the way though, Zero caught the fallin Dragon Saber, and deal an energy slash towards the surviving Lycan. The purple lance of energy grew, and came in an unavoidable slashing motion at the Lycan, slashing off its hind legs. Then, another silver throwing knife to the back of its head made it no longer the survivor.

Falling with a thud on the ground, Zero quickly leapt to his feet, and with a pushing motion, his battle energy came out in a wave of shoving motion, pushing his spent Dual Elites and Uzi into the shadows, to which Zero quickly jumped in after. In the shadows, Zero set down the Saber just fast enough to reload the Dual Elites and the Uzi, then holster them.

Then he looked at his wounds. They were not healing properly as they should, and Zero knew he had been hit by silver. "Damned Lycans!", he thought. They were not fatal, but Zero was feeling the pain, and it could very well mean that the playing field between the ancient Zero, and the younger, but still Ancient Lycan, was levelled, most probably the Ancient wolf's plan. And add to that he only has 6 throwing knives left, and he can't go back to pick up those he used until what must be done is done.......

He picked up the Saber, and his left hand twitched, ready as ever to bring out any instrument of certain death. Now it's between him and the leader of that pack.......whoever he is........

"You...are...a...coward Able. Hiding behind Alexander, the Hyraphore, now...dogs. I actually thought highly of you, gotta be on crack to think of an idea like that. You don't want to hurt me? Well, you're going to have a bad day after I take care of the lycans and start hacking you to little bits."

Stephen looked at the lycans who kept thier rifles trained on him. One of the lycans turned to Daniel, who never looked back.

"How old is this guy?"

"Only about a year or two old."

The lycan smiled. Putting down his weapons he cracked his knuckles and walked forward.

"I'm gonna beat your brains out vampire."

Daniel heard the sounds of a struggle then followed by the sickening crunch of someone's head beening smashed against the floor. He looked into a small mirror in the cockpit and his mouth fell open.

The lycan was on the floor, with a short silver blade in it's skull, which was obviously throughly pounded from being hit against the ground. Stephen allowed several cuts on his face and hands to heal before he picked up his sword and knife. To the lycans it didn't make sense, the one who had attacked Stephen was over just over 80 years old and should of beaten the vampire into the ground. Stephen looked at them.

"Hear me out lycans. Are you going to keep dying for a vampire who is right now in Valient relaxing comfotably, instead of coming here and fighting? Are you going to listen to Able here who is to frightened to face me? I'm a fledgling, I should prove no trouble to him, yet he is afraid. I respect you all as couragous fighters, who are being exploited for Alexander's mission of revenge and stupid ambition. It is because of this respect I have for you I will give you all a chance to live.
"You leave now, go back home and never lift a finger against the vampires in Assington again. Or you can die here for a cause which was lost when it was first concived."

"And how would you feel if Skadi decided to rally the entire Assingtonian vampire populations to invade the Hyraphore and completely take control?"

Sigrun stood and approached Alexander until he stood merely inches from Alexander. The guard vampires appeared from the shadows once again, their guns trained upon Sigrun. Sigrun looked at them disgustedly, before commanding,

"Get out of my sight, you worthless idiots. You wouldn't know a real threat unless it hit you in the ass."

They didn't move, not until Alexander waved them away once again. Sigrun continued.

"What if she had done that? She would have undoubtedly taken over your entire Hyraphore coven and take it for your own. In fact, as of right now, with your dwindling member count, it is entirely feasible for her to have done just that with only HALF of the entire Assingtonian vampire population! Yet, she has not done that, because she RESPECTS your right to live as you wish, on your own."

Sigrun stared defiantly into Alexander's face. Alexander shifted uncomfortably in that gaze. Sigrun spoke the damning words:

"Your way is flawed, and you will fail."

Tyr remained in his human form as Zero stood at the ready to bring the fight back up to its fevered pitch. Instead, he chose to step into the light of one of the docks floodlights and nod at the vampire.

"You're good, vampire. Very good. tell me, what are you? You are not of Assington, no?"

Zero continued to watch Tyr carefully. "No. I am a nobleblood. An old... ascendant of vampires."

Tyr nodded. "I am Tyr Fenris of the Lychans Kantrawulves."

Zero dropped his hand for a brief moment.

"Why do you do this Tyr of Kantrawulves?"

Tyr did not respond with words, but with one long, pitiful howl.

AWheeeooooyouuooo...

He changed into his Lychan form, and stood up to his full height.

"I do this for honour, Noble."

"There is no honour in what you do."

Tyr remained silent. And then leapt up in the air and landed on a construction boom above the scene.

"Honour is different to everyone. Prove to me Vampires have honour..."

Then Tyr leapt down towards Zero, claws out.

********

The Lychans looked at one another as Stephen's message echoed through their heads.

Three immediately jumped out of the moving train. The rest shook their heads, and joined their voices in one last call to the wild.

AWhooooo...

Then, they aimed their semi-automatics at Stephen and fired.

In the control room, Daniel closed his eyes and thought to himself.

"I... I am afraid, Stephen. But not what you think. I am afraid... afraid for us all."

********

"Your way is flawed, and you will fail."

Alexander looked up at Sigrun, and for a moment, Sigrun thought that Alexander would relent.

But that moment was fleeting.

"Words, words, words, Maximus. This is coming from a vampire who died for some forgotten cause and is now reborn in the body of an elf. Don't you dare patronize me. Don't you dare."

Alexander pulled his hand back, and for a moment looked as if he was going to punch his foe in the face. Alas, for Sigrun, he did not.

"You... Skadi. Skadi does not respect me. I know this. The way she looks at me whenever I am near. The way she turns up her nose at the Hyraphore whenever it is spoken. Lies, lies about truths, Maximus. She and I will never be able to coexist, Maximus. You must see this.

"And after all, though you may be correct about my dwindling membership, why do you think I recruited the Kantrawulves, hmm? I think they are an excellent adjunct to my people..."

********

Avatre looked above and saw the shadows of Stephen and Zero fly off of the top of the Roanian building. With a single, straight leap up, Avatre landed on the top directly behind of Skadi.

"Skadi of Assington. Turn and face me."

Skadi turned around and smirked. "Do you really hope to take me by yourself?"

Immediately, another 10 Lychans, huge, brawny, and terrifying - perhaps not for Skadi - landed beside Avatre. They were the Alpha Pack, the elite guard of the Pack.

"My name is Avatre Ertava of the Kantrawulves. I am here to fulfill my lover's quest for honour. I am here for you."

With that, two of the Lychans stepped forward, and began to circle Skadi. The awaited her first move.

Whiptail waited... In the dark... In the cold... The rifle's stock was as much a part of his arm as his scaly hand now, so long had it been in his grasp...

Stephen shot of a train window, grabbing the side of the window he landed on the roof. Bullets ripped through the roof as Stephen ran forward. Putting away his sword he knealt and crawled down the front and smashed through the forward door.

The lycans spun, but Stephen launched himself through them. His sword drawn he hacked several times. One slashed with a knife across Stephen's face. Standing several meters in front of them he licked a little of the lycan blood from the area around his lips. He also let the scar from his forehead to under his left ear heal.

Stephen turned to see the 5 remaining lycans cut and battered. They weren't putting up much of a fight, counting on thier rifles. Since they had not yet turned, the vampire had the advantage.

"Dan, your lycans are not even trying to fight me."

IC: Zero barely saw the Lycan named Tyr leap at him, before he had to do his best to fend him off, caught unawares as he was. Shifting his weight to his left, the Dragon Saber flashed out to the right, trying to parry Tyr's attack. Zero knew it was not enough, but at least it was better than getting himself decapitated.

Tyr landed on the other side, and started circling Zero, while Zero himself healed from the attack. That was just a trial from Tyr......there was no silver in that blow, but Tyr was just testing him out. And he knew that while Tyr may have only the speed, strength, and skill of his 1500-year equivalent of a vampire without the telekinesis, Zero was also sufficiently wounded enough from the first attack, such tthat both were more or less even. Nursing his wounds, Zero eyed Tyr warily, as his opponent circled him.

With a snarl, Tyr attacked again, but this time Zero was ready. With the Uzi appearing in his left hand, Zero fired a continuous blast in Tyr's direction, but the blasted Lycan dodged here, there, everywhere, and not a bullet hit him. Tyr came closer.....closer......suddenly, Zero stopped firing, and as Tyr pounced on him, Zero slashed the Saber in the air.

Tyr landed on the other side, and dodged the last hail of bullets from Zero's Uzi. Holstering the submachinegun, Zero winced, at the wound Tyr had dealt him, and this time there was silver in the wound [OOC: I'm assuming here].

Zero eyed Tyr. He's moving like he's wounded.....did he hit Tyr? Zero wondered. He was quite sure Tyr had managed to dodge his bullets, but he was not so certain about the strike he had made with the Saber. If he had indeed hit Tyr with the Saber, it would explain his movements, and it would also be a boon......

Sigrun smiled in defiance. He let out a laugh that chilled the guard vampires's spines.

"You have led us to the reason that I say will be your downfall. These Kantrawolves, as you call them, will soon enough realize that they are fighting another's war, a war they will find they won't want to be part of. Thus, they will abandon you, and you will have to answer to the wrath of the Assingtonians! I may not be one of them anymore, but I am still their friend and ally. I will not see you destroy all that I have come to love!"

Sigrun drew Lanta and growled, "I will not let you live, if you continue. You have this last chance to step down and retreat your coven and the Lycans. I will not hesitate to kill you, mark my words..."

Alexander slowly sat back down on his chair. He looked wearied and beaten.

"My dear Maximus... don't you understand? This has nothing to do with you. Not really. It has nothing to do with you or I. This conflict is so much more than just two egos passing in the night. What it is is about the future of our kind, and I for one will not let you jeapordize that."

With a snap of his fingers, the four men came forward and leveled their weapons at Sigrun. As well, the door to the large room swung open and another four men came in with Upirs at the ready.

"Maximus. I never expected you to agree to my vision of perfection. What I have gained by your coming here is simple in the short term, but truely neccesary in the long term. By your coming here, you have assured the destruction of those who you say you love, including your precious Skadi.

"SEIZE HIM!"

With the call, all of the Hyraphore men moved in to capture Maximus.

"A pity, Maximus. It could have been so much easier."

OOC: Everyone else, I will postfor tomorrow. Thanks. *Yawn.*

Sigrun's eyes narrowed as Alexander called his henchmen to their task. His eyes flickered with anger.

Sigrun turned to face the vampires, half with guns, half with Upirs.

And surprised them all by hanging his head and lowering his sword back into its sheath.

The Hyraphore vampires stared at him quizzically and at each other. Alexander merely rose an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected Sigrun to do this...

"Take him away." he commanded, somewhat pleased that Sigrun would not be a possible casualty.

The vampires came close to Sigrun and even relieved him of Lanta. Still, he did not react. Two positioned themselves on either side of him, their guns pointed into Sigrun. The other two were behind him, also guarding him with their guns. The Upir vampires followed after them as they began to lead the way out of the office. Sigrun took a couple of steps, seemingly deep in thought.

Within Sigrun's mind, he had been carefully arranging the spells that would be necessary for his surival, and for his victory over his enemies. With his head bent down, his eyes were unseen as they changed from their normal state to pure white as his entire being became engorged with his magic.

Alexander's eyes suddenly widened as he realized what Sigrun was doing. His voice rose and screamed the warning, but it was too late.

With moves that few Elves ever had, Sigrun rolled forward and spun about quickly. His hand reached out to one vampire and snapped the gun out of his grasp. Sigrun flipped it defly by the trigger guard and leveled it at the vampire's chest, it's laser tracer centered over the creature's heart.

At the same time, Sigrun waved his hand toward the others and watched as they were cast against the wall and pinned. One screamed in pain as he was impaled upon a silver staff in the corner of the office.

Sigrun watched the remaining six vampires close in quickly. He narrowed his eyes in concentration as he watched them all with slow motion seeming to be in effect.

The four holding the Upirs simultaneously rose their swords and hesitated before sending them downward toward Sigrun. Using bare hands, he amazingly deflected each shot aside harmlessly. Sigrun cast a disorientation spell upon the entire group, Leaping upwards avove their heads, he landed behind them, still caught in the powerful grip, he proceeded to physically kick each of the vampire's rears, hard enough to send them flying into each other. Two gorged themselves on their own weapons.

And thent here were 4...

The grim smile stayed upon Skadi's white face as she addressed Avatre.

"Silly lychan girl. Just because Alexander sends you and some of his pets to kill me, that doesn't mean he has won. He will never win, why can't he understand that? He will not be accepted by these people, they don't even accept eachother!"

Skadi kept an eye on the two circling lychans, but she wasn't quite finished speaking.

"How is it that your became a slave of such a pitiful excuse for a vampire? I suppose he has the money to buy your dog food. No matter, when I'm done, eating won't be a luxury available to you."

Skadi crouched as she drew her twin berettas. These lychans were about to feel the full force of an ancient wrath. Leaping into the air, Skadi moved to the right, heading for the smaller lychan. The lychan stood snarling, claws outstretched as it awaited to pounce upon Skadi the second she drew near enough. The seconds continued to pass until Skadi should have finally been in range of a lethal swipe. Instead the ancient vampire merely remained stationary in midair, facing the lychans with a vampiric snarl of her own.

The lychan glared back in confusion and realised its mistake. But alas, it was far too late. The lychan found itself staring down the barrel of a beretta before the hammer was released, sending the silver bullet forth into the dog's brain. It fell to the ground with a single, sickening thud.

Before she could turn, the second lychan was upon her, forcing Skadi into the cement roof and tearing at her leather clad shoulder. The pain of claws and teeth puncturing skin immediately erupted within the vampire's left shoulder, yet she ignored the pain as her mind focused. Without warning a silent force lifted the lychan off Skadi and sent it spirally through the air until it passed the limits of the building and began plunging to the street below. Normally a lychan of that age may have been ableto survive such a fall, but not with such a constant acceleration that was being applied.

Much faster than Avatre and her brethren expected, a faint splat was heard as the creature was pounded into the hard street, crushing it completely. Back on her feet, Skadi smiled in a way that sent chills down the spines of these elite lychans. She truly was a cold hearted woman.

"Any more puppies for me to kill?"
________

Hondur grinned as he led the newest members of his restablished coven back into the ancient mansion. Hondur half expected it to be demolished, but he guessed the government must have taken care of it for him. He was an important government agent afterall.

"Gentlemen, this is the Manor of Darkness, our home. I know it's a little old and run down, but that can be taken care of quite easily. I think you'll find that many features are suited to meet the requirements of our kind, so enjoy yourselves. I must be off to gather other vampires to our cause, so we can dominate the lychan foe with ease. I ask that some of you come with me whilst the others make themselves comfortable here."

Three other vampires stepped forward, Hondur recognising one of them from his old coven.

"Aerial my friend, it is good to see you."

"And you. Do you think we can actually stay together this time?"

Hondur's expression turned serious.

"Aye. This time it's permanent."

The old friends grasped hands and departed the mansion, out on the streets of Emerald in search of more vampires.
__________

Garm's squad continued their patrol. They had already downed seven lone lychans they had come across. The ASHVO agents knew they were out there, but only tiny amounts could be located, scattered around the city. Garm cursed at the lack of a substantial find. He had been informed of mass vampiric movement through the city, yet no trouble had been caused. Garm assumed it was Hondur, up to his traitorous schemes. He too would have to pay for betraying him.

"Alright men, I've had enough. We hunt vampires like we're supposed to. Lychans are still on the hit list, but we might as well kill what we can whilst out here. Keep your eyes open and be prepared for a fight, there have been reports of mass vampiric numbers out tonight."

The sound of heavy armour, cocking firearms and leather boots filled the streets as the ASHVO squad moved through Emerald, hunting for the creatures of the night.

Avatre looked at the vampire Skadi, smeared with her own blood and that of the two lychans she'd killed. There was only one thing to do. Eyes focused on Skadi, she whispered to the lychan on her left,

"Find Tyr. This may be more than we bargained for."

Drawing herself up, Avatre looked Skadi right in the eyes as she commanded her fellow lychans.

"Go now and leave us. This fight is between me and the vampire."

As the lychans disappeared, Avatre growled low in her throat and began to transform. With a roar, she leapt upon Skadi, knocking the barettas away as they crashed to the floor, teeth and claws rending the vampire's flesh.

"Fools... fools..."

Alexander looked around at the carnage in his states room. The smell of vampiric blood had not yet begun to seep into the area, but it would.

Alexander knew from experience.

"Why is it sooo hard to get good help, eh Maximus? Seems to me that the old cliche rings true: you want a job done right, you do it yourself."

Alexander stepped around the desk and kicked the Lanta to Sigrun.

"Nice sword. An upgrade, I see. I've made one of my own."

Alexander reached onto the side wall and pulled down a sabre, vicious and cold. It seemed to be made of silver, but yet... something more.

"This is simply the strongest steel in the world. Something the Lychans call Kantrasteel. I assume you can figure out where the name came from, but that does not matter. What matters is that cuts from this little thing don't heal as fast, or as properly as any other steel.

"What can your Lanta do, hmm?"

Together, in one smooth motion, Alexander leapt toward Sigrun as the other four vampires fired their weapons once more at the Elf.

********

Daniel looked up and saw as the sign for Patterson Station approach, and then whiz by in a blink. The train was approaching 110 kms per hour, and did not make any stops.

He looked back as the Lychans appeared disoriented.

"... ... ...turn already. May as well give him the fight he wants."

Daniel looked up again. According to the onboard display, he had just two more stations before the end of the line.

Before the end...

The Lychans dropped their guns and changed as Daniel requested. With a howl, and a speed Stephen had not anticipated, the closest to the former ranger grabbed him and threw him through the thin steel roof.

With a thud, Stephen landed, closely followed by the rest of the Lychans.

********

Tyr growled and pressed a hand to his side. A gash, not terribly deep but one that was bleeding, had made its final resting spot just underneath his arm.

Zero also moved like he was wounded. Tyr raised his left hand and flashed his long claws. They glinted in the light, as if they were covered by some sort of metal.

"Kantrasteel, Noble. I don't know what your sword can do, but these will hurt. I assure you."

Tyr did not charge, instead choosing to stalk around the vampire, as if it was prey.

"Alright, vampire. It seems as if you aren't a talker. Strange, considering the crowd you run in, but alright, I can live with that. As long as Alexander gets what he wants, I can live with anything..."

Tyr growled once more, and then grabbed two steel rods laying on top of a wooden crate. He leapt in, rods swinging away.

Skadi didn't much care that her berettas had been sent across the roof of the building. She would use a much more personal means of killing this lychan, obviously someone important. Snarling in fury as Avatre landed upon her, tearing with those lychan claws, Skadi decided to fight back with her own natural attributes.

Opening her jaw wider to reveal the razor sharp fangs, Skadi lunged into the attacking lychan and took hold of her upper arm in a deadly lock. Easily tearing through the fur and flesh, Skadi began drawing blood out of the beast as fast as she could, each suck weakening her lychan opponent.

"Come on lychan, just keep it up and soon enough you won't have the blood to move those beastly limbs"

Skadi's mental taunt echoed throughout the mind of Avatre, although she was unable to reply mentally. The vampire continued to tear at the lychan's arm as more blood flowed into her clamped mouth...

Zero was ready for anything, but he almost laughed out loud when he saw the stunt Tyr tried to pull on him. Metal rods? Against his treasure swords? Tyr may be good, but apparently he didn't know Zero's swordsmastery. He'll know in a moment anyway.

The Dragon Saber gleaming a cold purple light in the night, Zero stood his ground. Tyr came in with rods swinging, the rods moving so fast that they were a mere blur, and Tyr, with feint upon feint upon feint, struck at Zero for what he thought was a sure hit......

Only to have both his rods clang uselessly away from the flat of the blade of Zero's Dragon Saber.

"What?", Tyr thought as he resumed the attack with full force. Zero was wholly on the defensive, but the way he blocked Tyr's rods again and again and again, looked almost effortless. Then, Tyr managed to trap the Saber between both his rods, but suddenly Zero shook the Saber so violently, the vibration came onto the rods so strongly Tyr had trouble keeping hold of them, and with a 90 degree turn of the Saber, the rods were spilt asunder.

Zero backed off, swinging the Saber graciously, as if mocking Tyr. Finally, he broke his cloak of silence, "Kantrasteel? Meet tried-and-true Damasteel, with diamond and silver edges, and quartz to boot. Don't play swordsman with me, wolf. You haven't a chance."

Snarling, Tyr came in with his Kantrasteel claws, without reservation. (OOC: Sorry Val, i'm guessing this is what he'll do) But even with freedom of mobility and Kantrasteel on his side, Tyr could hardly break Zero's defences, and would count himself lucky in hindsight to only hit the flat of the blade each time, and not the edge. And each time, the Saber seemed unscratched, as if as new as the day it was forged, despite Tyr's scratches at it.

Finally, Tyr broke through Zero's defences, and dealt a large strike across his abdomen. But Zero, as if from reflex, brought out the Heaven Sword in his left hand in a flash, and thrust it at Tyr. Caught unawares, Tyr tried to catch the slim blade of the treasure Sword in his left hand (paw?). It may have saved him from being impaled, but the Sword suddenly vibrated violently, and Tyr felt a stinging, powerful pain strike the hand holding the blade, so agonising that Tyr backed off, but could not escape a strike from the Saber peeling off the hide on his shoulder.

He looked down at his left hand/paw. It was smoking, and so covered in blood, Tyr couldn't tell on sight whether it had also broken his Kantrasteel claws as well. One thing's for sure, it really hurt. And so did the raw flesh exposed to the air on his shoulder.

On the other hand, Zero wasn't that well himself, nursing a huge gash across his belly, spewing copious amounts of blood. He looked pale even for a vampire, and even for an Ancient. Still, standing erect from his half-standing position, he flourished both Sword and Saber, the latter having a piece of wolf fur drop off from the blade, and saluted Tyr again in a mocking manner.

"Well," said Zero with a grin, "if i've deteoriated to the point where i can't skin you properly,", looking at the piece of fur he scalped off Tyr's shoulder, "guess I need to go train harder."

He stood ready, treasure blades in hand, ignoring the serious pain. If he had done what he thought he did, Tyr would be in worse condition......or so he hoped.

OOC: Ok, Val, sorry if it seems a little bit of a godmod to you, i'm still feeling my way around here. Hint, Zero is not that good at dodging ranged attacks, so you might want to try RPing Tyr using that to his advantage.

Avatre howled in pain. She twisted in the vampire's grip to grab her and thow her- as hard as she could. Skadi landed heavily near the exposed edge of the building, motionless.

Avatre paused for a moment, dizzy from blood loss. She felt a little weak. She hated feeling weak. She howled again, in anger this time. I

n a wild rage, Avatre pounced on top of Skadi, her razor-sharp teeth and claws tearing into the vampire's chest, attempting to rip out the vampire's heart.

When Skadi began to struggle, Avatre grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air. Turning, she held her enemy over the edge of the tower preparing to drop her onto the street below...

Sigrun snarled as the conflict escalated.

Time slowed to a crawl as Sigrun's senses went into hyperdrive...

Alexander leapt toward him, his rapier swinging with a slight tone.

At the same time, Sigrun heard the dreadful report of multiple guns and reacted with blinding speed. His left hand drew out and palmed the air toward the vampires holding the guns. The numerous bullets that issued forth were suddenly flipped about and sent hurtling back toward the vampires.

Nearly 200 bullets riddled the vampires' bodies and the walls. Each slumped down and disintegrated into nothingness.

Lanta was thrust upwards to deflect the attack by Alexander. Metal clashed with metal, and Lanta sung with an Elven tone. Yet, Sigrun had been distracted enough by the guns, and Alexander's rapier buried itself deeply into his shoulder.

Sigrun screamed in pain as the kantrasteel blade bit painfully into his bones.

Sigrun pulled his left hand close once more and quickly charged a second magical spell, this time, one that would freeze Alexander in his place, with actual ice encasing his entire body...

He fired the spell.

Alexander released a mysterious spell of his own.

Nothing happened.

Both looked up at each other in surprise. At the same time, both spoke:

"We cancel each other!"

Sigrun was the first to take the initiative, and thrust Alexander with surprising force into the wall. Alexander careened through the wall and lay upon the floor, motionless.

Sigrun stood there, growling in his rage at his former friend and ally. Blood flowed freely from his shoulder wound and down his elven clothing. The Kantrasteel had even managed to slip underneath a layer of the Elven armor that Sigrun was wearing, thus causing such an injury...

He stepped forward and plunged Lanta into Alexander's chest...

"Lanta is specially made to be the bane of demonic forces..." he answered with a sneer. He watched as Alexander gasped in shock as the magical properties of the sword began to activate and cause further harm to him.

After all, he was of demonic descent, as all vampires were...

Stephen stood and snarled at the lycans, baring his own fangs. The remaining 5 approached him. Two jumped and landed behind the vampire while the others jumped at him. Stephen jumped back, high over the two lycans behind him and opened fire with one of his Paras. The bullets tore into one of they lycans, catching it off balance, it was unable to stay on the train and fell. There was a sickening crunch as it's head struck the ground.

Stephen jumped back into the train, followed by the lycans. Stephen pulled out the silver knife he had and along with the sword began to slowly move back to the other end of the train, hacking and slashing as the creatures neared him. One lepted at the vampire, but the sword lived up to it's nickname as a meatcleaver. The blade cut across the throat sending a jet of blood into several windows, the creature fell on the ground spasaming. The others attacked fiearcly as Stephen moved to the back of the train.

Soon it was all over. The last to die seemed the oldest and put up a better fight. Several cuts across Stephen's chest healed over, his pale skin sticking out from the black shirt. It had been a brutal battle, compared to the others. Stephen had not only taken the hits to his chest, but a few to his face, hands, and legs. Stephen moved back towards Daniel, blood covered much of the floors and walls, he stoped at a still live lycan, now human form.

"P...p....please, don't kill me." he begged the vampire. The lycan had lost a lot of blood and could barely move.

"I gave you a chance, but now, I'm feeling a bit worn." Kneeling next to the lycan Stephen sunk his fangs into his neck and drew out enough of the blood to heal the rest of his wounds and get rid of the slight tiredness he felt. "Lycans are pretty tasty, didn't know that."

The lycan was now barely alive, Stephen swung his sword down and cut off the head.

Stephen pulled out one of his Paras and moved to the cockpit. He moved to the door and stared at Daniel who kept his eye on the track.

"Daniel, stop the damn train. If you don't start slowing down in 3 seconds I will shoot you without hesitation."

"Demonic forces?" gasped Alexander, as he tried to grab push Sigrun away from the sword. "We both... know who we are, Maximus. We're both Killers. We're more alike... than you will ever know."

Alexander raised his hand and tried to use his Stop-Time majik on Sigrun. Alas, it was to no avail.

"That is strange, isn't it, Maximus? Our majiks... don't work on each other."

Suddenly, Alexander grabbed a piece of shattered glass off to his side and plunged it deep into Maximus's shoulder wound. Maximus grunted, but did not let go.

"It's over, Alexander."

Alexander laughed a bitter hoarse laugh. "There is so much more that we will discover together, Maximus. Whether you like it or not, our future is intertwined."

With a wild punch, Alexander punched the piece of glass, sending it through Sigrun's arm. With a groan, Sigrun rolled off Alexander, slipping the Lanta out of Alexander with a slooshing sound.

Maximus stood up and leaned on the side wall. Alexander continued to lay on the ground, dealt a mortal wound by the Lanta.

In the near distance, shouts and footsteps could be heard. The Hyraphore vampires were approaching.

"Better... run... Maximus... Wouldn't want you to die before your precious Skadi does..."

The voices were drawing near.

"Master? Master???"

********

Behind him, Daniel heard the gun cock, sending a fresh bullet into the chamber.

"ONE!"

Daniel closed his eyes. Was Stephen right? Was Alexander's mission a fools errand, he only a means to the end for Alexander's scheme?

"TWO!"

What about his own hand in the dealings. He had not yet killed any innocents in this conflict, but... could he really do it? Could he really accept having blood on his hands?

"THREE!"

As Stephen fired, Daniel used his powers to slam shut the 10-inch thick steel door to the Tram control room. The bullet embedded itself into the metal, and did not make it through.

Stephen banged on the door and looked though the bulletproof portal. "You maniac! What are you doing?"

Suddenly, the whole train rumbled. Stephen looked ahead and saw where once was the Golden Strait Bridge, the bridge before the terminal station, was now a mangled mess of Golden Steel and cables.

"Strigoi powers... they take a lot out of you..." said Daniel struggling to keep his hand on the lever.

"Daniel... what are you..."

"You're right, Stephen. I can't do it. I guess I'm not the vampire Alexander thought... I just wanted to be a cop... is that so much.

"Get off this train, Stephen. Before it is too late..."

OOC: Stephen, let Daniel "Die." Thanks.

********

OOC: No, no, GU. I like the way you RP just fine. You rp fair wounds, and that is very nice. Your writing is very elegant too. But I will use your advice. Also, for the next part, please use your shield, so Tyr can find it out :)

IC:

Tyr laughed, it coming out as a bitter howl.

"You know, Vampire. Me and you... we don't belong here. This isn't our fight. I can see that now."

"So why don't you leave. Just leave..." said Zero, dropping his swords for just a bit.

"Because... I hate losing..."

Tyr shook his head, pushing his wounds to his shoulder and his hand out of his mind. With a snarl, Tyr grabbed two of the semi-automatics off of the ground and aimed it at Zero.

"You're good hand-to-hand, Noble. Very good, but how are you with kantrasteel bullets."

Tyr dropped the clips, and slapped in new packs. Tyr raised teh guns once more and jumped up in the air, spraying steel death down from the skies.

In the background, a buoy boomed, and a seagull cried out.

ooc: okay

IC:

"DANIEL! DAMMIT DANIEL! OPEN THE F***ING DOOR! YOU'LL DIE! DAN!" Stephen yelled ramming his fist into it. He knew it was hopeless.

Stephen ran to the other end of the train and jumped onto a nearby roof. He turned to watch the train smash into the rubble, metal grinding metal, twisting into a mess. Stephen closed his eyes. Walking slowly across the roof he calmly jumped to the next.

He sat on an AC unit and looked down on the humans as they walked down the street. He had let a friend die, it was the second time in his life that had happened. God, Mike. How could I forget him? He remebered his friend in the Rangers, whom he had killed. The images of the event, that in some regards started him on a path to his new vampire lifestyle, played in his mind. Stephen quickly capped the memories and sealed them tight in the deepest parts of his mind.

Stephen took a deep breath and stared across the city. Funny how one event can bring back memories of the past.

"Oh shit......"

In a flash, Zero crossed the Treasure Blades in front of him, and his personal energy shield appeared in front of him. The bullets rang as they bounced off the shield, but Zero was pushed backwards from the force of the hail, and his energy was sapping. Soon, the shield dissolved as Zero was unable to keep up the defense for long against such a hail, and instinctively, he started swinging his Blades in front of him like a fan.

The bullets continued ringing against the whirring Blades. Then, it stopped, and a number of clicking sounds replaced it instead.

Quickly, Zero threw the Blades up in the air, and sweeping his hand inside his trenchcoat, threw 3 throwing knives at Tyr. 2 hit the semiautomatics out of Tyr's hands, while the other struck Tyr's left knee, before Zero caught his Blades falling out of the air. Buckling, Tyr fell to a kneeling position on the ground.

And so did Zero, hit by 3 bullets he couldn't block, on his right knee, his left shoulder, and in his abdomen, worsening the stomach wound. More had given him mere grazes, but they hurt more than a mere graze should. He winced at the pain, but also at the thought that his outfit was totally ruined.

"Damned, what the **** is this Kantrasteel s***?", Zero thought.

He called out to Tyr, wincing all the while, "So, Tyr, it's no longer our jobs? Now it's personal?"

Maximus looked down at his former friend, his shoulder throbbing from the buried glass.

"Better... run... Maximus... Wouldn't want you to die before your precious Skadi does..."

With an exasperated growl, Sigrun sheathed Lanta and reached down and pulled Alexander up by his throat, pulling him close. Forcing Alexander to look at him, Sigrun spoke coldly:

"I knew you were up to something..."

Sigrun pulled him even closer as he finished his thoughts,

"Maximus is dead. He was murdered. I am Sigrun."

When it seemed that Sigrun would cast Alexander down in disgust, he did the unexpected. His hand moved to Alexander's stomach and hovered over his wound. He pulled out the remaining shrapnel that had entered the wound from the building.

Alexander gasped as he looked down and watched Sigrun do his work. Moments later, he was finished, and Alexander was set down into his desk chair once again.

Sigrun made his way to the center of the room and quickly formed another portal.

"Turn around Elf!" commanded a Hyraphorian vampire, who had his Uzi trained upon Sigrun. Sigrun turned to look at him and the dozen other vampires that accompanied him.

"You better get some treatment for him." Sigrun suggested, and waved to Alexander.

"Let him go boys...or he's bound to kill you too, like our comrades behind you." commanded Alexander in between gasps.

A few of the vampires turned around to view the piles of dust that lay behind them, and then looked back to Sigrun with widened eyes.

Sigrun nodded to Alexander and turned to the portal once again.

"Skadi, Emerald City, Assington." he commanded to the magical portal.

Sigrun looked back at Alexander once more, and it was possible to see a hint of sadness in his eyes as he looked for the last time for that night, into the eyes and even deeper into the soul of Alexander.

"Farewell...perhaps we shall meet under better conditions next time..."

Sigrun disappeared into the portal and promptly it closed behind him.

Skadi's previous wounds had now healed due to the blood she had drawn from Avatre, yet knew ones were quickly opened upon her chest, spilling more blood. Skadi could feel the pain spreading throughout her torso, the sting seeming to resonate through her bones. Pain was not a stranger to Skadi, and so she put it aside and even managed a smile towards her lychan opponent.

"What are you going to do dog? Throw me off the building? Aren't you forgetting a key ability of mine? Flight. But I suppose you are just a dog afterall, you can't be expected to know such things."

Calling upon her mental ability once again, Skadi launched Avatre backwards until she easily slipped out of the grip and began hovering in the air. The ancient vampire watched as Avatre continued to pick up speed until her velocity was finally halted by the massive metallic AC unit in her path. She landed with a sickening thump and sat motionless for a few moments, wedged into the unit.

The unique ring of diamond tipped silver alloy steel filled the air moments later. Skadi now stood on the edge of the building, blade drawn and wounds gradually healing. The moonlight glinted off the steel as Skadi approached the dazed lychan.

"Tell me dog. How did Alexander get a collar around you? It doesn't seem that you would be the kind to serve anyone, let alone a filthy vampire such as Alexander."

Skadi held the blade, ready to begin carving up Avatre.
__________

Hondur and Aerial now led another hundred vampires back towards the mansion. He hadn't been expecting it to be so easy, but apparently news of Phoenix's coven rejoining Hondur had spread quickly and caused much excitement and eagerness amongst some of the other covens.

Although this wasn't even the full force of the vampires within Assington, Hondur decided he had done enough for the night. The large party of vampires moved silently through the streets, easily clearing a path as all humans that caught sight of the vampires departed quickly. Soon they would reach the mansion and begin settling in...
____________

The clanking of weapons and armour filled the streets as the ASHVO force bolted down side alleys and backstreets. Garm had recieved several reports of a massive force of vampires moving through the city. Deciding that was more important, Garm had ordered his men to forsake the lychans and begin pursuit of these vampires...

Avatre growled and lunged at Skadi, panting heavily now, as the battle began to tire her, but only a little.

As they crashed, yet again, to the floor, and as Avatre tore at Skadi's face and abdomen with her claws, the silver blade was knocked from Skadi's grasp to fall harmlessly over the side of the building and clatter down to the sidewalk below.

Grabbing the vampire by the hair, Avatre tossed her like a limp rag doll, high and far. She landed heavily on top of a metal pole which jutted out sharply from the roof.

She lay motionless, the pole jutting out from her stomach. Seizing the opportunity Avatre pounced. She tore at Skadi's throat, attempting to tear it out with her teeth...

Stephen's head turned to the sound of Skadi and Avatre fighting. He quickly decided to get over there, hide, and wait to see if the ancient needed help. Quickly jumping across the buildlings he moved as fast and hard as he could before he was across from the place the pair were fighting. He could tell both were taking a heavy beating, but he had faith Skadi would pull through like she had always had. Come on Skadi, tear that dog to little bits.

Just in case she needed help, Stephen pulled out his sword.

Skadi attempted to snarl in anger and pain but didn't get the chance as Avatre quickly pressed the assault by tearing at her throat. Not in the best position to move considering the pole jutting out of her stomach, Skadi reached out with her mind once again until she found what she was looking for. With a firm grasp upon it, Skadi poured all her concentration into pulling it up as far as she could, until she couldn't even see it anymore.

At its peak hight, Skadi allowed it to plunge as she diverted her attention back Avatre. Thrusting her right hand up, she took hold of Avatre's fury wrist and yanked backwards. It took another attempt but Skadi finall heard the satisfying snap of the bones in her enemie's wrist break. And now back to the important business.

The object continued to plunge, gaining more speeds as she added to the acceleration of gravity. Finally she could see it once again, the moonlight glinting off the blade. Skadi had now lost a considerable amount of blood due to Avatre's efforts and was beginning to lose concentration, but it didn't matter, the blade would strike.

Skadi released another sadistic grin as she saw Avatre's eyes widen in pain upon Skadi's katana plunging into the back of the lychan, all the way up to the hilt. The blade had come down at an angle, thrusting directly parralell to Avatre's spine. Besides the initial damage of the blade, the silver was now burning Avatre internally. The lychan released a howl of pain and fell off Skadi and back onto the rooftop. Skadi managed to catch a glimpse of Avatre twitching upon the ground, attempting to grab at the blade that was out of reach due to her thick, stumply lychan limbs.

Slowly healing, Skadi began the painful task of lifting herself off the metal pole so she wouldn't heal with in still inside her.

Tyr grabbed at his left knee and struggled not to scream. With a grit, he grabbed the silver kinfe and pulled it out with a mild sloosh.

Suddenly, further down the Golden Strait, Tyr and Zero heard a massive crunch, a train smashing into the rubble, metal grinding metal, twisting into a mess.

Tyr laid down on the ground, and winced. He looked at Zero, who struggled to remain upright.

"Everything is life... has to be personal... you shut of your emotions... you're wasting your life..."

Zero looked across the docks at the Lychan. "Like... your ally Daniel..."

"Yes... I suppose..."

Suddenly, out of the shadows darted numourous figures. The remains of the Alpha Pack had come for Tyr.

"Sir, sir, Avatre calls for you."

Tyr thought to himself. He never heard her howl for him... not a good sign.

With the help of two of the pack, Tyr stood up again, heavily favouring his right leg.

"Sir, what about the vampire?" Zero had already grabbed his Treasure Swords in preparation for another battle.

Tyr glanced over at the vampire. "Leave him. Our battle with him is over."

In a softer voice, Tyr spoke once more to Zero. "The Kantrasteel is still ultimately steel. Add a couple of properties, and you have what we call the Kantrasteel. You will heal in time... in time."

Turning back to his pack, Tyr nodded. "Help me to Avatre... and hurrey..."

Zero was left with the sight of half a dozen Lychans bounding away over the edge of the docks and back onto the main roads.

********

On the very bottom of Roanian Pharmaceuticas, Tyr and the rest of the Alpha pack stopped. Tyr looked up and could see somethng on top of the flagpole.

"Leave me. I will do this alone."

The pack looked at their leader warily. "But sir... your wounds."

Tyr reached over and swatted the Lychan who had spoken. "Leave me. Now."

As the pack backed up, Tyr looked up, and swallowed. With the rest of his reserve strength, Tyr jumped straight up and landed on the roof,

hard on his left leg.

"ARRRghhhh."

He moaned, but stopped when he saw Avatre lying on the rooftop, struggling to pull a sword out of her back. With anger, he crawled over, and carefully slid it out of his love.

He turned Avatre over, and nearly cried. He could tell Avatre was in a lot of pai. He proceeded to apply pressure to the massive wound in her back.

"Avatre... my love. I am here..."

Stephen put away his sword and jumped across to the Pharmacuticals building roof. He looked at Skadi's situation and felt slightly sick inside.

Not wanting Skadi to be on there longer than need be, Stephen took a quick look around for any lycans and knealt under the older vampire.

"You'll be fine Skadi. I'll help get you off"

With Stephen placing one hand between Skadi's shoulders and the other on her waist, he knealt underneath her and began to slowly push up. He knew she was probably in great pain, but was most likely ignoring it.

Stephen did another quick look as he continued to push Skadi towards the top of the pole.

The soft footsteps caused Stephen to freeze in his assistance. He turned his head to only see Sigrun standing there, the portal closing behind him. Sigrun immediately moved to Skadi, concern in his face.

"She fought well, Sigrun. As did the Lycan bitch..." Stephen replied, "but, she's hurt badly..."

Sigrun nodded and together the two finished removing Skadi from her impaling wound. She gasped slightly as the last of the pole was removed, and gently laid upon the ground. After checking to see that she was momentarily all right, Sigrun turned and looked over at the Lycans not too far from them. One was tending to the injured bitch, nearly losing control over himself.

Sigrun approached warily, drawing Lanta and holding it at the ready.

"I should kill you both right now, and spare you the pain of suffering eternity as my prey..." he stated, bringing his sword to Tyr's throat and pressing it into his flesh. A slight growl was heard from Tyr, but was immediately silenced by another pressure input by Lanta.

"However, I am honorable and will not fight those who are down. Mark my words, you and I will fight, and you will feel more wrath than your bitch has..."

Sigrun sheathed the sword and turned and began walking back to Skadi, before stopping and turning to Tyr once more,

"And I will not be as easy-going as Skadi was on her..."

Turning back to Stephen and Skadi, he picked up Skadi gently, cradling her in his arms. She grunted slightly in pain as Sigrun began to walk away, carrying her to safety.

"Sigrun..." Skadi started, but was promptly silenced.

"Quiet. Rest." commanded Sigrun. Stephen glanced back at the Lycans and followed Sigrun into the Roanian building and eventually back out onto the streets.

Twelve minutes later, they had arrived at a large mansion, one that he sensed that Hondur and a number of other vampires were currently residing.

"Hondur! Get your boys onto guard posts, and then come to me!" Sigrun called out, his voice projecting clearly and deeply into the mansion's many halls and rooms. Several vampires came out of their rooms and stared at Sigrun, Stephen and Skadi, the last of whom they recognized and suddenly were alarmed.

Skadi merely growled lowly at them, to which they promptly slipped back out of view.

I hate that they see this, Sigrun...

Sigrun looked down at her.

I know, but soon enough you will be healed.

Skadi was taken into a large bedroom in the mansion and set down gently upon the bed. Sigrun kissed her briefly, before turning to Stephen.

"Get me some rags and some warm water to clean up this mess. And if you can, get yourself cleaned up too, you're a mess."

Skadi watched as Stephen listened to Sigrun's instructions. Her eyes suddenly were drawn to the sight of blood upon Sigrun's shoulder, a shard of glass was still buried deeply in the wound and blood oozed out, drenching his Elven clothing in scarlet plasma.

"Sigrun! You're hurt!" Skadi cried softly in surprise.

Sigrun looked back down at her, then at his shoulder.

"I know. Alexander and I had a little squabble...however, he's hurt worse than I am..."

Sigrun reached back and attempted to pull the shard out, but it was buried deep and it's angle prevented him from getting a good grasp upon it.

"I need you to help me with this." he said to Skadi, sitting down on the bed and waiting for her response.

It was only then Stephen noticed he was covered in dried blood and sweat, his clothes were a little torn, but he could quickly repair them. He would tend to himself after Skadi was taken care of. After he recived Sigrun's instructions he turned and left.

Quickly moving down the hall, ignoring the stares of the other vampires, he quickly reached a kitchen. He quickly searched it and found a large metal bowl, turned on and tested the water. He placed it under, let it fill and grabbed several clean towels. Stephen also raided a lienen closet, grabbing several sheets and more fresh towels. He thought it best to get as much stuff as possible so if more was needed, he wouldn't have to make a second trip.

With the things Sigrun had asked for in hand, Stephen headed back to the room.

Zero watched Tyr and the Lycans bound off. The night grew quiet all of a sudden, and he sensed he was alone, but not for long, if police decide to come snooping around at the commotion.

He sank to his knees, dropping the Treasure Blades, and clutched at his wounds. Painful, the injuries he had suffered. This Kantrasteel s*** really packs a punch.

Drawing out a pocketknife, a normal one not loaded with silver, he quietly dug out the Kantrasteel bullets, wincing all the while. He then picked them up from the floor, and studied them. An interesting thing, this Kantrasteel. He pocketed them, making a note to have some scientist in Atros study them later.

Then sheathing the Treasure Blades, he tried to stand up......only to have his right knee give up on him.

#*%@. This Kantrasteel %*#@ is almost as bad as silver, perhaps even worse. Crawling, he slowly retrieved his throwing knives from the floor and the carcasses of Lycans, then sat down, and slowly reloaded his guns, trying not to moan all the while from the extreme pain. He reflected that it had been a long time since he fought, and he was lucky as it is not to get totally scalped by Tyr, older though he was. That will have to change.

Glowing with purple energy, Zero floated centimeters off the air, trying to lessen the weight on his injured knee, still not healing properly. He needed blood. A lot of it.

Using what energies he had, he shot off a mental message to Skadi,

"Lady Skadi, i have driven off the Lycan known as Tyr. I know you are in safe hands now, but please excuse me. I am in bad shape myself, and I need to feed. I will not meet you again this night. I will go back to where I take shelter to recover. I will meet you tomorrow night, if you so wish."

With that, he went off. He'll need to heal, and to do that, he'll have to go on a binge tonight.........

OOC: Ok, Zero is not gonna meet up with Skadi, instead, in my next post, Aeris will first appear in this thread.

Upon recieving Zero's message, Skadi mustered a quick mental reply.

"Alright. I think we both need time to heal. I shall see you on the morrow Zero."

Skadi could do little but wait as her wounds slowly healed. Most of the scratches upon her chest and face were healed but her throat and stomach would take some time. Skadi had lost too much blood and would not be able to heal quickly without feeding.

Looking over Sigrun, Skadi smiled. By the looks of things he had put up a fight of his own. Obviously not so injuredm but hurting nonetheless.

"What do you ask of me?"

At that moment Hondur came storming into room, concern plastered across his white face.

"My sire! What happened?"

"I had an encounter with one of those dogs. The leader I believe."

"I see. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I need to feed. Could you bring me a prey?"

"Right away."

Hondur disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, not even acknowledging Sigrun. Stephen moved into the room not long afterwards, bearing towls and sheets. Skadi waved off his attentions as she had something more important in mind.

"Stephen. I need you to do something for me. I need you to return to the battle site and retrieve my weapons. My katana and twin berettas. The guns matter little to me, but that sword invalualbe. Please retrieve it for me..."

Skadi's words were slow and strained due to the pain within her throat and stomach. Avatre had put up quite a fight.

Drunken wino. A couple of hoods. 2 women making out with each other in a side alley. An old man near the end of his life. 4 drunken young men stumbling from a pub.

All dead.

Zero had never felt thirst this keenly since the Dark Revolution, and for the first time in many decades, he killed. It was no whim; it was almost deadly neccessity. Every one of these lives, taken by him, to heal himself before he lost too much blood. The Kantrasteel wounds healed with every taking of blood, but Zero could still feel an aching sore where he was hit by the damnable substance. And so he killed.

He stalked the alleys. It's surprising how, in such a city full of hostile vampires, the mortal denizens still roam in the alleys. It's like there are so many of them, the vampires here were almost welcomed as population control.........

He came upon a young girl, sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall. No, not a girl......one of those tender young things they call teenagers in this day and age, Zero thought. He kneeled down, and took the girl's chin in his hand. She looked up.

"Would you like to......to.....buy some matchsticks.....s-sir?" She muttered weakly, gesturing at a pile of pathetic-looking wood pieces in front of her. Zero stared, shocked at her state. She was all skin and bones, a starving child, probably 15 years, but so undernourished she was small. And yet......it did not detract from some special beauty she had in her. Her blue eyes....., the brown hair.......the trusting demeanour.......the fair skin........

"What is your name, young lass?" Zero said, his heart unexpectedly breaking. He should not be feeling like this! Not for a mortal!

"I'm......Ae......Ae.....Aeris......" she barely managed to mutter, before seeming to deflate from his grasp.

Now he had truly lost his heart to her. Zero watched mutely, his heart breaking to think that such a being of such beauty would have to suffer like this........the least he could do for her is to take her away from such suffering. Drawing up to her slender neck, Zero drank, intent on putting her out of her misery.

The first draught of her blood literally shocked him. It was different.....a sense of pureness pervaded her blood, and it seemed as if to Zero that every draught he took worked wonders on himself, healing all the Kantrasteel wounds what 10 other hapless mortals' blood could not. She moaned.......she would not die! Her heart beat, stronger, stronger........struggling to live........the ecstasy was burying him under........

He broke away, panting. He had not drawn enough blood for her to die, not yet, but she lay there, panting, almost unconscious. Her demeanour remained beautiful, saintly, even, but also frail.......near death...........

He was strong again. Her blood was special in some way.........and his heart was lost to her........he knew now what he had to do. Taking Aeris up in his arms, he took flight..........

At the Emerald City Ritz

Zero took the ailing Aeris into the shower. Beautiful as she was, she was also filthy from her wandering the streets, and Zero had decided to clean her up. He stripped her of her rags, and placed her near-unconscious body against the wall, then, he stripped himself off.......

The heated water broke from the showerhead, and hit upon Aeris. She moaned, but still remained in a state of dreaminess, while Zero bathed her. His heart broke still further as he saw Aeris, every aspect of her body now visible to him. Her arms, how thin........her ribs, protruding...........barely any flesh in her........her beauty contrasted with her sickliness.........she was starving.......feverish......

Quickly towelling her off, he dressed her in a bathrobe, and put her on his bed. Just then, room service called with the bowl of porridge he had ordered........

As Aeris laid in bed, feverish and near unconsciousness, Zero gently fed her, spoonful by spoonful, of the porridge. Having done that, Zero placed a wet towel on her forehead, trying to cool her off........he hoped he did things correctly, he thought. Aeris is now his........she was now his responsibility........

Exhausted, Avatre slipped back into her human form. She moaned softly in pain as Tyr lifted her gently into his arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something shiny...

"My love..." she whispered painfully. "The katana...please?...a souvenir...?"

Tyr smiled down at her. "Of course." He bent down so that she could retrieve the bood-coated weapon. Skadi's diamond-tipped silver katana.

She held the blade tightly to her as Tyr carried her off to attend to their wounds...

Tyr growled, and around before he entered the Roanian building. A few minutes later, they both exited at the bottom, and headed away from the site of the battle which had cost Avatre so.

Tyr gazed down at the still figure of Avatre, who clung to the Katana as if her life depended on it. He shivered, and thought to himself how the sword had come so close to taking her away from him.

Avatre still breathed, shallow, almost faint, but steady. Her body had seemed to have slipped into a coma to allow her the time to rest. Tyr knew that he needed rest, but how... and when...

He continued to stumble down the street, Avatre in his grasp. It made a strange sight straight out of Hollywood: a wolfman carrying away his lady love. But theirs wasn't a Hollywood life. They really could die if something didn't happen.

Tyr felt his left knee give, under his own weight and Avatres. With a sickening crunch, it broke in two, leaving him unable to go further.

The pain, along with all the other stresses, were too much. He gingerly laid Avatre down on the sidewalk, and then laid himself next to her. HIs last image before he blacked out,

and that of a black limosine pulling up alongside the prostrate pair.

********

"Huh? Where?"

Tyr pulled himself up off of the sidewalk... only to find himself no longer on the cold gray concrete. He was in a bed, swathed in white linen and hooked up to an IV.

With a growl, Tyr yanked out the tube. He got up, pulling on the pair of pants that he found on the chair next to him. He tested his left knee, and found it to be in perfect shape.

When he reached the outside of the room, he could smell the very distinctive smell of blood - he was in the Hyraphore.

With a purpose, he walked down to where he remembered Alexander's office was and strode in. Alexander was indeed inside, but his office was a mess, in shambles. There was a hole in the near wall.

"Alexander. What happened here?"

"Oh... nothing. Just had an old friend in town and we got reacquainted..."

Tyr reached down and picked up a shard of Kantrasteel. "I take it Sigrun wasn't pleased with you and your dealings with Assington?"

Alexander pulled aside his shirt to reveal a scar about the size of a sword.

"Well, I wasn't that good of a host. In our profession, we have to give and take. He knows this. We'll meet again, and perhaps it will go better."

Tyr nodded. "Where is Avatre?"

"She is getting treatment in our Regenerative Chambers. Her wounds were much worse than anything you or I had received, so she has to stay in longer than you. Here, I had to pry this out of her hands."

Alexander tossed the diamond-tipped silver katana to Tyr, who held it carefully.

"So what now, Alexander? Sure, we got Skadi out of the picture, and Zero is gone, and Sigrun will be tied up with caring for Skadi, but look at us. Avatre, you and I are walking wounded. And Daniel..."

Alexander turned away for a bried moment. "Ahhh, yes. Our Daniel Able. A pity really. That bridge must have collapsed on its own, cause I can't figure Daniel for having a consience at the last moment.

But at any rate, I will make you a deal, Tyr. Leader to leader. Man to man. Give me as many Lychans as you can for one last push, just one, and I will clear you of your blood-debt."

Tyr looked at Alexander warily. "How can I trust you?"

Alexander pulled at his shirt again, revealing his smooth scar.

"I may be the bad guy in this war, but even bad guys tire of the fight sooner or later."

Tyr nodded. "Deal. I will have to call in some of the other packs, but I will see what I can do. Now if you will excuse me, I would like to see Avatre."

"She is in the east wing."

As Tyr left the room, Alexander picked up the Kantrasteel sword and looked at his reflection in the metal. The face he saw looked tired.

So tired...

Stephen left the mansion and jumped several across several roofs and reached the site of Skadi's battle with the lycan. He quickly retrived the two automatics and the katana's sheath. His heart skipped a beat, the Skadi's diamond-tipped silver katana was not there. It was....that lycan bitch.

Following the scent of Tyr and Avatre, he moved down the building to the street. Thier scent was easy to follow, and he picked out a few speckles of blood a mortal would have easily missed. He stopped, the lycan smell was replaced by engine exhaust, and another, more one, more faint. Vampire.

Stephen followed now followed the smell of the Hyraphore's vechile, to darken and apparently abandoned section of Emerald City's Airport. There he saw a dark colored jet and the limo pulling up. Drawing his blade and one of his Paras, Stephen watched as a pair of vampires came out, holding Tyr on a streacher, another pair held Avatre on one, she was still clutching Skadi's blade.

Smiling, Stephen slipped through the shadows towards the streachers as they neared the plane. Before he could strike a half dozen vampires, clutching Armalite assault weapons and swords poured out of the jet and another four came out of the limo.

Though he was far stronger than any other fledgling, Stephen was smart enough to know he could never take care of them all. No doubt most were elders, and probably the some of the best swordsman and markmans the Hyraphore had, far supierior than the lycans he had faced. He watched as the vampires took the lycans on the plane and flew back to the Hyraphore.

****************************************

Stephen walked down the street, a feeling of failure rushed over his body. He had failed to retrive Skadi's sword and he was afraid of returning to her without it.

His head was down as he entered the mansion. His hand rested on the doorhandle to Skadi's room for several seconds. He took a deep breath and entered. Sigrun was tending to her wounds, and both turned to see him enter.

Stephen lay Skadi's pistols and sheath on a chair as he turned to face the ancient. He was torn up inside by what he had to say to her. He was also unsure of what she might do.

"Skadi, that lycan bitch took your katana. I followed thier scent to an abandoned section of the airport where they were put on a plane to the Hyraphore. About ten vampires holding automatic weapons and swords guarded them and the bird. I could have dealt with a couple of them, but the rest would have been able to overpower me and still get the lycans back to Alexander."

Both vampires locked eyes, Stephen couldn't tell what was behind Skadi's dark eyes, but she could see the feeling of complete failure behind his cobalt blue eyes.

"Skadi....I'm sorry. I failed."

Skadi's cold heart sank for a moment. Not once since Uller had crafted that blade had Skadi ever let it out of her possession. Now it was in the grasp of a dog. Rage began to build up within her as she considered her blade so far away, hidden within the depths of the Hyraphore. Acknowledge Stephen, Skadi spoke in a light tone.

"At least I know where it is. I will retrieve my blade no matter how many I must go through."

She just ignored the fact that Stephen had failed her. Rage was obvious behind her dark eyes, but she saw no point in taking it out on Stephen, there was little he could have done. It was the Hyraphore that would feel her wrath...
__________

Hondur and two other vampires moved through the alleys, heading back to the mansion. Each vampire had a human draped over each shoulder, unconscious and ready for Skadi to feed upon. Hondur had sacrificed stealth for time, merely picking off the humans from the street and making his way back.

As the ancient vampire led his men back into the manor, Hondur noticed the moon reflecting off something upon a nearby rooftop. Upon closer examination he made out Garm's twin machine pistols and sighed. His human companion sat stunned as he saw his mentor taking these unconscious humans into a vampiric base of operations.

"Don't act my friend, there is reason for everything."

Hondur didn't waste anymore time and quickly took the humans into Skadi's room where she began devouring them, speeding up the healing process.
________

Garm stumbled back to his men, still stunned from what he had just seen. One of the men inquired as to his well being at noticing such an expression.

"I'm fine. There doesn't seem to be much activity over there."

He just couldn't believe it. Garm had suspected Hondur might still have some connections with the underworld, but he never expected his mentor to be involved in the murder of innocent humans. His trust for a mentor of many years had just disappeared. There was no doubt now, Hondur would pay for his crimes...

Stephen waited till Skadi finished feeding before he spoke again. He felt terrible for letting her down and wanted to some how make it up to her.

"Is there anything you want me to do Skadi?"

The night was old. Old.

Sickly she was, feverish, and sleeping fitfully. Zero stayed by her bed, watching her, laving her feverish brow with water. Starving as she was, Zero did not dare let her eat any more, for fear of what complications might happen........he was lost to her, to her saintly beauty, her aura of innocence. She was a beautiful girl, wasted though she was.......Zero knew that once she was well and fed, her beauty would be even more stunning for its shine of youth and sense of pureness.......

Beware the betrayer.......he will be the one you will least expect.......be on guard at all times......

"WHAT?!" Zero suddenly exclaimed, suddenly coming back to consciousness. The premonition again......he shook his head, frustrated at the fact that he still didn't know what it meant.

He turned back to Aeris, seeing that she seemed to have settled, and was sleeping peacefully now. He sighed. He never thought he would love again, after his last mortal lover 300 years ago.........but this girl was special. Somehow.

Sigrun listened with a quiet anger building up inside him as Stephen told his woeful tale to Skadi. Both he and Stephen could easily sense the powerful signals of rage that Skadi was beginning to harbor within.

Dammit Alexander! For your sake, I hope you return her katana before she rips you and the mutts apart with her fingers! Sigrun thought angrily to himself, but a hint of sorrow at the same time.

Just then, Hondur entered and immediately, Skadi began to feed upon the humans presented. Her wounds rapidly healed, but yet, it didn't seem as if it were enough just yet.

As Skadi continued to feed upon the human sacrifices, Sigrun suddenly sat up straight and looked over at Skadi.

"Skadi, I'll be back in a half hour."

Sigrun stood and immediately left the room, and quickly out of the mansion. His elven hearing overheard the conversations of a few humans, humans that seemed to be taking just a little too much interest in the mansion's occupants.

Hondur! You better get some of your boys out here. Some humans are taking too much interest in our location...

Sigrun slipped quietly into the shadows and moved quickly along the street, silent as ever.

Ten minutes later, he arrived in Skadi's apartment and made his way quickly to her mirror. Raising his hand to the mirror, he carefully searched the lock mechanism with Elven magic, The same mirror that hid her armory of weaponry.

The mirror slid out of the way, revealing an assortment of guns and swords. His eyes fell upon the two swords that hung inside. One he didn't recognize. The other, he definitely did.

Glamdring.

His hand wrapped itself around the familiar hilt and pulled it free of its bindings. He stepped back from the mirror and admired the old, yet trustworthy blade of his.

His thoughts briefly fell upon his old enemy, the same one who had killed him before. He dismissed the thoughts from his mind for now. Now wasn't the time for them.

Closing the mirror once again, he left the apartment and made his way back to the mansion. Glamdring sat in its sheath, in his grasp.

Soon enough, he entered the mansion and made his way back to Skadi, who had now finished feeding. Blood covered her lower chin, but she was wiping it off and licking the remains off her hands. Her eyes turned to Sigrun in the doorway, then fell downward to his hand.

Her eyes widened slightly at the sword in his grasp. He stepped forward and offered it to her.

"I figured you'd need a sword until you get yours back."

Whiptail had long since left his sniper's perch atop the Roanian-owned building, instead following Skadi at a distance. The hunter arrived around fifteen minutes later than she, just in time to see a humanoid figure enter after her...

'Unwise, softskin...'

Whiptail followed, drawing one of his CZ2000 handguns & moving forward in a Weaver stance, the muzzle pointed low. He approached, the scent of blood & death heavy in the air...

'Human blood... Fresh...'

Whiptail's nostrils seldom lied to him. The anchient hunter slowed his pace... He came apon the being he'd seen enter before himself...

'Elvish?'

The smell was familiar & yet foreign at the same time... It had been many, many years since he'd encountered it... Reality set in, his slit-pupiled eyes catching the glint of steel in the relative darkness... A sword... Elf-make...

"Your weapon, drop it..."

Whiptail hissed, from a good few feet back, his weapon's short barrel aimed at the base of the unknown elf's skull, where the vertebre meet the cranium & the medulla oblongotta joins the spinal nerves... A 9x19mm sterling hollowpoint waited silently in the chamber, ready to rocket forth & shatter bone & sever nerves...

After finally feeding upon the six humans, Skadi was feeling much better. She wasn't completely healed, but she wasn't feeling so weak anymore. It would take a slumber throughout the upcoming day to fully heal the ancient vampire. It wasn't long before Sigrun returned with a blade, along with another presence she hadn't come across for the last few days.

"Whiptail, lower your weapon. He is a friend, do you not remember Maximus?"

Skadi eyed the elven blade and gave Sigrun a brief smile. She hadn't used that blade since the day Maximus had died. Now it would sing in battle as she hacked her way into the Hyraphore, to retrieve the blade forged so many years ago.

"Thankyou. I will put your elven steel to good use. Lychan and vampiric blood will run down that blade once again."

Skadi took a hold of the blade a held the hilt lightly, getting a feel for its grip as she considered what she would do with it once she got into Valient.
________

At Sigrun's mention of the humans outside, Hondur remembered Garm and what he had witnessed. Slipping out of the room without a word, Hondur quickly moved out into the street, searching for the ASHVO squad. They had moved away from the scene, Hondur was thankful of that but he couldn't detect Garm. He knew Garm would be with them, but there just seemed to be a blank hole where his presence should be. Garm was lost to him.

The ancient vampire was about to go after him when he noticed a strange figure stalking behind Sigrun, levelling a gun at the elf's back. Drawing his own blade, Hondur moved into striking range of Whiptail and spoke.

"I suggest you lower your weapons before I lower them for you..."

Stephen felt slightly better inside. Skadi was nearly healed and everything seemed to be back in order. He knew there was a slight anger inside of her directed at him for his inablitiy to get her sword out of the dog's clutches. It had seemed like a simple enough task to get her sword back, and he had failed. He would somehow to make it up to her. The last thing Stephen wanted was for Skadi to think of him as a useless fledgling.

"What are we going to do now Skadi?"

Sigrun turned to face Whiptail, his hands clearly kept away from his weapons.

"Whiptail, old friend. It is indeed I, Maximus. Much has changed since we've last seen each other. I have died, and yet I have returned. Now I am here, and let me tell you that I have learned much since my death. I have learned the art of serenity and focus. Both I know have helped me become an even better warrior than ever before."

Sigrun looked for a few more moments at Whiptail before turning to Skadi.

"What now? The sun rises soon for you."

Skadi nodded a greeting to Whiptail as Sigrun spoke, also indicating that Hondur should lower his blade. It had been many hundreds of years since Skadi had encountered Whiptail, much had changed since then but she still recognised the distinguished hunter.

Deciding to answer Stephen's and Sigrun's question at once, Skadi voiced what she had been considering for the past hour or so.

"Tomorrow night, we are getting my sword back. I will not ask anything of you, but I assume you will wish to accompany me. Hondur, I would appreciate a team of your older vampires to help enter the Hyraphore. I don't know how this is going to work out. We may have to hack our way through the entire Hyrahpore HQ, something that I am more than willing to do. Or we may be able to get it back without too much trouble. Either way I am going and I won't leave until I get it back. As for now, I shall heal completely here for the day."
_____________

Hondur nodded as Skadi's request and quickly began compiling a list of who he would choose to join such a force. He realised older vampires would be necessary if he didn't want a blood bath, but he could hardly take in an army.

Eyeing Whiptail cautiously, Hondur lowered his blade but did not sheath it. He didn't know he this creature was, but he had the appearance of a hunter, thus putting Hondur on edge.

"Why is there a hunter in here?"

"I'll accompany you Skadi."

It was then Stephen noticed Whiptail. He did not reconized him right off the bat, it took him a little while to remember the hunter. A lot had change for Stephen since the last time he had seen Whiptail, the one major change was that he was now a vampire.

Stephen really didn't care that Whiptail was there, as long as the hunter didn't try to shoot anyone. Remembering he needed something back at Skadi's apartment, Stephen left and quickly leapt across the rooftops to her apartment. He reached into his duffel bag and retrived a box .45 shells and several already loaded magizines. He put on a pair of black leather gloves and grabbed another object, wrapped in dark blue cloth and put it in a pocket of his trenchcoat.

Stephen quickly returned, and not much to his surprise there was still a little tension between Hondur and Whiptail. Stephen knew Whiptail as a very good vampire hunter. He wondered if it was possible to get the hunter to help them against the Hyraphore. He turned to Hondur, Sigrun and Skadi.

"It might be a bad idea to try and get him to help us against the Lycans and the Hyraphore. 'The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend'. I don't think we can completly trust him since he is a hunter, but he might be willing to help."

Whiptail holstered the small pistol, making a point of flicking the tip of his tail around in front of Hondor, so that the light would catch the silver barb attatched to the end...

"I would accompany you, if you will have me... And as long as your overzealous protector does not menace me with his sword again. While an oath of honor protects you, Skadi, he has yet to earn that right..."

The hunter's head turns to Maximus, now an elf called Sigrun...

"Forgive me, your scent has changed since last we met... I was informed of your demise before I last left this city..."

His gaze now returns to Skadi...

"I know of another in this area who would help us... I will fetch him, after you have informed me of our meeting point..."

Tyr entered the Regenerative chamber, only to find that Avatre was already out of the healing stasis, and sitting up on the bed nearby. Tyr simply nodded a thanks to all of those tending to her, and then went up to her. She was in her human form, and naked.

He looked her over, and saw no visible scars on her body. The chamber had healed her stab wound. Tyr wondered to himself why Alexander would want to keep his.

"My love, it is good to see you well again."

Avatre grabbed Tyr's hand and squeezed it. With her other, she too the silver katana.

"This regenerative chamber is a wonder. I wonder if the Kantrawulves could not benefit from this."

"I don't doubt that we could, but my love, we have another need to fulfill. We need to enlist the aid of the other packs. Alexander wishes for one last offensive."

Avatre released his hand. "When will you stop cow-towing to that vampire?"

"The sooner we fulfill our debt, the sooner we can be rid of him. I too tire of this all."

Avatre snorted and stood up. She grabbed a fresh pair of clothes from one of the attendees.

"All right. But this had better be the last..."

********

"...And he died trying to stop a runaway train, Lee. Your agent died a hero, I can assure you that."

Alexander smiled, and shook his head. If there was one thing that the DEO head, Lee Natarin, was, he was gullible.

"All right, Kelsing. We will deal with the Assington Authorities in retrieving his remains. Now, I have some information for you. Our operatives in the Assington have picked up info about a planned assault on the Hyraphore. Be advised."

Alexander's smile turned upside down. "Th...thank you, director."

"Do you wish for any help?"

"Yes... yes actually. There is no way to know about when this planned assault will happen. Can you spare 2 full companies?"

"Twenty-four men? No problem. They will be there."

Alexander hanged up on the head agent, and then picked up the phone once more.

The phone rang twice, and then a voice spoke on the other side.

"I thought I said I was not to be disturbed."

"I never agreed to it. You need to come back to the Hyraphore. Your plan didn't work, and its coming back to haunt us."

"..."

"..."

"Alright, I will be back in 24 hours. Don't let anything happen to the guild, alright?"

Again, Alexander put down the phone, and then frowned once more. He wondered why Skadi and Maximus were coming to face him on his home soil? Was it not Maximus who said, "How would you feel if Skadi invaded the Hyraphore?"

And now, now they were coming. The Hyraphore were less than a few thousand strong. Who knew how many Skadi could recruit in a city of millions?

"Arrgh." With a cry of anger, Alexander punched a hole through the door to his study. Shortly thereafter, Avatre and Tyr stepped through the door.

"...Alexander, we will be leaving now for the West Coast of Canada," said Tyr. "From there, we will use our contacts and get as many Lychans on board to help you."

Alexander nodded. "Understood. When will you be back?"

"Give us at most a week, and you'll have what you want."

Alexander again nodded. He picked up a plain sheath and threw it to Avatre.

"That sword. It is Skadis, is it not?"

"Yes. It is simply a souvenir of our shared moments."

"Well, keep it safe. She will be back for it.

"I know."

With that, Avatre and Tyr left the compound. Alexander almost wanted to say no, stay, help me against the others. But he was a leader. He knew that if he could get more Lychans to enter the fray, in the long run, he would be successful.

But all that stood in his way were Skadi and Maximus. No worries there though.

He was coming back...

Zero sat by Aeris' bedside, watching her sleep. Already the night was about to be over.......he had earlier called for a doctor, who examined Aeris and diagnosed her as famished, but otherwise nothing worse. After leaving him instructions to moderate her food intake, the doctor left Zero to care for her alone, and still somewhat nonplussed at the prospect of the mortal he now had on his hands.

Still, she was to be loved......Zero looked at her, and she seemed......peaceful. Well, guess there's nothing to be done for now, except.......he's overdue for a report to King Louis. But how should he go about it.....telepathy? No, he hadn't the energy left to attempt something like that over such a great distance......

He picked up the secured phone that linked him with a secure connection directly to the King, and dialed.

Beepboopboopboopbeepboopbeepbeepboop
Ring......ring ring......ring ring......
Click

"Yes, Zero? See you've finally decided to call at last." Only one person had THAT direct line.
"I'm sorry, King Louis, it's been a busy day lately" And Zero recounted the experiences of the past 2 days.
"Hmm....hmm......looks like our intel checks out then. Lycans threatening Assington, eh? Still......does not seem like the thing i'm fearing will happen."
"Still, Louis, it's serious enough to warrant our attention."
"I agree. Continue with your mission. Stick by this Lady Skadi at all times, and if you have to, defend her life with yours. Oh, and one more thing."

King Louis told Zero of latest intelligence that Lycans were travelling to the West Coast of Canada, presumably to gather reinforcements.

"This is serious, Louis."
"I know. I would tell you to follow them and see what checks out........if not for the fact that you have that mortal on your hands now."
"I'm sorry about Aeris, Sir. I know taking a mortal under my guardianship isn't the right thing to do at this time."
"Hmmph. No matter. I understand fully. So......either I will get one of your team to go check it out, or you'll be going and I have a babysitter come over for this......Aeris. Call me back in 2 hours for further instructions."
"Yes, Louis."
"One last thing, Zero. Inform the Lady Skadi of this latest development."
"Yes, Louis."

Click

Zero stared at the cellphone in his hand, wondering what to make of it. He turned his gaze to Aeris, who was still sleeping. He sighed. It would be light soon, but in this darkened room, he could stay awake all day if need be, as long as he doesn't expose himself to light, and tend to her. He then wondered whether to pass this information to the Lady Skadi about the wolves' emigration........it can wait, Zero thought.

OOC: Too tired to post now... Val, how exactly did you get this 'intel'? It has only been discussed between Skadi, Stephen, Hondur, Sigrun and Whiptail. There isn't anyway for the DEO to know. :rolleyes:

OOC: I suppose the same way King Louis gathers his intel. :D

Skadi looked to Stephen and nodded. She knew he wanted to make things up to her after failing to get her blade back, she would give him the oppurtunity. Seconds later his mental voice filled her head.

"Whiptail is an honourable warrior. If he says he will help us, you can be assured that he will not strike out against one of this coven unless provoked. Understand?"

Skadi's mental tone was slightly irritated, she didn't like a fledgling questioning her judgement of another. Skadi was especially particular of who she trusted and if she deemed Whiptail worthy of such, then those of less wisdom should accept such.

Skadi gave Whiptail a slight smile. In many ways his manner was like hers, at least their sense of honour anyway.

"Whiptail, you are more than welcome to accompany us on this quest. It has been some time since our last meeting, I would appreciate your skills in our cause."

Skadi nodded her approval and replied.

"Meet back at this building at sundown tomorrow. I want to leave as soon as possible so we have enough time to do what we must."

As Skadi considered everyone's role in the upcoming operation, she remembered Zero. She knew he had his own accomidation and was not aware of her plan. She quickly conveyed the main idea to Zero mentally.

"Zero, we have some things to discuss. You may join us if you wish. If so, meet at Hondur's mansion (gives address) at sundown tomorrow."

Lying back as Skadi felt the pain stir in her stomach from sitting up, she looked upon those gathered around.

"We will end this once and for all. It may not be tomorrow, but Alexander will taste my blade."

Whilst Skadi spoke to everyone, she gave a quick mental message to Sigrun.

"We can't take all our forces on this task, it wouldn't be practical. Do you think you could gather us some help?"
____________

Hondur nodded at Skadi's mental assurance of Whiptail and sheathed his blade. If Skadi trusted this hunter, he would have no cause to suspect Whiptail. Taking one last look around the room, Hondur departed and began searching for all the vampires he had in mind. The night had found them hundreds of vampires for his coven, many of which were formidable warriors.

"I understand Skadi."

Stephen quickly answered Skadi. Stephen rarely, if ever questioned her judgment; she was an ancient vampire and Stephen was a mere fledgling. If Skadi trusted Whiptail, then everything would be fine.

He wondered who Whiptail had in mind to help them.

With pleasure...I'll have them come as soon as possible. Sigrun replied, before glancing over at the others.

"Excuse me, I've got something to do. Skadi, get some rest and finish healing."

Sigrun left the room and made his way to the rooftop of the mansion. There, he sat cross-legged and began to watch the sun rise slowly over the horizon. The mansion, he knew had auto-dark windows, custom-made windows that went completely black on the first hint of sunlight. The vampires inside would be protected completely.

The sun's rays began to seep into the city, sneaking amongst the towering skyscrapers and tall buildings. Creatures of the night ran quickly from the 'sky-fire' and buried themselves deeply.

All the while, a sense of peace and calm befell the city as the light of day filled the skies. Strange, it was to feel such peace when at night there was war...

Sigrun concentrated on what he was about to do: sending a message over thousands of miles to a distant location. It wouldn't be that easy, and it would sap at Sigrun's magical strength continuously.

He took a deep breath, straightened his posture and closed his eyes.

...
...
...
Arleni...mae govannen, mellonamin...

Sigrun! Naa rawshe?

Lav ohtaris cuiv i ost Emerald City i dagor agaryulnaerea Hyraphore.

Manka lle merna. Lye naa lle nai...Amin khiluva lle a' gurtha ar' thar.

Gurth gothrim lye!

Asca, Arleni, Asca...

...
...
...

Sigrun opened his eyes, and studied the sunrise some more. It was truly a masterpiece of nature to have so many colors and designs shown.

For now, Sigrun would remain here and enjoy the sight...

No sooner had he finished his phone conversation with King Louis, then Skadi had hit him with a telepathic message. "Not now", he thought to himself, "I'm so freaking tired. I gotta rest, especially after that dog Tyr nearly carved me to bits. Argh."

Still, he knew it won't be so hard to send a message to Skadi then it would be to send a message all the way to Atros, and so he obliged, sending back,

"I will join you, Lady Skadi. There is much we need to discuss, if we are have to have this meeting. Anybody new I'm gonna have to expect?"

The last sentence was a little redundant, Zero thought, but hey, anything can happen, right?

It's about time for sunup. Not that it would bother him any here, in this sealed room.......he need not sleep if he didn't have to.

Just then, the girl murmured, and started talking in her sleep. Zero went over and touched her forehead. It seemed to have cooled......suddenly, her eyes opened, and those deep blue pupils stared right into Zero's.

"Where......where's......Mama?", she asked, seemingly still a little stupified. Zero could only stare at her, unable to give her an answer. He hadn't seen her mother anywhere. Then she started to cry.

"Mama.....mama......" Impulsively, Zero reached forwards and hugged her. He now knew that Aeris had no more kin.

"Shhh......your Mama's in heaven now......i'll take care of you from now on......."

At that, she suddenly drew back, and forgetting her grief, stared at Zero intensely, studying his unnaturalness. "Vampyr", she softly said, now increasingly afraid.

"Yes, vampire, that's what I am, but i won't harm you, dear girl. I love you too much to harm you now", Zero replied, caressing her hair. Gradually, she began to lose her fear, and started to accept Zero. A hand on his shoulder......then on his face, marvelling at the marble-like texture......then she finally placed her head on his shoulder.

And with that, Zero knew Aeris was his. And he was hers.

"You are mine, dear child."
"Yes.......erm......"
"I'm Zero."
"Yes......Master Zero......."

She placed her hand on her belly, and grimaced. Looks like its time, Zero thought. He put Aeris back into bed, then dialed for room service. All this while, Aeris, even famished as she was and too weak to move much, was curious, eyes searching out every corner of the room. She had apparently never seen such luxury before........but always her eyes come back to Zero. He stroked her face.

"I have a surprise for you, dear child. Wait......wait......."

She was completely, utterly pliant under his hands. The knock on the door came......"none too soon", Zero thought.......and leaving Aeris on her bed, he went to answer the door.

Aeris lay in bed, unable to see what the vampire was doing......what is the surprise? she thought. For a moment, fear took hold of her, that she would be killed after all, it's the way of these vampires.......but immediately she realised she loved him. Strange.......Mama had always taught her to stay clear of these.......beings.......did she smell food?

Her eyes widened, when she saw what Zero pushed in on a trolley. Muffins, tarts, cookies, cakes, a pitcher of milk with a glass.......

"For me?" Aeris sighed, too weak to exhibit much energy, even at this surprise.......Zero nodded, and helped her sit up in bed.

She hesitated, still unwilling to accept such a shock. "Go on", urged Zero, handing her a cupcake. She cradled it in her hands, wonder lighting up her face. She had never seen so much food before.....she gently, carefully, took a small nibble.

Then another nibble.

Then a bite.

Then another.

And then she gave in, and started eating with a voracious appetite. And even so, as Zero observed, she still managed to maintain an unconscious sense of decorum, of gentleness and grace, even in the midst of her starvation, not gobbling like most other mortals. He would have continued watching her with interest, as she took the glass of milk and gulped down a large portion, but the doctor had warned him......

He laid a hand on the cupcake. Aeris, her appetite whetted by now, tried too struggle, but he took her questing hand. "Careful, love. Not too much now. Wait a while."

She looked at him, a slight frustration, but also trust in her eyes. Staring straight at him. Then she laid her head on his shoulder again.

"Thank you", she whispered.

"You're mine now, love", he whispered back, a blood tear starting to form in his right eye.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Presently, Zero lifted Aeris' head. "Very well. I think you can go on."

Without a word, she resumed eating, wonder lit in her very face. Zero watched, fascinated by the human need for food, and Aeris' almost graceful way of satisfying herself........

Satisfied that things could be handled by everyone else, Skadi watched as everyone left her room so she could heal. She knew the sun was up, even if she couldn't see it. Lying back, Skadi considered what she would do to those that held her blade before drifting into a dreamless slumber.
___________

Hondur stood within the lower levels of the Emerald ASHVO HQ, Garm watching him from the other side of the room. Hondur could tell Garm wasn't happy about something and had decided to confront his partner.

"What's wrong?"

"What have you been doing all night? There were massive vampire movements last night, explosions, train crashes, lychans on high rise buildings, several dead and you were no where to be seen!"

"I'm sorry, I can't really tell you too much about that. Keep in mind that I'm doing this for the betterment of Assington, to protect all of us."

"So you say..."

Garm stormed off without a word. Hondur sighed, something had gotten into his partner, something potentially dangerous...

The jacks were ready.

Halloween was approaching.

Things were excellent.

The prank was set.

Mayhem was primed.

Icarus grinned to himself as he skipped up to his apartment after a busy day of getting things organised and prepared for the big day.

He even had a costume ready.

"I am the pumpkin king!" Icarus howled to himself in a high pitched manner as he slammed his door again with his foot.

He began to hum halloween songs to himself, and giggling as he knew what would happen.


On Halloween.


(OOC When the "big" battle happens, please let it happen on Halloween. That will make it ironic, and allow Icarus to cause some non-harming but still affecting mayhem. There must be celebrations and things going on, right?)

The sun rose higher into the sky, searing the shadows with harsh, relentless light. By now, the creatures of the night had made themselves gone from sight and mind. Those that didn't...well, they simply ceased to exist.

As if to confirm that, a sudden shriek was heard, one that was unmistakably that of a vampire. Sigrun moved to the side of mansion and looked out into the city. In an alleyway not too far away, a vampire had been forced to hide, trapped in this light-prison. He had been hiding in a dumpster, but his luck had been shortlived. There was garbage truck that had attached its lifts to the dumpster and flipped it upside down into its caverous pit on its wheels. The vampire fell out, immediately exposed to the sunlight, and had lit on fire upon first contact with the rays.

The burning mass fell into the garbage truck...

"Oh shit." was all that Sigrun was able to utter as he suddenly watched and felt the tremendous explosion from such a distance. A mushroom cloud roiled itself upwards, decorating the cityscape with a spectacular sight of fire and metal now falling back down to the earth...

The stench of refuse would fill the air for several days...

The wail of sirens was heard floating shrilly over the city.

Soon, the police would arrive, as would the firemen. And they would find the charred corpses of the garbage men, if they survived the blast. Sigrun turned away from the scene. He closed his eyes briefly. Wasn't there enough bloodshed at night?

Sigrun moved off the rooftop and out of the city. The vampires were smart in converting this mansion to their home, it was situated on the edge of the city, allowing them their privacy and a simple way to get away from the city if necessary.

Walking through the tall, chest high grasslands surrounding the city, Sigrun looked around, surveying the land, taking note of landmarks.

This area would serve its purpose. It provided concealment thanks to the grasses, and it was not habitated by any creatures, save for small wild animals that bore no threat to anyone.

Sigrun knelt down and pulled out an object that appeared to be a rock, only about 3 inches in length, but inscribed deeply with an Elven handwriting. It was a portal beacon, to which his friends would come. And here, he would wait for them.

The clouds passed slowly overhead, spotting the deep blue of the sky with their white starkness. It was still early morning, and it would be a while until the shade of night appeared once again...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arleni moved quickly, taking heed of the urgency she heard in Sigrun's voice. Already, she had informed Galadriel of the request, and she had approved of it. In a little while, all the warriors that could be spared from the defenses of the Lorien Forest would be gathered before her, assembled neatly and armed with Elven bows and elven swords. Many of the weapons were custom made, specifically made for the owner's use.

Arleni herself was suited with Elven armor, and carried a bow similar to many of the other Elves, and her own sword as well.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ARLENI'S PIC (http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0UQDjAgYaKU9oMAqhBqOAYloEe9OO0OGrUdcU0!3TJSc6XTFZteHNZFL6DwiI7kVsGNW2vgn9oAU0o3ksezM26MlBxhBDfAsNxL5 xHBeKamy9b1ln5b*nnrSkKqyjJ9hk/ElvenArmor.bmp)

Her people had prided themselves on being able to defend themselves against a variety of modern weapons, including the things humans called guns. These Elves were not to be disregarded, for they were still a very powerful force in the world, especially in Tarlachia. They were the embodiment of the ancient ways standing firm against the tides of change that came more rapidly than ever before.

Arleni looked toward the sun, getting a fix on its position in the sky. It was midday, already half the day had passed. Yet, they were not ready, they were still coming in from the distant borders and talans. Nevertheless, they would be assembled in force by the time it was time to leave.

After Stephen had left Skadi's room, he had explored the mansion for a while, before he found a vacant room and closed the behind him. Placing his sword on a chair he pulled a box of .45 shells and the object in blue cloth out of his trenchcoat and sat on the bed.

He calmly loaded the half empty and fully empty magizines for his P-14s. He thought about the events of the night as he placed round after round into the mags. He finished his task and placed the now full magizines back into his trenchcoat.

He carefully picked up the object in the cloth and moved some of it away. A black handled and sheathed combat knife was in his hands. A pair of silver bands criss-crossed the handle, from the small handguard, to the end where a small, snarling silver wolf's head sat, and on the black sheath, a highly detailed silver wolf. In his hand Stephen held his great-uncle Kurt's Wolf Knife.

Stephen looked at the weapon for a while, before he wrapped it once again and placed it in the trenchcoat pocket. It'll shed blood once again. Hanging up the coat and placing his holsters near the bed Stephen lay on the bed.

Stephen stared at the ceiling for several mintues before drifting off to sleep.

Whiptail thumped twice on the door to Dekker's temporary home... A faint rustle & the click of a hammer coming to the firing position greeted his arrival...

"Dekker... Come, we have things to hunt... I have no time for your soft-skinned foolishness..."

After a full daylight sleep, Skadi was ready to combat the Hyraphore once again. Hondur found her room empty and didn't have to bother searching as he knew where she would be. Moving into one of the many training halls within the mansion, Hondur layed his eyes upon Skadi in the centre of the room, surrounded by several other vampires in a mock battle.

All held blades, yet none silver. Hondur could tell Skadi had picked out the cocky vampires, the ones that thought they could claim an easy victory after hearing about her condition the night before. Many other vampires merely stood in awe, watching as the oldest vampire in Assington engaged in training before their eyes.

Skadi leaped forward and immediately scewered one with her blade whilst another two advanced upon the ancient from behind. Still slightly wary, they didn't strike in fear of a counter attack. Due to their caution, the two vampires avoided the flying body of their scewered companion being arced around in a circle before being torn of the blade.

Hondur noticed the passion in her eyes, the rage she was containing. He hadn't seen such since the day she and Maximus had rescued him from the clutches of the AVO HQ. That was a long time ago now. Turning around, Hondur departed the hall and went in search for his long time rival.

The vampire glided into the back garden of the mansion, a maze of hedges, groves, vines and trees. Almost like a forest, save for the size. It was here Hondur came upon Sigrun, the elf peacefully meditating. Hondur still couldn't say he liked Sigrun, but he was well over their fued of extremely violent proportions. He had learned to respect Skadi's partner for his wisdom, physical capacities and kind nature. A small piece of jealousy still remained within the vampire, but he could live with such.

Hondur causally walked up to the elf, Sigun opening his eyes as he sensed Hondur's presence.

"Sigrun, Skadi is well and training at the moment. I have 100 men preparing for tonight's operation, where are we to meet your forces?"

Stephen walked into the training hall where Skadi was and jumped high on the wall just as the vampire smacked dully against it. He watched as the vampire tried to stand, leaving a small trail of blood on the wall. He dropped back down and looked at the other vampires in the room, he could tell they all knew Skadi was back to her old self after they had witnessed her scewer their friend.

Stephen looked up to see one of the other vampires leaping at the ancient, only to be kicked hard in the stomach, sending him back across the room. He looked at the vampire thumping into the wall and the other vampire resting, allowing the wound from Skadi's sword to heal. Stephen silently spoke to Skadi, his voice slightly sarcastic, entered her mind.

"Don't you think you're being a tad rough with them Skadi?"

A slight grin spread across Skadi's face as Stephen's message entered her mind. The other vampires seemed puzzled, yet Stephen could see her amusement.

"Hardly. I haven't ripped off any limbs. Do you know what it is like for a vampire to lose a limb, especially if they can't get it bacl in time to heal it into place?"

Just at that moment, a massive male vampire stormed into the hall as all went silent. It was obvious he was close to one thousand years, maybe a little less. The hulking vampire stood at 6ft 11 inches, towering over Skadi at 5'9".

"Well, it seems the mighty ancient has come out to play. If you're so old, why haven't I ever seen you around my city?"

Skadi merely stared up at the brute, a completely calm expression upon her face.

"Perhaps I didn't want to be found by the likes of you?"

"Heh, scared are ya?"

"No, I'm just very particular about my company."

The brute's face contorted as he moved in for the strike, his fists at the ready. Discarding her blade, Skadi waited until the vampire was upon her, his huge form towering over her. As it appear he would bowl her over, Skadi disappeared for a moment.

The brute stumbled for a few steps but maintained his footing. That is until Skadi was seen launching her boot into the small of his back. A sickening crunch could be heard within the hall as the brute fell to his knees, then to his side. He panted in panic as where he should of felt pain was merely numb. The room was silent... save for Skadi's steps around her fallen opponent.

"This is my city..."

Without another word, Skadi began to walk away, her back turned upon the brute and the few remaining challengers that were able to stand, whom had rushed to the side of the brute. She knew he would heal within time, although he wouldn't be able to walk until then.

Sigrun looked into Hondur's eyes, noting his somewhat blank expression.

Still holding some dislike against me. Hopefully that will change.

"They will arrive tonight in the plains outside of the city. There, I suggest that we travel to the Hyraphore en masse by means of portals. I am not sure right now how many will arrive from Lorien, but I assure you that those that do, will fight with every bit of honor and strength they have."

Sigrun heard the sounds of fighting coming from inside the mansion.

"What's going on in there?" he asked.

"Skadi's been kicking some of the idiots' arses, merely pawns of her training."

Sigrun grinned, as did Hondur.

"Well then, let's not deprive her of her fan club, shall we?"

Hondur chuckled in response and followed Sigrun inside to watch Skadi as she would complete her training for the night. They arrived just in time to see the huge vampire monolith come into the fight...

and fall to the ground after merely moments of fighting...

Sigrun smiled.

Aeris had cleared the tray of food, almost before Zero knew it. Now, she lay back, satisfied for the first time, but she immediately sat up again, and clutched her stomach. "It hurts....." she winced, but also with a sense of awe. The first time in her life she actually overate......

Zero laughed at that, and tucked her in. "The doctor told me that would happen, but i think he also said that it'll pass. Sleep, love. You need more rest."

Nodding sweetly, she turned her head away......and was asleep almost in an instant. Zero looked at her, noting how she seemed to sleep without a care in the world......strange, considering the trauma of her life. Still........his heart was still lost to her. He could just go on looking at her.......but it was daylight. Zero climbed into the bed, put an arm over Aeris, and went to sleep, but not before observing how Aeris seemed to tuck herself in his arms..........

_________________________________________________________________

Then his mind buzzed with a mental message from King Louis. Apparently Louis did not want him to reply.

"Zero, you will continue by the side of the Lady Skadi. As for the mortal Aeris, I believe she is of the age where she can take care of herself, as i believe you think too. As for the wolves, I have detailed Agent Nikita to tail them, and report on their doings. Our kind remains hard to find, but if the Lady Skadi will have them, Agent Leopold and Agent Kellis will back you up, and Agent Nikita will rejoin your team once she is done with her recon mission."

He thought this over for a while. Nikita......once she had been his immortal lover. Zero knew she could take care of herself, and he would be looking forward to working with her again, after two centuries. As for the rest, Zero knew he could very well have good backup if the Lady Skadi wants them. Agent Leopold, master of heavy guns. Never without a Para light machine gun, 2 Uzis, and 2 Deagles, he was best at firearms warfare, although he was comparatively slower in the melee department. As for Agent Kellis.....ah, delightful. She had mastery of so many exotic weaponry.........many times, she won her fights through sheer trickery alone, and even Zero had fallen prey to her at least twice, although he had always beaten her in spars after that. Leopold and Kellis, both......they would be 1200+ years by now, and as for Nikita......only a century younger than he is. They would be good company to keep. But only if the Lady Skadi wants them.

He looked at the time. My.......he had slept so deeply that it was already nightfall before he knew it. Aeris was still asleep, but as he got up, she stirred, and looked at him.

"Master.....Zero?"
"My love.....I have to go. I'm sorry, you will be alone this night. I have some business to conclude."
"Yes....Master Zero."

He changed into his undamaged clothing, and called room service to tend to anything Aeris might need. As he was about to step out, she called again, still someone weakly, but now stronger than before.

"Master Zero?"
"Yes-?"
".......Be safe."

He grinned, and strode out.......

_________________________________________________________________

He landed in front of the mansion where he thought Skadi would be, and prepared to step inside. However, vampires suddenly swarmed out in numbers, ready to deal with the intruders.

Spooked, Zero pulled out his Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, ready to do battle. Then the thought came to him that the Lady Skadi should be in control of this particular coven by now. Sheathing his Treasure Blades, he stepped up to the lead vampire, unafraid. They were mostly fledglings.......he could still deal with them in a flash if he had to.

"I seek audience with the Lady Skadi. Would you take her to me?"

Tyr and Avatre got off the "Spirit of Washington" Washington State Ferry at the Vancouver terminal, jostled and shoved along by the crowd of people trying desperately to get to where they needed to go.

Avatre looked as if she wanted to swat some of them away, but Tyr took her hand and said no.

"My love, they are but humans, and we are in a land that is not our own. Give them leave."

She hesitated, but nodded. They remained where they stood, and watched as the terminal quickly emptied, save for some stragglers talking on cell phones. Tyr turned his head and looked out of the window across of False Creek. There stood a wonderous building, a giant geodesic dome, left over from the city's World Expo in 1986. It was now a place of education: Science World.

"There. There is where we find our first contact."

********

After paying an exorbitant sum to enter Science World ($20 Canadian, roughly equal in Valient GP), Tyr and Avatre made their way to the second floor, next to an exhibit on "James Bond."

Avatre sniffed as they passed it by. "Hand Laser? Give me a Sword anyday."

Tyr smiled. He left her and walked up to the man manning the souvenir shop nearby.

"Yes, how may I help you? We have some specials on..."

"The bloodmoon falls, but the Ythera Pack will ever rise..."

The man looked up. His nametag read Joseph.

"... You smell of the Kantrawulve pack."

"Yes. My name is Tyr Fenrir, and her name is Avatre Ertava."

"... So the Kantrawulves need the help of Ythera. Why?"

Avatre strove forward and looked at Joseph straight in the eye.

"Vampires hold sway over our pack, and we need your help in getting out. Can you gather the clans from the Lower Mainland?"

The man nodded. "Give me time. Meet me at the Rage Nightclub on Burrard St. tonight."

Tyr bowed slightly, and led Avatre out of Science World.

********

Outside, Tyr strolled along with Avatre to the side of False Creek. Nearby was the track for the Molson Indy, and across the way was GM Place, where the Vancouver Canucks played hockey. Behind them, children played on outdoor jungle gyms.

Tyr looked at Avatre. Her hair whipped back and forth in the wind.

"How many more packs do you think we need to contact? I do not know if just two packs is enough."


OOC: Shameless Plug for Vancouver. It is beautiful. :D

Stephen looked at Skadi as her voice entered his mind.

"No, I really don't want to know what it feels like to have a limb ripped out. That is why I do my best to stay on your good side."

Stephen was slightly above average height for a Simatarian male at 6'1". He had never seen a person at nearly 7 foot. He put on a black leather glove over his right hand and gripped the Wolf Knife which was on his belt. He never doubted Skadi's strength and after seeing her so easily take care of the brute, he smiled and took his glove off and put it in his pocket. Stephen turned his head and smiled at Sigrun and Hondur as they entered the room.

Stephen spoke as Skadi moved closer.

"Maybe you were a little rough with him, but he deserved it."

Seeing that Skadi was finishing her duel practice session, Sigrun turned and left.

"Hondur, time to assemble. Let's go. I'll meet you in the outlying plains."

Sigrun walked out of the mansion and quickly made his way to the plains. As he arrived, he quickly sought and found the rock beacon he had placed earlier that day. Standing next to it, he noted that the Elvish letters were glowing red.

[i]They've locked the first two coordinates. Six more and they're secure."

As if to prove Sigrun's words, the rock turned multiple different colors as the portal was slowly secured and finally to be opened.

A watery looking field appeared next to Sigrun, and through it, Arleni stepped through.

"Mae govannen Sigrun."

"Arleni, how many have you brought?"

"One hundred and seven warriors, to be exact."

"They are setting up their portals?"

"Yes, they should be here momentarily..."

OOC: Assington, have Hondur and his vampires meet Sigrun and Arleni in the plains. I want them all to witness the arrival of their allies...

OOC: Has someone forgotten that Zero has reached the mansion?

Stephen sensed another presance. The noble Zero. Moving to the front of the mansion he saw the vampire surrounded by Mannlicher toting vampires.

"Put down your weapons boys and girls, this is Zero of the Noble Blood and he means no harm."

One by one, they lowered thier weapons, spare for one. Stephen looked harshly at him.

"Lower your weapon, now" Stephen growled.

"Who put you the f...." before the vampire could finish Stephen had his left hand gripping the back of the vampire's neck, squeezing and he slipped on the black glove and drew out the Wolf Knife. The silver wolf's head neared the vampire's eyes. The vampire very smartly dropped the Mannlicher. Still holding the vampire Stephen smiled at Zero.

"Sorry for this one's rudeness. He'll take you to Skadi. Won't you?"

The vampire nodded quickly.

"I'll meet you later, tell Skadi and Hondur to gather thier forces, and meet Sigrun on the plains outside of the city."

Zero nodded and followed the vampire inside. He took Zero to Skadi and Hondur. Both vampires turned to see the pair.

"Zero of the Noble Blood sir, he wants to talk to Lady Skadi."


********************************************

Stephen meanwhile headed off in the direction Sigrun took. Within several minutes he was at the plains. Standing in the grass he searched with his mind and found his elven friend, with another. Leaping in that direction, he landed near them, but a little to close to Arleni. The elf drew out her blade and it stopped just a few mili-meteres from Stephen's neck, Stephen's hand was on his own sword. He smiled at the Elf.

"Hi, I'm Stephen."

His eyes moved to Sigrun.

"Sirgrun, please tell her move her sword away from my neck."

Zero greeted Skadi and Hondur by putting his two fists together, somewhat like in the Chinese way. "Lady Skadi, Lord Hondur. My King has been informed of this, and even now, is taking his own measures to aid us. However, as yet he is unable to send much assistance, for my kind have grown few, and hard to contact indeed. Still, I am here to say that you may expect some assistance from the Nobles, and if you'll accept them, we may receive recon intel from some of my agents, and some backup as well, although i'm afraid, not much."

He found a chair, and sat down. "Whether you want to accept this assistance is up to you, but I swear on the loyalty of my teammates. They will arrive in Emerald City tomorrow, if you accept them. Now, do you want to hear what reinforcements i can offer?"

Sigrun grinned slightly as Arleni had Stephen standing very still with her blade at his neck.

"Arleni, N'ndengina ho."

Arleni studied Stephen for a few moments before slowly lowering her sword. Sigrun nodded toward Stephen.

"This is Stephen Malone, a friend."

Arleni nodded in greeting to Stephen, but refused the handshake he offered. She never touched a non-Elf, she didn't trust any other. Some might have seen it as an insult to themselves, but it was simply a practice she adhered to.

"Stephen, you might want to step this way about three paces. A portal is about to open right where you're standing, and if you're caught in its activation, it'll shred you to pieces, and even as a vampire, you'll die."

Stephen moved next to Sigrun and Arleni. He didn't want to think of him being torn to bits by a portal being activated. He had been alive for just over 1000 years, and he didn't feel like buying the farm anytime soon.

"Zero is at the mansion with Skadi and Hondur Sigrun, they should be along in a little bit. How many elves are coming?"

Arleni remained silent, despite the fact that Stephen seemed to be questioning her. She merely continued to watch Stephen with guarded look, but non-threatening.

Sigrun responded, "Just over a hundred of my clan will be here."

As he spoke, the wind picked up, creating massive waves in the grasslands.

Where is the one that is to meet you, Sigrun?

You mean Hondur and his gathered covens. They are coming. Have patience.

This one...Stephen, he appears to only have the strength of a fledgling, yet something is different about him...

I know. He was bitten by a vampire a thousand years ago, but for some unexplainable reason, he has only become a full vampire recently. Thus he looks like a fledgling, but has the skills of a five hundred year old vampire.

Interesting.

Arleni was an exception to the majority of the Elves of Lothlorien. She, like Sigrun, traveled often outside the borders, and thus had plenty of interaction with vampires. Thus she knew more about them than the average Elf. Besides, she learned much about them when Sigrun was once known as Maximus Destroi, the elven-blooded vampire...

Her thoughts went back to those times, and clearly remembered what Maximus had looked like back then, powerful yet silent unless provoked. Once provoked, he became a fearsome force to reckon...

Stephen, tell me how you know of Sigrun. I knew him when he was Maximus Destroi. He was a fearsome one then...now, she looked over at Sigrun, He's even more dangerous. He has matured greatly though. Gone is his brash attitude. Gone is his vampirism. Yet, now he possesses greater threat than ever before. His enemies will never know when he will strike, until the moment he does...

Stephen looked over at Arleni as her voice entered his head. He thought for a little while before answering her.

"I knew him when he was Maximus. Back when he lead the VRO in thier coup, I laughed at the very notion vampires existed. At the end of the coup I was trying to escape when I was captured. I was brought before him, as you can understand, from my point of view I was afraid and thought he would kill or torture me. We talked, without violence, for a half-hour or so and at the end, he had healed my wounds, and allowed me to live in Tarlachia.
"So, for the past thousand years I've been living in Tarlachia and the Golden Simatar. When I heard Maximus had been killed, I couldn't believe it till I heard it from Skadi. A year ago I was in the Golden Simatar, Sigrun came up behind me and I was unsure of who he was. He told me who he was and I was stunned by this. Shortly there after I finally turned into a vampire. For the past year I've traveled with him and Skadi, both of them helping me get use to my new life and training me on my ablities."

Stephen looked at the elf and smiled.

"Indeed he has changed since I knew him as a vampire. But I am still in his debt. He spared my life, allowed me to have a second chance at life when he so easily of killed me, and became one of my closest friends. When someone does a thing like that, it is impossible to repay them. I'll never be able to repay him for his kindess over the years."

Skadi didn't particularly like the idea of more foreign vampires, yet she could appreciate the help Zero was offering and thought it may be worth a shot.

"Your friends will be welcome here, as long as they display the same kind of honour and sense that you possess."

Hondur nodded a quick greeting to Zero before slipping through another door, into yet another large hall. This room was filled with one hundred of the coven's best warriors. All vampires were over six hundred years and were known for their skills in combat. Weapons clinked as the group moved around, anticipating the battle.

"My brethren. It is time that we departed. Follow me into the plains outside the city, we shall meet our elven companions here, then onto Valient!"

The warriors acknowledged Hondur with a grim nod and finished collecting their gear. Hondur returned once again to Skadi and Zero.

"It's time we got moving..."

Skadi nodded and fell into pace with Hondur as he moved out one of the back doors of the mansion, leading his warriors to the plains outside the city. From above the scene was quite intimidating, a massive black wave flowed over the land, metallic weapons glinting in the moonlight.

Skadi, Hondur and Zero moved at the front of this cloud, leading it into the heart of the enemy.

Sigrun turned to the sounds of marching feet reverbrating with deep thunder upon the plains. Hondur came into view, flanked by Skadi and the hundred vampires. All bore menacing weapons that shone brightly in the moonlight. As Hondur and Skadi stepped within a dozen feet of the trio standing alone in the fields, Hondur raised his hand and immediately, the covens halted and formed into ranks.

Sigrun caught the attention of Skadi with his eyes. She grinned, she desired bloodshed...

"Skadi, I'd like you to meet Arleni Greenwood, a cousin of mine from Lothlorien."

Skadi eyed the female Elf and nodded respectfully, "We've met before..."

Sigrun raised an eyebrow, "Really? Well then, that settles that."

Suddenly, behind Sigrun four portals opened up one after another, fluctuated and then settled on a particular size. As soon as they had completed their adjustments, figures began to step through.

Arleni glanced over to Sigrun before stepping forward to greet the incoming Elves. Within minutes all had arrived, just over one hundred Elves.

She called out to the masses in her native tongue:

"Creoso a' Emerald City, Assington! A'maelamin, Gurth gothrim Tel'Quessir!"
Welcome to Emerald City, Assington! My beloved, death to the foes of the Elves!

A resounding cry came from the Elven masses, "GURTH GOTHRIM LYE!"

Arleni turned to Sigrun and the others. She had a grin, though solemn, spread across her face.

Sigrun addressed Skadi and Hondur, "All are here that are to be?"

Zero followed Skadi, standing by her left just as Hondur was by her right. His heart lifted at the spectacle. Finally, the Assingtonian Brood is mustering its strength against the Lycan threat, and soon, the Noble Brood will enter Assington, and once again fulfil its time-honored vow of standing by the side of the Assingtonian Brood......at the field, he watched the Elven forces come in from the field as if by magic, it IS magic, he thought with a smirk to himself.

"Zero.....Agent Zero."
"My King? What is it?"
"Agent Nikita has reported back to me. It seems that the Kantrawulves are mustering reinforcements as well........she says that they are more than she can count."
"The Assingtonians number many, my King, and they have Elves from Lothlorien as well."
"Is it? Interesting......but i thought Elves usually would not ally with vampires. What has happened?"
"Louis.......the vampire known as Maximus, i forgot to tell you, was dead."
"Dead? That explains why we did not get any intel about him recently....."
"Yes, but let me finish. He is now, by some means, resurrected as an Elf. His name is now Sigrun."
"Interesting....I'll have the intel department make the changes immediately. Anyway.....I have gathered up a full 100 of our kind. They will take some time to reach you."
"Louis......the battle may start any time."
"Tell the Lady Skadi I am truly sorry for this delay. I know they will be in real need of our people....."
"Like I said, Louis, we have many here."
"Yes, Zero, but they have many as well. I'm not sure about this, but i think Nikita says they have more. Warn the Lady Skadi of this."
"I will......my King."
"Very well. Agent Leopold and Agent Kelli seems to have arrived. Expect them."
"Yes, my King. This is Agent Zero, signing out."

He opened his eyes, to see Skadi and Hondur looking at him quizzically at his sudden freezing.

"Lady Skadi, my King has informed me that the Kantrawulves number many now, perhaps as many as we are, perhaps even more. They are making their way from Canada back here."

"That is cause for concern", Skadi said, her brow furrowed. "Anything else?"

"My King has sent a force of 100 Nobles this way, but they will take their time to come. I am sorry, Lady Skadi, I know what reinforcements I've promised may come too late......"

"Well, I guess we're not too late then, huh?"

Zero spun around, to see 2 Ancients making their ways from the mass of vampires towards him. One was a heavyset male in his mortal lifetime, now even more intimidating, especially holding an M249 Para lightmachinegun as he was, with a bullet belt of silver bullets around his chest. The other was a brunette lady, slender and athletic, holding a SG-552 Commando rifle. They walked up to him.......and Zero hugged them.

"Leopold, Kellis. It's been a while."
"Not long enough for you, it seems", laughed the lady, apparently Kellis. "Nikita will be here soon from her scouting mission. You ready to lead us again, Commander?"

Zero smiled. "Of course. Let us be the first to fulfil our ancient vow once again!"

He turned to Skadi. "Lady Skadi, these are the first of my friends to come. They will be under my command, but if you wish, you may command them under my name, for I am their squad leader."

Leopold, the heavyset one, said, "Oh, Zero.......we met your little lass Aeris."

Zero whirled around. "How did you meet her?"

"We went to where you were staying. Don't worry, we didn't harm her or anything. In fact, she seemed quite happy to see us for some reason. She wanted to give you this." Leopold handed Zero a rose.

Zero stared at the rose in his hand, then tucked it into his trenchcoat. This fight will be for her now........ he turned back to Skadi. "We are ready."

Whiptail thumped twice on the door to Dekker's temporary home... A faint rustle & the click of a hammer coming to the firing position greeted his arrival...

"Dekker... Come, we have things to hunt... I have no time for your soft-skinned foolishness..."

The mercenary appeared as the door opened, his .45 in hand...

"Hold on a hot second, will ya? I got some shit to get together..."

He appeared a few minutes later armed a bit better, packing both .45's, as well as the smaller Colt Defender & his SOPMOD M4A1...

"Ready?"

The duo depart for Skadi's meeting point, hoping they hadn't missed them...

Stephen stood a little ways off from everyone else. His eyes scanned the country side, and looking at the lights and high buildings of Emerald City. He took in a deep breath, the cool night air filling his lungs, refreshing him. He listened to the sound of the wind going across the plains and the conversation between Skadi, Sigrun, and Hondur about transporting everyone in the quickest and safest way.

He turned and spotted two figures moving through the grass. Drawing his sword he crouched down and moved silenty down the slope. He paused and looked at the figures, seeing it was Whiptail he smiled, sheathed his blade, and stood up.

"Skadi, Whiptail and his friend are coming. The help he has brought is a human, even from here I can tell he is a professional. Probably ex-Special Forces like I am. They'll be here shortly."

Sigrun turned to Whiptail and his friend, nodding to both as they approached.

"Just in time, old friend. Come and let us all teach the Hyraphore the meaning of invasive force!"

Arleni took her cue and called out in Elvish, her voice sounding clearly over the masses. Certain Elves stepped forward and began to open the portals. Sigrun and Arleni worked together to create one of their own as well.

It was like an impressive show of talent and artistic display. Various murmurs of wonder could be heard from the vampires as they watched their fellow warriors move harmoniously to create the portals. The plains began to become severely wind-whipped and seemed to gravitate toward the ten portals being opened. Green electricity crackled variously, casting flashes of light upon the faces of those that watched.

Finally, the portals had been opened wide enough to allow five figures to travel simultaneously at a time, side by side.

Sigrun looked at Skadi and grinned.

Yet another portal, by which I know you don't like to travel...

Shut up. Alexander is mine...and I'm learning to get used to your methods of long distance travel.

Sigrun let out a telepathic laugh in response, before taking Skadi's hand and leading her toward the portal. Arleni remained to the side, for she would have to command the Elves on this side of the portal, then follow after them all. Stephen and Zero stepped up to join Sigrun and Skadi. Zero's friends hung back, at the command of Zero to travel with the Assingtonians.

As one, the group stepped forward and entered the portal. Immediately, they were engulfed in a feeling of warmth and peace, however, it only lasted about a half minute, before disposing the travelers on the other side.

Sigrun looked carefully at the Hyraphore complex before him, noting that no alarm had yet been raised. Thunderstorms raged overhead, sending multiple lightning strikes that illuminated the darkness as bright as day.

Little by little, and in between the flashes of lightning, the armies appeared, seeming as if they were ghosts upon the fields outside the Hyraphore.

Alexander Kelsing was in his office, pacing as he thought about the Lycans that were coming. He glanced out the window, just as one of the flashes of lightning briefly illuminated the masses of warriors, before casting them in darkness once again.

Confused slightly, Alexander leaned closer to the window, squinting his eyes as he tried to figure out if he had been hallucinating...

Zero looked at the Hyraphore complex. So this is the headquarters of the rebel brood who brought the wolves into this.......he sighed. Not all vampires around the world are united.......but this way is as good as any way to do so, he thought. Just as long as they are ready by the time an ultimate test comes up........

"Zero.......Zero......"
"Wha....what? Nikita?"
"Be careful. Their numbers are as great as yours......perhaps more. Tell the team to get the scent of the Hyraphore, otherwise they'll end up killing the Assingtonians....."
"Yes, I will do that."

Leopold turned to Zero just as the latter was done telepathically communicating, "Sir, how are we supposed to differentiate the Hyraphore vamps from ours?"

Zero pointed to the Hyraphore complex. "Smell."

Both Leopold and Kellis sniffed the air. Kellis then turned back to Zero.

"Ok, I've got it, they have a unique blood scent different from the Assingtonians. Not that different, true, but they can be discriminated against all the same."

"Very well", Zero nodded. He turned back to the complex. It seems.....brooding, in here........

Alexander looked outside again, but another flash of lightning did not come.
He could swear that there were hundreds of figures out there.

But they were gone. gone in the storm that raged outside. Gone, like the feeling of bemusement that threatened to take him whole.

Nothing to laugh at now.

"Alexander. Alexander!"

The leader of the Hyraphore turned to see his friend and ally-in-arms Garrien, approaching with two other elders.

"Alexander, there are hundreds of armed personnel on our fields, just beyond our compound walls."

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, you're the leader. Shouldn't you raise the alarm or something?"

Alexander smiled, disarmingly. "You're right, Garrien. Please take Samuel and Piter, along with our DEO contingent and address them, please. Per usual when someone thinks they can get inside here."

The other vampires nodded, and left Alexander's study. Alexander looked outside again and could swear he could see someones. But there was one person he could feel was close.

"Maximus... back so soon?"

********

Outside, the armies of Assington and allies waited. Waited for a moment to attack, waited for a time to heed the call of action.

That moment came soon enough. With a bright illumination that forced many to cover their eyes, more than a doezen huge floodlights swamped the forces gathered. After they blinked, they could see that three vampires from the Hyraphore, were on the complex wall's.

"Gathered forces," cried Garrien."I am Garrien of the Hyraphore. I do not know why you have come here, but your means is easy enough to understand. If you do not leave this area within 30 seconds, we will be forced to defend ourselves."

Suddenly, two dozen figures, dressed in distinct DEO Black uniforms, flanked the vampires. They carried assault weapons:semi-automatics, SMAWs, RPGs and sniper rifles.

All were trained at the vampires and elves.

"One... two... three..."

Stephen looked at the DEO agents. The humans were now working with the vampires, Stephen decided to try and get the DEO agents out of harms way. Garrien paused in the countdown as he saw a fledgling move forward; Stephen looked up at Garrien and smiled before looking at the DEO.

"Listen up humans, you're being lead into a slaughter at the command of Alexander. What did he tell your boss to make you come out here and try to fight when it is not your fight? Why isn't the Hyraphore defending itself? I understand you feeling you need to defend you home. I was a soldier myself, Special Forces for 6 years, I had that same drive to defend my country and those who live within. I know you are following orders from above, that is what all soldiers do. But soldiers are suppose to know when to fight and when not to, and who is the party at fault."

He paused looking at the humans, none of them appeared to be phased, they were indeed very good.

"Do you know the whole story gentlemen? Did Alexander tell your director that he tried to forcefully take control of the vampires in Assington with the aid of lycans? Did he tell you that that is goal, and he doesn't care how many die as long as he gets what he wants? Did he tell you one of your agents apparently suffered a mental breakdown and ran a train into a destroyed bridge? Did he tell any of you this? We have no quarrel with you humans, we have business with Alexander and his lycans. The choice to remain is yours and yours alone, we can't force you to move. Before you make a terrible mistake which will cause most, if not all of you will die, think about it."

Stephen walked back next to Sigrun and the others. He doubted any of the DEO would move, but at least he had given a try to lessen the Hyraphore's numbers. He was ready to pull of his sword and kill some of the DEO if they refused to move.

The DEO agents did not even flinch, instead moving their trigger fingers to just rest on the trigger.

Garrien continued the count. In the background of the Hyraphore, the movement of many feet could be heard.

"15... 16... 17..."

Skadi glared upon the massive Hyraphore complex. The rain poured down all around the party, resulting in the patter of water hitting leather being a dominant noise. Lightning illuminated the complex and the figures atop, the supposed 'warriors' posted to defend Alexander. Not a single vampire moved as she watched and waited, keeping in mental contact with her entire force.

"We will not be discouraged by these humans. Those with strong mental abilities are to knock these humans backwards, off the wall. Do not show any of them mercy, they fight by the enemy's side. If the fall doesn't kill them, they will taste our steel once we breach the wall. Those that can fly, get into the air and take out and sharp shooters. Forget the gate, we are going over that wall and taking down anyone that stands in our way."

"18....19.....20"

Skadi looked directly into an illuminated window, a single figure obvious. Suddenly a feeling of absolute dread came over Alexander, the source undetermined. For several seconds it lingered until a voice combined with the sudden feeling.

"I will have your heart for this Alexander. You wanted the Assingtonian brood, well here we are."

Switching back to her forces, Skadi gave the signal.

"NOW!"

Skadi shuddered as she felt the biggest concentration of mental energy she had ever witnessed shoot forth and collide with the humans upon the wall, launching them off their feet and into the complex behind them. Skadi took note of the shields the vampires used to protect themselves and realised they were at least elders. No matter, they would die regardless of their age.

Leaping into the air, Skadi withdrew Glamdring and raced towards the wall wearing a mask of complete and utter fury. She forced memories of Alexander's other attempts and of her lost blade into her mind, causing the rage to build up within.

Split seconds after Skadi, a cloud of darkness launched through the air, toward the Hyraphore complex...

Sigrun followed closely after Skadi, Lanta in his hand and seeming to shine with an unearthly glow as he ran forward toward the wall. The vampires around him moved quicker than he, but he still held true to his course. As he neared the wall, he held out one hand.

A tremendous rumbling noise could be heard as the walls shook with ferocity and began to crumble. Tons of stone collapsed into the rain-soaked earth, sending plumes of rainwater upwards. In little time, a large gap in the wall could be discerned, through which Sigrun ran through, followed by a countless number of Assingtonians.

Sigrun began to scream in Elvish, words of anger, words of curses, words of war. A number of DEO agents and Hyraphorians rushed foward, screaming their own curses upon the invasion.

They paused in surprise as they saw Sigrun. One thought ran simultaneously in their minds...

Elves?! What the hell?!

The distraction was all Sigrun needed as he deftly severed the heads of two of them in one swipe, and cast water-proof fire spells onto a gather mass of vampires and DEO agents alike...

Sigrun glanced around, now covered in the blood of his foes, as he got a quick fix on where his allies were. Suddenly, he got a message from Arleni:

Sigrun! Tell Skadi to get the Assingtonians under cover! We're launching salvos!

Sigrun complied immediately, passing the message along to Skadi. He spun about as a Hyraphorian charged at him, unleashing a deadly slice through the torso of the vampire. Its body fell apart in half, the vampire cursing the Elf. Sigrun sliced down to silence the creature, his sword burying satisfyingly into the neck.

Sigrun created a shield dome over himself, just as the first wave of a hundred arrows were shot into the sky, a black flying mass of pointed death, specially designed to kill vampires, and DEO agents by more than enough...

Skadi landed with an arc of the elven blade, slicing through a young vampire with ease. The fearsome snarl upon her face startled some of the younger warriors and gave Skadi the oppurunity to dismember them within seconds whilst the older vampires merely glared back, attempting to defend their home.

The stench of burning flesh and blood had already filled the air after a few minutes of the initial assault. The ancient spun around in time to see the wall come down and allow the rest of their forces within the Hyraphore walls. Looking down, Skadi noticed two DEO agents that had been flung back by the psychic blast. Both were alive, yet it seemed like they wouldn't be going anywhere.

Fear was obvious within their eyes as they stared up at their vampiric enemy. Skadi stepped foward with her elven blade and looked down upon them. There was no room for mercy, they were the enemy. A single slash brought Glamdring across the throats of both men, spilling their blood and leading to their eventual death.

A few more enemies down and Sigrun's warning filled her head, making note of the flaming arrows about to bombard the complex grounds. Skadi quickly passed on the message to all those involved. Most of the older vampires created shields around themselves but allowed some room for stabbing whilst others either took physical cover or fully concentrated on telekinetically protecting themselves.

"We're ready."

Those two words reached Maximus before the twang of bow strings being released filled the air, closely followed by the ripping of flaming arrows through the air.

Stephen ducked from the arrows as they moved over his head. The hundreds of red dots reminded him of seeing tracers move across the sky when he was in the army. Two Hyraphore vampires jumped at Stephen, each holding an arm while another pulled out a silver sword. Faking that he was over powered, Stephen waited before flinging his two foes into the sword. Stephen ingnored thier screams as his butcher's blade hacked into thier flesh.

He saw a flash off to his right and swung his sword up. His blade began to be pushed back as the Hyraphore vampire pressed down with his sword. Stephen pushed back, the other vampire pushed harder as both tried to overpower the other. Stephen pulled out the Wolf Knife and pressed the silver into the vampire's hand. The vampire moved back, but Stephen slashed his sword across the vampire's neck, sending a geyer of blood into the air.

He once again ducked as another Elf volley went over his head.

IC: Zero just stood there, in no way indicating that he was ready to do what Skadi had just ordered, which is to utilize his mental energies to push the targets. His teammates Leopold and Kellis took note of this, and Kellis went up to him.

"Aren't you gonna take the Lady Skadi's orders, Zero? His Majesty did command you to do so, you know."

With a grin, Zero merely pointed back with a thumb. "Take a look and tell me if that's necessary. I'll much prefer to conserve my energy for the real deal."

Kellis looked behind, so did Leopold, and saw what he was talking about. There were at least a hundred of them, ready to take Skadi's orders, and they packed so much power with them, Zero and his team could just sit back and wait for the fight to start. And so they did.

When the wave of telepathy surged forth from the gathered Assingtonians, Zero and his team took it as the signal, and flew over the world along with Skadi. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sigrun burst the wall open.

"Oh thanks, Sigrun. Wait for me to waste my energy before you blow a convenient path, would you?", he thought to himself humorously. Then it was time for business.

"Leopold, Kellis, formations! Let's go!"

They split up, each one switching instantly into their own roles.

Kellis, SG-552 Commando at the ready, raised her scoped assault rifle and started running. As she did so, the Commando spoke. It chattered into the night, adding to a sudden cacophony of gunfire in a matter of moments. One Hyraphore fledgling got a bite of silver straight in the teeth, a trio sniping at her from on top of the roof of the Hyraphore complex had a burst walk over their chests, another one tried to strafe her, but got punished for being a naughty boy........it felt like moments had only passed when the Commando started making the clicking noises of an empty clip, causing Kellis to swear in annoyance, but the reality is, in that "matter of moments", Kellis had taken 12 down from 30 rounds. Not too bad at all, considering Kellis fired her Commando in 3-round bursts.

A Hyraphore fledgling came at her left, wielding a mean-looking silver hunting knife. Without even deigning to look at him, Kellis slammed the barrel of her Commando into the fledgling's face, stunning him and causing him to fall backwards, then in her right hand, a metal chain suddenly shot out. The last thing the fledgling saw was a small buster sword blade attached to the end of the chain before it decapitated him as thoroughly as Robespierre himself.......Kellis started swinging her Chain Blade, her silver buster sword attached to a chain, and the exotic weapon sliced in a circle around her on its chain, decapitating the poor Hyraphore fools who tried to get near her, while her left hand clutched an Uzi, firing away........

_________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Leopold was all business, no frills. The M249 Para light machinegun spoke, and Leopold was actually laughing, enjoying himself as the hail of silver cut through the ranks of Hyraphore coming at him........

"Hahahahahahaha!!!!!", he laughed maniacally, while taking care not to take down any of the Assingtonians. A group of Hyraphore there, coming way too close to him......Leopold turned, and the Hyraphore vampires who had deigned to take him in a melee battle were no more. Another group forming base of fire directed at him......Leopold turned, and they were down before they could get ready. A number came flying out of a window.......Leopold turned the Para that way, discouraging any more Hyraphore from considering that point of exit for a while through the deaths of quite a number of their comrades who had tried that way.......

Laughing away still, the big-sized Noble Ancient shot away, blood sweat coloring his face........

_________________________________________________________________

Kellis was good with exotic weapons and fighting skills, and Leopold was the untouchable menace who dealt out death by the dozen. But neither matched the fury of their leader, Zero.

Creating the Noble's shield around himself, which unfortunately marked him out as a target for snipers......like it's gonna matter, he thought.......Zero went into the fray, Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber out of their sheathes, cold and gleaming purple. He charged headlong into the mass of Hyraphore, who gave way before him instead of duking it out with him........at least they know what's worthy of fear, he though with a grin.

A slash of the Saber on the right, a head dropped onto the floor. A stab with the Sword to the left, that fledgling would never know the joys of drinking again. An older vampire tried to blindside him. Not a good idea, but that's a lesson he'll never learn as the Sword suddenly changed direction and stabbed him through the mouth and out the back of his head. Three older ones came in on his left, trying to take advantage of his being distracted. They're smart, Zero gave them that, but they didn't know what they were dealing with, and would never know, as the Saber divided three whole vampires into six vampire halves, their weapons severed cleanly.

Two Hyraphore vamps leapt into the air at him, while another two opened fire right in front of him. No problem. With a falsh of motion, Zero threw the Treasure Blades straight up in the air, created the Noble's shield around himself again, and drew out the Dual Elites as the bullets bounced off his shield, and unleashed a full slavo which dropped the firers.

Zero holstered his Dual Elites, stretched out his hands, and caught the Treasure Blades falling out of the air. Two vampire bodies and two vampire heads fell to the ground behind him.

The rest drew back, unwilling to face certain death, and were set upon by the rest of the Assingtonians. Hearing the sudden warning from Sigrun, Zero relayed the warning to his teammates, and they got their shields up just as the flaming arrows started hitting. One bounced off the back of Zero's shield.

"That's the second time you screwed me tonight, Sigrun", Zero thought humorously, as he faced the main doors to the Hyraphore complex. He walked slowly towards the doors, as those who tried to waylay him were either taken down by covering fire, flaming arrows, or Assingtonians going for a melee fray. As he walked towards the doors, he spun the Treasure Blades in his hands. Both Blades glowed a light purple, then increasingly brightened to the point where their brilliance was almost unbearable to look at.

With a yell, Zero cross-slashed the Treasure Blades in the air, facing the doors. A great big purple pulse of Noble battle energy shot forth from the Blades in the shape of a man-sized X, and shot towards the door, slicing apart any Hyraphore vampire foolish enough to stand in its path, or not fast enough to dodge it.

The great energy X hit the door with a great boom. Slowly the dust settled......to show that in place of the door, a great big hole was left.......

OOC: Nikita will appear with the Kantrawulves. I promise you guys this :p)

As the combined Assington and Elven forces stormed the compound, Alexander stood silently, until two beeps sounded at his desk. With a grunt, he pressed the comm button.

It was Garrien, who sounded harried.

"Alexander, they're breaking through. They're taking us to pieces."

"Get out of there, Garrien, and take Samuel and Piter out too. I'm activating the remote mines."

"But Alexander, our men are out there! They're still out there!"

"They are of no consequence. I need supressing fire to keep them all in the courtyard."

With another grunt, Alexander switched off the comm and flipped open another tray. With a smile, he pushed the switch.

********

Garrien tried desperately to get back Alexander, but it was to no avail. In 10 seconds, the mines laid in a trackwork in the huge courtyard would go off, taking whoever was still on the ground to whatever fiery hell it wished them to.

If there was one thing he could admit about Alexander, it was that he was thorough.

"Piter, Samuel, you're with me! Onto the walls."

In one motion, they jumped up onto the high walls, at least to the parts that still stood. There were still a great number of Hyraphore vampires, plus a handful of DEO agents fighting off the nobles, Assington and elves. With a snarl, Garrien turned one elf around and grabbed her neck.

"You should never have come here, female."

Krrchk

He dropped her still form down to the ground. With a mental message to the vampires on the wall, Garrien picked up a RPG from the wall, courtesy of a now-disemembered agent.

"The mines are primed. Supressing fire on the ground now!"

Those who were not fighting hand to hand aimed there weapons on the ground and fired indiscrimnately, cutting down foe and friend alike. Garrien closed his eyes as he fired. He could not bear to see the Hyraphore vampires dieing in such a way.

"Three...two...one..."

Then, the series of explosive charges went off.

...
...
...

Bwooomphhhh

********

Zero slowly made his way into the building, through the hole that he had made.

He looked at the abandoned hallways, filled with decadence that reminded him of some noble works.

He brought his treasure blades in front of him. He could sense someone in the near-distance. Someone immensely powerful.

It was strange though. His movements were slowed for some reason. He could barely swing his sword up.

It was if someone was slowing down time...

"And what are you doing in my home?"

Zero slowly raised his head. It felt like moving in molasses. He could see another vampire come out of the shadows, but he was large, and more distinguished. More refined.

The vampire came up to him, and walked around his still figure. Zero could not move now.

"You're Nobleblood, I can sense it. But I am Driretlen, and to me, you're nothing..."

The vampire jumped up, and delivered a jumping back-kick to Zero's head, sending him spiralling to the far wall.

Then the explosion rocked the hallway...

(OOC: *sighs* I can't believe how inactive my character is... Anyways...)

IC:

Shea Lancer bounded through the streets at a full run, his long strides swiftly eating up the distance as he ran towards the sound of gunfire. Armed with only a Heckler Koch G3 assault rifle in his hands and a sheathed sword on his back, Shea was not heavily armed. But he was still ready. Licking his mouth with his tongue in anticipation, Shea postively drooled at the possibility of a real conflict in which he would be able to deal out punishment to the fellow defilers of his family.

Just as he neared the location of the fighting, a massive explosion rent through the air, sending Shea flying backwards from the concussion. Slamming into a wall, Shea careened onto the asphalt. As he slowly picked himself up, Shea growned in pain, clutching his abdomen. With a painful grimace, Shea moved forward, his assault rifle ready as he moved in to survey the carnage left over by the explosive power of the remote mines...

Stephen had been leading a squad of Hondur's vampires against a hastly made DEO machine gun nest. Stephen had just ducted back down from several grenades when the explosion rocked the round. His ears rang as he was tossed into a small crater.

Standing up Stephen noticed the battle had come to a halt. Both sides couldn't believe what had happened. Rage burned inside Stephen, Alexander would have to go. Alexander didn't care how many died, as long as he survived and there was power for him to have. He and his apparent second in command Garrien would have to go.

Elves, vampires, and humans were trying to stand and help their comrades. Stephen noticed a group of 12 Hyraphore vampires trying to set up a pair of nasty looking DShKM 12.7s to fire into the group. He looked at the remains of his squad.

"Cut those bastards down."

The Assingtonians needed no urging, thier automatic weapons opened up, tearing into the Hyraphore's ranks; none of the 12 lived and the machine guns were turned against the Hyraphore. The battle begun with new hatred inside the Assingtonians and Elves. Stephen began to move towards the one known as Garrien.

A DEO agent tried to rush Stephen from behind and ram a silver bayonet through his heart. Stephen jumped behind the human and grabbed him by his neck.

"Should of left human."

Stephen's fangs plunged into the man's neck and the vampire quickly drained the man of his blood. Tossing the corpse away Stephen jumped to the wall, behind Garrien, who was reloading the RPG. Garrien sensed someone behind him and spun around to face Stephen.

"Never, in all my years have I seen such disreguard for life Garrien of the Hyraphore. You as much of a bastard as Alexander is, so are you men. Firing into thier own ranks, might as well tell them to shoot themselves. You make me sick."

Stephen didn't leap at Garrien and hack him with his sword, instead he pulled out one of his Paras, aimed and fired. The large silver .45 bullet rocketed out of the barrel, heading for Garrien's chest.

The explosion rocked the hallway.....

.....and whoever the vampire was, he didn't expect Zero to suddenly jump up, breaking his spell entirely in a rage. Zero would normally have taken quite a bit of effort to break whatever spell the vampire put on him, but the knowledge that his friends out there were probably dead.......had pushed Zero's mental state over the edge. Now he went into the Noble's berserk stage, his rage overriding all mental holds on him.

Taken aback, the vampire could not have expected the rage with which Zero was now facing him. His face a mixture of great wrath and great grief for what he knew must have just happened, Zero charged up, his Treasure Blades no longer glowing purple, but now crackling with purple electricity that sparkled and snapped with power magnified by bloodlust.

The other vampire quickly tried to attain a mental hold on Zero again, but now Zero's mind was like an eel: impossible to grasp. With a great speed that is more than even an Ancient his age ought to have, Zero......sped past the opponent by a matter of inches.

He was that fast. Zero was now motionless, back turned on the other vampire. The opponent tried to turn......but fell to his knees. A great big X of a slash wound was on his abdomen.

But that was not all. Suddenly, the vampire spasmed, and let out a wail of intense agony. Purplish lightning was coursing up and down his body, causing him to suffer an agony even beyond what silver could do.......he tried to resist, but another burst of electricity originating from the wound caused him to yell out again.

Slowly, Zero turned, his eyes now blank, in full battle mode.

"I'm nothing to you?" He said dryly, as the other vampire continued to spasm. Presently, the crackling of lightning on the presumed Alexander's body subsided, leaving him gasping asthmatically from the agony.

"Like I expected, all of you have forgotten the power of the Noble Bloods", Zero muttered, in a rage now. "My friends, out there.......you have made me angry, my friend. You should have done your homework on the power of the Nobles. When you make me angry, you but multiply my powers. To your loss."

He held both Treasure Blades up, which were still crackling with purple electricity. Then he stabbed the Heaven Sword at the vampire, and instead of the smooth blade of energy that stabs, what came out and shot at the Hyraphore vampire was a crackling mass of lightning, threatening to envelope him.........
_________________________________________________________________

The smoke cleared from the field.

Kellis was in the air. Her senses told her of the danger even before the first explosion happened, and she leapt vertically up into the air, clearing herself from the explosion. The Chain Blade whipped behind her, and she reclaimed it.

Then, as she fell back to the ground, she saw a hulk-shaped figure in the air below her.

Leopold. She grinned, and flew to him, then sat on his shoulders while he was still in midair.

"Glad to see you're safe, Kellis", the ever dry Leopold said. They landed on the ground, to see the carnage that had resulted.

Then they felt it. The potent energy of an enraged Noble Ancient. Emitting from the house itself.

"Zero is angry", Kellis muttered.

Leopold didn't say anything. Then, in a cynical gesture, he made the sign of the Cross, and said with a grin,

"God Bless whoever is facing the wrath of the Devilspawn", he said, the term "Devilspawn" being an affectionate term between them for their commander Zero.

Skadi and Hondur continued their efforts, ploughing through the enemy with their blades. Both vampires had a distaste for projectile weapons and prefered to use something more personal, a blade. Of course Skadi wasn't in possession of her blade at the moment, hence the attack upon the Hyraphore.

Glamdring served her purpose as the elven silver cut through any Hyraphore vampire within reach. Skadi was the easily the oldest creature upon the battlefiled and her dominance was evident as a line of corpses was left behind her. As Skadi moved forward to cut down another vampire, his chest exploded in a spray of blood and bullets. Skadi looked upon the wall to see a Hyraphore elder behind the trigger, several others also firing into the crowd without any particular targets. Their goal dawned upon Skadi almost immediately.

"They're trying to keep us in here, something is wrong! Get off the ground, try and get onto the wall or at least into the air, now!"

Skadi launched herself into the air, Hondur not far behind her. Many other vampires either jumped or levitated into the air, ascending into the storm filled sky. Just as Skadi looked down, a massive explosion emerged from the ground and rocked the entire complex. Unfortunately many vampires were not fast enough and were quickly engulfed by the unrelenting flames of Alexander's mines. Assingtonian and Hyraphore men alike were now smoldering heaps. This only served to fuel Skadi's hatred for Alexander even more.

Hondur took hold of Skadi's elbow and pointed toward the walls. Stephen was confronting one of the elders that had been shooting into the crowd whilst another two prepared to attack Stephen. Nodding in acknowledgement, Skadi angled Glamdring and charged towards the two elders, picking up speed as she allowed gravity to add to her acceleration.

Hondur and Skadi landed with an abrupt crunch as their boots came into contact with both the elder's backs, forcing them to crumple onto the wet stone of the complex wall. Suddenly the boom of Stephen's shot caught the attention of both ancients...

OOC: That is Driretlen, GU, not Alexander. He is on Par strength and attribute-wise of Skadi, far above what Maximus and Alexander can do. That said, he should be more than able to handle Zero at least fairly. The nuance of time-stop majik, what slowed Zero down, is that the other persons will-power can break it free, if they fight it. I will let what you wrote go though, if you do not wish to edit, which I would do somewhat.

****

"Alexander Kelsing, I presume?" He merely paused as the other vampire he presumed to be Alexander continued to spasm. Presently, the crackling of lightning on the presumed Alexander's body subsided, leaving him gasping asthmatically from the agony.

The Hyraphore Ancient screamed in intense agony, as the electric potency of Zero's battle energy coursed through the Blades into his body........

****

Just for future reference, I really don't like this. I can handle other people rping my character, but not like this. Please...

That said, if you do not want to edit, that's fine, but understand that I will respond in... kind...

Skadi's open telepathic message to all allies was taken to heart with rapid response. Elves, no matter where they were suddenly leapt into the air and grabbed a hold of an Assingtonian's leg, just in time to feel the massive successive explosions below them. The vampires naturally glanced down with a look of rage, but realized quickly that their own movements had saved their allies as well.

As the multiple pairs of Elves and Assingtonians landed, they kept together, moreso to back each other up than anything else.

Sigrun on the other hand had leapt to the nearest wall and clung frantically to the small ledges. The explosions were powerful enough to cause him to fall from the perch, falling from a height of over ten feet.

An oomph was heard as Sigrun impacted the cratered ground and lay still for a moment. Blood flowed slowly from several wounds that he recieved from small shrapnel and his impact with the ground. His Elven armor however had protected most of his body.

Sigrun released a series of Elven curses, before calming himself down and getting up. With purposeful strides, he moved to the building, striking down any unfortunate Hyraphorians that had survived the blasts, a geyser of blood shooting from each of the dying ones. Bodies lay about, some corpses, others were of screaming victims, their wounds causing incredible agony in their minds.

It was total chaos...

Arleni reached Sigrun and grabbed a hold of his arm, spinning him about. Sigrun looked into her eyes.

"I...I saw the explosions. I thought you hadn't gotten away in time."

"Barely..."

Sigrun turned to the building, noting that some of the others had already made their way into the building. He began to run forward, to join the masses of invaders, of both Elves and Assingtonians. As he came forward, he looked about to do a brief survey of who was around.

Elves... some wounded but still fighting, most others relatively fine. Sigrun barked out a command in Elvish, and with practiced skill, all the Elves gathered and formed a wall of warriors. Each had their Assingtonian ally standing next to them, also willing to take orders from the Elf-friend of Skadi.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RANKS (http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0TwCFA*sYkf3IRORw619xpnRMBXrDWxHsdf1Ewa*zyQRMlfgg4hxYstJSRr55jIUMPxB2J7Hb2sMIsCvPqKMnWo58IhFcDhZer*W URRKqs!O03xNhAnyo7A/Haldir_6.jpg)

{{{I know the pic doesn't show vampires, but just imagine the scene looks like this, but with the Assingtonians in it.}}}

"CHARGE!" Sigrun cried, watching as the masses surged with fury toward the Hyraphore.

Sigrun's sensitive hearing picked up the unmistakable sound of Glamdring slicing through the air and slaying its prey. He turned to its sound and watched as Skadi and Hondur overcame two elders. He moved closer and nodded to both as they charged together inside the building. They came to a set of three stairs, each leading to different areas of the building.

"Split up, we'll find Alexander better this way." Sigrun said as he deliberately walked at a normal pace up the nearest stairs. For those that saw him suddenly slow down his forward movement, they either understood why he did so or were completely at loss.

Any Elf that saw him, merely smiled as their leader strode confidently up the steps.

With each sure footstep upon the stairs, Sigrun grew more calm, more free of mind as he allowed his soul to relax. He closed his eyes, yet still held Lanta at the ready as he continued up onto the second floor of the building. Strangely, he kept his eyes closed, tuning into his other senses, searching...

His mind was free...

And when his mind was free, all Elves knew that was when they were at their fullest potential...

OOC: Val, it still seems like a whole load of godmodding to me, what Driretlan is doing. Having Zero beat up so early on doesn't appeal to me too much, so this is what i'll do. I'll take away Zero's assumption that it is Alexander Kelsing, and wait for Driretlan to identify himself. I'll take away the part where Driretlan suffers greatly from the electric power of Zero, but i'll still keep Zero's berserk electric power, although i'll tone it down a bit. I'll acknowledge that Driretlan has the advantage over Zero in my RPing. But i'm looking for a compromise here, Val, so would you, in turn, allow Driretlan to be hit by Zero? Also that Driretlan cannot use the same tricks on Zero twice, for Zero will learn and immunize himself, and finally, to even things out, can i have Driretlan's superior power matched by him being outnumbered by Zero's teammates?

Stephen turned his head as he fired, his gaze moved from Hondur and Skadi to the two elders under thier feet. Near the elder's hands were elegant and very dangerous silver daggers. He looked at the ancients.

"Thank you."

He turned to see Garrien try to dive from the bullet, but apparently got hit anyway. Stephen continued to fire the heavy automaitc at the pile of rubble where Garrien had taken cover behind. Garrien looked at the RPG he still held, he had made a good dive and the silver bullet didn't hit him. The large .45 silver slug was lodged in the RPG's sights, rendering them useless. This time Garrien had been lucky, this time.

Stephen turned to see Hondur, Sigrun, and Skadi move off, probably to take care of Alexander. Slapping a fresh magizine into his pistol he left the wall, deciding to take care of Garrien later. Stephen sheathed his sword and picked up a Heckler & Koch G3 automatic rifle off the ground and several magizines and grenades.

Stephen quickly gathered and began to lead a team of six Assingtonians into the Hyraphore. Each door they reached, was shot open and a grenade tossed inside. They moved cautiously, clearing every room they found. Now the battle felt different, room clearing, shooting the occasional enemy in tight confined areas.

Ex-Sargent Stephen Malone was now back to tatics he had trained for and executed hundreds of years ago.

OOC: Ummm... alright, GU. I can work with this. Your two guys can come in now...

IC:

Driretlen suddenly whipped out a rod, about two feet in length, and swung it in an arch. It extended to a length of four feet, and turned a shimmering red color.

The lightning hit the rod, and with an audible hum, it attacked the rod, as if it was almost living.

And then it was absorbed, wholly, into the staff. Zero stood, dumbfounded, as Driretlen looked at the staff in his hand.

"Do you like it? I don't know exactly what sort of material it is made of, but it can absorb any energy it meets. I suppose it can take whatever you have."

Zero swung his swords defensively in front of him. "Who are you?"

"I am Driretlen, leader of the Hyraphore, and I really do not like what I have come home to..."

Zero heard a noise from behind him. He turned around to find a large stone flying towards him. He blocked it with his sword, only to feel a soft knock on the base of his neck.

Zero dropped to his knees, arms swaying at his side, sword dropping to the ground.

"Nerve strike. You can't move for a couple of minutes, but you can talk. So you're a noble, huh? Thats fine. I thought you all had died out, but thats fine. Let's talk."

Zero tried to move his arm, but he couldn't. It was almost frozen. He could feel a stone moving to hover by his head, and looked straight ahead at the vampire.

Driretlen raised his staff, and pointed it at the stone. With a flash, the arc of lightning shot out of the staff and destroyed the stone, sending shards into Zero's cheek.

"This staff can also expell the energies," said Driretlen, pointing the staff next at Zero's face. "Noble Blood or not, I am the master of this house. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

********

As Sigrun continued to walk up the stairs, he noticed that something was waiting at the top. He held up his hand, and stopped the group coming. Without a word, he walked carefully up to the second floor...

And found that he could not enter. A large steel door blocked the stairway entrance, as did other similar blockades at the other entrances to the upper levels.

"What the hell?"

********

Alexander flipped down the other console panel and shook his head. The mines did not work out as good as he had hoped - he had taken out a portion of the Assington forces, but definately not as much as he had hoped for. Now, they were even strolling on into the building as if they owned it.

The Steel doors would hold for awhile, at least as long as it took to evacuate the thousands of Hyraphore vampires. Though he was sure that they would fight, and eventually repel the invaders, Alexander knew that it would be better to regroup at South Point Annex.

They were all expendable, of course. But logistically, it helped if you had troops to fight the war.

He picked up the cellphone and pressed call back. A voice on the other end was almost drowned out by the sound of a truck motor running.

"Januth, are they ready to ship?"

"Yes, sir. We have them all ready to go."

"Good. Take them there and wait for me. Activate all defenses and await for my return. I will be taking a trip first."

The sound of an awaiting helicopter on the roof roared even from his study. Alexander smiled, a bitter, sad smile, and made for the roof.

********

Two minutes later, under cover of the storm, the helicopter flew out over the Burrard Inlet, and made for the horizon.

********

When Skadi and Hondur turned back to the two elders who they had knocked down, they found that they were no longer their. In their place were empty stone, and a feeling of confusion.

That feeling did not last long though, As half a dozen vampires jumped up and landed on the walls, surrounding the Assingtonians. They were remarkably unscathed for being caught in the blast.

"You two are old," said one, taking a defensive stance, "But how do you plan to take on so many of us?"

Already, other figures stirred in the bottom of the courtyard.

********

Stephen and the half-dozen vampire team continued their task of clearing each room of the hyraphore one by one. It was getting to be tedious: kick, bang, boom.

What was more frustrating was the fact that all of the rooms were empty.

As he and the other vampires walked up to the next room, suddenly two shots rang out in quick sequence right next to Stephen. Next thing he knew, the two vampires beside him fell to the ground, holes in the back of their heads.

Stephen turned slowly around, as did the rest of his group. They saw Garrien, along with Samuel and Piter, who had their guns out.

"First of all, fledgling, I don't even know who you are, or what you are doing here. You look like a soldier, so you know all about following orders. Thats all I did. But you... whose orders are you following? What are you doing here, and why shouldn't I shoot you and get it over with?"

The other vampires reached for their guns, but Garrien put up a hand.

"Please don't. We're more than enough to take the five of you..."

OOC: Sorry GS. I wasn't ignoring your last post. Just know that it is Skadi's fight that will be with Garrien, cause it would be... more fair. Thanks.

Skadi and Hondur looked at the six fledglings with utter contempt. They had more important things to do than worry about some young vampires that thought they would play hero and kill two vampires that were most likely older than their combined ages.

Blade both already drawn, the two ancients stepped forward and slashed with a speed and strength uncomprehensible to these fledglings. Skadi and Hondur moved in almost perfect unision as their blades arced around and hacked through the necks of a vampire each, before the unfortunate victims could react. The other four had drawn their own blades and lunged foward but were met with a wave of telekinetic energy from both ancients.

Landing with a sickening thud, another vampire was taken down with a throwing knife to the head just as he began to rise. Hondur launched himself forward and landed upon the torsos of his two remaining opponents. Dropping his blade, the vampire reached into his coat and withdrew twin deagles. Without hesitation, the two fledglings recoiled back as a silver bullet passed into each of their brains.

Skadi allowed the last vampire to get up as he took a quick glance at his knifed companion. Obvious rage within his expression, the vampire charged towards the calm ancient, blade at the ready. As the vampire drew close enough to strike, he brought down his blade whilst continuing the charge. Skadi merely leapt into the air and thrust downwards with Glamdring, forcing the blade through the vampire's skull and into his brain. Skadi withdrew her blade before her now dead enemy crumpled to the stone below and landed gracefully.

"Let's go, we have more important things to worry about than these children."

Hondur nodded as he holstered his pistols and retrieved his blade. The ancient pair calmly floated off the wall and toward an open door, easily avoiding any attempts by the few remaining Hyraphore enemies. Skadi wasn't concerned about commanding the battle, that was left to other designated commanders. All that mattered was getting her blade back, nothing else.

The slow thud of Skadi and Hondur echoed throughout the halls, announcing their presence to anyone that was listening. A few minutes later Skadi picked up the sound of voices, one of them Stephen's. Rounding the corner, Skadi and Hondur were abrubtly met with the sight of Garrien and two other vampires facing Stephen and his squad. Skadi switched Glamdring to her left hand and withdrew a beretta 32, pointing the pistol directly towards Garrien's head whilst Hondur aimed his twin deagles at the other two enemies.

"Your moral dilema is of no importance to me... fledgling. You are going to help me out or you will find several silver slugs lodged within that vile head of yours."

Hondur remained silent but grinned, Skadi was gettin sick of the battle and merely wanted to get her blade and leave. He knew she was prepared to kill any number of these vampires to get that sword...

Zero fell silent. His energies from his nearly out-of-control rage was still crackling, but he couldn't move......doesn't matter though, Driretlan's nerve strike is not gonna work out here. He concentrated within himself......

Suddenly, the shards in Zero's cheeks were expelled with a crackle of lightning, and Zero's body became a conduit of electricity, the electric power charging through his nerves, and undoing the effects of the nerve strike. For the second time, Zero surprised Driretlan by leaping to his feet again after another supposedly immobilizing attack, and the shards flew at Driretlan, forcing him to fend the flying shards away.

With great speed, Zero picked up his Treasure Blades, and Driretlan, still recovering from his stun, pointed his staff at him as if to absorb his energies. That's when Zero pulled trick no. 3 out of his sleeve. Instead of shooting energy at Driretlan, Zero threw his Treasure Blades vertically into the air instead, and his hands dug into his trenchcoat.

Driretlan saw 2 silver throwing knives flying at him. He dodged one, but the other knocked the staff out of his hands, cutting a silver wound on his hand in the meantime. He grimaced. Then he saw two more vampires enter the room just as Zero caught his Treasure Blades, and he turned to try and retrieve the staff. But when he was close to retrieving it, he heard, "Stop right there."

Zero was pointing his Blades at him, and Zero's mates were pointing their guns at him as well. He thought he could reach the staff before they could do anything about it......but he saw then, that Zero's eyes were no longer full of hatred.

Then Zero walked up a few steps......and stabbed the Treasure Blades into the ground. The Blades stuck up, ready for retrieval, but out of Zero's hands.

"I'm pretty certain you have your men somewhere pointing their guns at me now, so we're in a stalemate here", Zero said calmly, betraying not a singel sign of rage. "We'll talk."

Driretlan looked at him. Then he nodded, and straightened up, allowing Zero to continue.

"Apparently you don't know what's happening around here, otherwise you would not have asked the questions you did. So this is a time for parley. I don't suppose you have any idea what your Mister Kelsing has done, do you?"

Stephen couldn't believe his ears. He looked at Garrien as though he was looking at a mound of garbage, in his mind he was. The barrel of Stephen's rifle never moved a milimeter from Garrien's stomach.

"Yes, I was a Ranger. Following orders, I follow logical orders that have some sense behind them. There must be a tiny microscopic shred of intelligence in your head that would tell you firing into your own men has no sense. I'm not under orders from anyone, I'm here to help two people I've know for a thousand years. Hell, I could leave anytime I wanted to, but I won't because I could never face them again. We are here to teach a lesson to Alexander to keep his greedy paws away from Assington and to retrive something of great value that belongs to Skadi."

Stephen smiled as Skadi and Hondur appeared behind Garrien and his bunch, with thier guns pointed at their heads. Stephen turned and motioned for two of his squad to secure the rest of the hall. The pair moved down the hall, this time not using grenades. Stephen turned back to Skadi.

"I'll finish clearing this floor, then I'll go outside and ready a little welcoming surprise for our lycan friends."

Piter turned around and aimed his eagle at Skadi, while Samuel continued to point his gun at Stephen and the remaining two vampires.

Garrien turned sideways, looking at both of the vampires, but did not draw a firearm.

"You," pointing at Stephen, "Don't move. Tell me, what do you mean, Lychans? Do you mean werewolves? Why would they be coming here?"

"And you," pointing at Skadi, "...don't go getting high-and-mighty on me. Alright... tell me what you want, and I'll help you find it."

As he awaited a response, two thoughts ran through his head: could it be that Alexander didn't tell him the whole story when it came to the Emerald Offensive?

And would there be a way to take out the female ancient before she took care of him...

********

Driretlen looked at Zero for a moment, studying him. Sizing him up.

He was both impressed and bemused by what he saw. The man he faced was not a cold invader after all, but an honourable warrior. A man of knowledge.

But knowledge could be dangerous. And did he really believe he couldn't see the tempered rage simmering beneath the calm exterior?

He bent down slowly and picked up his staff. He twirled it over his arm, and hung it in the crook. He smiled, and bade Zero pick up his swords.

"You're a very trusting man, sir..."

"Zero."

"Zero. Very trusting, and very noble. You do your people proud."

Kellis and Leopold moved forward, keeping their guns trained on Driretlen. Zero looked around the now destroyed hallway, and then crooked an eyebrow up.

"No, I do not have any men watching us, ready to snipe you all off. Again, you're very trusting. Now, please, tell me what has been going on in my house. I have been away receiving... treatment for a cancerous sickness, and I have no idea what has been going on. Especially when it comes to the matters of Alexander."