Crimson Bastion

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Underground, an expansive building of sorts remains hidden, air stale from lack of use over thousands and thousands of years. Hallways and paths worm throughout the place, offering many chances for random visitors to get lost, if they seperate from their guide.
Of course, due to Hitomi's phobia of magic, the underground lair was built in a dead magic zone. Which means, obviously, no magic, scrying, teleporting...anything of the sort. NONE.
Welcome to the Court of Memnoch, also known as Hitomi's lair or Crimson Bastion.

Well, it would be 'welcome' if one could find a way in. Above land, there are only a handful of oddly shaped chunks of limstone, towering overhead in an otherwise empty field and there seems to be no doorways or anything hidden in the ground or buried by the long grass.


_________________________________________________
And so, our green-haired villianness enters the field, humming some dark tune under her breath with Mortessa over her shoulder. She paused at a particular stone which had something of a small sun dial carved into it and held out a hand, hesitating before smashing her hand down, impaling the ivory-colored flesh.
Hitomi's blood, now intermixed with Mortessa's, dribbled over the stone, filling roman numerals etched into the limestone. Clicking sounds, like gears and such grinding against eachother, could be heard and the ground underfoot shook violently, a giant slab of earth moving aside to display an ivory staircase, which the vampiress quickly descended.

It would hold open a few more minutes, if Alex wished to follow...

[AmberVael]

Mortessa remains limp and lacking consciousness.

The fog swirls and follows, then lingers at the entrance.

[Rebonack]

((And you said you aren't very good with your writing.

Ha!

You lied!

LIIIIIIED!

>.>

<.<

*continues to lurk*))

A totally mundane sparrow glances up from its foraging to watch the moving stones for a few moments before returning to eating grass seeds.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex, who was following Hitomi carrying Mortessa from a distance, quickly runs through the opening.

[AmberVael]

The fog swiftly reshapes into Chiyo, who slips inside quietly and stealthily after Alex.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

(( You flatter me, Rebo :smallbiggrin: ))

Despite having not been in the Bastion for thousands of years, Hitomi navigated the halls of her lair quite well. There were plenty of shadows for Alex to hide in, if he so felt compelled, even as mechanic hands lit matches and dropped them into small pools of oil held on the wall, illuminating small areas of wall.
Everynow and again the group might pass piles of ivory powder located next to old chains, all that remained of the clan's previous 'guests'.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex dose indeed hide in these shadows. Having no idea what may lie within these underground caverns or what state of mind Hitomi is in, it is best to stay hidden. Seeing the chains, he suspects this place was once used as some sort of prison.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo frowns to herself as she feels the dead magic, noting her powers slowly fade... all but one, that is. It was a handy one, and would serve her well, but it was hardly going to be earth shattering.
Clutching to that reassurance of her spirit and divine nature, she slips after Alex, watching the watcher...

Mortessa does nothing.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Finally, the group reached a high arch opening to a massive room, illuminating itself as Hitomi walked in. It was a fairly elegant room with ivory pillars and perfectly white walls. However, the only bit of furniture or anything of the like in the room was a high-backed thrown ontop of a raise in the ground, the bones of a large dragon next to it, a golden collar inlaid with jewels around its skeleton neck.
Placing Mortessa down next to the thrown, Hitomi frowned.
" Poor Dihyar. I guess he starved over these ten thousand years..."


The entrance would close itself about this time, not allowing for anyone else to enter.

[AmberVael]

Mortessa limply flops against the throne and slides to the floor.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex continues to watch closely in the shadows from a distance; trying to piece things together.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Stirring the dust a bit, Hitomi adjusted Mortessa so she would be atleast a little more comfortable. Afterall, the girl had been a previous lover and probably would be stuck there for sometime.

[AmberVael]

The white mist over Mortessa's wound has very slowly been solidifying and reforming the area that Hitomi ripped away. The vampire might even notice that the necromancer's blood is being replenished.

Chiyo silently moves closer to Alex, then reaches out to tap him on the shoulder with her staff.
Looking for something?

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex swiftly turns around and as he dose his tentacles attempt to tightly wrap around and restrain whoever is behind him by the limbs. Whether he succeeds in doing this or not, he whispers back indicating the need for lowered voices "Who are you?"

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Too late. Chiyo's voice, which had not been bothered to be covered, echoed throughout the great room, and Hitomi turned on her heels to see Chiyo and...Alex.
"A-Alex..." Her face completely blanked, mind running frantically. That couldn't be him, could it?
"How long have you been following me?"

[AmberVael]

Chiyo manages to dance lightly out of the way, grinning.
Oh, he's been following you for quite some time, my huntress... since you picked your target off in the streets. No one else saw, and I would have taken care of him but for the fact he so willingly kept silent and followed.

[Admiral_Kelly]

"Hitomi!" He runs over to her, stopping less than a foot away. "Hitomi..." He stares at her. This same woman who brought him so much joy and reason for living killed Mortessa- although this was nothing he himself was not guilty of. He reaches a hand out to brush her hair. "Were you that desperate?"

[QueenOfMemnoch]

As Alex touched her, Hitomi shuddered.
"Desperate?" She hadn't been desperate- there could have been a handful of donors she could have chosen from. She had wanted to take blood from an unwilling victim.
Why was that again? She couldn't quite seem to form the reason to thoughts, let alone words.
She looked to Chiyo..it was something to do with her...

[sparkey477]

A shatter echos throughout the lair.

[AmberVael]

Desperate?
Chiyo says, echoing them both.
Why would she be desperate? She chose her prey and took it, acting as her instincts and nature dictate she should.
Chiyo moves closer to them both, smiling that comforting, peaceful smile.
There was nothing desperate in her actions.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Except, there shouldn't be a shatter. Because there isn't anyone or anything else in the lair except the four of them.
Nor is there anyway for anything or anyone else to get in.

That is, unless Elena was one of Hitomi's brood from before she was locked away for ten thousand years.

[Admiral_Kelly]

"What have you been telling her?" Alex says turning his head towards Chiyo.

[AmberVael]

Me? Oh, I just encouraged her to do what she wanted, rather than play out the role your little flimsy society tried to force on her.
Chiyo moves right up to Hitomi, letting that soft little song echo in the background as she raises a hand to the vampire's cheek again.
Isn't this what you want, my beautiful huntress?

[sparkey477]

Let's just say she has "connections". That, or great-granparents that migrated to Moose's "hellhole"

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Even then, if she doesn't have Hitomi's bloodline, she couldn't enter. Anyways..

Oh, yes...that was why she had been fine with killing Mortessa, or whatever poor sap had happened to wander in her way.
Chiyo's touch seemed to sooth Hitomi, but, even then, her eyes remained on Alex, watching for his reaction.

(( Woo, deadtime till later))

[sparkey477]

The sound of two people's footsteps echo throuout the lair, along with the distinct sound of something dripping. .... ....... .. ...? ....... ... ..... .. ..... ....? *sigh*

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex glares at Chiyo and attempts to grab the hand on Hitomi's cheek by the wrist and pull it away. His tentacles raise, readying themselves for an attack. "You are playing on her weaknesses! You want to make her into a monster which she is so hard trying not to be. Now look!" With his other hand, he points at Mortessa. "Her death is your fault!"

[AmberVael]

Chiyo looks slightly amused, and entirely puzzled.
Weakness? No, I'm playing on her strengths. You and your kind played on her weakness, turning her into something less than she is meant to be.
As for her death, well, she doesn't seem to be dead yet, but why do you think I care? Death is death, there is no right or wrong to it. The only wrong death is a wasteful death- a death without a point. Everything dies eventually- almost all deaths have a purpose. There is nothing wrong with dying, or slaying. The wheel will turn, and cannot be denied. Life, death and rebirth all part of the cycle, a natural circle. To die is to be reborn, and to be born is to eventually die. Length of time or cause of death mean nothing to the rightness of it.
She withdraws her hand.

[sparkey477]

The footsteps end just beyond visual range. What smells so good?

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi had been in something of a haze, looking back and forth between Chiyo and Alex like a child asked to pick between her parents.
That is, of course, untill Alex mentioned the 'M' word.
"Monster?" She turned towards him only, her hands on her hips.
"Alex, this is what I am. I feed from your kind. I kill your kind. That's what I am. I am already what you deem a 'monster'."

[AmberVael]

Chiyo smiles and moves close to Hitomi again.
He just can't accept it, my dear huntress. Maybe in time he will...

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex attempts to put a hand on Hitomi's cheek. "Hitomi, you are not a monster. I know you can be good. Your beautiful, your sweet, your kind. I love to hold you in my arms and kiss you." A small tear runs down one of his eyes. He could not get the image of Hitomi draining Mortessa's blood out of his head. But he had to move on. Like everything else, that would become part of the past. Hitomi was the only thing he could not part with. "Stop listening to her."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi shook her head, making sure to keep her face cupped in his hand.
"Alex, this isn't about her. This is me, this is what I am. Are you not listening? My past, the one I told you I had forgotten? It came back today and smacked me in the face." A bitter smile over came her, and she looked away from him, almost ashamed.
" I don't think I can go back to the Hitomi you knew."

[AmberVael]

Chiyo just hums her little eerie, serene song and lightly starts leaning against Hitomi.

[Admiral_Kelly]

A tentacle attempts to separate Chiyo from Hitomi. Alex steps closer to her and attempts to take her hands. "You need to try. You may have been this way once before but you don't have to go back. Just take Val's blood for now and I promise I'll find a way for you not to need it anymore."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

She laughed cruelly, but allowed Alex to take her hands.
"You don't know what its like, Alex. How much better blood tastes with a seasoning of fear, about the rush I get from just...taking it." And then what he had really said sunk in- take blood from Val. He didn't trust her anymore.
How can he? He's mortal. He's prey. The two of you are like a lion and a sheep...

[AmberVael]

Chiyo quite stubbornly does not move away, but pushes at the tentacle with one hand, gently but firmly. Her eyes warn Alex that he is testing her patience with the maneuver.
Do you really want prey to dictate your actions, huntress?

[Admiral_Kelly]

He ignore Chiyo's glare and tries to pull Hitomi a few feet away from her. If succeful, he engulfs his wing around them to keep the persistent woman out. "Hitomi, please. This isn't like you. She's been playing with your head."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

He's the one playing with your head, my dear, my mistress, my queen. He's taking you away from what you once were, what you should be...
Hidden in the expanse of Alex's wings, Hitomi shook her head.
"Alex, what if she wasn't? What if this is really the way I am? Would you still want me?"

[AmberVael]

Chiyo just smirks and waits nearby, listening, assured of victory.

((Deadtime))

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex thinks hard for a moment. If Hitomi really is this way? Bound to suck blood and feast on souls? Before he came to this Town, he was always moralled and principled. But that all changed. He murdered. He committed crimes. He made the dead rise. He stabbed friends in the back. Associating with someone who is evil was the least of his sins.

And then he thinks of her. What she did to save him. Her willingness to let go of the past so they could build a relationship together. The joys she brought him. Her beauty...

"You will always be my desire." He tells the vampire-succubus.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Don't accept it, he'll die eventually, if he doesn't kill you in your sleep. He said it himself, 'monster'.
But he said I wasn't a moster..
My dear queen, that is what he wants to believe. You are, indeed, a monster. And he will die. These are things that cannot be changed.
Hitomi stared wide-eyed back at Alex, posed now with a situation. The one factor holding her back when it came to helping Chiyo restore 'balance' and acting true to her nature, true to herself, was Alex.
He was one she could not stand to toss aside, an idle body to dispose of. When she had been searching desperately for something in the opposite direction, she had found Alex, and had found that he pleased her in some way she could not explain.
Even if she disregarded her current ploy, went back to begging for blood and taking only so much that she was practically starving herself just to please him, he would die. She would become Chiyo's huntress sooner or later, and there just didn't seem to be any reason other than Alex not to have it sooner.
"Alex, I need you to make a decision. Allow me to turn you or find your own way to become immortal. I don't care what method you use to aviod death, but you must do it." Hitomi's eyes seemed to be overflowing with desperation and pain, and their blueness met Alex's in a mash of agony and misery.
"If you don't, I'll kill you myself."

[AmberVael]

Chiyo remains where she is, smirking, listening, and watching.

Mortessa's wound has mostly healed at this point, and she barely regains consciousness. Memories slowly, oh so slowly return to her and she frowns, hazily thinking them over and trying to figure out what is going on.
She blinks confusedly and looks around, slowly trying to sit up. Her limbs are shaking, and she seems quite unsteady. She certainly won't be able to move around quickly, much less try and escape.
Where am I? Wait- Hitomi- you...
She looks over and then averts her eyes as she sees her in Alex's embrace.

[sparkey477]

Hitomi, don't get too attached to a mortal, or else you won't survive losing them. Elena said, stepping from the shadows, clutching a bloody bundle in her arms. Godhood is impossible to obtain, and most mortals fear death. Enjoy him while you can, and move on when he's gone.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

(( Sparkey, I adore you, kid, but, seriously there is no way for them to be in Crimson Bastion. The only 'doorway' is the way the group came in, and that requires blood from the line of Memnoch. So, unless Elena is one of Hitomi's 'children', they shouldn't be there. Not to mention, I have no idea how Elena knew they were there...))

[sparkey477]

Let's just say she has "connections". That, or great-granparents that migrated to Moose's "hellhole"
((Read the white print. As for finding her, the crash was caused by a brass eyeballs that has been tailing Hitomi since their encounter.))

[QueenOfMemnoch]

(( I still don't see how having Grandparents in Moose's universe has anything to do with Elena getting in...))

[sparkey477]

((The Grandparents were part of the Memnoch bloodline. I really should have made that more clear... and not have put it in white text.))

[QueenOfMemnoch]

(( Okay. See, now I can kind of maybe entertain the idea of them being there =P ))

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex considers his options. He had heard many tales of those who sought immortality and it never ended well. There was no guarantee that he would achieve it on his own- and he highly doubted that he could.

Then there was Hitomi's first suggestion; become like her. Becoming an incubus would go completely against whatever morals he had left- seducing and stealing the souls of woman. At least a vampire, he could take Val's blood- but then there would be that constant need and strain of hunger and the discomfort of being undead; something which he was not unfamiliar with. Both horrible fates though both would grant immortality insuring they would forever be together.

"Turn me."

[AmberVael]

((If anything is deviant from the plot, Sparkey, it is you and Elena randomly barging in. So just be grateful that you were allowed in with such a flimsy explanation, okay? :smallyuk:))

[QueenOfMemnoch]

(( Alright, Sparkey, I'm letting Elena be here, even though its interfering and her prescence is bordering on godmodding. However, since you're just placing yourself there, whatever you've got going on is taking a backseat to our plot, got it? ))

Attempting to pull Alex closer, Hitomi couldn't help but smile, going on the tip-toes of her boots to press a kiss to Alex's cheek, if he let her. Relief spilled through her and she fell against him, curling her arms around his waist. All assuming he let her, of course.
"A vampire, then?" She hadn't even considered turning him into an incubus, having thought it beyond his moral code.

[Admiral_Kelly]

He is kissed on the cheek, and he reacts by grabbing onto and kissing her full on the lips for a moment. When she asks him the question, he answers "Whichever you are more comfortable with."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Despite the serious nature of the current situation, Hitomi couldn't help but laugh at Alex. Even now, he held some idea of chivalry.
"Alex, Alex, Alex..." She shook her hair, sending strands of spring green in a semi circle around her.
"I'm forcing you to give up your mortality. I'm offering you this one little choice within that. Its up to your level of comfort. This is your decision."

[Admiral_Kelly]

He looks into her eyes for several seconds. The choice is clear. He had to become a vampire. To force intimacy on her a second time would be-

But his eyes shift his gaze, observing her up and down. Either method could kill him for good but if he chose to become an incubus he would at least have her as his own in his final moments if that happened. He takes a deep breath, the idea beginning to play in his mind...

He shakes his head, removing these feeling of lust. After his transformation, they would have as much time as they wanted with each other. If they did what he thought of tonight, he'd never forgive himself for it. He sticks with his previous decision.

He kisses her one more time. "Turn me into a vampire. I would be in slightly better conscience taking blood over souls."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

This does not bode well...
Hitomi ignored the voice of Gemorrh, pulling Alex deeper into the kiss with an excitement that would make her heart pound, if only it could. Alex would be hers, and not even death could claim him otherwise...
Her lips moved down from his, creating a soft trail that stopped at the base of his neck.
"Are you sure, Alexander?"

(( Disclaimer: all actions from here on out are with the assumption Alex does not stop Hitomi, unless AK otherwise states.))

[AmberVael]

Chiyo looks to be getting impatient.
He wants it, you want it, and it is something that needs to be done, apparently, so stop hesitating and being polite and do it!

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex puts his arms around the vampire-succubus as she moves her lips to his neck. "Yes, Hitomi. Nothing else matters except you and I now." He prepares himself for what is to come next.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Except, that wasn't the only thing that mattered, was it? Reaping death, feasting in blood..
That was what had started this, wasn't it? How did it turn into a death vow?
Chiyo's voice cut through her deep thoughts and reminded her what she had set out to do in the first place.
She had meant to kill, to replace the power of her kind, to help Chiyo reinstate order and balance.
She hadn't meant for Alex to get worked up in the scheme, but he had. Hitomi didn't know how it would work out in the end, having Alex know that Chiyo intended to make Hitomi a harbringer of death...
She would just have to wait and see.

Biting into Alex's flesh, Hitomi waited for that hot flow of life to reach her tongue, her hands rising to hold his shoulders. This is what had to be done...

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex begins to feel pain. The only time he felt worse pain was once before when a god of death damned him for his failings- though such pain is so great it cannot be remembered. Blood flows up from his neck and onto Hitomi's lips and tong.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo watches with satisfaction, crossing her arms and smirking to herself.

Mortessa is slowly trying to get to her feet.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Each pulse from Alex's heart seemed to reverbrate throughout Hitomi's body, reachoing all the way out to her finger and toes and back. It wouldn't be long now, especially not with the way Hitomi was sucking at the rich carmine fluid pumping from his neck.
He would quickly approach death, if she remembered correctly the average time for a man his size...

[Admiral_Kelly]

His blood is steadily drained. He starts to feel himself slowly loose consciousness. "Hitomi..." He calls out weakly.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Slowly, Hitomi removed her pointed canines from Alex's neck. It was funny, really, how everyone expected vampire bites to be clean, two pin-pricks. The truth was it often required tearing into the flesh, and, if there was enough blood left, a rather large and icky looking bruise.

In anycase, Hitomi pulled herself away from Alex, letting him lean on her if he needed to(which he probably did, seeing as he had lost a considerable amount of blood), and lifted her wrist to her mouth, dragging a fang against it. It wasn't more than a few moments and a small gash filled with her own blood, a mix of Mortessa's and Alex's.
"Drink it." She held up the wounded arm to Alex.

[Admiral_Kelly]

The tentacles and wings have dropped to the floor at this point. He weakly grabs onto Hitomi for support, barely standing. He is at the verge of passing out, but he keeps thinking I have to keep moving on.

Knowing what he must do, he grabs her arm with both of his hands and brings Hitomi's wrist up to his mouth. He begins to drink.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Wincing a bit, Hitomi curved her arm not being used for sustenance around Alex's waist, holding him up as he feeds from her. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Mortessa was now up and about and frowned.
That would have to be dealt with, soon.
After so long, Hitomi began to feel the pull of her blood, and gently tried to pull her wrist back from Alex.
"That should be enough."
Then, again, she hadn't turned anybody for so long...was this even the proper way to do it?
Come now, it isn't a hard process to remember...
Shut up, you...

[Admiral_Kelly]

As Alex drinks the blood he finds his strength returning to him. His feelings of weariness leaving and he finds himself enjoying the taste of the vampire-succubus's blood. When Hitomi pulls her wrist away, she has to struggle with Alex a bit before he lets go. Once he finishes draining, he feels as though he has more stamina and power than ever before.

And yet, his body feels limp. His working inside stop. The need to breath is gone. He heart stops beating. His brain in a state of stillness, though he can think very clearly.

He slowly steps away from Hitomi to stand on his own. His wings lift up and his tentacles rise and swerve in the air. He stares back at Hitomi, looking into her eyes.

[AmberVael]

Mortessa slowly backs off and then stumbles and falls back to the ground, her limbs still very shaky.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi looked up and down Alex in a satisfied manner before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. Finally, he was hers, completely.
Turning to look at Mortessa full on, she frowned. What should she do with the necromancer? Mortessa most certainly was a threat now, but it was near impossible to kill her permanently.
Keep her there, in Crimson Bastion? She certainly couldn't keep her there for very long, could she?
"Mortessa, Mortessa, Mortessa...what should I do with you?"

[AmberVael]

Mortessa shivers at the voice and picks herself up again, then brushes off her hands and clothing.
She realizes her knife is in her stronghold and inwardly curses herself, though she knows it would do her precious little good anyways. Why was she here? What was going on? What did she do to deserve this? It was her fault, right? Almost everything that happened was because of something she did wrong, after all.
Like how Alex and Hitomi both hated her now.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Chiyo watches Mortessa, highly amused.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Approaching Mortessa, Hitomi smirked in pleasure.
"My dear,the only thing you did wrong was appear in the streets at that particular time."
Don't let her off easy, my mistress. She was the one who didn't come for you, who was catalyst of the hatred between you and Alex...
Hitomi pushed that aside, however. If she let the residue from that pain filter through, she would lose control. Loss of control would have been something...not desirable at this time.
The vampire-succubus stopped about a foot from Mortessa.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex smiles when Hitomi kisses him. He was a vampire now; a creature of darkness cursed and bond to drink the blood of mortals for as long as he lived; but Hitomi just reminded him why it was all worth it. He goes to return a kiss to her, but she pulls away and it is then he notices Mortessa, very much alive.

"Mortessa? How did you...?" Of course; she was undead herself. She could not die.

[AmberVael]

Interestingly, Mortessa is as far from undead as you can get now. She's more alive than any of the other creatures in Town. It's almost obvious, in fact, that she is radiating life and energy. Her eyes, hair, and skin are almost shining.
She just shakes her head and slowly backs away from the two, feeling entirely helpless in this magic-less lair.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

"Come, now, 'Tessa, my beautiful necromancer." Hitomi held her hand out, perfectly secure in her belief Mortessa would rather actually die than come near the vampire-succubus.
"You didn't die. I can only assume your blood regenerates?"

[AmberVael]

Mortessa doesn't move away, but neither does she come closer. Her pale amber eyes fixate on Hitomi's hand as she nods in answer to her question.
I can't die. Not now. Not anymore.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex walks towards the two, standing only a couple of feet away from Hitomi. He says nothing for the time being.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Testingly, Hitomi took another step towards Mortessa, her eyes on Mortessa with almost a glint of triumph.
"You've been through much to achieve that, haven't you, 'Tessa?" Her voice was soft and held something that sounded much like kindness, though it was far off.

[AmberVael]

She gives a very tiny nod, her eyes still focused on the hand. She doesn't back off or move closer, still caught in hesitation.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Another few steps. If Mortessa did not move, Hitomi would be within touching distance.
"I missed you so much, 'Tessa. I didn't know what kind of trials you went through, but it ached to think you had abandoned me. I loved you..." With a glance over her shoulder to Alex, she added.
"Alex loved you, too.Atleast, I assume he did, since he tried to kill me for you.."

[AmberVael]

Mortessa looks between Hitomi and Alex, not quite sure what to think of the sudden change...
Her poor, self loathing brain tries to figure out if Hitomi is forgiving her, or maybe using her? Maybe? Did she care? She wasn't really worth anything, after all, and she'd failed Hitomi... maybe she could make things better by just doing what the vampire wanted for a while.
She still doesn't move.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Carefully, slowly, Hitomi moved out a hand to brush some of Mortessa's hair aside. It was cautious and slow enough that Mortessa could rejected such an action.
"You know, since you lived, I can't let you go..."

[AmberVael]

Mortessa nods a little and doesn't flinch away, though her eyes reveal a tangled web of uncertainty.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex moves closer to the vampire-succubus. "Hitomi- can we not just let her go? She's been through enough."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Turning on her heels, Hitomi gave Alex a momentary hard look before sighing.
"Yes, and then she goes and just happens to let it slip that she was nearly killed by me. There has been a recent influx in hunters, you know. They'll be on me faster than I can leave this place."

[AmberVael]

Mortessa stares at her feet. She was always causing problems... no matter what she did, she was just in the way and a nuisance.

[Admiral_Kelly]

"We cannot leave her down here. What if we made her promise never never speak to this to anyone again?" It dose occur to Alex that having Mortessa down here would give them a constant blood source and she would not need much to live down here, but keeping her captive would by no means be justifiable.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

"Alex, don't be foolish. I tried to kill her. I think I can very well keep her down here. A constant source of blood..."
And she's rather nice to look at...
Shut up, shut up, shut up...
Hitomi frowned, stepping closer to Mortessa to take away what little space Mortessa had to herself.
"I'll have to keep her here, unless she can do something..."
Hitomi motioned to Chiyo, bringing attention to the other woman for the first time in some time.

[AmberVael]

Mortessa just keeps looking at her feet and not really doing anything.

Chiyo is just listening quietly.
Unless you wish me to devour her...

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex answers "No, that will not be necessary." He turns to Mortessa, thinking of what to do.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo looks amused.
You're being rather presumptuous, aren't you? What makes you think you even have a say, new spawn?

[QueenOfMemnoch]

"What would you like us to do with you, Mortessa?" Hitomi gave the necromancer a smile, one that was much like a dog tying to hide a growl. It was predatory.
She ignored Chiyo's statement on Alex, as much as Gemorrh supported it.

[AmberVael]

I- I don't- I just-
Mortessa continues on in this manner for a while. Not much intelligible speech there- mostly just her trying to sort things out and figure out what the hell was going on and what her poor, tattered thoughts and emotions were telling her to do.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi let loose a little chuckle, her hand moving to trace along Mortessa's jawline.
"Really, I would think it best you come up with an idea soon, or I or my benefactor-" Her blue eyes flashed to Chiyo.
"Will have to chose for you."

[Admiral_Kelly]

Something takes over Alex. He could not Mortessa suffer like this, even if his actions would get Hitomi's ire.

"No. We're not keeping her here or letting that woman get to her." A tentacle reaches out and attempts to grab Mortessa and place her down in another part of the room.

[AmberVael]

Mortessa's pale amber eyes flick to Chiyo a bit fearfully. She thinks over it all, finally sorting the pieces in her mind. Hitomi seems to be in control, and doesn't want her to leave. She might be hunted if she does, and that doesn't really appeal to her... the other woman (Chiyo) seemed ready to do whatever Hitomi wanted, and obviously didn't care what Alex thinked- or maybe for his decisions? Anyways, she seemed to be more or less in agreement with Hitomi.
If she left and said nothing, people might think she was in league with Hitomi and the vampires and she could be persecuted...
If she stayed, her situation would be obvious to any attackers, and she'd be rescued rather than attacked or mistrusted. Plus she'd be in less trouble from the others.
I-
Then her thought process suddenly goes down the drain as Alex tries to grab her. She'll be grabbed unless Hitomi does something...


Chiyo snarls quietly.
The only one in danger from my presence, spawn, is you.
She starts stalking over towards him.
Despite the fact that my plan calls for vampires, and my huntress seems to favor you, you're tempting me to return you to the dust and decay you were raised from...

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hissing, Hitomi reached out a hand to grab for Mortessa. Whether she grabs hold of her or is strong enough to keep Mortessa from being placed away from the vampire-succubus is irrelevant; needless to say, Hitomi was not pleased nor happy nor anything positive.
"Alex..." Her voice was an urgent, harsh whisper, her eyes hard on him.
"If we let her go, they'll come. I have no disillusions of myself- I don't have the strength I used to. And she can only do so much.. " Hitomi realised she had no idea what the other woman's name was, not that it mattered much.
"Do not force me to do something I would not wish to do."

[Admiral_Kelly]

It pained him when Hitomi spoke to him this way and threatened him; but she was right. If Mortessa were let go, she would tell; and then Hitomi would be in grave danger. He couldn't let that happen. At the same time, he could not let Mortessa be kept down here as a prisoner nor let this woman, of whom Alex was begging to despise, kill her.

"What if we sent her away?"

[AmberVael]

Mortessa, for the sake of simplicity, we'll say, gets dropped off in a corner somewhere.


Chiyo is hissing now, and her eyes have gone snakelike again.
Huntress, silence this pet of yours or I'll do it myself.
Her skin has gotten slightly scaly...

[QueenOfMemnoch]

"And where would we send her, Alex? And how would we ensure she doesn't make contact with anyone here or come back?" Beginning to pace back a forth, Hitomi frowned. Chiyo was obviously losing her patience with Alex, and would have no qualms reacting.
She needed him to calm, be quiet, let Hitomi reason it out.
"What are you so worried about? How horrible could it be for her to be here?"

[Admiral_Kelly]

As Hitomi paces, Alex answers "We could send her far away on a ship. Bring her-" He is interrupted when she speaks again. He thinks over the situation, repeating the questions in his mind.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo paces closer to Hitomi, her eyes still slitted.
Stop arguing with this simpleton and make a decision yourself.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex had put up with the woman's taunting long enough. He faces her and starts walking closer until he is a little more than three feet away. "Listen you." He says, tentacles rising up with the spikes pointed at the woman. "Your influence over Hitomi stops here." With his lower left tentacle, Alex picks up a nearby rock about the size of a bowling bowl (presuming there are any) and bring it to Chito's face before crushing it. The combination of vampic and demonic strength in these appendages is not something to scoff at.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo just stares straight at Alex.
You have no idea who you're threatening. If you think I'm some puny sorceress, or just a silver tongued deceiver, then you've dreadfully underestimated me. I could crush you and your rock like bugs- don't even dare threaten me again, or you'll pay the price for your stupidity.
My huntress will do as she wants, even if I'm gone. You're the one who is deceiving and manipulating her, changing her from the beautiful and deadly predator she is meant to be, into some sniveling weakling who can't even find her own prey.
Chiyo still shows little sign of her power as she stalks over closer to Alex and glares right into his eyes with her own. Her hand is tight around her wooden staff, the knuckles white and the tendons taut on her wrist.
Back down, and you'll be spared because of Hitomi's interests in you. Keep up this irritating defiance and I'll swallow you whole.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex glares at her. "Hitomi choose to be good on her own. It wasn't till she met up with you and your twisted songs that she committed evil. She may have been this way in the past but she wasn't when I met her.

"And what is your motive behind all of this?" His hand goes for the Unreal Blade.

[AmberVael]

Good and evil are petty and boring notions tossed around by the sentient races who want to establish themselves as better than everyone else. Why do I care what you opinion on that is?
As for my motive... I just want to establish a balance that has been lost. To reassert the natural order.
Chiyo seems unimpressed by his weapon.
Just sit down and be quiet and you won't have to worry about anything.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

"Alex." Hitomi sternly asserted. She didn't dare try to tell Chiyo to calm herself, and she was not pleased with what this could turn out to be.
"Alex, please. Do you really think so low of me? Do you really think all it takes is a woman with beautiful curves to manipulate me?"

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex turns and answers Hitomi, speaking while walking over to her. "Hitomi, I don't think low of you. It's just that-" He pauses. "Do you really believe what she is saying?"

[QueenOfMemnoch]

"What she is saying is what my whole existence has been, Alex.What you knew before this was only a shard of who I am. I was incomplete." Hitomi allowed Alex to come closer but did not move towards him, watching him with pained eyes.
He wouldn't be able to accept this, would he?

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex looks into her eyes for several moments. He brushes her hair to the side as he says "Hitomi, I changed for you. Now you need to change for me, to go back to being the woman I knew before. There is no need for you to be a hunter."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

"Change...?" Change? To what? What she had been before was just an illusion, a place holder until she had been awakened. Wasn't it?
You seem to forget that you were once something before this... Not another voice, not another one. What did it mean, anyways?
Something inherently good... She was once...once...
Human...Mortal... Yes. Without any horns or wings or the need to take blood or souls. Oddly enough, she had had green hair from birth, but that wasn't important.
Had she really forgotten something so important, another part of herself?
This fool Nahaliel knows nothing, my dear. He is just trying to confuse you on your path. So you were once human. You are no longer.
Yes, but she could be good, couldn't she? ...Did she want to?
The man gave up his mortality for you. I should think acting in a more moral nature wouldn't be TOO hard, even for a silly little thing like you.
Too many voices, too many thoughts. Good, bad? Did it matter? Why? It was just hunting or being passive... was there a right choice?
The voices kept chattering back and forth between eachother, each demanding she follow their own advice, and Hitomi sunk to her knees, pulling her hands up to pull them through her bright green hair.
"Stop, stop..."

[AmberVael]

This is ridiculous.
Chiyo snarls and, despite the lack of magic in the room, reshapes her form into that of a huge, slender dragon with no wings, only two front limbs and horns.
Come with me, my huntress.
She reaches down with one limb to try and pick Hitomi up and away from Alex before either of them can blink.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Since Alex's player is a sadist when it comes to killing catgirls, Vael's player will have to explain how Chiyo is able to transform without the use of magic.

Assuming there is a reasonable explanation, Alex is quick to react upon hearing the voice of the beast and two of his tentacles attempt to coil around Hitomi to protect her. If she is grabbed by both of them, she will be caught between the two.

[Artemis97]

((Artemis is quick to point out that magic has little to do with physics, using it as a rough guideline as best. Sadly, no cat girls will fall to this argument))

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi's player, of course, laughed and whined about the death of catgirls, which she is rather fond of.

In anycase, we assume Vael has some reason why Chiyo can transform. Hitomi, grasped by the two of them, should be in intense pain. Unfortunately, the vampire-succubus happened to be in a state of mental confusion, and therefore did not respond. Infact, for those who were present during her heart removal, her facial expression looks quite similar to the lost one she had had then.

[AmberVael]

((It is Chiyo's sole deific ability- she, as a spirit, may manifest herself in any way she wishes. Deific abilities are not affected by dead magic (as per rules, deities in general are not affected, but I decided that was way too cheap for Chiyo, so only her deific abilities are unaffected.) Memnoch has agreed that she can do this after I explained the reasoning, so it is okay both in reasoning and in actual practice.))

Chiyo simply swats at Alex (specifically the limbs holding Hitomi) with her huge, clawed arm in a bid to sever his tentacles, then attempts to bat him further away with her tail.

[Admiral_Kelly]

One of the tentacles receives a large gash and recoils; but at the same time two more reach out to grab Hitomi. Alex flies out of the way of the tail moving closer to Hitomi, and draws the Unreal Blade; which although still unnaturally twisting and turning in the air won't be bale to make cuts in reality due to the Dead Magic Zone. With it, he attempts to hack the part of the limb holding the vampire-succubus.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Since she really isn't in control of what goes on from here on out, Hitomi's player makes it a point to note the vampire-succubus is not fighting either way and is stuck in one might call an emotional coma.
Have at it, kids.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo snaps at the last tentacle holding Hitomi with her razor sharp bite while turning to block the other tentacles with the massive coils of her body. The blade glances off her shining green scales as the coils also get in the way of it.

[Admiral_Kelly]

((*sigh* Why are all these monsters immune to weapons?))

The tentacle is bit; Alex grinds his teeth in pain as he keeps hold of Hitomi. With the spiked ends of his two unwounded tentacles, blocked from grabbing Hitomi, he attempts to stab Chiyo's eyes out with swift precision.

[AmberVael]

((It's less that she's immune, more that she moved her "armored" body in the way in time. It's like wearing full plate and blocking something on a bracer rather than getting hit in a joint. She's not immune- she's just got really handy scales.))

Chiyo gnaws and attempts to saw the tentacle from Alex's body with her teeth, then jerks her head away as the spikes attempt to poke out her eyes. One misses completely, while the other makes a nasty cut above her eye, causing blood to pour down over it and blind her.
She roars at Alex so loudly that it should deafen and stun him.

[Admiral_Kelly]

The tentacle is chewed on; Alex is forced to let go. The roar causes Alex to fall to the ground, but in less than a second he gets up and flies in for another eye-piercing attack using the unwounded tentacles; this time hoping to penetrate deep enough to hit the brain. At the same time, he will attempt to use a third tentacles to wrap around her neck and squeeze.

[AmberVael]

In that second Chiyo swiftly uncoils and darts out towards the exit, moving as quick as a striking snake. One tentacle glances off her back while the other barely sinks into flesh, managing to get under a scale on her back- but her head was already far out of range.
His tentacles may be large, but it is unlikely that he could wrap one entirely around Chiyo, and what is more, her head is out of range as it is. He might barely wrap his tentacle around her body (assuming it is that large, otherwise it half wraps or some other percentage thereof) and manage to hold on, but otherwise he's not getting much.

((Consider her to be somewhere around gargantuan and colossal. Maybe about five feet in diameter (since she is probably about the size of a purple worm), and thus she has a circumference of around 16 feet. Plus, he has to be able to reach her... which would require tentacles of about 20 ft in length))

[Admiral_Kelly]

((Tentacles are about twelve feet long when fully extended.))

"HITOMI!" Alex cries out when the creature starts flying away. He flies desperately in pursuit, seeing if there is a chance he could rescue Hitomi before the dragon gets away.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo's tail snakes (har har) out and attempts to bat Alex in the face as she negotiates the narrow tunnels and flies back towards the exit, hoping there is a way to activate it from the other side.
If not... well, she'll find something.

[Admiral_Kelly]

All four of the tentacles attempt to grab onto the tail when it comes to slap Alex and, if successful, attempt to pull the dragon back with their combined strength.

[AmberVael]

Alex manages to latch on nicely.
Unfortunately, he doesn't really have any way to pull her back- he's got the strength, he's got a hold on her tail, but she's massive, and at least of the same strength of him, and already moving. Physics laughs, and cat girls probably die.
So instead of being dragged back, she slows a little, then flails her tail around in a bid to smack him into the ceiling, walls, and floors like a rag doll on a string.

[Admiral_Kelly]

The tail causes Alex to be smacked into a wall, again onto the floor, and when he is smacked into the ceiling he falls to the ground. He quickly starts to get up- although Chiyo should have enough time to get away.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo will get away- as soon as her player figures out just what is in her way at the entrance (if anything).
He'd rather not just have her blow through the door.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Chiyo will find that the exit/entrance opens rather easily from the inside..it just does. We're not sure how, but, hell, what does it matter?
Hardly anybody found the way back out, and Hitomi was rather lazy. She liked the exit just opening...

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex gets up rather quickly and resumes chasing them.

[AmberVael]

Chiyo swiftly slithers out, then flings into the air as the dead magic recedes, flying away at a very rapid pace.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi was taken with Chiyo, off to wherever the nature spirit deemed worthy to go.
She seemed to come back to herself when they came back out into the sunlight, blinking around before looking for Alex.
"Alex..."
And they were gone.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex pursues after them a short distance, but there is nothing Alex can do to compete with the speeds the dragon is flying at. He cries out the name of his beloved vampire-succubus echoing over the surrounding countryside "HITOMI!"

After a minute passes without an answer, he flies down to the ground where tears start to come from his eyes as deadtime overtakes him.

[AmberVael]

Mortessa sits in the midst of the lair, forgotten and wondering what on earth she should do.

Chiyo flew off far into the distance, into another thread that her player will create momentarily. It is likely that Alex will know the direction- but it will be hard for him to find the specific location...

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex undeadtimes. He looks towards the direction where the beast took Hitomi. Why did this happen? He sacrificed his mortality, made himself a vampire, all for her. And this woman, that bitch, wanted to separate them so Hitomi could be a killer.

He wouldn't have this. He'd find them, rescue Hitomi, and then he'd kill that woman. Figuring either Mortessa could find her own way out or that they could go back to her, Alex takes to the skies in the direction that the kidnapper went. She could be hundreds of miles away, but he'd find Hitomi no matter what happened.

[AmberVael]

Mortessa remains where she is, shivering for a while, then slowly gets to her feet and heads out to find something- some kind of meaning or purpose.
She didn't have anything to focus on now. No one, no research, no students... just... nothing.

[Rebonack]

She had some fun aiding the pair of vampire hunters.

They always need more help!

This message brought to you by a lonely dust bunny rolling along after the woman.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi (and, presumably Alex, so long as he didn't get,like, somehow separated from her :smalleek:) would probably land some distance away from the collection of worn boulders and stones.
The vampire-succubus looked frazzled but please as she took Alex's hand, pulling him towards the sun-dial-ish rock, which provided no sense of time due to the dark nature of night.
This time, there was little hesitation as she pressed her finger down on the dial, minimal blood splashing forth so that the grassy field ground would open for them.
"You ready to go back down there, considering what happened last time?"

[Admiral_Kelly]

Dark memories resurface into Alex's mind. Mortessa being dragged down here, the woman changing into a dragon and taking Hitomi away, which led to-

No- he could not dwell on that. He had to move on and leave everything else in the past. It was just a place like Dart's plane. "That's over with now. Lead the way."

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Except considerably less gruesome than Dart's plane, as the place somehow seemed to be dusted and cleaned since the last time either of them had been there. This didn't seem to bother Hitomi in the least as she took Alex by his hand, directing him down the stairs.
The pair took a different turn than the previous time, curving down hallways in the opposite direction before they reached a large crimson door. It was made of stone, and so one might wonder how it had obtained its crimson color...
Perhaps it was best not to know.
Placing her still bleeding index finger on an indent in the door, it slid open with a creak of gears and such to reveal a well-kept room, the walls floor-length mirrors that flickered Hitomi's reflection- atleast, the succubus aspects. Furniture was lush and guaranteed the one who was looking upon it comfort, its fabrics deep shades of red and ebony.
"And this was my personal 'living' room for so long." She ran her fingers over the velvet of a close-by couch. It really was amazing the fabric had remained in such good condition.
"I think I've only allowed one other person in here..."

[Admiral_Kelly]

When they first enter the room, Alex notices his own lack of reflection- save for his tentacles and wings. An odd thing to say the least.

"This a nice room you have here." He comments glacncing at his suroundings - but seems more focused on her.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Her hand still in his, Hitomi flopped down onto the couch, pulling him with her, unless Alex objects. If she succeeds in what she's attempting to do, he'll fall directly onto her.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex is taken slightly by suprise and falls onto her.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Smiling slyly, Hitomi looked up to him.
"Hi, Alexander."

[Admiral_Kelly]

He grins, looking down on her face and Neck. "Hello, Hitomi." All four tentacles begin to wrap around her slowly.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Careful to move her arms out of the tentacles way, Hitomi let a hand slip up, running up and down Alex's jawline.

[Admiral_Kelly]

He puts a hand to her face as he moves his face down and kisses her on the lips gently once or twice before moving his lips down along her neck.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

With one arm moving around Alex's waist, Hitomi sighed, closing her eyes as she tilted her head to the side to allow him easier access to her neck.

[Admiral_Kelly]

He kisses her neck slowly, lightly (for a vampire) applying his toung and teeth to her. This dose give rise his vampiric urges, but he controls them. One of his hands moves along Hitomi's side and down to her waist gently feeling her curves.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi returned a few gentle nips against his neck, which was probably open to her due to the posture they held against eachother.
"Alex..." She whispered into his ears, her arm tightening against him, pulling him closer to him.

[Admiral_Kelly]

He is pulled closer to her, if possible, with the tentacles feeling her along and the wings over them.

"Yes, Hitomi?" He says, ceasing kissing her neck for the moment.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Shaking her head, Hitomi smiled, nibbling at his ear before responding.
"Its nothing...""

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex smiles as well, and goes to kiss her on the lips. His hands move behind her, looking for a way to remove her shirt.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Removing her shirt would be a task- its got a scooped out back for her wings, but, even so, he'd have a time pulling it around her wings and up.
Realising this, Hitomi sat up as best she could with Alex as close as he was and helped him do so, placing kisses from his cheek to his jawbone when the garment was removed.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex figures out how to remove it and gets it off after about a minute or two, the tentacles letting go of her as this happens. He grins at the sight of her half-naked torso for a moment before resturning the kisses he is given. They continue kissing for several moments before Alex begins to take off his own shirt.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

Hitomi reached forward for Alex, a smirk present on her face...

Annndd...the curtains drop.

[QueenOfMemnoch]

(( double post))
With a soft sigh, Hitomi awoke, pulling herself gently from the tangle of the two lovers. Looking about, she found a black sheet and wrapped herself in it, standing up as she did so. Looking upon Alex, a small smile wormed its way onto her face. It had been so long since she had had a man in such a way. She had completely forgotten what they had to offer...
Hitomi felt...pleasant, but that wasn't quite all of it. Something felt horrible. This was what it had come down to, wasn't it? She had tormented this man, freed him from possession, enslaved him as a possession, turned him into something he had abhorred her for. And for what? To keep him as a pet, forever and ever? It was wrong, it all was. The way she lived, vicious, cold... She hadn't always been this way, had she?
Had she?
Glancing out the corner of her eye at the mirrored walls, Hitomi frowned. Not that she could see it- she couldn't see any part of herself beyond the black curling horns and the leathery wings. She had once thought them beautiful, a mark of her own power, and now..they just repulsed her.
Was she coming to that end she had heard of that cursed so many vampires, when they just come to hate their nature? No, she had come to terms with it so long ago, the death tolls had long ceased to bother her, or even come to mind. Looking back to Alex, her shoulders slumped. She couldn't love him like he needed, perhaps deserved. A grim smile crossed her face- he had been looking for some time for a woman, hadn't he? And she had just been another one, at first. She had no doubt she mattered to him as much as he had claimed. And what was Alex to her? She wanted him to be so much, but he was just another lover, no matter which way she looked at it or hoped it to be. Just a man, even, that she was fond of.
Maybe, once, long ago, Hitomi could have loved Alex. They could have been happy, smiled with true bliss. Perhaps, she could have even been a decent mother-figure to Liran. Provided the attention the little dragon-vampire-succubus-whatever needed as a young one.
But, now? Hitomi was nothing-ness. A figure who lived to feed, and feed alone. The sheets wrapped around her like a mourner's toga, Hitomi bent down, placing the slightest kiss upon Alex's cheek.
"I wish I could love you..."
Pulling the bottom of the sheets up into her clenched fists for easier movement, the vampire-succubus quickly moved out of the room, her green hair floating around her nearly naked body as her feet met the cold marble floor.
Why had she made the Bastion so empty, frigid, dreary? Was that all she had expected out of her eternity, all those years ago when she had been young? She had been so foolish to think she could live for eternity. The hope for eternal life had been broken at the hands of others, and she could not believe she had grown to be so dependent. It sickened her, it did. But why? Because she couldn't stand to be connected to others so intimately, or because she had become something that could not care for them properly?
Waste of space, of 'life'. This vampire-slayers had it right, her kind deserved to die, but not because they were vampires and they killed- because they were incapable of producing anything worthy as they aged.
Hitomi, lost in her own thoughts, turned corridors without plan, as if her body knew where to go without the brain administering demands. Eventually, she paused infront of a fire pit. Rather, the hallway just ended before the flames. She wasn't sure how she had started it there, or why it had continued to burn. The wall behind it was inscripted with ancient text, claiming it to be a direct chute to hell.
With a smirk, Hitomi dropped her sheets where she stood, and let herself fall forward.

[Admiral_Kelly]

Alex awakes with a sudden feeling of loss. Hitomi is not there like he expected. The joy and passion he felt last night disappeared all at once. He would never feel such emotions again- it was now a one-time memory.

Hitomi was dead and gone forever. He has no idea of how he knows, that is of the connection a fledgling has to its sire, but he just does. The pain of loss which he became so familiar with returns greater than ever before, and the world seems dismal and empty once again.

As he sits up, memories begin to go through his mind. The life he knew was lost when he shot his closest friend thinking he was the worst man alive. In the process, he doomed himself never to return to his homeland. Trying to make the best of things, he fell in love, murdered, helped those in need, sinned, constantly changed sides and views. He experienced death and total loss of memories only to reclaim them never understanding why.

Through all this, he met Hitomi. At first he despised her out of prejudice and for taunting him with another woman; but after seeing past that became attracted to her. In a moment desperation, he turned to her. She saved his life with a kiss- and it made him fall in love with her. Their relationship was difficult at times but for the most part Alex only felt joy by it. Even when she cheated on him the fact she returned was enough because of how attached he became.

Her feel, her touch, her sweetness, the moments they experienced together- gone. She threw herself away and Alex would never know why. He did everything he could for her and yet he still lost her.

Love and Hate. Good and Evil. Life and Death. All philosophical ideas in his mind. The world only offers despair and sadness. Tears of blood gush from his eyes as he gets up from the couch, trying to put Hitomi and everything else in his entire past behind him.

"I still need to move on." Only this time he would know no more attachments. He would not develop friendships or fall in love again because he knows how they would inevitably turn out. Absolutely nothing matters to him anymore.

Having gotten dressed and left the bastion, Alex flies away into the darkness.