RPG Archives Vampire Reign II - [RPG In-Game] Vampire Reign

Reina took a seat after Leon let go of her hand and listened. She didn't know how much longer she should wait to tell Leon of what had happened to Athena or not...

*Athena*
Athena awoke and rose up. Her evil side had won out and now she made her way to the surface to search for Darius.

 

"A bloody prince, eh?" Luceid commented idly, plopping down carelessly onto the futon as he slipped one of the cigarettes between his fingers and lit it, taking a long drag from it, then exhaling the smoke. With a wide yawn, he laid back upon it, gazing up at the paintings on the ceiling, flicking ashes onto the floor.

"I really hope that isn't all there is to the story, ya? S'kinda' boring," he pointed out, taking another drag before carelessly discarding the ashes to the floor once more. "So, go on... tell me more."

 

1

Tell me more...

<If you don't tell him, Aldoux, whom will you tell? He is offering to listen, and give something in return. You can put the past to rest.>

Leon thought on it a moment longer. <Can I really silence the past in telling it?>

"I was the Prince of Denmark, and as such, was too young to rule. A Regent was chosen to rule in my place until I came of age. This Regent became my tutor and friend. We were close. His name was Darius. That was before."

Leon decided to cut straight to the chase. "One night, during a dinner and dancing party- an affair of state, one might say, I met a goddess. She was the most beautiful creature in Denmark. Fey and knowing...with a wisdom that can only come naturally. I approached her, and we spoke. I think I began to love her right there and then. Her name was Merrill."

<She was like the Goddess Athena is named for. In a sense, Merrill is Athena, at least in my mind.>

Leon's voice grew hard. "The same night, the Regent, Darius, met a party guest of his own. This was one that should have been in the grave centuries ago. He was unnatural. Part of my studies concerned mythology, and the last of those concerned the myth of the blood fiends. This guest was one such. This guest was the Vampire King."

<It's so difficult to continue...But these things can't be left unspoken.>

"We met over the course of the next few months, Merrill and I. We kissed, we shared, we loved. She became closer to me than I think I ever was to myself. Then, cruelly, the Vampire King and my Regent saw their chance and took it."

<It's too painful to explain all...>

"To simplify things, Merrill was turned by the Vampire King so that she might turn me. The Vampire King held Darius' ear, and made him believe that those who would poison my rule could be stopped if only he were Regent forever. So, the Vampire King told him of a way in which I would never grow old, never come of age and become King. Merrill succeeded in turning me. Ah...and then..."

Leon paused. "I realized it was my duty to protect Denmark from its corrupt Regent. I knew I had to kill Darius. Darius asked the Vampire King to give him the same strength that I possessed. So the Vampire King turned him as well."

<No more, no more, Aldoux. You cannot reveal anymore without revealing your trump card, your greatest secret. The thing that lies only between you and Darius. He does not need to know the end of the story. Except...the end of that story concerns Merrill, doesn't it?>

"I cannot tell you any more than I have," said Leon with finality. <But there is so much more to tell!>

 

1

"Don't worry," Michael said. "I didn't do anything to Athena. What you should be worrying about is why I came after you guys. You see..." And then he began the story.
"I stayed behind to watch Athena and her sister in case anything were to happen to them. Athena fell, and her sister ran off after all of you people... I went over and checked things out, and guess what? What was left of Athena's human side is... Well... How to put it... Losing the fight. Big time. That's why I came, to find our friend Leon, since knowing him, he'd probably be able to help." He then stopped and thought a bit. "Oh wait, I don't really know him that well, now do I? Heh... But... Hmm..." He looked back at the way he had come. "I don't smell Athena back there anymore... She must have awakened and continued on to your place."
<Yeah, sure... She probably went off to join Darius... And if that's the case, then I guess I'll just have to kill her after all... Such a darn shame...> He then noticed Rian looking off at the chapel in the distance.
"Ah... You want to go exploring, don't you? Well then, let's go." He began walking in the direction of the chapel, not knowing if Rian would actually follow or not, and not knowing what he would actually find there.
<I can sense a strange aura coming from somewhere around there... Troubled souls... Hmph... Too bad, I guess I'll just find out when I get there, now won't I...? heh heh...>

 

Reina looked from Leon to his friend and back to Leon. She knew Leon was waiting for him to say something. She knew enough about Leon that he wouldn't just tell his whole history. She decided to wait a little more.

 

Luceid stared blankly at the ceiling, slowly tilting his head to the side, as if he were observing a butterfly pinned up with its wings spread. The cigarette, still lit, hung limp between his lips as the smoke rose from the tip. He cautiously pulled it from his mouth, flicking ashes away to the ground once more. He took his sweet time in responding to the whole story, as if he were still trying to get all the facts together in his head, as if he were waiting for it all to register as he idly kicked off his boots to get more comfortable.

"I see," he murmured, taking a drag from the cigarette and exhaling the smoke out through his nostrils. "And... you are questioning why I bloody smell like this... Merrill, ya'?"

He slowly sat up, resting an elbow upon a bent knee, with his chin cradled in the palm of his hand as he quietly watched Leon through squinted, narrowed eyes, almost as if he were prosecuting him. "And... that's all you have to tell me, ya'?" he added.

Another period of silence followed as he took another drag from the cigarette before pulling it away and dropping it to the floor. The bridge of his nose creased and wrinkled slightly as he put the cigarette out with the heel of his bare foot. "Well, Your Highness, I can bloody well assure ya' that it wasn't this Merrill that turned me," was all that he actually told him. "Probably can't help ya' any further than that."

 

"Hey wait!" Rian called to Michael, who didn't come back.

"Damn, what a pain! The cathedral...there might be some answers about Leon and the others over there...But what about Athena?" She looked back at the entrance to the sewers, "If Michael is right, then that humanity left in her is dying...but it's not like I can't do anything to help it...I did all I can...It was bound to happen anyways..."

She scowled to herself, "Damn it! Damn Vampires...Leon..not only did you turn her, but you abandoned her as well!"

Rian looked up at the cathedral again and where Michael had run off to, "Might as well keep an eye out on this one...who knows what trouble he'll cause over there..."

With that in mind, she ran off after Michael.

 

"If that is all you can tell him then I have sat quiet way too long." Reina said, then to Leon she said, "Leon, Athena... she fell down and passed out. I don't know what to do for her."

Reina looked up at Leon with hopeful eyes that he would know what to do.

 

In the heart of the desolate city Darius fed from the blood of a young human boy. After draining the body dry Darius let it fall to the ground atop the bodies of his mother and father. His full strength was now recovered.

He lifted his head sharply, blood still dripping from his teeth. <Ah, what's this I smell? It is the odour of that girl. Finally that odious prig has left her side.> He thought. <Leon's heart is too close to her hand, his greatest weakness has always been his emotions. This is my opportunity to put his mind to sleep, and make him my slave, once more.>

 

1

"And... that's all you have to tell me, ya'?"

<He knows...But I don't think he knows the whole of it. There is one last detail I could give him.>

"I can't tell you all of the last part of my story, but Merrill saved me from completely becoming a shell. I was a full vampire, but Darius drained half of my powers before Merrill could stop him. In a way, I suppose I am a shell...and sometimes, I act it...But the worst of the damage is swept underneath the surface now. And please, please don't call me 'Your Highness'. It gives me such an unpleasant feeling..."

Leon turned to the sound of Reina's voice.

"Leon, Athena... she fell down and passed out. I don't know what to do for her."

<Athena!>

Reina's eyes were so hopeful. He couldn't bear to disillusion her. What could he do for Athena? He could help her if he saw her, at least he thought so. He was trouble to Athena, and he knew it. But, as the cause of her trouble, he knew he must help her.

<I don't have all the answers...I can only try to help. I am a freak of fate. All the events had to be placed exactly for this eventuality to have arrived. All things had to be aligned. I was just the unlucky one caught in the crossfire of fate.>

Leon took Reina's hands in his. "We will return to find your sister. I think that there is definitely a way to help her."

Leon tried to touch Athena with his mind. Her mind was an alien, hostile thing to him now. <Athena...I've killed your humanity, haven't I?>

 

Setsaki walked back into the Cathedral and saw the strangest thing he could see in a cathedral,

There were crosses made of wood, and there were five. On each of them, there was someone crucified. Himself, His mother, his father, his brother, and his sister.

Above each head, there was a piece of paper with the following words written in blood,

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for thou art with me.

The people on there looked as if they had rammed the nails which were all rusted into their hands and feet by themselves.

"These are truly strong believers, they killed themselves to protect the world from what they can do. They are the shadow of death lurking over this earth."

Setsaki looked towards a bench, and there, on it, were a silver sword, a double barrel shotgun with silver bullets, and a cross.

"What use hath a cross against the fiends that plague the earth?"

Setsaki said but figured it had some use, so he put the belt of silver shotgun shells on, put the shotgun in its holster and wrapped the holster around his waist. Then, on the other said of his waist, he tied on the silver sword in its sheath and then he looked back at the crosses.

"It is my duty as myself to kill my family?"

Then, the pieces of paper all combusted at once and the ashes and ember got onto the bodies.

Setsaki turned from the burning corpses and walked outside.

 

Luceid watched Leon blankly for a moment, before merely shrugging his shoulders. He took the last cigarette he had on the bed, placed it between his lips and lit it. As he took a drag, he closed his eyes and laid back upon the futon once more, letting his head touch the ground as he allowed the cigarette to burn and for the ashes to fall off on their own, onto his face, twirling off his paled flesh to the ground.

"If y'gotta go, go. S'all I bloody got to say," he said almost flatly and uncaringly. "Dun worry 'bout locking up or anythin' on your way out, ya'? Ain't no one bother to stop on by here. Ain't no one in their right bloody mind wanna get involved with me, y'know?"

Lifting his hand to the cigarette, he pulled it away, flicking a few of the ashes onto the futon before sliding it back between his lips as he stood, digging through garments and the likes left on the floor until he found his old CD player, held together with black electrical tape. Plopping himself back down upon the futon carelessly, he put on the headphones and hit Play, drowning out to the music as he closed his eyes.

 

1

Leon walked back to Luceid, and lifted an earphone.

"Take care of Reina," he said one more time, warningly. <He seems so apathetic...if anything happens to Reina, no matter what his scent is, he'll pay.>

He let go of the earphone. He turned and left.

Outside, he turned his face up to the indifferent sky. He sighed heavily. He didn't know where to begin. <So, then, you left your resources behind and now what will you do, Aldoux? Where can you begin to look for her?>

Leon tried once more to touch her with his mind. <Athena...So much darkness in your mind...So different from before.>

Leon shivered. <I wish I weren't alone...Athena broke down my means of being alone, and now I fear that I need people. I used to be so comfortable in my own company. Will nobody come and save me from being alone in the dark?>

Leon walked down a couple of streets, through darkened alleys and rundown sidestreets.

 

Athena could feel Leon reaching out to her. Part of her wanted to comfort him yet the stronger part didn't care. She fell to her knees as the battle began again, she managed to get control long enough to send him a message with as much comfort she could muster from within her, <Leon, you are strong. You do not need me and my humanity is not lost...>

The stronger part won and continued <No, it may not be lost but it shan't gain control while I am in control.>

ooc: no she doesn't really have a split personality i just didn't know how else to go about this.

RIC:
Reina looked up at the person she was staying with and said, "I hate vampires. I'm only staying 'cause Leon said so."

 

Setsaki got to his safe place and he took off his coat and went into a room that was completely different from the rest of his house.

It was a garden that had serene fountains and many plants growing.

There, he grabbed his new silver sword, which was much like a rapier, and swung it around a bit. This was the best sword he had ever seen, it was perfectly balanced and swung like a feather, effortlessly.

As he did so, he drew his hand across the blade and heard a light ringing in the sound of a C. "A perfect sword."

Setsaki said as he sheathed it and went to water the plants.

 

Luceid remained sitting up, the earphone still off his ear from when Leon had gotten his attention. He caught sound of Reina's comment, causing him to only scoff. "'tever, little girl. You could go play in traffic, or hang yer'self with bloody piano wire for all I care."

Closing his eyes, he adjusted the headphones and laid back down, his hands resting behind his head as he crossed his legs at the ankles, his feet swaying from side to side along to the upbeat music that was playing through the CD player right into his ears. Luceid continued to hum along to the music, as if he were droning out from the rest of the world and everything around him. As if he didn't have a care in the world.

 

1

Leon rejoiced when he heard the sound of Athena's voice in his mind. <Leon, you are strong. You do not need me and my humanity is not lost...>

<I am...strong? Yes, strong. I will be strong for those who need me! But...Athena's thought gave me no clues as to where she is. Damn...Still, she's put my mind at ease.>

Leon looked around. Though they thought they were hidden, Leon's nose registered humans everywhere. He had to hide a smile. <Vampires may be stronger...but they don't outnumber humans yet, that's for sure.>

Leon turned down another street, and the smell seemed to fade. He couldn't smell anything familiar. <What am I doing? I need to find someone who can help me. But wait, I'm strong enough to stand alone. Athena tells me so.>

Leon thought about returning to the loft, and did, but did not enter. He instead picked out Rian's scent. <She seems to know what she's doing.>

He followed Rian's scent.

 

Rian, sensing Leon nearby, stopped and looked around. Remembering what happened to Athena, anger boiled up in her again and her eyes turned red again as her vampiric powers resurfacing without her even noticing.

"Leon...you turned her then you let her humanity die...just what a vampire would do...!"

Rian decided to leave it alone for the moment, and let him come to her. Her vampiric side still blazing, she approached the cathedral.

She stopped in front of the entrance when she noticed the light coming from inside, "What's that?"

 

Athena could smell Darius and began to follow that direction. When he came into sight she stopped then she walked until she was about 6 feet away from him. She was silent for a moment as the wind blew her hair away from her slightly and when it stopped she said, "Good day, Lord Darius. I am here to..."

<NO!I WON'T DO IT!> Athena thought, <I mustn't let this side win.>

RIC: Reina turned her back to the vampire and then began to watch for signs of Leon or her sister. After a little while she went up to the boy and moved one of his head phones off his ear and said, "I'm going to go find two other 'friends' of mine and if you want to come you can. Leon will probably already be there. I just can't sit with you, waiting for someone to come and get me and tell me of my sister. I'm a Yamamori, I don't need to wait or have anyone protect me."

Reina then turned and headed out the door, not bothering to see if the boy was following. She saw the flash of light and saw Rian and Michael in the distance and she shouted out to them and began to make her way towards them.

 

As Michael ambled towards the church, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned, seeing that Rian was following him. He stopped for a monent, and shouted to her.
"Hey, for a vampire, you don't move very fast, now do ya?" He then realized that she might take that as being serious, and not sarcastic, as he had meant it.
<You're... You're beginning to like her, aren't you? Ha! She's nothing compared to you!>
<So? But there's something about her... Something I can't put my finger on... Like... She is still human... Like I used to be...>
<All those years ago, you were... But that time is gone! You must be strong! Forget those weak, human emotions! They'll only make you weaker...>
<I shall do as I please...>
<Or will you? heh heh...>
As he was busy debating with himself, Michael heard somebody shout. He turned again, and saw Athena's sister coming towards him and Rian.
<Oh, looky here! That annoying little human girl!>
<Shut up...>
<Why don't you go have a little snack? Show your strength!>
<Or maybe not, for once...>
He sighed to himself, and continued walking towards the chapel.