The Cure: Part Three

The first thing Chilla was aware of when she awoke was the damp, musty air around her and the strange soft bedding she was resting in upon a stone floor. The smell of the air was sharp, strong, and overpowering. Despite the fact that it was almost completely dark in the stone chamber she awoke in, except for a small torch lit near the ceiling, she could see clearly; in fact her vision was sharper and clearer than usual. She was also aware of an intense, gnawing hunger in her stomach that was unlike any she had experienced before.

"You're awake." LaCroix commented as he stepped out of the shadows toward her, and handed her a dark green glass bottle, filled with a dark fluid. "Drink."

Chilla wordlessly took the bottle and guzzled its contents, then dropped it, her hunger temporarily satisfied. LaCroix was pleased to see her eyes flash a bright yellow and green, and hear a supernatural growl escape her lips as she drank. He put an arm around her shoulder. "How do you feel, my dear?" he asked.

She snarled and shoved him back. "Don't touch me, vampire!" she hissed. As she moved, she realized she had moved faster than ever before. She felt strange, that something was wrong with her, it seemed as though her body was somehow alien to her and different. She gave LaCroix a suspicous look. She was now wondering just what had been in that bottle that she had drank so desperately. Whatever it was, it was rich, thick, and filling, and it had a taste unlike any she could place. Something was very wrong, she was positive of it. "What have you done to me?"

LaCroix only smiled in response.

"No." Chilla said defiantly, as she figured what he had done to her and why she felt so strange. "No! I'm not... you didn't! NO!"

"Yes."

His simple, smug affirmation hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't believe this had happened. A vampire, the immortal bastard had turned her into a vampire! Feelings of anger, bitterness, and feeling wronged surged through her. If she had been anyone else, she might have burst into tears from frustration... but Chilla would never indulge in such a display of real emotion, for that would indicate weakness, and that was something Chilla never allowed herself. Instead she expressed herself through an outlet she frequently used... anger. "How dare you do this to me?! I never wanted this!"

"I did." LaCroix replied.

"Take it back! Undo it! I don't want to be like you! I hate all you damned vampires! The last thing I want is to be one of you!" she screamed angrily at him, and spat ice in his direction.

LaCroix easily dodged her attack. "Calm down, my dear. You'll see in time that you do want this. You have the mistaken impression that it's a curse or a burden... it's a gift. The ultimate gift."

Chilla was livid. "It's not a gift! It's an affliction! I don't want it! Get rid of it!" she demanded, her voice going shrill with emotion.

The ancient vampire shrugged. "It cannot be undone. The change is permanent and irreversible. You are what you are. You'd best learn to accept it-- and me-- my dear." LaCroix said in a soothing voice, and again tried to put his arm around her shoulder.

"NO!" she roared. Chilla bared her new fangs at him, then shot at him with a fire beam. "Turn me back right now!"

LaCroix was unharmed, and looked at her, genuinely puzzled. She seemed not only angry, but somewhat fearful as well. "I do not understand this reaction, Chilla. I made you immortal. I made you invincible. Don't you understand? Nothing can hurt you, nothing can kill you. You'll never feel the touch of age, sickness, or weakness. Why would you reject such a gift?" he asked her. "Surely the killing to sustain yourself doesn't bother you? You are, after all, one of the most cold-hearted creatures I have ever met... literally."

"Because I hate you! I hate all of you and I loathe what you are! Don't you think if I wanted to be one of you I would have had Alluro change me by now? He would have done it in an instant, in fact he tried to do it more than once, too! And when I stopped him I made it quite clear that I wanted nothing to do with him or this damned condition he's chosen to give himself. Don't you understand? I liked what I was! Why the hell couldn't you just leave me alone?!" she raged, and began blasting random things in her path with fire beams, then pounced on LaCroix with her vampire claws and reflexes. Involuntarily she hissed and bared her fangs at him like a wild animal, striking to kill.

LaCroix let her pin him down and laughed. "Yes, that's it... give in to your urges... feel what you are." He snaked his arms around her affectionately. She flinched at his touch, but he paid no attention and held her in a gentle, but inescapable, embrace. "So much passion, so much power... don't you feel it?" he whispered to her. "Surely you can understand why I chose you? You're a perfect selection for our kind." Before Chilla could say another word he rolled over and pinned her beneath him. "You're a perfect selection for me."

Chilla was stunned. "What?"

"Just what I said." LaCroix answered. "I need a wild, ruthless vampire... a companion and student... someone who will take to being what we are and live up to the potential, someone to understand what I am and what it means to be one of us... there aren't many of us left. The Thundercat vampires are a joke... they are more snivelling, moral, whiny, and weak than Nicholas was at his worst in this morality-searching phase of his. Nicholas himself has left me, seemingly permanently, and despite what I do to change his mind, he won't willingly be with me again. Janette too is independent, she may have the right ideas on how to live as what we are, but she doesn't want to be my student or companion any longer, she instead seeks her own young ones to nurture."

The icy lunatac-vampire growled again at her creator. "You destroyed my life because you were lonely?"

"I didn't destroy you, my dear, I improved you." LaCroix said simply, and touched her face gently. "Once you have some time to think about it, you'll understand what favor I have done you." Chilla stiffened at his touch but didn't react or speak. LaCroix then stood, and lifted her to her feet. She continued to glare at him with her most hateful expression. LaCroix found it amusing. Suddenly something else occured to Chilla. She remembered the mission, and that the others were probably wondering where she had gone. LaCroix read her thoughts and cut her off before she could ask. "They are no longer your concern. You are mine now."

"I belong to no one!" she argued.

"Wrong. You belong to me. Every vampire belongs to their creator. It's an unbreakable bond, especially when the experience was as intense as ours was."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Chilla lied and looked away, thinking uneasily about that strange sensation of seeing and understanding his life while he was biting her, and knowing he knew just about every detail about her life, down to what she was thinking. She then faced him again. "Besides, I don't see you answering to anyone. Where's your creator?"

"Gone." LaCroix answered, and gave her a look that indicated if she knew what was good for her, she'd shut up.

"So what now?" Chilla asked him, changing the subject. She was still angry about what he had done to her, but starting to realize there was nothing she could do about it. She looked at him expectantly, but still with an air of resentment.

LaCroix smiled and took her hand. "That's more like it."

***

Lion-O returned to the camp he and the others had set up earlier and decided it was time to wake Cheetara. He made his way to where she was resting... and gasped. "She's gone... Cheetara! CHEETARA!" he shouted. "Where are you? Cheetara!"

Bengali and Pumyra heard the shouts and showed up immediately. "What happened? Where is she?" Bengali asked.

"I don't know!" replied a panicked Lion-O. "She's gone, like she just disappeared!"

"But where would she have gone?" Bengali wondered. "And if she didn't leave on her own, who... or what could have taken her that we wouldn't have heard coming?"

"These jungles are dangerous! We have to find her!" Pumyra agreed. "Come on!"

They were about to move when a dark flash dropped out of the trees above and pinned Lion-O to the ground.

"Aaah!" Lion-O screamed out as he suddenly felt his flesh being shredded by what felt like countless different claws and teeth. He tried to throw whatever was on him off, but was unable to do it. The creature attacking him sank its fangs into his neck and ripped painfully into his arms, which he was using in vain to push off the creature, making long, deep, jagged cuts. Immediately Bengali and Pumyra ripped the attacker off of Lion-O, who sat up dazed, trying to figure out what happened.

"You will die for your interference!" the creature raged. The three Thundercats were astonished to see it was a young human girl... or was she? Her eyes flashed brightly and she bared her fangs before swiping her vampire claws at Pumyra's face. The puma-vampire was able to block the attack with her forearm, but like Lion-O, she was cut painfully in the process. Pumyra cried out, for the girl's claws burned like poison. She also couldn't feel her immortal healing capabilities kicking in.

Bengali fired his hammer at the vampire girl, but she was flying at him before he could get one shot out. Seconds later she was slashing at him too and trying to bite. Pumyra struggled with her wound, but managed to lash her lariat and three explosive marbles at the girl, in time for Bengali to shove the ancient vampire aside and bash the side of her head in with all of his own great combined vampire and Thundercat strength. The hammer collided with her skull, which gave way with a sickening crack, and knocked her clear off him. She appeared dazed, but not defeated. The girl hissed at them, then spoke. "You think you've beaten me... but you're wrong. Next time, and there will be a next time, when I recover, I will tear all three of you to pieces." She then stared at Lion-O for a moment, then laughed. "That is, if there is anything left of you to destroy by then!" With that, she took off into the darkness from where she had come.

"What did she mean?" Bengali wondered. "And where is Cheetara? Great Jaga! What if she got her?"

Pumyra winced and gripped her arm in pain. "She... is old and powerful. I can feel it. Her wounds, they burn... they don't heal. There's something so evil about her, it's infecting me like a venom. It won't let my arm regenerate and heal like it should. I can feel it... her rage... her fury." She leaned on Bengali, who looked at her wound, not knowing what to do. They both then looked at where Lion-O, who had taken the most of her attack, was laying on the ground..

Lion-O was in bad shape. Blood trickled from his scratches and the skin around them seemed already red and inflamed, as though an infection was taking root in them. He was literally shaking and his eyes held a wild and fearful look. Pumyra reached to help him up, and he roared in pain, shoving them both back forcefully. "NO! Don't touch me!"

"Lion-O, you're hurt. Let her look at your wounds." Bengali told him calmly.

"Pain... destroy... must... AAAAHHH!" he screamed, and closed his eyes. The other two exchanged stunned looks, while Lion-O slowly rose to his feet. "Kill, I have to kill... burning in me... you don't understand!" he said somewhat incoherently, then let out a roar and charged at Bengali. The white tiger leapt back, stunned, and watched in horror as Lion-O reached for the Sword of Omens and tried to slash him with it.

"LION-O, NO! What are you doing?! STOP!!!" cried Pumyra.

The Eye of Thundera pulsed and the Sword of Omens flew from his hands, and embedded itself in a nearby tree. Lion-O glared at it and came to his senses for a moment. "It knows... I am tainted... evil." he whispered.

"No." Pumyra insisted, trying to urge him out of it. "You aren't evil, Lion-O. Fight it."

Lion-O turned and struck her with all the force he could muster, knocking her back several feet. He then clutched his head in agony, screamed, and ran into the forest, ranting and raving.

Bengali immediately rushed to Pumyra's side and helped her up. "I don't know what came over him, but he had no right to hit you like that."

"He couldn't help it." Pumyra said tearfully. "I think that vampire infected him with her evil... I can feel it burning inside me, making me hurt and want to kill. I can't explain it, but it's like she has left an essence of herself in my wound. It's weakening me, I can't heal even though I should be able to as an immortal. Jaga only knows what it will do to Lion-O. He's strong, but he's only mortal and she hurt him far worse than me."

Bengali let out a low growl. "Damn her, whoever she is, she will pay for this. We have to find Lion-O before he hurts himself or anyone else. Not to mention Cheetara.... we still don't know what happened to her."

Leaning on Bengali for a bit of support with her burning wound, Pumyra nodded. "I don't know what to do if we find Lion-O. If the mighty Lord of the Thundercats cannot control himself, what can we do to control him?"

"Still, we have to try and find him and Cheetara first. I may have temporarily harmed that vampire girl, but she will be back, and we need to find the others before she recovers. Besides, I don't like the idea of them wandering alone with the lunatacs also in the same territory."

"You're right." Pumyra agreed, and put a bandage from the first aid kit around her arm. "Come on, let's try and see what we can find before dawn breaks." Bengali nodded and the two hurriedly set off on a search, forgetting in their worry for their friends that they'd left the Sword of Omens in the tree where it had left Lion-O.

***

Not far away, Nick and Cheetara were making their way back towards the area from where Ren'fos and Lili had taken her earlier. They had been spending the travel time catching up on the events of the past year; Cheetara telling him about the events that had taken place back on their part of Third Earth, while Nick told her all about adjusting to the primitive life in the jungles, and how LaCroix and Janette were still disapproving of how he lived among the mortals. Once they were done with that, Cheetara began telling him stories about Thundera and what her planet was like, and then she in turn asked him about some of the things he had experienced on First Earth. Nick was about to tell her some of the highlights when Cheetara suddenly doubled over. "Cheetara!" he exclaimed.

"Lion-O...." she whispered hoarsely. Her sixth sense was literally overwhelming her with the terrible sensations that were filling Lion-O-- pain, burning, rage, and an uncontrollable urge to kill. She also saw the terrible attack that the vampire had visited on him, Pumyra, and Bengali. When the vision was lost, she saw Nick holding her with concern in his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked her. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "My sixth sense. Lion-O has been hurt, been somehow overcome with evil. He was bitten and attacked by a vampire. So were Bengali and Pumyra, though they weren't hurt nearly as badly as he was."

Nick felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "A vampire? Oh no... LaCroix?" he asked.

Cheetara shook her head. "No, a female. Not Janette either. I have never seen this vampire before. She is young. Well, young by appearance. I think she is a very old, evil force, actually, perhaps as old as LaCroix."

"What is her name?"

"I don't know, all I know is that she is evil and very hateful, and she's hurt Lion-O very badly." Cheetara said sadly. "We have to find him and the others right now!"

Nick nodded. "Yes, come on... I'll use my vampire abilities to fly, perhaps we can spot them from a higher spot."

"Good idea." Cheetara agreed, and allowed Nick to pick her up and fly off with her in his arms. Suddenly Nick rapidly descended and landed in a smallish clearing in the jungle. Cheetara gave him a quizzical look, but he did not respond, instead walked over to a tree and tugged on something apparently stuck in it. "Nick? What is it?"

At Nick's touch, it came free into his hands. "This." he told her, holding the Sword of Omens in his hands.

The cheetah gasped. "Great Thundera! The Sword of Omens! Why doesn't.... oh no. Lion-O wouldn't be without it unless... unless the sword knew he might try and use it for evil in his state. No...." she whispered sadly.

"You should carry this, Cheetara. I don't feel right holding it." Nick told her.

"Why not? We made you an honorary Thundercat, remember? And if the Eye of Thundera didn't feel you were worthy, it wouldn't have come freely into your hands."

Nick looked away for a moment. "I'm too evil to be worthy of holding something as good as this, even temporarily."

"What? You aren't evil, Nick!" she argued.

"I am a killer, Cheetara. You know what I am, the things I am capable of. At one time I was just as ruthless and without conscience for killing as LaCroix and Janette."

"That was a long time ago, Nick. You've changed. The fact that the Eye of Thundera let you handle it proves that. It knows your true nature. You are good... and if we do find the cure, you will be mortal again, too."

A faint smile crossed Nick's face. "I hope you're right." He then looked at Cheetara for a long moment, and a wistful look filled his eyes. "You remind me of someone I once knew, a long time ago."

"Really? Who?" she asked him, as the two started off again searching for Lion-O, Pumyra, and Bengali.

"Her name was Natalie. She was a... very good friend. Someone I was very fond of, in my last days on First Earth. She had made it her mission to find a cure for me, to make me mortal again like I wanted. We came so close sometimes, there were times I actually thought I was becoming human again, and it was all because of her."

"Sounds like she meant a great deal to you." Cheetara observed.

"Yes." Nick agreed, then added after a pause "who am I fooling? I loved her. If only I'd had the guts to admit it then." he then sighed.

Cheetara gave him a curious glance. "I was under the impression that Janette was the one you held those sort of feelings for?"

"Janette is different. She and I were lovers on and off for many years, but it has not been that form of a relationship for a long time. In many ways we are alike, but in others we are very different, as you are well aware. Things between us are very complicated, just like it is with me and LaCroix. Hell, when you spend eight hundred years with someone, you're bound to have a complicated relationship with them."

"I imagine so." Cheetara agreed. "I honestly can't say I understand... I haven't lived long enough to truly understand... but I do think I follow what you're saying." She looked around, looking for any sign of Lion-O, Bengali, or Pumyra. "It looks like they went in that direction." she said, pointing to a spot in the vegetation where it appeared to have been recently disturbed.

Nick strained to hear anything that might indicate that they were nearby. He thought he could make out the sound of Bengali's voice in the far distance, but wasn't sure. "I might have heard something... let's check it out. I think we have to try and find them in case whatever attacks them tries a second time." As he turned to face Cheetara, he saw she was no longer at his side.

"Way ahead of you, Nick!" she replied cheerfully, a good ten feet away down the trampled jungle path.

Nick grinned. "You're probably the only one around here who's actually faster than us vampires." he said with a laugh, and joined her. The two quickly headed off, hot on the trail of Pumyra and Bengali.

***

Janette and Alluro set RedEye down at the entrance to a strange stone building, worn and covered in thick vines, but also sturdy and forbidding. Alluro and RedEye wondered how long that structure had been there, for by the looks of it, it had been there for centuries. Janette shoved a dense coating of vines aside to reveal a stone doorway, which she began to shove open. Though it might have appeared that someone her size could not even budge such a door, Janette was a vampire, and was a lot stronger than she looked. The door gave way to reveal a tunnel, black as night, behind it. "After you." she said, gesturing to the entrance.

"LaCroix lives here?" Alluro asked.

"It's not a five star hotel, but for a home in the primitive jungles of this Third Earth, it's not bad. It's also very safe from daylight and unwanted guests." Janette replied.

RedEye stepped in first. Even though he was mortal, his vision allowed him to see just fine inside the dark tunnel. "LaCroix isn't going to get pissed at us for stomping into his place uninvited?" he asked. It wasn't that he cared about the impoliteness of it, it was just that going into the den of a known very evil, very powerful vampire made him nervous, and he wanted to save his own neck... literally.

Janette waited for Alluro to go in, then followed herself and shut the door. "I have an open invitation to see LaCroix whenever I wish, as does Nicola. He will not mind... if he did he would be here objecting already. I'm sure he can hear us and knows we're here." She went ahead of RedEye and led the two of them through the dark twists and turns of the structure, until she came upon the chamber in the heart of the place, where LaCroix usually stayed. There were torches lit in this room and the three of them could see Chilla sitting in the corner, scowling, while LaCroix turned to face them. Chilla also looked up as they walked in.

"Chilla!" Alluro exclaimed, and ran over to her to see if she was all right.

LaCroix only smiled. "Hello my dear. I see you brought guests... how nice." he said to Janette.

"Hello LaCroix. Yes. I ran into some old friends by the lake." Janette told him, then looked at Chilla briefly, then back at LaCroix. "I see that you did too."

LaCroix nodded. "Yes... but Chilla and I are now so much more than friends." he said mysteriously.

"What do you mean by that?" RedEye asked, an accusing note in his voice.

"Chilla?" Alluro asked again, crouching by the silent frozen lunatac and setting his hand gently on her shoulder. She slowly turned and faced him. Alluro's eyes grew wide with shock when he saw the expression on her face... it was bitter, angry, and a bit sad... and he saw the purplish-red fang marks on her neck where LaCroix had bitten her. As their eyes met, he instantly knew what had happened. He narrowed his eyes. "You're... one of us?" He felt a bit betrayed... he had tried to bring her across several times, to convince her to join him, in the last year, and every time she had turned him down, and rather coldly. But now... she let LaCroix do it?

"Yeah." she said flatly. "And not by my choice, either. This jerk wanted a meal and an eternal girlfriend and decided that I was his woman... and didn't give me time to object." she hissed hatefully.

Alluro was happy to hear on some level that she hadn't chosen LaCroix, but the fact that he had gone after her at all made him rather angry. Still, he remained silent. He knew better than to challenge LaCroix, for he was by far more powerful. Instead he just gave Chilla a sympathetic look and glared at LaCroix. He also met Janette's eyes and telepathically spoke to her, asking her to do something. She replied that there was nothing she could do, and said she was sorry. Alluro then turned back to Chilla and gave her a look expressing his regret.

Meanwhile, RedEye had gotten angry. "You did what?" he growled at LaCroix. "What gives you the right to treat her like that?"

LaCroix had heard Chilla and RedEye's words and sneered. "I have the right because I can do it. And there is nothing you can do about it." He turned to Chilla. "You should be glad I didn't leave you for dead when I took you, that I gave you the gift of immortality. Besides, you'll never have a better offer at eternal company than me."

Janette just barely held back a snicker. LaCroix's ego was still as big as ever.

"As for you," LaCroix said, ignoring Janette and facing RedEye "you had better watch your temper, my friend. Being far underground in a nest of vampires is not a safe place for a mortal with a big mouth."

RedEye looked from LaCroix to Janette to Alluro and then to Chilla and shivered. He had a point... he didn't want to end up their next meal. He knew that he would be safe enough from Alluro and Chilla-- probably-- and he was semi-sure that Janette wouldn't go after him, but LaCroix was way too unpredictable for his liking. He growled slightly but kept quiet.

Alluro pulled Chilla closer to him. "Don't worry, you won't have to stay with him. You can--"

"Wrong." LaCroix cut in. "She will stay with me, and you will not interfere. I took her as my companion and I mean to keep here there. You and RedEye and Luna will just have to deal with that. She will not be returning with you."

"You don't give me orders!" Chilla snapped at him. "I go where I want, when I want. Lunatacs are free agents... we answer to no one."

"Is that so? Perhaps Luna would disagree with you on that."

Chilla only let out a low growl and mubled some words LaCroix was probably better off not quite hearing anyway.

"In fact," LaCroix continued "I think it is time that all of us vampires formed our own group. Our eternal life can be made so much happier with good company, don't you think?" He turned to Janette. "Think of it... it could be just like the Raven. I know how much you enjoyed operating that."

"The Raven? What the hell is that?" Chilla asked.

"It was a club I owned, back in the time you would call First Earth. A haven for vampires, a place for them to stay and know they had somewhere to go, someone who would understand what it's like. A place away from the world of the mortals." Janette explained. She thought about what LaCroix suggested. "So you are saying you would like the four of us to stay together, as some sort of team? Like you, Nicola, and I were all those years?"

LaCroix nodded. "Very much like that. But not just us... we could find the others and have them join us as well. We might be able to get through to Nicholas, make him see that living alone among the mortals would be so much more miserable than staying with us where he belongs. Perhaps he could even convince the Night-Cat and his lover to join us as well. I brought her across after all, she would be vulnerable to my influence. Why I could even find Luna and her pet and have them be a part of our group."

"That almost sounded tolerable, until you mentioned the cats. There is no way in this universe that I would spend eternity hanging around them and their nauseating morality." Alluro said. "And having Luna and Amok around forever doesn't sound very appealing either."

"To be quite honest, I don't care what you think. The cats are vampires, nothing more, nothing less. In time they will learn that. You may even come to like them someday."

"You're delusional." Chilla spat. "I've had about all I can take of you. I'm out of here!" she announced angrily, and headed for the door.

In a flash, LaCroix was blocking her way. "No. You will not leave. None of you will, not yet, except for perhaps your mortal friend here if he wishes. We have things to discuss. Besides, dawn is not that far off. You wouldn't want to be caught in the sunlight, would you?"

Chilla scowled. "I hate you." she said to him, and stomped back over to the corner.

LaCroix's only response was to give her a smug smile, and then he began relating his ideas to the others.

***

Divia sat high up in one of the trees, watching and waiting. Below was the Riylien village, mostly quiet at this time of night except for the scouts. She hadn't fed in so long, and they would make such easy targets... the only reason she was pausing now was because she wasn't sure which one to take first. Scanning the area she saw three males on a platform in one of the higher trees. That was a good enough place to start, she decided, and flew over there.

The first one went quickly. She snatched him as she flew past, up to a higher branch, had drained all the blood from his body before the others noticed him missing. Unceremoniously she dropped the body and swooped to grab the second one. Divia viciously tore into his neck with her fangs and sucked the blood from his body. The third scout, the one Nick knew as Ren'fos, ran at his friend's attacker and swiped at her with a crude hunting knife. Without looking up from her current victim, Divia's arm shot out and her fingers roughly grabbed Ren'fos by the throat. He struggled and choked in her immortally strong grasp, and dropped his knife, trying to pry away her fingers from his neck with both of his hands. A moment or so later, Divia had finished off her second meal and let the body in her arms drop, then she turned to Ren'fos, hissed, and bared her fangs. "Your turn." she sneered.

Ren'fos's eyes widened in fear as she pulled him close. He tried to struggle and kick her, but it was all in vain. Divia pulled him close and sunk her fangs into his neck. He let out a half-grunt/half-growl of pain and grew weak as Divia sucked the blood out of his body. "No... please don't kill me..." he weakly protested.

Divia was amused by his plea. She could not spare his mortal life now though, he'd lost too much blood for that. All she could do would be to turn him into a vampire. Perhaps this warrior from a simple background would be a good fledgling though, one to aid her in destroying the others. And it was always nice to have someone to order around anyway. She lifted her fangs and whispered in his ear. "You say you want to live? You have a choice... die now, or live forever. And you'd better choose quickly, for death is very near for you." she said. "What is your decision? Live as a vampire or die?"

Ren'fos was a natural born survivor. To him there was only one choice that could be made. "I want to live." he whispered.

"So be it." Divia said, then tore her own wrist open with her teeth and placed the bleeding wound on his mouth. "Drink it!" she hissed. "Or you will die."

The idea of drinking the blood of another creature, any creature, especially one as evil and unnatural as this, was distasteful to him, but in this case he didn't argue. He made a face as he swallowed two mouthfuls of her blood, it burned in this throat and tasted sick and evil. His body shuddered violently and pain shot through his insides, like he'd recieved a powerful electrical shock. The world around him went black for a few moments, and then when he opened his eyes he saw Divia standing above him, eyeing him carefully. Why did he see her in so much more detail now, though?

"It worked." Divia said with an evil grin. "Only the second time I tried it, but it worked. You should feel lucky. I usually kill everything in my path, friend." She extended her hand and pulled him to his feet.

Ren'fos stood shakily, looking around in wonder and staring at his own body, wondering why he felt so different. "Why did you spare me, then? Because I asked?"

"Partly... I can use you. You owe me for sparing your life.. and enhancing it. You are now like me, a vampire, an immortal. You now can't be harmed or killed, except by the sun, fire, or a stake through the heart, and you'll live forever if you avoid those things and feed on blood of mortals regularly. Now, in exchange for this, you must help me destroy those who have wronged me." she informed him. Divia stared intensely into his wide, green eyes. She could tell he was naive and trusting, probably because he was young... she guessed he was a mortal age of one who had just barely reached adulthood. Unlike her father, he would be easy to control and manipulate.

Ren'fos listened to her carefully. "Those who have wronged you? Who? Who are you?" He then looked down at his body and limbs again, astonished. "I really won't ever die or get old?" he asked.

"Never." Divia asserted. "Unless you cross me, that is. I created you, therefore I own you. You must serve me and stay with me... and if you do, I will reward your loyalty... or punish your betrayal. Now, as for your questions, my name is Divia... I am probably the most ancient vampire still on this world. I have lived for thousands and thousands of years, but was until recently sealed in a tomb by my mortal father and vampire son, Lucius... though I hear he goes also by the name LaCroix. He is the one who has wronged me. He tried to kill me, he turned on me... and for that he must die."

"LaCroix... that is the name of one of the night-hunters like Ni'ko'laz. One of the ones who tries to get him to leave us... to no longer protect us from their feeding." Ren'fos said, his voice lowering as the realization hit him that he was now one of the ones the others had to be protected from.

Divia easily picked up on his thoughts, and decided to use that information to her advantage. "Yes, I was told of Nicholas, LaCroix's son. The so-called nice one, who wishes for mortality. One of the two that LaCroix would do anything for." she said, her voice seething with jealousy. "He killed me, his own flesh and blood, but he cares for him, one who rejects him and all that we as vampires should be." Divia stared hard at Ren'fos. "You will help me destroy Nicholas first. Then his other loved one, the daughter called Janette, and anyone else who may be with him. And then, while LaCroix suffers watching all the ones he loves die, then I will kill him. Slowly."

"But Ni'ko'laz is my friend." Ren'fos protested.

"Not anymore." snapped Divia. "I mean," she said, softening her voice for effect and using a bit of her persuasive vampiric powers "he betrayed you. He said he would protect you and your friends from my kind... but where was he when you needed him? I killed two of your friends for a meal and would have killed you as well had you not changed my mind. If he is your friend and protector, why wasn't he here to save you from me?"

He didn't have an answer. "I... I don't know. He left with the cat woman, Cheetara."

So easy to manipulate, Divia thought. "See? He left you to die once someone he liked better came along. Furthermore, the cats are enemies of our kind, they want to destroy us all except for those traitorous ones of us who deny our natures like Nicholas. An ancient priest of First Earth, the all-knowing Mumm-Ra, has told me so."

"Mumm-Ra... I've heard of Mumm-Rana. She's good. She wouldn't lie... so if he is like her, then I guess we have to listen to what he says." Ren'fos agreed hesitantly.

"Yes." Divia asserted, though she had no idea of who Mumm-Rana was. She didn't care what Ren'fos believed, as long as he would do as she said. "You must avenge yourself on Nicholas for how you have been wronged. If you help me, you won't regret it."

For some reason, Divia's logic made sense to Ren'fos in his confused state. He and his people were abandoned by Nick and left to fend for themselves, even though he had promised to always protect them. Nick had betrayed him, so he should feel no shame in obeying his new mistress and helping her to get revenge on those who'd hurt her. He owed it to his savior to do as she asked. She could have easily taken his life, but stopped when he asked her to... and gave him eternal life. All she asked in return was his loyalty, and it seemed fair... he couldn't think of a reason to object to it, it sounded like it should be right. He put aside his confusion and decided to trust Divia. One as ancient as she must know better than he did anyway, he figured. "I will help you Divia." he agreed.

"Excellent!" Divia said happily, her young face beaming like that of a child that had been granted her fondest wish. "Come with me then, my friend, and together we will find Lucius and destroy him and his loved ones."

"It's about time." a voice remarked from behind them.

Divia and Ren'fos turned and saw Mumm-Ra standing there. "Mumm-Ra!" Divia greeted him. "This is my new companion, Ren'fos. He is to help us in dealing with Lucius and the others."

Mumm-Ra was unimpressed. "The same way you dealt with Lion-O? He was a mortal and you did not eliminate him."

"Not yet." Divia replied, then smiled. "But he will be out of the way soon enough. Watching him descend into madness and become a self-destructive killer will be so much more satisfying, don't you think?"

A smile crossed the ancient devil priest's lips as he visualized Lion-O in utter emotional torment, fighting his violent urges, eventually giving in, and unable to deal with it in his sane moments. "Yes, Divia, that is an appealing bonus. But see to it that you don't let him come out of it... in the end, I want him dead."

"And he shall be. Him, Lucius, all the other vampires, and all of the cats... just as we agreed." she assured him.

"Wonderful then... allow me to start you off by giving you the location of LaCroix and several of his vampire friends then. The Ancient Spirits of Evil were kind enough to show me in my cauldron where his little hideaway is." Mumm-Ra said with a grin, and told an eager Divia where to find the temple ruin that LaCroix was now living in. She carefully remembered every detail of what he told her, and once she was positive she knew where to go, she took Ren'fos by the hand and the pair went off into the night to avenge themselves.

As they departed, Mumm-Ra again visualized the suffering Lion-O, then imagined an equally excruciating death for each of the vampires involved. He looked upward at the sky and saw the stars glittering above. "Such a beautiful night for revenge." he remarked, laughed maniacally, and vanished into the night.

Continued

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