Castlevania RP (Open Via Skype)

It was a cool night as the winds blew softly across this small area of Europe, just on the outskirts of a town which housed an interesting and somewhat different community. This community was filled with several, beings as one could put it. Vampires, conscious, werewolves humans, and others live in this small hidden away town in the forest of Jova which was only a few miles short from the Town of Jova. It is a light forest, not to deep and one coudl clearly see the Vrad mountains to the north through the tips of the trees.

"Zzzzz..." The sound of a small, and light snoring could be heard in the tree tops. There was a girl laying there seemingly looking the age of a person in their twenties. Her teeth were fairly long, this girl is a vampire. She was an average height, and a slim weight. Her skin was white, but still with enough of a tan to pass as a human if need be. Her clothes were all loose on her her shirt is elegant and see through although with a metallic chain mail underneath her shirt covering her chest. She wore at her waist a medium length skirt with a thin strip of blades on the edges of her skirt. On her wrists she as bracelets strange jewelery which could accidentally cut a person just by touching their skin.

The girl stretched as she slowly began to wake, skin whiter then normal. She looked around, possibly gauging her surroundings, or perhaps just having woken from a dream, but she soon lied back down against the giant limb of the tree and slowly dozed off once again.


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Curled up beside the young woman on the tree limb was another girl. Even younger than the woman at her side. With the human features of a 15 year old, but the same fangs as her companion. Her skin held no trace of pigment...Ever. Long pink hair draped gracefully along her long slender figure as she slept, comforted by light snores.

She wore an ornate white dress that she had to clean frequently...blood does stain terribly after all. The only jewelry on her person was a delicate tiara woven into her hair. It was a very peaceful scene, despite the fact they were resting in a tree.


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"Fuwahhh." Prism yawned again as she stubbornly got up from no longer being able to sleep as she rolled onto her stomach to see her friend. "One-saaan," She said in a childish way even though given her age, both looks an actual age, it really is not the manner of which she should be speaking, but at the same time, she did not always speak in this manner.

Prism has become rather, strange in last couple of decades, maybe one could say crazy. After all, being over 800 years old, and being immortal is not always a blessing.

She kept poking her until she would awaking as she accidentally cut herself with her own bracelet for the umpteenth time. "Ouchie," She said with a smile laughing at her own mistake.


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"Uuuuu." Lazuli groaned from Prism's prodding. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing, it's so late." she pouted slightly, but not to the degree Prism was. Only one of them could act childish at a time. It was an unwritten rule Lazuli lived by.

"Are you hungry or something?" She asked before glancing at Prism with one eye open and the other still shut tight with sleep. "Never mind, you are hungry. You're all white again. What do you want to do?"



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"Hehe, let's go into the human town of Jova, they will be waking soon, let's get a late snack." Prism said excitedly as her poking only now came to a stop. With that she smiled as she hopped down from the tree branch landing safely on the ground without a sound. She didn;t say anything else, but hopped a bit waiting for Lazuli to come down as well.



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An auburn-furred wolf climbed over the large tree that had fallen across the game path. If he wasn't wearing a simple blue shirt and khaki shorts, it would be hard to tell he was a werewolf. At least until he stood up on his feet and brushed himself off.

Tal had been stumbling through the woods since he wandered off the main road, lost in the unfamiliar terrain and confused from all the new scents. His towering height of almost 7 feet didn't do much to help, since he had to keep ducking and squirming around the low-hanging branches in the forest. His clothes were well-worn from his journey from his home in Yuba Swamp several days to the east.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out an old map and looked at it again while checking for landmarks. Spotting none that matched his map, he did spot a pair of young girls at a nearby tree. Deciding it was easier than being lost, he waved his great-great-grandfather's map as he called out to and approached them. Despite having a muzzle, his speech was clear.

"Hey! 'Scuse me, but do either of you know which way Jova is? It's my first time in the area, and I'm a bit lost."



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"Aw I hate going into town." Lazuli wrinkled her nose. "Everything smells bad, can't we look for a lost hiker or something?" The thought of going into town was rather repulsive. Humans didn't seem to know how to keep things. There was always a bit of garbage or some dead animal somewhere. She dangled her feet from the limb, awaiting a response.


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"Yes, we must!" Prism said as she did a powerful jump up and hugged Lazuli's legs tugging her down. It wasn't long before they both fell to the ground, with Lazuli on top as Prism moved herself so Lazuli would have the cushioned fall. Prisim just giggled as she took in the pain of the fall and being fallen on.

At that point a newcomer, looked like a werewolf came upon them as he simply, and friendly asked for directions.

"...Which Jova?" Prism asked with a suddenly changed tone of voice, almost in a mean or harsh tone.



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Lazuli frowned, she didn't like it when Prism carried on to the extent of causing herself harm. "You don't have to be so terse." She looked in the werewolf's direction. "Don't mind her, she's just hungry." Lazuli said with a smile.



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"Which- Uh..." Tal opened up his map and looked it over, still only seeing one Jova marked on it. "There's more than one? This was really the only map I could find that went out this far, and it's, well..." A quick glance was enough for anyone familiar with the area to see it was well out-of-date. It had far too much water on it, and the town and village centers had obviously moved since.

"I don't know the difference between however many Jovas there are, so I don't know. My pack doesn't usually go too far past Yuba Swamp." The sight of a werewolf shifting in sincere embarrassment is a sight few see, and it's almost humorous to behold. Even at his stature, Tal shifted between his paws and lowered his ears while trying his best to hide his blushing. He wasn't sure why, but the girls in front of him were a lot more menacing than he expected them to be.


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"There are two." Prism said violently now. "One is for filth like us, and the other is my daybreak snack." She said in metaphors for monsters like them, and humans as food. She firmly grasped at Lazuli's hand as she tugged to begin walking i nthe direction of the human Jova.



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"Filth-? Snack-?" Tal wasn't familiar with metaphors so drastic, though he had a feeling he knew what they meant. A quick sniff of the air confirmed his guess by the girls' scents. "Alright... So do you two know where the Jova Hunters Force is centered? I'm supposed to meet them before figuring out where I'm going to be living. A continual census, I think."

He folded up the map carefully, trying to avoid doing anything to provoke the vampires. He made a mental note to check scents sooner when dealing with people outside of the town borders, and to send more recent maps back home as soon as he could buy them. But in the meantime, one of the vampires already looked less than friendly.


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"Stop it Prism." Lazuli yanked her hand away. She was a bit naive when it came to strangers. "He has questions, what's the harm in answering them?" She took a step closer to the werewolf. He didn't stink like humans usually did. He smelled like the earth, forest, and a bit of blood.


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Prism's hair which was blonde, short and tied off to the sides of her head seemed to twitch as she heard him say the words, "Jova Hunter Force." "What is it you are looking for again?" She said in a continuously aggravated voice as she turned around to face him and walked forward enough to be standing in front of Lazuli.


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"I'm looking for the Jova Hunters Force. If it were anywhere else I'd just skip to the part where I figure out where I live, but Alpha Alyss insisted so I don't have much choice. It's the first time a member of my pack has lived so far away from the swamp, and they are helping to pay for the house if I show them what makes my pack different from other werewolves. Just a practical business exchange, really. Nothing personal about it, except for maybe the census part."

Tal looked between the two vampire girls. He wasn't used to seeing so much hostility about meeting with the supernatural police. But he also hadn't met vampires that weren't actively trying to kill him before either, so he's experiencing a lot of new things this night. He was hoping showing some politeness wouldn't make things worse, so he offered a hand out. "Oh, and I'm Taluran Exorna Graves of Pack Mysta. I probably should've introduced myself sooner, sorry. Most people just call me Tal though."


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"So you are not looking for the Hunter Outcasts then," Prism said carefully although her eyes sharp as daggers. As he offered his hand to shake Prism twitched a bit, but then soon saw that there was no evil intent behind it, but even so she was careful.

She slowly moved towards the werewolf, but as she moved forward she could begin to tell of how much of a rookie this man must of been. "Alright then," She said now joyfully as she grabbed his hand firmly and shook it. "I'll take you there as we were just on our way ourselves."



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Tal smiled as the vampire relaxed and shook his hand. "Thanks for the help. But, uh, I'm not going to have to change into a human form for this, am I? Alpha Alyss said I should, but it's really uncomfortable and I'd rather not if I don't have to. And what exactly are the Hunter Outcasts you mentioned? I never heard of them."

Tal let the girls lead him to Jova, still unfamiliar with how different things were outside of his pack's swamp.



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Prism stopped at a mere twenty feet away from the human Jova as she pointed towards it. "There is your destination, but you do realize that they haven't woken up yet, right?" She said as she pointed to the night sky, sun only beginning to rise on the far side of the mountains. "Now, if that is all, we will be on our way, come Lazuli," Prism said back to a violent tone. Tal may have began to notice that this girl, seemed to be a little bit off of her rocker, but would he be able to figure out that it was her age that is causing this? After all, immortality is not a wonderful gift.


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"Most people might still be asleep, but Hunters have to be ready any time. There's probably someone waiting at the phone and going through papers just in case. And thanks again for the help, I probably would've taken all day to find it myself."

Tal waved as he readjusted his bag, turning and heading into Jova. He thought the girls were nice vampires, if a bit erratic. Perhaps something he shouldn't pry too much into, considering how quickly the older-looking one became aggressive.

The werewolf paused at the first corner, realizing that he still didn't know where exactly the Hunters Force building was. A look around didn't show much, and there were too many new and unusual scents to even try to figure out which one was a hunter. He decided to simply pick a direction and go, since he'd surely find someone to ask eventually.


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"Nice meeting you!" Lazuli said cheerfully. She followed Prism down the path. "Ah yes we are still hungry." Speaking thoughtfully with her index finger on her chin, and her right eye squinting. "Is it all right for us to hunt like this with him only a little ways away? Or would that be rude?"


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"Fuk him, what could he do to us." She said in a half violent, but almost cheery tone as she began walking through the woods closer to the houses of the village. "Come on Lazuli, our dawn meal awaits." She said as her voice reverted to being younger child like.


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Tal stood at the fence leading towards an old church. The gothic style was very different from the regular buildings in the rest of the town. It was the only building large enough and old enough to have been used by the old monster hunters, so it was the most likely choice for a headquarters.

A short hike from the open gate to the front door left him wondering if it was the right place. Wouldn't he have seen someone by now if it were? Knocking received no answer, and neither did opening the door. It was only after he stepped inside that he thought that Hunters might see him as a threat initially, and was the last thought in his mind before something hit him and he blacked out.


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Lazuli and Prism soon came upon a cottage. It was an abode on the outskirts of town. It looked as if no one at all lived there, quite a mess really, but Lazuli knew better. She was glad it had been her turn to pick their meal. This house contained a man who'd escaped the law. He'd killed his wife and gotten away with it. Nobody would miss him. Lazuli tried to keep current with these sorts of things, a vampire's stealth made eavesdropping all too easy.

Normally it wouldn't do to suck someone dry, but this would be a very special exception. "Don't hold back Prism, I want to to drink past full, well past full." She smiled in anticipation of the red warmth. "After you're done I'll finish him, I don't want us worrying about being neat..." They would remove the head from the base of the neck and destroy it. Then write a note. When they were through it would look like the enthusiastic work of a vigilante. "After you." Lazuli cheerily invited.


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"Gladly, and I think I may have to...play with my food for his transgressions." Prism said smiling as she turned her head to Lazuli. "After all, can't always go killing our food supply, can we?" She asked as she laughed evilly as it seemed to stir the man awake. "Ah, perfect timing." She said with an evil look on her face as she walked up to the still waking man. "Guess what, you won the lottery, your prize? Death for the things you have done." As Prism said these words the man's eyes seemed to be widened awak, and just before he was about to try and yell for help Prism quickly grabbed him by the neck, and with her strength easily lifted him into the air and against the wall nearby.

"Don't worry, you'll die soon enough, after we slowly drain you of every last drop of blood, and after that I'll decide whether to kill you with mercy, or let you suffer till you die." She said one last time as she punched him hard in the stomach and letting him fall to the ground. Prism then jumped right on top of him forced his head back as she dug her fangs into his neck, sucking away enough blood for her skin to turn back to a more human color. It wasn't enough though, there would be plenty for Lazuli after this, but she wanted the ecstasy. She slashed at the mans arms and at her own as she placed her arms upon his absorbing the the blood into her with her own magic like power as she enjoyed both the pain of the arm slitting, and the warmth of the new blood flowing into her. After the few moments of her attack she backed off, now coated with a deep red blood as she wiped some away from her mouth although her face was covered with it still.

"Your up, Lazuli." She said smiling into the suffering, and fear ridden man's eyes filled with terror.



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Lazuli hated the way Prism slashed at herself. It always made her a bit uneasy, however she was glad that Prism was full. Lazuli bent over the bloody, terrified man. "An eye for an eye, you shouldn't have misbehaved so." She was happy to have the blood, but she never fully enjoyed the act of drinking it. It tasted good, ridiculously good, but she had an out of body experience every time she sank her fangs into a human being.

"Ughu!" Lazuli gagged. She'd drank a pint or so of blood without tasting it. Much like a thirsty child will guzzle a glass of milk. On the second pint she became aware of the flavor.... Little did she know, this man was AB-. She dropped him immediately and tried not to panic. She could already feel her extremities tingling.

Lazuli's body would not tolerate AB- blood. It was such a rare blood type that thankfully this had only happened once before. In an attempt not to alarm Prism, she ran outside.


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"Laz?" Prism said confused by her action, but then thinking more clearly looked down upon the man before bending over and running her fingers through the blood. She licked her fingers for a moment then ran outside to find Lazuli as she left the man an alive, but barely pile of mess.

"Laz!" Prism said hastily as she caught up to her. Prism got to her knees in order to see into Lazuli's face as she asked, "Are you okay? You drank a lot of that!" She said with a tone of worry in her voice. "Drink my blood if you have to!" She said as she re-slit her wrist to open the wound that had already healed as she offered it to her.


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Lazuli was touched by her sister's gesture, but refused. "No...I'll be fine don't worry." She was starting to feel faint. She sank to her knees Things were getting blurry. The rejected blood gushed from her throat as she heaved violently. The more blood she expelled the better she felt. When her body calmed she shakily rose to her feet. "Well that was unexpected." She said forcing a smile.


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"You need to feed again now," Prism said worriedly as she continued to hold her wrist out for her as the cut already began to heal itself. "You are going to be dangerously low, and the sun will be rising in fifteen minutes now, please, take of me." She said as she withdrew her arm and slashed the cute deeper, barely flinching at the massive pain she must be enduring. The top of the mountains to the North have begun to brighten up, the sun was rising.


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Lazuli still weak, pushed her sister's arm away yet again. "I said no Prism!" I'll be fine until tomorrow. I promise." She looked pleadingly into Prism's eyes. The thought of drinking her sisters blood made her stomach turn even more.


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As Prism's wound closed up yet again, and as she noticed the sun slowly rising, she ran into town to try and find a quick victim maybe one would be awake already, and if not she would burst down a door if she had to.

After running about a quarter of the way into town she saw a women just getting her laundry early in the morn, and she took off right at her. Sadly in her haste, she did not even try to stealthily do this as the women saw her coming and was able to get one cry for help before Prism for around her and cupped her mouth as she quickly dragged her back to Lazuli. "I am not going to kill you, and I would not be doing this if this were not a special case." She said with a heavily angry tone as she came back to Lazuli.

Lazuli was upset that it had to come to this. It was just like Prism to get so worried. Not wanting to insult her sister's efforts she slowly walked over to the woman in Prism's arms. "I'm sorry." she whispered. Lazuli hated taking blood like this, she felt like a criminal, a thief. She tried to make it as painless as possible for the woman. Feeling all her strength returning she turned to Prism and touched her cheek gently. "Thank you so much." her eyes were full of tears.



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Tal groaned as he awoke, moving to rub the sore spot on his head. The motion revealed several things: First being he was tied up, and second being that he was sitting in a chair. As he opened his eyes, he saw three Hunters standing nearby. And they didn't look happy to see him.

One of them stepped forward, setting his hand over his gun as he spoke. "Thought you could catch us off guard, monster? We're not stupid, we knew you were here as soon as you were at the fence. What were you trying to do? Kill one of us? Spread your pack? Or maybe just cause some chaos to hunt in, is it?"

"Off guard?" Tal wasn't expecting a warm welcome, but he was still surprised at how much he was being accused of. "I was told to come here before moving in. Beta Fletcher said he sent my things here, to make sure I stopped by. I'm Taluran Exorna Graves of Pack Mystic. I thought you were expecting me?"

"Graves? I've heard that name before." The hunter stepped closer, looking closely at Tal as if he were trying to recognize a face.

"Nathan Graves had slain Dracula in the 1800s. Most Hunters tend to hear about people who pull that one off." Tal responded quickly, knowing it was better off not to mention Nathan was his ancestor. "It's a fairly common name I think, but I have proof I'm registered. It's in my pocket though, so you'll either have to untie me or reach in yourself."

The Hunter scowled at Tal before digging through the werewolf's pockets. "Like I'm going to give you a chance to get loose. This it?" He withdrew a simple coin, stylized with an engraving of a whip on one side and a howling wolf on the other. Proof of peace, given to werewolves traveling beyond their pack's recognized borders. The Hunter tossed the coin into Tal's lap as he turned away. "Cut him loose and let him get his things together. Then take him to Master Thomas. I'm sure he'll want to talk to the mutt himself."



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"Of course lil sis," Prism said with a loving smile as too touched her cheek in a sign of love, trust, and loyalty. "Come on now, it's too late to get back to our town before the sun will rise. The church's bell tower should be safe enough." She said with a quickened voice as her voice slowly droned onto a violent tone while the sun began to shine it's burning UV rays onto her hand when she pointed to the tower. "Now!" She said once more as she hit the women she dragged with them to knock her out, hopefully making her forget what just happened.


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Once in the safe darkness of the Church's bell tower Lazuli and Prism got comfortable. "I like it when we rest in Church." Lazuli stated. It made her feel like less of a monster somehow. The doves further up cooed in their nests.

Lazuli's head drooped slightly in shame "I hope someone finds that woman. I should have remembered that taste..." She whispered


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"eh, she'll be just fine." Prism said without care as she licked any left over blood that was around on her body. "Be more careful Laz." She said in a suddenly mother like tone. "Always make sure of what you are ingesting. Anyway, now we can sleep peacefully. Thankfully the people of this village seemed to not care enough to break down the door to this place ever since i jammed it long ago. heh, the filth."

Her tone varied as she went on with her small rant as she cuddled up next to Lazuli before shutting her eyes to rest.


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Despite being given a comfortable seat, Tal shifted nervously in front of Thomas Morris. The two had sat in silence after Tal entered the room, and the scars visible on the Hunter's body showed how much he had done to earn his position of command. Several long minutes passed before Thomas spoke. "Graves, was it? I recall a Hunter by that name. I'm sure you recognize mine as well, given the records I was sent. My ancestors stood against Dracula in place of the Belmonts for a time."

Tal nodded in response. "The most notable also saved several young women at the same time, if I remember right. But... Isn't that history? I thought I was supposed to do something here. A demonstration?"

Thomas sat back in his chair. "That's right. Your pack is one of the unusual ones. Non-humans with powers are usually watched carefully, but you managed to keep yourselves isolated enough to keep it secret. So what makes you so special?"

Tal stood up, taking off his shirt and tossing it onto the chair as he moved to the center of the room. A grey band of fur stretched around his body, going from his shoulder to his waist in a large circle, ducking just under the waistband of his shorts as it went around. "It's easier to show you than to just talk about it. Pack Mysta is able to use a kind of elemental magic for combat. Nothing incredibly powerful usually, but elemental magic is elemental magic. We're able to from an early age, and all of us have a grey mark somewhere. It's usually easy to notice, and it's what you'll want to pay attention to for this."

Tal flexed his claws, breathing slowly as he relaxed for the demonstration. The band of grey fur started glowing a deep red as he raised his claws, watching them become wreathed in fire. Thomas' stoic gaze shifted for a moment to one of surprise at the sight. The mark returned to its normal grey as the fire dispersed harmlessly. "Not everyone learns how to control it this well. We usually police ourselves, and those of us who learn well watch for troublemakers. Fire seems to be a common one my packmates use, though ice is also well known. The more unusual ones usually require training to draw out, though I haven't mastered many of them yet. I can barely throw the ones I am good at as it is."

Thomas stood up. "Well, that's certainly a useful talent. A bit frightening, but I'm sure you've already learned proper control. You'll be training with the cadets this weekend, so rest up until then. I'll have someone show you to your place when we've got a chance. Welcome to the Jova Hunters, Pup. Not often we get non-human recruits, and even less often do we accept them. Don't get yourself killed before you prove you're worth it."

Before Tal could respond, another Hunter came in and pulled Thomas out to settle a dispute. Tal stood there for a few moments, still thinking over what happened. "Joined-? Training-? What just happened?"


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Lazuli yawned. Guilt still nipping at her heels. Guilt for making Prism feel she had to do something drastic, and guilt for getting an innocent party involved. Thankfully, she could feel intense fatigue hazing over her unpleasant thoughts. Both vampires drifted to sleep tangled in each others arms. The only place in the world that either one could find solace.


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One of the younger Hunters led Tal through Jova and out of town, towards the second Jova with non-humans. Tal was barely paying attention to the path as he was led, too lost in his thoughts.

How did I end up being accepted so suddenly as a Hunter? The Aljiba Force said I'd be lucky to talk to them more than once without being in trouble. I want to help and show that we're not "monsters" just because we're different. But I never though I stood a chance at join- Wait, what's that smell? Tal paused to sniff the air, recognizing the scent quickly once he paid attention. "Blood and death. Someone died nearby- This way!"

The Hunter followed quickly as Tal ran off the main path towards an old cottage. The Hunter paused to look after the woman that was coming to as Tal looked in the building. "Vampires, from the scent. And it looks like they wanted him to hurt, too."

The young Hunter looked inside after the woman rushed back to town, recognizing the man lying in a pool of his own blood. "Unfortunately, I'll have to report this immediately. But everyone in Jova knows who he is... Killed his wife and got out on a technicality. Bolted before we could catch him. Even if we did catch them, I doubt they'd get in much more trouble over this. Still, we'll have to turn back for now."

Tal turned to follow, something nagging him about the vampires' scents as he noticed the second pool of blood. It only took a moment for him to catch up with the Hunter. "Fair enough. I can probably get some earlier training it or something, since we're going back anyway. Maybe get a newer map. Mine's apparently about a hundred years out of date, at least."


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Lazuli refused to whimper or whine as a dark figure loomed above her. She was on her back, utterly helpless. The cold sting of the night air was no different than the flesh of this monster. His or her fangs dripped the blood of her loved ones onto her face. The liquid horror mixed with the liquid sorrow from her eyes.

She knew her time was near. Why he'd or she'd saved her for last she'll never know. A voice pleaded in the background as the figure's clawed hand inched ever closer to Lazuli's throat. She tried to fight, squirming and scratching with her own pathetic fingernails.

It was no use, but she kept it up. It wasn't until after her captor had slit her throat that her desperate flailing stopped "Traitorous ideals!" He or she yelled at the background voice with fervor.


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Blood and destroyed bodies lied everywhere around her as she herself continuously ravished through everyone, until she laid her eyes upon this one last survivor which a colleague of her was about to finally kill. Something inside changed as she watched this scene as Prism began yelling at the person to stop before they killed her. "Traitorous ideals!" The women yelled towards Prism as a heavy, but quick battle ensued, with Prism quickly being the one defeated, and tossed aside next to the one she tried to save as she was banished from the ranks.

Using the last bit of her strength she moved herself closer to a tear filled girl as Prism said, "Please, this may hurt more, but it is the only way to save you." She said as she bit down onto her neck sucking away most of her blood in order to quicken the chance to turn. After that small moment Prism passed out from exhaustion, seeing as who it was she fought just then.


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Weakened severely, Lazuli was only dimly aware of what was going on around her. The vampires were fighting, but she wasn't sure what about. She was so tired. Soon one of them was lying beside her.

Lazuli wasn't frightened anymore. There was nothing left to do but die. She would have so loved living. Having a family of her own. All the wonderful things her mother told her about, but it would seem none of that would be an option. Besides, there was no one left to love...or so she thought.

As Prism's bite drained the last of her blood, Lazuli's discomfort multiplied. She yelled out for the first time since the ordeal began. Then ironically, her breathing ceased entirely. She felt like someone was smothering her with a pillow.

Lazuli closed her eyes for what she thought would be the last time, only to have them open again instantly. What's this? She was dead? She sort of felt dead. She didn't really feel "alive" per say. Yet she was still able to see and move. It was only when her wits fully returned to her that she realized what happened. "Please, this may hurt more, but it is the only way to save you." Prism's words raced into her mind. She looked at Prism's exhausted body, concentrated on taking a breath, and hoarsely whispered the first of many "Thank you."s to come.

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As Tal arrived back at HQ, a team of Hunters came upon the old church. Rumors had been spreading of it being used as a safehouse of some kind. If it was monsters, then they would have to be driven out. If it was a cult of Outcasts, then they would have to be apprehended. Either way, this was only meant to determine if it was being used.

The doors opened slowly, stiff from disuse. The sight that was strewn out before them immediately sent their fastest runner back to HQ. A bloody massacre was strewn before them. Whatever had done this would be strong, and the team might not be able to kill it on their own.

They stayed together, carefully searching through the entire church for the culprit. No matter where they looked, there were still more bodies. The only door they couldn't open led to the belltower, and dusk was fast approaching. The three remaining pried the old door open just as the sun was setting, charging up the stairs as darkness finished falling.

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Tal looked at his Hunter Badge, the only item that defined him as a member, just as a runner arrived with a message. Every available Hunter was needed, so he followed without question. The sun had just set as the dozen of them arrived at the church, ready to help the team inside with whatever problem they encountered.

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"Priz...." Lazuli was awake now. She had been dreaming about the night she met Prism, but was suddenly awakened by the noises downstairs. The voices were getting closer. "Please wake up." She pleaded quietly. Prism was usually a sound sleeper, waking her up was always a challenge. "I don't know what that is down there." Lazuli whispered worriedly.

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"It's still early Laz," Prism said with a yawn as she rolled over a bit to hold onto a worrying Lazuli. "Let us sleep a lil while longer..." She said sleepily as she pat the now fear increasing head of Lazuli.

As the sounds grew louder Prism seemed to finally wake more as she looked around her with sleepy eyes. "Lazuli... do you know what that sound is?" She asked quietly as she got onto her knees to listen more as footsteps grew ever closer.

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The three Hunters reached the top of the stairs, pounding on the door at the top as they tried to get inside. It didn't take long for them to start breaking down the jammed door, revealing the two vampires just waking up...

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Lazuli's grip on Prism tightened. She bared her fangs, and issued a loud hiss. The girl was nearly mad with fear. She was sure this was all her fault, it must have something to do with the woman Prism kidnapped. Though her display was most certainly enough warning for the intruders, Lazuli was tempted to demand information. Knowing better she held her tongue. Prism was more experienced with this sort of thing. Lazuli would follow her lead.

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Prism's eyes widened at the sight of the invading forces, there was no reason for them to do so, so why? "I don;t know what you think you are doing, but it was your choice to came after us!" She said as she pat Lazuli on the head twice as she let go of her grip, giving the signal to run and to not look back. The only open space was the window in which they entered.

Prism smiled as she cut her own arms as her blood rushed together in front of them to create a wall which cut the invader's views of them as Prism followed suit in escaping the bell tower into the fresh night. She saw the amount of men spread around outside the tower. "What is this about?" She asked herself as she landed on a house not to far away from the tower. "Laz, I want you to go ahead of me. I can catch up." She said sweetly as it seemed she was about to jump down to floor level, possibly to personally inquire herself what this was all about.

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Tears were pooling in Lazuli's azure orbs. "Priz, please don't waste your blood." She pleaded. "Especially not for me!" While grabbing Prism's hand, a look of determination cut through Lazuli's tears. "I won't leave you for any amount of time! I can't believe you could even think of something like that!"

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"I just ate, I've got plenty to throw away, even if I didn't, I'd throw away my last drop for you." Prism said as she smiled, patting Lazuli's head. "Wait on this roof hun." She said as she placed her hand on the gutter, dropping down in a smooth back flip as she stood to face the army in front of her, arms raised to show she meant no harm.

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---------
Tal recognized Prism as she landed in front of his group. He quickly pushed his way to the front of the group to talk to the on in charge before anyone could attack. "I know her! She helped me out last night, I'll explain later. But she didn't do this, she didn't have the time. I'll keep an eye on her out here while the rest of you help the Hunters in there."

The older man scowled, though it looked like he hadn't smiled in years. He didn't trust "the mongrel" he saw Tal as, but the wolf quickly said something that even he could agree with. "You don't really want me in there screwing you up anyway, do you?"

Tal wasted no time after the old Hunter nodded his consent. He quickly stepped up to Prism and gestured off to the side. The rest of the reinforcements quickly headed past them and inside, all but a few giving them dirty glances as they passed by. "I don't know what happened, but I know you didn't have near enough time to pull this off. C'mon, I managed to get them to leave us alone for now but I need to know what happened here."

"What happened, where?" Prism said in an annoyed tone as her face held the look of anger.
"Why were we nearly hunted by your group there." She said as she began to shift towards heavy anger while tapping her foot and staring into his eyes.

She was unsure of the situation, but she would try her best so that Lazuli would not come into any harm whatsoever, and decided to try and talk them down instead of fleeing.

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"You don't know? But it-" Tal sniffed the air, immediately recognizing Prism's scent from earlier. "You were at the shack... You really don't know anything about the massacre that happened here?"

"And you believe that lying witch doesn't know?" The Hunter that led the charge into the belltower stormed over, eager to fight someone. Another senior Hunter stood by the door, watching. "Of course she killed them! She's a vampire, what else would the damn bloodsucker be doing here?"

Tal's grey band started glowing a bitter blue as he grabbed the young Hunter by the collar, snarling. A fine mist surrounded his claws, the ice magic causing little more than discomfort from his victim a show of Tal's control through his temper. "She. Didn't. Do it. I saw here last night, and there is no was she could have gotten from the shack to here with enough time to have killed anyone before the sun came up. And don't even try to argue that it might not be here, because I recognize her scent. You're just a fool looking for a fight, while I'm trying to find out what happened." Tal tossed the human to the side, barely holding back a growl. "Don't get in my way, and don't hurt her."

The werewolf was still clearly angry from dealing with the rash Hunter. He was trying to calm down as he turned to enter the church, the band's glow becoming fainter with each step. But as soon as he set foot inside, he felt something oppressive around him. He flinched under the sudden shift in atmosphere and from the scent wall of all the blood, his claws tensing and letting loose a blast of ice towards the ground before loosing his footing. Many of the Hunters glanced over as he fell, some concerned while most indifferent. None offered to help him up.

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"Heh," Prism chuckled as she watched him fall while trying to keep his footing with his strange magic. "Well, that sure was fun." She said laughing, no longer angry, but seemingly happy. Prism sure was strange, Tal most likely thought.

Prism actually walked over to him to help him up, but stopped as she smelled the amount of blood coming from inside the church. Prism's eyes grew wide open as she let go of Tal's arm while rushing inside of the church. "Wh-what the fuck happened here?!" She exclaimed loudly as she backed away from the church, noticing quickly that the bodies strewn about the place seemed to have been placed in what looked like a pentagram of some sort.

Prism ran back outside of the church eyes still wide as she looked around the area. She suddenly thought to herself how badly she was looking towards everyone, and quickly regained her composure. Prism closed her eyes for a moment, then re-opened them as she again looked around the area.

"...." She was silent as all eyes were upon her. "So, you are trying to blame this on me then?" She asked as she tried to protect Lazuli by not mentioning her. "Hmph," She said angrily now. "I did kill the one in that shack, but he was a worthless murderer, he did not deserve life, or even the slim chance to become a creature of the night, but this was NOT my doing, and if you all would take your violent heads out of your asses you would see that something larger is going on here!" She said as her voice slowly went into a yell, then slowly back to a normal voice. "I'm going home, you ignoramus's can figure this out all night if you need to." She said as she began walking towards the building where she left Lazuli while passing by the many, many hunters around her without fear. After all,how many of them could actually stand up to Prism? And how many of them actually know of Prism, thanks to her antics over time near and around Jova.

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One of the Hunters stepped up to Prism as she passed by. "Regardless of who he was, there's still the woman found near the cabin to discuss. We're still going to have to insist you come back to HQ for punishment. I doubt it'll be much, if anything." He turned to the other Hunters standing nearby. "Alright, listen up! Whoever did this is long gone, so there's no reason for all of us to stay here! Investigative group, get to work; everyone else head back!"

Taluran rose to his feet and entered the church. "Funny how it was only a criminal suspect that had the decency to try and help me up." He walked around the main area of the church, trying to pick out individual scents from the room and corpses through the blood. There was something bothering him about the setup. Something about the aura of the church felt wrong...

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"I'm not going anywhere with you." Prism said as she darted her eyes towards him, but not turning her head. Prism's hand visibly pulsed as her anger was revealed. "You know enough, there is no need for me to go anywhere, you have your info, and I do not know anything about any women."

After saying that violently she continued walking forward towards the house where Lazuli was. "And don't even try to take me by force, you should know you have no chance," She said as she turned her head to view into his eyes as she flashed her own vampiric eyes, revealing that she matched the description for the powerful vampire Prism. Prism was beginning to become rather violent, something that lazuli most likely did not like in the least.

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Lazuli was very frightened as sat atop the roof. She wasn't scared for herself, she was worried about Prism. She knew something was wrong, or something ELSE rather. It shouldn't be taking this long.

By the time Lazuli arrived at the Church Prism was talking heatedly with a werewolf, it seemed to be the werewolf from before. She found a hiding place outside and listened in. He apparently wanted to take Prism somewhere. Even though she was certain the werewolf had a legitimate reason for wanting to take her beloved adopted sister. She wasn't about to let that happen without a fight.

Not sure how this was going to play out, Lazuli continued to wait patiently.

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The Hunters took a few steps back at the display, some of them quickly turning and leaving as soon as they realized who she was. None of the hunters were equipped to, or had the skill to, take on a vampire of her power. They began backing off and leaving her to herself after that.

Taluran was left a clear path to approach. Though he needed to talk to her, he didn't stop at Prism and simply kept walking in the direction she was. "I've got a few more questions, and I'm pretty sure you're the only one who might be able to answer them." He might have been terrified at the thought of fighting right now, but if he was going to prove himself to the Hunters he had to show he wasn't a coward. At the moment, he was just hoping he would be able to reach the treeline before Prism scared him more.

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Prism let out a soft hiss as he slowly moved towards her as if he were trying to move closer to Lazuli, because with each step closer to prism, it was also a step closer to Lazuli. Feeling the fear, but bravery emitting from this one, Prism decided he most likely was not a threat, but nonetheless Prism spoke up, "And what questions would you like to ask me?" She asked still violently, but with a lessened forced tone.

Even with this forceful push she was giving to everyone she slowly backed away towards Lazuli's new location, she would have to talk to Lazuli about staying put later as she became more and more wary of an ambush. She knew the more experienced hunters would not dare fight, but any new members but not take this as much of a threat, which would only anger Prism more if there were hunters who did not back down from an advance. Prism slowly backed all the way until she was next to the little hiding spot of Lazuli's as Prism whispered, "Why did you leave the roof?

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Lazuli found this to be a rather odd question. Blinking a couple of times she replied "Why wouldn't I leave the roof to follow you? I've followed you for a very long time, and will continue to follow you." She was relieved that this seemed to be coming to a close and no serious harm had come to Prism.

Then she looked over at the rookie hunters. They seemed to be preparing some kind of attack strategy, she scowled. "They won't get the chance to try anything." Lazuli growled. She hated fighting, but for the sake of defense it was necessary. In all her years as a vampire, she'd never killed anyone. She'd only maimed or incapacitated them. If the situation called for a more permanent solution Prism always took care of it.

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"The situation is not right, none of us are safe," She whispered to Lazuli which was something very odd for Prism to say. A danger? And even dangerous to Prism? Still facing towards the hunters, she said aloud. "The time is coming, the organization is on the move." She said, which even Lazuli wouldn't understand as for the past many long years Prism has tried her best to have Lazuli not mixed up in all of it again, wanted to shield her from seeing those events again. Prism hoped it wasn't too late, but things have already started.

"What do you mean Prism?" Lazuli asked clearly unnerved. If it was something Prism was concerned about she knew it had to be serious. She glanced at the hunters and saw that most of them didn't seem to realize the gravity of the situation. What a pity, an attitude like that would most likely get them all killed.

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Taluran stood a bit to the side of the vampires as they talked, relieving himself on a nearby tree as he tried to collect his thoughts. Prism did confirm something he had suspected, though: She knew something about the attack.

"Organization?" Taluran looked over from the tree, still in the middle of his business. "What sort of organization has access to magic that dark? My pack is sensitive to magic, and that spell had a massive aura. First time since training my powers flared out of fear, and the massacre isn't even the complete spell. What could this organization possibly want to do?"

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Maybe she shouldn't of said anything, was the first thought in Prism's head. "Forget I said anything as there is nothing any of us can do, what is going on WILL happen, and there is nothing any of us can do."

Prism turned around and quickly grabbed Lazuli's hand and began walking towards the forest, but her pace slowed down as she began to feel bad for at least not warning them with something. She stopped and turned around, still holding Lazuli's hand as she spoke loudly, "Without the Belmonts, your fate is sealed, and Alucard alone will not be able to stop it." She believed that was sufficient enough information as she turned back around nearly tugging Lazuli along with her.

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"Belmont? Alucard? Wait..." Taluran immediately knew what the conversation was about. There wasn't a Hunter that didn't know what those two had in common. He turned quickly as he finished urinating, letting his shorts fall to the ground so he could catch up to the vampires. "Dracula?! The organization that continually tries to resurrect Dracula is behind this?"

The rest of the Hunters that were there were either terrified or confused. Not even the overzealous rookies wanted to think about Dracula returning. Several broke off to send word back to HQ, others simply talked and continued working tensely.

Taluran tried to get ahead of the vampires, getting their attention somehow. "You know what's going on? What they're doing? Then come back to HQ and tell Master Morris! He'll have some idea of what to do, at least."

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"I will not have Lazuli and I getting mixed up in that again!" Prism nearly yelled as she nearly clotheslined Tal to the ground after letting go of Lazuli's hand. "I have avoided it with her for hundreds of decades, and I;m not going to get us mixed up in it now." She said in a hiss of a whisper, and although Lazuli could hear her perfectly it did not come to mind that Lazuli could hear her.

Prism turned around as blood seemed to pour from her eyes from a mixture of anger, and from holding down her power caused by her growing anger. "Let's go Lazuli, we are done here." If Tal continued to pursue them, then she may have to explain everything she would hate to do so, but she doesn't want to kill anyone that doesn't deserve it, in front of Lazuli.

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Taluran got to his feet, realizing that he was losing the argument. "Fine! But the Belmonts weren't the only ones to kill Dracula. The Vampire Killer isn't the only weapon that can beat him. Nathan Graves, my ancestor, fought and killed the Lord of Darkness with no immortal weapon." The werewolf's mark began glowing yellow, electricity crackling around his claws. "And I have more than he did at the start. I'm going to try and stop this, and if I can't do that then I'll hunt down the monster myself." The electricity faded as the mark grew dull again. "I'm going to try."

Taluran waited a moment to see if Prism would respond before turning away. He picked up his shorts and headed back to HQ. There were a number of things he wanted to talk to Thomas about.

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"Nathan..?" Prism thought to herself as she turned around after a moment, only to not see him any longer, the blood from her eyes looking like tears by now as her face turned saddened that he was already gone. "No, I shouldn't care." She affirmed to herself as she turned back around, still not wiping the continual flow of blood from her eyes away as the blood trickled down her body. "Well, let's get going, somewhere, anywhere, Laz." She said with an unstable voice.

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Lazuli was very nearly panicked. Still very much in the dark, she was frustrated and distressed that Prism was crying blood. She lifted a shaking finger and wiped most of it away. They had A LOT of talking to do. Prism had only explained the bare minimum on the night of Lazuli's conversion. "Fine, but we you need to tell me everything." she said trying to choke back the fear and anxiety in her voice.

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Prism quickly calmed down as she saw Lazuli's distress which she responded with smiling sweetly as she held her close. "Do not worry about such things Laz, they are not for us to worry, it doesn't concern us, let them handle whatever it is that is coming," She said as she attempted to feign ignorance as to whats going on although it was clearly too late to do so. Prism looked deeply into Lazuli's eyes as she continued her false smile to try and calm her, blood, and power still leaking, Prism seemed to be slowly accidentally trying to use her vampiric power of charm to convince Lazuli that nothing was wrong.

Prism would normally never do this, and she feared what Lazuli would do if she actually took notice, and was prepared to receive any sort of punishment, but it was all to protect Lazuli, her little sister.

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"You...." Lazuli got quiet for a moment. She looked down at her feet and when she looked up her eyes were bright with anger and tears. "I've been nothing but honest with you ever since..." she sniffled "I can't believe you would try to placate me in such a way! I don't even know what to say to you!" Turning away from Prism and crossing her arms she thought to herself. Deep in her heart she knew her sister wouldn't purposefully betray her trust, that's what she couldn't wrap her mind around. What could warrant such a measure?

She ached for the knowledge Prism kept secret. It wasn't as if Lazuli was a child, she'd lived more life times than any human was due. What's more, she lived more significantly than the average person as well. Learning everything she could in the stint of cheated death that she now called "life". "Please sister, you've been caught in your lie, redeem yourself."

Seeing Lazuli actually become this angry at her caused Prism to become completely disheartened and a swell of pain surged from the emotion she was already scared of happening from her last move.

"But...lil sis...I'm only trying to protect you..." Prism said as she let herself fall to her knees in defeat from all the recent happenings. "But now it's too late, after all these years our safety is compromised....I have failed you, and I failed yet again for what I just tried to do to you now..." Prism said as her unstable self began to pour actual tears, of not blood, but actual tears.

Prism placed her hand on the ground in an apologetic sort of way as she lowered her head to Lazuli. "The once mighty, and known across the world, Prism, she threw everything away for the one person she finally grew an emotion towards." She said as she began to speak in the 3rd person as he voice now grew unstable. "She is very sorry, Lazuli, but it now seems that you both are involved, and at any moment, 'they,' could intervene."




"I'm sorry," Came a sudden voice from a treetop behind Prism. "But did I happen to hear that you are the infamous Prism?" A small laugh followed by a continual voice which seemed to echo around the area, and with Prism in the state she was in she could not tell where the voice was coming from. "You will make a most wonderful sacrifice for the returning of thy Lord, Dracula." As the name Dracula was mentioned a hooded figure sped from the tree towards Prism, a wooden spear aimed directly at Prism's back to where it will pierce to her heart, and much too quickly for Prism to counter from her position.

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She'd gotten on him in a flash. Knocking his stick away like it was some kind of chopstick. Then from a deeply guarded place within her, her own monster escaped. She literally ripped and gnawed apart the unsuspecting villain. As his blood was spilled her lingering humanity wept. After locating the spear she thrust it through what was left of his heart.

A long loud hiss, a gasp, and finally a gurgle. After those 3 sounds the woods dared not make any of their own. A strange and comforting horror took hold of Lazuli as she looked at her hands. They were covered in blood. Not her blood, not Prism's, but that of the cur who threatened the sisterhood. Technically not even his blood, he'd stolen it from some other poor soul. The beast had been one of them. A vampire. A mad, rabid dog of a vampire. She started to started to mutter "What have I done? What have I done?" through the thick silence.

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Prism's eyes grew wide as she watched Lazuli's relentless attack on her attack, and as she watched Lazuli slowly begin to freak out her mouth dropped open wide as it seemed that event was able to lock up the unstable place Prism had been going to. "No.." Prism said softly as she quickly got up, staggering, to get yo Lazuli and hold her from behind. "Don't think about it Laz, you did not do a thing wrong, just forget about it, he had what was coming to him, do you see why I did not want you involved? But now it's too late!"

Prism rattled off all her statements quickly and without a pause as she worriedly held Lazuli in her arms and rocker her back and forth. "Calm down, calm down.." She said to Laz as she then followed up by apologizing multitudes of times.

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"No..." Lazuli said softly as Prism rocked her. "It's not ok, I can never forget!" She cried out. "I must live with this." She sobbed "It was awful, but I knew it had to be done. I'm glad it happened..." she winced at her choice of words. "No I mean, maybe now you'll trust me, maybe now we can fight whatever this is together together..." Lazuli took one last look of the mess she made and shuddered violently. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it would all be worth it if she could help Prism.

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"Laz, I have always trusted you hun, but I guess we have no choice but to be included this time, and I will no longer hide the fact that this has happened at the least number of times being 5 since you turned hun." Prism turned Lazuli around to hold her tightly as she wiped away the blood from her pretty face.

"As for now, there is nothing we can do, they have already marked this area, do you feel it?" Prism asked as she looked towards the church and their location. "The final sacrifice was a vampire, didn't matter if it was even himself, but this will now slowly happen to the rest of the towns in Transylvania."

Prism lightly kissed Lazuli's forehead as she move a bit a ways, holding her hand out for Lazuli to hold onto for as long as she wanted, and still had her other arm ready so as to hold her dearly again if she needed it.

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Taluran grumbled as he finally made it back to HQ. "Been here twice already and have a badge, and they still don't want me inside. Why do they have so much of a problem with me? Aljiba doesn't have a problem with us."

The werewolf glanced around he looked for Master Thomas. All around him, the Hunters made their distaste clear. Most avoided him, giving him angry looks as he walked by. Others got in his way, refusing to let him pass until they were done insulting him. The only one who was even remotely pleasant, aside from Master Thomas, was the young Hunter who was supposed to show him where he was living. And he was still avoiding Taluran, afraid of what the others would do or say.

He spent years hoping he could be a Hunter, and the past 12 hours made him question why he ever looked up to these people. They were polite to humans, but everyone else was treated like scum. He never saw anyone be so rude or cruel without fighting, and yet his former idols were doing just that to him.

Master Thomas was in his office alone when Taluran found him. The old human looked up from his papers as the large werewolf entered. "What seems to be the problem, Graves?"

The show of respect took Taluran by surprise for a moment, before he remembered why he was there. "Sir! I just returned from the massacre. And, well... There was dark magic. A lot of dark magic. A lot of incomplete dark magic. I don't know what it was, but Prism said it involved Dracula. I thought you might have some idea as to what's going on."

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A large shadow drifted over the forests of Jova, the heavy flapping of a large pair of wings the only sound made as the obsidian gargoyle found its instructed destination. The only items on the creature were a small cloth satchel on its back and a large coin on display held between its teeth, the closest thing to pockets a being with no clothes possessed. It landed in front of the large church it understood housed the fleshlings that it was supposed to meet. Sure enough, there were two guards out front bearing markings of the order, though they seemed less than pleased to see it there. As they scurried into defensive positions and hollered out meaningless protests to its presence, it calmly removed the coin from its mouth and responded.

"You will see that I am from the order assigned in the northern vale, as this coin proves my identity. I have urgent tidings for your leader." Men came out from inside the building to investigate, one rational soldier checking its identification as the others blathered on about where it obtained the coin from and its hideous appearance. "I was given this coin for identification from someone whom perhaps your great, great, great.... great, great grandfather would have known. My appearance, however irrelevant, is the result of there being no good method of removing moss stain. Now then" It finished, taking its coin back from the one guard who was doing his job, "It is time I spoke with your leader"

The gargoyle didn't even wait on its 'escort' to lead the way, the incompetent fool taking too long, simply striding in and letting the tiny creature catch up at his own pace. Finding the most important man in the structure wouldn't be difficult, rooms and people of importance were all the same, and never difficult to locate. Arriving at the tail end of a werewolf's report, it seemed the situation was more dire than expected. "What is going on is apparently a pattern, young one. The scene you describe has run its course in Ondel as well. The clocktower's seal is no more"




Morris stood up after the gargoyle mentioned Ondel. "This is worse than I thought... Graves, you're probably one of the few Slayer Heirs that don't know about the ritual." He paced in front of his desk as he talked, clearly unnerved by recent events. "Dracula wasn't just slain 900 years ago. His castle was torn apart using spells long lost to us, and bound in pieces across the land. If the castle was unable to be restored, then Dracula couldn't be revived without his corpse. And that was taken care of as well. We've been guarding the secret for generations, never letting any more than necessary know about it. It worked well enough, until nobody was left to fix the seals."

Taluran was still trying to wrap his mind around all of this information. Morris opened a wardrobe off to the side, his old equipment inside. "And... How many are left?"

"Just one. The keep's seal. Dracula's seal." The old Hunter put on his armour as he continued talking. "I know exactly where it is. It's going to be hard to protect, since Death is also going to be working against us. Will you be joining us, gargoyle?"

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A gravely noise rumbled out from the gargoyle's throat, what the fleshlings would refer to as 'laughter'. He looked Morris in the eyes as the man returned to facing him, so he could see the stone one's sincerity. "More appropriately, you would be joining me, as I have been on this task since well before you existed. Though I suppose your terminology is acceptable, as your people accept you as leader this also places you as the closest access I have to my creator's legacy. For future reference, as 'gargoyle' is fairly inspecific, this one has been given the designation of Oridian. You may use that title to address me most efficiently." The briefest of glances was put behind him as the last of his 'guards' finally caught up, seemingly frustrated with the pace he had set. Focus returning to Morris, he bowed his respect of leadership. "I am ready to depart whenever you are, commander"

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Morris turned to one of the other Hunters. "I'm going to Braham's Ruins. Graves and Oridian are coming with me. The rest of you get ready to fight. Death is back, and he might come here to kill off opposition to Dracula's revival." He marched out of the office before any of the could respond.

Taluran following behind him, a bit surprised. "Just the three of us? Wouldn't Death want to try and finish reviving Dracula? Shouldn't we bring more Hunters with us?"

Morris chuckled. "Oridian was created to stand against Death and Dracula. We're descendants of two Slayers. And who said we were the only ones going?" There were four more Hunters waiting at the door as they arrived. Morris didn't slow down, but the four matched the pace as they left the building.

Taluran turned to the gargoyle, a bit unused to having to look up to a crouching figure. "I haven't met a sentient gargoyle before. Is there much difference between sentient and non-sentient? Or stone you're carved from?"

There was so much information swirling around in Lazuli's mind, it was overwhelming. She took Prism's hand and gripped it tightly as if to say I'll never let go. "Priz we have to do something, we can't let this happen a 6th time." She nearly gasped when she grasped the reality of what that meant, 5 times before, hordes of innocents lost their lives. That was sobering to say the least. "We must do something, but first hold me just a little longer...I need just a few more moments to gather my courage." Lazuli wrapped herself in Prism's arms to get just a few more moments of comfort.

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Prism held onto Lazuli softly and lovingly as she patted her head softly. "I won't let any harm come to you, little sister." She said with a sweet voice as they continued their hold on each other. "It is going to be very tough, hun, so I need you to listen to what I am about to say, and promise me that you will do them." Prism said as her voice turned serious.

"This will be the most danger you will ever encounter in a thousand life times, should I tell you to hide, you hide. Should I tell you to run, you run, and should I tell you to leave me behind and save yourself, you do it." Prism said seriously as she held her shoulder tightly.

"Promise me that you will listen to such commands should I give them, promise me." Prism said again as she looked into Lazuli's eyes seriously.

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"No." Lazuli shook her head slowly. "I would never leave your side. You're the only reason I'm still able to exist. Thus you are my only reason to exist. Why would you ask me to live the rest of this "life" wishing for death?" She cringed at the thought and looked up into Prism's eyes. "You see? Our destinies are quite bonded. If I were to lose you I would most certainly lose myself."

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"Do not worry about me, I will not die so easily." Prism said as she sighed at Lazuli's reluctant attitude to abandoning her if need be. "I can see you will never promise me such a thing, and you are determined to want to help with this situation." She said as she gave another sigh. "You win Laz, but remember, if you do lose me, it will not be the end for you, instead live enough for the both of us." She said in a poetic tone as she let go of Lazuli.

"Come, let us head to the final ritual area." Prism said as her pace quickened while waiting for Lazuli to catch up before speeding off towards the final ritual area.

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Oridian lazily matched what was for the humans a frantic pace, the ease and fluidity of his motion only increasing once they were no longer in what he considered the confining spaces of the human hovel. It had nowhere near the taste of the Cathedrals he was used to. Hearing the inquiries of the one who was called Tal, he directed his gaze over, barely needing but the occasional glance ahead to keep balance and pace with those leading the way.

"There are several very significant differences between sentient and non-sentient gargoyles. I should hope I don't need to explain how I vastly outrank an inanimate gargoyle" His deep voice rolled out, an attempt at levity for the sake of his companion. "Non-sentient animated gargoyles are mostly an extension of the building they are carved upon- it is the will of the building that drives them, and not their own. To maintain their link, they are made of the same cut off stone as the structure. This marks our second difference." One clawed hand passed itself from his head and back down, indicating his form. "The Cathedral I stood vigil above was not carved entirely from obsidian. I had a platform made from that stone, to make it seem as if I were merely another decoration to the already lavish decor, but that is not a part of me. The nature of the stone affects the gargoyle, and that is why I am made of this substance."


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Tal nodded at the response. "Interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind. Might try and find out what each material means sometime." He turned his attention back to the trail they were following. The other Hunters set the pace as quickly as they could move, but the werewolf hadn't had trouble keeping up. "Hey, where's the final seal anyway? I don't remember any churches or towns on the map this way."

Morris didn't take his attention from the path ahead of him, barely able to make the pace he was setting. "It was never put on any maps. They didn't want it to be found accidentally, so it was left in ruins a few hours from Jova. Only someone who knew where to look should ever have been able to find it, but we're not taking any chances. We should be there soon, and we can rest as soon as we arrive."

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Oridian flapped his wings once experimentally as he heard the fleshlings talk of rest. "You set up camp when you get there then. One who has no need of rest will take point- I can find us an entrance while you find somewhere that can be held for respite." A couple of flaps and a spring of his legs later, the large stone creature was airborne, high above those he left behind as he sought the structure that would be his new vigil for the near future. These ruins held the greatest hope for humanity's protection, and for that reason they would also house one of its guardians.



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Morris glanced at the sky as the gargoyle flew ahead. "We're almost there. We should be able to see it as soon as we cross this next hill."

Taluran dashed ahead of the others. The humans were clearly near their limits, and it wouldn't do any good to be ambushed now. "I'll see if there's anyone there. Make sure that we don't have to fight already." He quickly made it to the top of the hill, pausing to look over the landscape.

The ruins were just ahead, at the base of the hill. Despite its age, the structure held up well. The walls appeared to be intact, though the front gate had fallen off. The mansion itself had collapsed inward, the outer walls damaged and the stone towers destroyed. There wasn't much left of anything, but what was there looked like it could withstand a long fight without crumbling further. Most of the roof had crumbled away, and Tal could make out Oridian heading towards the holes.

The Hunters caught up with the werewolf, pausing at the top of the hill to catch their breath before heading down. The front door was stuck, either sealed from age or blocked from the inside. There wasn't much that could be defended easily outside, but they managed to find a relatively safe spot near a corner of the structure to make camp. Tal started walking around the building, trying to find another way inside.

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Not even half an hour passed between the time of their arrival when Prism and Lazuli came upon the scene, cloaked in the treetops as they looked down on the amount of hunters that had come to defend the mansion.

"A lot of those hunters came to defend...like they will be any help," Prism said as she laughed at the idea of the little humans being able to defend against the oncoming force. "That werewolf may be a force to be reckoned with though, but let's keep an eye out up here." She said as she made herself comfortable in the tree as she found a spot that could fit her and her lil sis nicely together.

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Oridian landed with a soft thump inside the decrepit mansion walls, most of the impact absorbed by one last flap of his wings before he folded them behind his back. Had he been the sentimental type he might have sighed a breath of relief, back in an environment that suited him better than nature. As it were, there was more of a surety to his step now that he was back inside a proper dwelling where he was both able to blend in and maneuver better. The stone in the walls was ill maintained, but old- strong. That it was even still standing at all was a testament to its former glory.

The gargoyle took a quick survey of the state the mansion was currently in. Layout, weaknesses in the floor or walls, impromptu alcoves made by collapses in the foundation, anything that could be taken advantage of during the heat of battle. By the time the others arrived and had need of him again, he would already know this place in its entirety. Which brought him to his next order of business- how those fleshlings with their inept climbing skills would make it inside without wings. It wasn't just his companions- while they might balk at the thought of being carries through the air like a hippogryph dragging a cattle out of the fields for its next meal, knowing weaknesses in the structure that an enemy would try to take advantage of was also an immediate concern. It would be for the best to make one obvious entrance, so that the fodder would channel into a single primary route. Anything that attempted to sneak in elsewhere he could pick off from the sky.

Taluran was finishing his lap around the mansion ruins as the rest of the Hunters finished recovering from the trek. They were sorting through supplies, making sure they had everything ready as one of their number stood guard near the forest. The werewolf approached with his news, eager to get into a position more defensible. "I can't find any way inside. Aside from the front door, which won't budge, there's no entrance."

Morris nodded as he picked up an old whip, testing its weight. "Then we'll either have Oridian make us one or we'll climb inside. We're nearly defenseless out here."

"A fact that may very well spell your doom, mortals." The voice hung heavy in the air, despite its soft dictation. A skeletal figure draped in a purple cloak with an aura as dark as Dracula himself floated near the edge of the woods, the lifeless corpse of the Hunter standing guard impaled on his scythe.

Death continued speaking casually with no apparent care to the bleeding body he was holding. "This is the final seal. I can feel the Lord of Darkness pushing against it. And the best your weak organization can send to safeguard is a mongrel child from a whelp who got lucky, and a human almost too old to stand? Dealing with the walking statue will be more of a problem than you mortals. That immortal witch has her own fight to concern herself with, my minions will see to that. You will die here, and your blood will wake my lord from his slumber once more!"

Death swept his scythe up, all the blood flowing out of the corpse and leaving it a withered husk. Another swing drove the blade into the ground, sending the blood forward in several lines. Dirt followed the path, surrounding Morris and the other Hunters inside an earthen barricade. "The corpses of the fallen shall slay the humans. Do not think to rescue them, mutt. Your foe will not be slain so easily."

A bony hand waved to the gate as another werewolf charged Taluran. Taller still than Tal, he slowed to a halt as he neared his target. Pitch-black fur covered his entire form, except for a patch around his left eye. The patch began to glow an eerie purple as venom dripped from his claws, killing the grass and covering his hands in a sickly aura.

Taluran didn't notice Death leave him to deal with Oridian. He was too focused on the werewolf that was starting to circle him. He was in shock over seeing a face that he thought had died years ago. He almost didn't find his voice to ask, his heart sinking as the monster in front of him nodded to confirm the nightmare Death laid out. "Dad?"

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As the scene unfolded in front of them, Prism's eyes widened when she saw Death make his own appearance from afar. She began to make a start towards him when she heard a sound to her left as she stopped and yelled to Lazuli, "Get down!" As she grabbed Lazuli's arm and pulled her, and herself down from the tree as a multitude of Harpy feather flung on by, missing them by a fraction of a foot.

"Are you OK?" Prism asked hurriedly and worriedly as she quickly looked into the sky looking for the source of the attack.

"My my, look girls, it's that used to be famous vampire, Prism. Death has talked a lot about you, and your failure as a vampire." She said as the flock laughed with her. "Oh? And who is this next to you?" She asked with a sarcastic tone. "Oh, it's that stupid little girly that you threw everything away for, how weak, but do not fret, I'll end your worthless lives quickly." But instead of attacking she pointed behind them as she said, "It won't just be us as your opponents." She said as Prism turned around and held Lazuli close while awaiting the next opponent's arrival.

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"Umph!" Lazuli uttered as she landed hard on her rear. In a flash both she and Prism were on the ground a good 30ft away from each other. The new combatant had arrived and wasn't wasting any time.

"Priz!" Lazuli yelled, watching a living shadow creep up and engulf Prism's body. Then with a look of pure ecstasy the harpy created a dust storm. Seeing became impossible. After a few moments and some shrill laughter from one of their foes, the dust settled...

Eyes wide and mouth agape all Lazuli could do was gasp. Standing before her were two Prisms! They looked at each other with contempt. Then in unison made a tearful plea. "Lazuli! It's me, I'm the real Prism!"

Lazuli put her head down in between her hands from the pain of the situation. "No! No! I can prove it!" one of them shouted and got an impressive blow in on the harpy. "How could you strike your own comrade?!" the other yelled. She too lunged and took a chunk out of the winged beast. A shriek of pain pierced the air, at this point even the harpy was confused.

What was Lazuli going to do? They both looked EXACTLY the same, they even SMELLED the same. There was no distinguishing feature at ALL! She looked back and forth between them, hopelessly confused...

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"You low level fiend of a succubus, disperse your image of myself!" Prism yelled towards the copy of her with anger before turning to Lazuli with a pleading look in her eyes. "She would be able to tell, wouldn't she?" Prism thought to herself before shaking her head as she realized that she was beginning to doubt her lil' Lazuli.

"Lazuli," Prism said in a sweet voice. "You know that I am the real one, right?" She asked as she still held a container of doubt in herself that she hated to feel at all. "I don't know what I'd do without you by my side." She said as she held out her arm. "It's my blood, see?" She said as she cut her arm deeply to the point that it would not heal immediately, something that only she would do to herself.

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Upon hearing the noise outside, he crashed through the nearest crumbling wall, emerging through the crumbling brick and spraying dust to see a portrait of carnage laid out before him. The humans already seemed to have been waylaid somewhere. The werewolf that had accompanied him appeared to be engaged with another of his own kind. Harpies and vampires were clashing in their own internal discord, enemies or protectors neither side seemed to be ready to assault the mansion anytime in the near future. And floating in the middle of this scene of destruction was death himself. Finding purchase in the debris from the wall he just emerged from, he called out to the onyx shadow before him.

"Death! You once again overstep your station as a force of nature. Your unholy reverence for your master leads you once again to be slaughtering those in your path well before their time. It is this irreverence for your duty that brings me before you now. Remember your charge."

Without hesitation, one great talon dislodged a large section of masonry beneath him, a flip of his foot sending it aloft he caught it between his hands to hurl it with a spin at the scythe held in death's hands. The stone would do little to death's immortal form, but the impact it would make on his weapon would be less forgiving.


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Death tried to avoid the massive stone, flinching as it still hit his weapon, dispelling the etherial tool. He was unused to his weapon fading by another's power, but he would not stray from his mission. "A force of nature, you say? Hahaha... Perhaps, but I am the darkest Death! The essence of cruelty, the death of heartless violence- My station is destruction!"

Death rushed forward, conjuring a smaller sickle as he moved. The mist and shadows just finished coalescing before he dashed to the side, moments before getting within reach of the gargoyle. "But it seems you do not favor weapons. A pity you waste your time trying to strike down my weapon. I have slumbered for centuries, I would have relinquished it to create a challenge if you had simply requested such. Now I ask, can you strike me down with my own weapon?"

A flick of the bony wrist sent the empowered sickle driving into the stone by the gargoyle's feet. Death faded out of the visible realm for a moment before reappearing. "Of course, that is assuming you can find me!" Death reappeared three more times, floating in four separate locations over the fields opposite the main gate. Each bore an identical aura, identical essence, and bodies as solid as the others.

* * * * *


Taluran dove to the side as the larger werewolf charged, the cuts from his claws rotting the wood on what was left of the front door to the mansion within moments. "Dad! What are you doing? It's me! It's Tal!" The younger wolf was on the verge of panicking. Didn't his father die when hunting? Wasn't he one of the guardians of Yuba?

"I know exactly who you are, runt. And I know exactly what I am doing." Tal's father slashed forward with one of his claws, several toxic darts flying out and narrowly missing Tal. "I am resurrecting Lord Dracula!"

Tal sat there on the ground, barely able to think. His body seemed to move on its own, carefully blocking his father's attacks without letting himself be infected with the magic poison they bore. Everything he was told... Everything he believed about his family... Was it all a lie? Was his father really a monster?

Tal's mark glowed brown, his movements dropping dirt and dust as he blocked the onslaught with renewed strength. There was one question he needed answered, one thing he had to know. His desire to hold out for that answer was all that gave him enough focus to use his magic at the moment. "Did you kill my family? Were you the one who killed my brothers and sisters?" His voice almost broke as he asked. His panic and fear were clear to anyone who listened to the wavering tone.



"Did you really kill Mom?"

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The fake Prism had a look of horror on it's face when it saw to what lengths the real Prism went to convince Lazuli of her identity. It couldn't match that feat, a wound like that would have been fatal. Pushing her hair out of her face with both hands, Lazuli revealed a bright look of determination and confidence. "You can attempt to break our bonds, but you shall never succeed. We are blood sisters, not by the blood our bodies no longer produce, but by the blood we've chosen to shed and share with each other!"

With that Lazuli lunged and soon it was all over for the impostor. It's only strength was beguilement, once it was exposed as a fraud it was completely vulnerable. Now they only had the battle weary harpy to contend with.

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Prism smiled as Lazuli made the correct choice before turning towards the succubus. "Yes," Prism started to say as she moved towards the succubus. "But first I want to plac, just a little hurt on this lesser succubus.." She said as she suddenly grabbed the creature by the throat. "How dare you cause me to further tip myself to the point of insanity." She said as she violently bit down onto her neck draining her blood fiendishly as her eyes glowed red from over feeding until the point where the succubus only had the strength left to barely move. "I have spared your life, use it to tell Marie that even she will not be able to stop me."

The succubus scurried off scared on all fours as Prism turned to face the head of harpies. "Defeat the leader and the rest will scatter, isn't that what they say?" Prism quoted as she readied her legs to jump into the air which she did in a near instant amount of time. Within those moments her hands, claws and all was pressed against the harpies face as she then dragged the bird from hell towards the ground creating a small crater where they landed. This alone would be enough to take out a foe with such little defense, but Prism's blood lust seemed to begin to appear after all the goings on around the area as Prism smiled devilishly while cutting herself followed by creating a massive gash along the harpies chest.

She pressed her own wound against the birds as she slowly became nothing but a blood red mist. Prism while in this blood mist state then entered the harpies body as the harpy screamed out in unworldly screams of pain before being silenced by Prism reforming herself within the harpy, making it combust to the point where one would have to look hard to find a body part. After exiting the body Prism's devilish look stayed on her face although now her skin was pale from loss of blood after using that technique of hers as she turned to look towards where Death was.

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"Prism!" Lazuli shouted. The situation really didn't call for this level of self sacrifice. Sometimes she wished Prism would slow down and let her help. While Lazuli may not be as experienced as Prism, she was no slouch. Prism doing this much damage to herself could be completely catastrophic one day. Tears steamed from Lazuli's large azure orbs.

She would talk with Prism later about this. Right now she was only concerned for her wellfare. "Forget me, are YOU all right? My dear sister. You musn't be so hard on your body." She couldn't resist foreshadowing to the conversation they would have later.

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Prism's devilish smile faded as she heard Lazuli call out to her. She turned to look at Lazuli, blood dripping from her own eyes from the massive power she exceeded at once. Prism smiled sweetly as she almost limped towards Lazuli while holding out a hand which was covered in streams of blood. She sweetly held onto Lazuli's head, but did not speak as it seemed hard to move her body with so little blood left, it seemed rigamortis was slowly beginning to take effect, but with Prism's pure power she could still fend it off, and fight if need be although it would pose serious threat to her life.

She spoke softly to Lazuli, "Death, he needs to be stopped, no matter the cost." She simply said as she kissed Lazuli's hand before she turned around to stare at death again as her face tensed while she tried to force her blood lust out again.

Apparently the issue couldn't wait. "No," Lazuli took both Prism's hands into hers, forcing her to stop looking at death. "We do this together or not at all." Lazuli was quite serious. She would be a significant part of this fight no matter how much Prism may protest. "Tell me what to do," she pleaded. "we can play to both of our strengths." She touched Prism's right hand to the soft pale skin of her face. "It's our only chance."

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"I guess..." Prism began as she has small flashbacks of their unlife together. "I have been treating you as if you were younger.." Prism nodded slightly before she spoke again. "Laz... please deal with the creatures whom are fighting against what is left of the humans, and bring anything even humans if it has to be done, to me so that I may feed. That is all for now." She said as she wanted to at least give her a job that did not have to do with facing off Death. Prism stumbled for a moment, but caught herself before she could fall. "Go do what I have asked of you, now." She said seriously.

With those words she then summoned her inner strength to break through the rigimortis temporarily so that she could jump far, until she was on top of the ruins, just below Death and the Gargoyles fight. "Death, I did not think I would have to see you again..." She said weakly as the rigimortis began to cave in once more, skin still pale as a dim sunrise.

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Oridian hopped into the air as the scythe impacted into the stone beneath him, his landing pulverizing what was left of the slab and freeing the scythe to be used by the gargoyle. He passed the vicious weapon up to his hands, while it was designed for a creature of smaller size, it was no less lethal in those obsidian clutches. "If its a challenge you want, I'll be glad to oblige. Handicapped or not, my intent to destroy you shall be held by no boundaries" He kicked off the ground beneath him, talons digging into the earth and wings flapping for a sudden takeoff- straight forward, a swipe of the blade in his hands severing one of the clones and the stone wall of the building behind it, neither slowing its momentum. That momentum took the gargoyle in a full turn as his feet hit what remained of the wall, landing horizontally against the wall before his legs rebounded back toward his next victim. "I will take you apart one piece at a time if I have to"


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Death cackled as the clone fell to the ground, magic visibly dispelling from the illusion. Instead of fading entirely, a limp corpse fell out. One of the Hunters that accompanied Oridian to the ruins, killed only moments ago by a weapon of Death cutting the spirit from the body. "You think I care if you destroy my duplicates? You think I'm fool enough to lose against such mindless violence? Choose, gargoyle! Your charge? Or the safety of your allies and the sanctity of the seal present here? Decide Which you shall abandon! After all, there is but one true Death."

The three Deaths remaining moved little, letting the obsidian gargoyle strike as he pleased. Death spent hundreds of years planning his revenge, and he was not about to let a magic-born automaton defeat him. How could he lose? He was playing with a deck of aces, stacked in his favor.

*****


The vampires arriving at the ruins would not escape his attention, but would not be allowed to interfere with the gargoyle's fight. A figment, a clear false image of Death that was barely solid enough to be visible a few feet away, manifested in front of them. "Ah, Prism. It has been quite some time since our last encounter. You look pale, perhaps regret from turning against our Lord Dracula?"

He turned his skeletal head towards Lazuli on the grounds. "I do hope you aren't fool enough to believe I left any for you to feed on? I am far too careful to let a blood witch fight me with the powers I taught her. Though, if it's simply sustenance you desire..." Death waved a skeletal hand towards the nearby human corpse. "I might be willing to let the blood flow in the recently deceased, for a price of course. Dare you pay for my hospitality once more, dear Prism?"

*****


Even through the earth element he was channeling, Tal could feel the strikes from his father. The sturdiest element he could use, the one that would give him the most strength, could only protect him for so long. "They were weak!" The larger werewolf hit Tal hard, knocking him down. His mark's glow faded, focus and guard dropping from what he was hearing.

Tal was starting to falter. He was tired, but his father didn't even seem to be any slower or weaker than when the fight started. Is this what was hidden? Was this the secret he was supposed to learn when he returned? That his father was a murderer?

"They couldn't see the power and glory they were turning away from! I killed them for crossing me, for getting in my way. From those fools you called siblings to that miserable mate of mine." Tal's arms were knock to the side, his neck quickly grabbed by his father's claws. "And I'll kill you too, runt. I'll kill you, and your sOul and bLoOD wiLl bReaK the fInAl sEal kEEpiNg Lord Dracula from tHiS wORlD he DeseRves! And NoBodY, nOt yOur PreCIouS aLPhA or tHaT BITCH of a mOTheR yoU aLwaYs raN To, cAn stOP mE!"

The larger werewolf was thrown backwards as Taluran's mark glowed a bright green. It only lasted a moment, bright enough to cast its own shadows and summoning a wind blast strong enough to shake what was left of the mansion's foundation. Taluran gasped for breath as he stumbled back to his feet. He focused on his father without hesitating, focusing on the fight and not the questions he still wanted to ask. Here, now, he only had one thing more to say.

"Don't you dare insult my mother."

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Prism held a defeated look in her eyes as she watch her lil sister Lazuli hopelessly rummaging for a corpse with still fresh blood. Prism's face contorted between anger, and sadness as anger eyes darted between Death and Lazuli.

"Then what is it you would want in return you ancient pile of bones?" She said as she forced her question to feel as if her tone was still high and mighty as per usual. Given her weakened and blood-loss state, she knew it meant nothing to try and shrug it off, but she tried to even if it was a fruitless effort.

Death chuckled and waved a skeletal hand over the corpse, fresh blood slowly oozing from the gash on its chest. "There is no need for such bravado, my dear. Feed if you wish. Take my offer, and I expect you to visit my clocktower for a single order. And do not try and escape, you know it will be futile." The phantasm chuckled and faded, Death's magic still controlling the blood flow in the nearby body.

"No!" Lazuli's stunning eyes pleaded with Prism. "Well find something else, and fast, I promise! Don't feed on that accursed corpse. Nothing good ever comes from dealing with death..." She yelled over at Prism, after only just being able to hear what was being said. "Come now sister, we can go find someplace quiet. Somewhere you can rest, and I'll worry about the hunting for once." she said, her strained voice full of honey.

Lazuli was being the bravest version of herself. Though it felt like any minute she might fall apart. All she wanted to do was continue the way they had been these hundreds of years. It was comfortable and familiar. Unfortunately deep in her still heart, she knew this was impossible. She could feel something unspeakable coming, and quickly...much too quickly.

Prism's eyes glowed with the old blood lust of days gone by long ago as she stared at the fresh blood producing corpse. She could barely hear Lazuli's words, and could feel her tugging away from the corspe, but no, she wanted this, this was blood from deaths power.....the ultimate blood one which could sustain her blood magic 10 fold, and it would only cost one smple task right? She would do anything to have that power back once again, she thought as she looked upon her old power days.

"I'm sorry Lazuli, but I need this...now." She said in an almost zombie like voice as her eyes were completely crimson red and glowing, mind on the brink of shattering. Prism fell toher knees and immediately began sucking the lbood off the corpse, not even biting it, the blood went right into her mouth as if there was an invisible straw in place. As the blood entered her body her skin looked much more human, her eyes glowing died down,she became to look more human then ever before as even her fangs receded by just a bit.

Lazuli watched in horror as Prism drank from the corpse. Noticing the changes immediately, she rushed over to her. At first she said nothing, still in disbelief. The more she stared into Prism's eyes the angrier she became. "How could you!?" she shouted punctuating her question with a resounding slap to Prism's face. "You made a deal before knowing the price! Death doesn't have to be fair you know!" Her anger turned to sadness. "I have no idea how you could do something so unwise." She sighed softly "I hope the earth still stands when you've finished this task sister."

In an example of how human like she now mimiced, Lazuli's slap leftr a glaring hand mark from the strength of her swing. "Heh, it's been awhile since I've had this much power..." Was the first thing she said before even realizing what just happened. Even herself gave a mortified look as she could not believe what she had done, what could Death want this time? she thought to herself.

"I'll be fine my little sister. Death does not hold ALL of the cards." She said as she got up to hold Lazuli warmly, and in a literal sense as Prism's body now actually contained warmth. "Be calm little Lazuli, after all, I have made a deal with Death once before..." She said with a trailed off voice.