Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Dark Destinies... ( Chapter 122 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

Kasumi was staring up at the moon from the top of the Furinkan High School clock tower, undisturbed by the distant sounds of the rumble of battle as she was used to ignoring such sounds, reckoning it to be just another typical martial arts battle taking place somewhere in the city, the kind that took place with appalling regularity whenever one of her sisters or friends got into a squabble. Nothing out of the usual in her experience, and so she took it in stride, being much more concerned with matters of an entirely personal nature.

Biting Tofu and draining a part of his essence had made her aware of just how complex the man was and how deep ran his feelings towards her, so deep in fact that her mere presence could drive him to distraction. In a way she wished that she could feel the same way about a man who was so kind, compassionate and understanding, but in truth there were shadows to Tofu's otherwise cloudless mind, areas so secretive that he never let anyone get to know the real man inside. Being able to access his memories now made her aware that he had certain…connections. At first she suspected it might be the improper sort, such as ties to the Yakuza, but upon closer examination of these memories she found that the name of the group he belonged to was The Watchers, an ancient order that kept watch over paranormal events and beings such as Vampires and Immortals. They also took responsibility for the locating and training of the individual woman designated as "The Slayer," and that her sister, Natsume, was now identified as the current holder of that office…

Only it was not a very pretty picture that Tofu's memories painted of the life and career that awaited Natsume. Many of those Slayers in the past whose names had found their way into the record books had lived short and violent lives that had an unhappy ending waiting at the climax. Very few of them had known real joy from their adventures, and almost none of them had lived to a very ripe old age. At best a few managed to have children, but the average career was less than two years…for the ones who survived the first few weeks of their initiation. A Slayer was little more than a personal hit-woman whom the Watchers exploited to fight their battles. The Powers that Be who empowered the Watcher were ruthless in exploiting her, and when her time was done she was just as casually discarded as a used up old rag. What became of her in the afterlife was not recorded, but Kasumi privately hoped it was a reward to compensate for all the hardships that they suffered.

For a fact, Kasumi knew that it was not a fate that she would wish upon a sister, and if Natsume's life were any reflection of the Slayers who came before her then she was in for serious unhappiness, and that did not bode well for her marriage to Tatewaki Kuno. If anything, Natsume would need a protector and a friend, but it was doubtful that Kasumi could be the one who would be trusted under these circumstances. After all…a Vampire and a Slayer as friends? It did not seem very likely from the lore in Tofu's memories, and there would doubtlessly be trouble because of a deeply held misunderstanding which held that all vampires were intrinsically evil.

But were these beliefs in any way valid? Kasumi certainly needed to know the answer to that one, and not just because of any lingering doubts as to the truth of her own nature. Of a fact, she did not feel like someone who was inherently a bad person, but when she had bitten Tofu she had felt…something hunger in her for more than just a mouthful. In fact, if she had not drunk blood earlier she may not have been able to control her appetite, but as it was she had taken more than just blood through a light draining, she had tapped into his soul and had gained a spiritual connection.

Was not such an act in itself to be considered as evil? It felt…wrong to harm a person's spirit by taking a portion of its essence, and was it not the mark of an evil creature to feed on the life and soul of a fellow sentient being? Did that not imply that she was now an evil creature born of darkness, exactly as the legends said in many of Tofu's books and chronicles on the subject of the undead? Was she little better than a soulless monster even with a soul if she fed upon the living to sustain herself? How much worse was it to consciously know that a thing was wrong and to do it than to be a mindless beast who only did what was in its nature?

As she thought on this she studied the face of the moon, relishing the comfort it provided her, the soft silvery glow that felt…good upon her skin, like the warming light of the sun on a warm and pleasant day. It energized and revitalized her like the warmth of a mother's love, and as she gazed at the shining surface far above her she thought that she could make out a face…like a woman's. It was a strangely familiar face, almost like a reflection of a memory, and as she sought to focus upon this face she heard a voice at her side say, "What are you looking at, Beautiful?"

"Oh!" Kasumi was started out of her reverie to find that she had company upon the clock tower in the form of a furry shape oddly like a dog but with the outline of a man. She belatedly placed the face and started to relax as she sensed no hostile intentions in the new arrival, so she said, "Mister Werewolf, I didn't hear you approaching."

"I'm good at stealth, Babe," the lycanthrope in question replied as he leveled himself up into a sitting position, taking a space within easy reach of Kasumi, "And the name's Talbain…John Talbain, in case you don't remember."

"Of course I remember you, Talbain-san," Kasumi smiled, "And it's very nice to see you once again. Are you here looking for my sister?"

"Naw, this time it's you I was looking to hook up with," Talbain gave a smile that would have frightened anyone else but did not bring an eyeblink from Kasumi, "And I was asking you a question…what were you looking at just now?"

"The moon," Kasumi answered.

"Ahh," Talbain nodded, "Yes, the moon is always good to look at, especially when it's full."

"It's strange," Kasumi mused, "Looking up at it I almost feel as if I once long ago had been there…"

"Interesting," Talbain remarked, "But then again, you're not the first one I've heard make that observation."

"Oh?" Kasumi asked, "What do you mean?"

"Just an old legend I once heard," Talbain glanced away, "About a Kingdom that once existed on the moon during an era of peace called the Silver Millennium. They say that many people who lived in those times have been reborn into this world, yet few even remember who they were and what they were back in those times. Maybe you're one of those who had a life there in the times before the troubles, before the Ages of Stone, Bronze and Iron that followed the collapse of the Moon Kingdom."

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "Was it very nice to live back then?"

"Nice?" Talbain replied, "Doesn't even cover the world that existed. According to the legends, there were powerful Priest Kings who ruled the earth, and a Queen who lived on the moon who kept away the shadow of the Dark with her Imperial Silver Moon Crystal. There were no evil things in the world in those days, and man lived alongside beast in relative harmony and peace. There were no wars to be fought and no one held a grudge against his neighbor. The demons of the Dark were unknown in those times, banished from the world by the power of the Moon Queen and her court of Holy Warriors called Senshi."

"Oh my," Kasumi said, "That does sound rather pleasant. So…what happened?"

"What always happens when times become too good," Talbain said grimly, "People lived long and productive lives…and yet they were static without change or evolution. For thousands of years death was unknown to the people of the Moon Kingdom, but without unrest to challenge their spirits they grew weak and complacent. Without the hard lessons of adversity they withered…and a rot began to take form, a division between the Light and the Darkness, and into this gulf the Dark poured its awful minions, and they destroyed the peace of the Moon Kingdom."

"How awful," Kasumi said, "Is that why there is evil in the world? Because the Dark brought it here from beyond?"

"Evil is an imbalance between the Light and the Dark," Talbain replied, "There can never truly be an age that is wholly without Darkness. Can a day go without a night? The earth itself would be scorched and plants would never have the chance to sleep and recover from heat exposure. Life itself as we know it could never be…but the Light is meant to balance out the Darkness, and without that balance evil is the result, and so it was for the Moon Kingdom which fell because beings of consummate evil were allied with humans who had lost the focus of the light...who were themselves swallowed up by the darkness."

"Oh my," Kasumi softly averred, "That sounds a lot like what Lenore-san told me about the reason why there are vampires."

"Heh, the kid does have quite an imagination," Talbain smiled, "But the legend is true…the spell that created Vampirism was an attempt by Atlantean mages to imbue in select humans the powers of the Darkness. A similar such spell created my kind by combining human subjects with the spirits of animals…and that is how the Werefolk came to be. In the case of my ancestors they sought to combine the intelligence, cunning and nobility of the wolf with the instincts of a human…and this has not always resulted in a stable mixture. Indeed, some young Weres go mad and become rampaging beasts in their own right, as is the case of my renegade cousin, Darkwulf."

"Oh dear, you have a relative who you don't get along with?" Kasumi asked.

"He's an outlaw even to our tribe," Talbain replied, "A notorious murderer who blackens the name of werewolves everywhere, and he's sided with Dimitri and is counted as a member of his Dark Pack."

"Oh, I see," Kasumi said, "Then he must not be a very nice person. How sad."

"Not half as sad as my Aunt Mildred, his mother," Talbain replied, "He broke her heart when he turned against his own people, but this isn't about my family's dysfunctional history, it's about you, Miss Tendo, and what you've become."

"About me?" Kasumi asked, "Is that why you came to look for me?"

"Yeah," Talbain replied, "Word got around that you'd reverted, turned Daywalker and had the powers of a Master Vampire. I came to check out if the rumors were true, and now I can see that Frank and Lenore were right to be worried because you definitely have the raw potential to be a lot more than just your average grade vampire. I don't smell Darkness about you, but you've tasted human blood, and I think you even liked it."

Kasumi glanced down and said, "I wish that I could say that you were wrong, Talbain-san, but…I felt a closeness…a connection to the one whom I bit that was quite…intoxicating…like nothing I have ever felt in my life. I…I am not proud of taking advantage of Tofu-sensei's trust in me, but…I wanted him to be happy, and I…wanted to understand what moved him…"

"If you're making a confession of it, then you've come to the wrong place," Talbain informed her, "I've blood enough on my claws to last me a hundred lifetimes, but I've faced the same questions that you must be facing now every night of my existence since the day I came into the full measure of my power. Why do we live? Why do we fight? Why must we battle with the human world and other Darkstalkers? Why is peace so elusive when by rights we share a common struggle from within…"

"Oh, I understand why people fight each other," Kasumi replied, "I just don't agree with it. You see, I come from a family of martial artists, and all of the people I know like to fight in order to improve themselves, to strengthen up their minds and bodies. I imagine it's much the same for your people…but tell me something, would you please?"

"Just name it, pretty lady," Talbain asked.

"What is a Darkstalker anyway?" Kasumi blinked, "Talbain-san?"

The werewolf looked sheepishly up at the vampire girl as he clawed his way back to his purchase, having nearly facefaulted off the side of the clock tower.

"You're kidding, right?" Talbain asked, "You really don't know what a Darkstalker is then?"

"Would I ask if I knew?" Kasumi asked with that same guileless innocence that made Talbain feel…weird just being in her presence."

"Okay, I guess maybe somebody forgot to lecture you on the basics," Talbain said, "Should have known Lenore might skip a bit on the intro. Well, the simple answer is…a Darkstalker is a Dark One who likes to fight and hunt prey for the same reason you've pretty much named…to fight to get stronger by defeating other Dark ones. In a way the term actually means a kind of Gladiator or Street Fighter class of Dark One, like your martial artist family when you go up against the martial artists of other schools and systems."

"Oh, I see," Kasumi nodded, "That does make sense, I suppose. Only…why must we fight at all? You asked the question yourself, but is it really to grow stronger at the expense of another?"

"That is one way of looking at it, I suppose," Talbain replied, "But not all Darkstalkers are interested in just fighting…there are a few, like Dimitri, who have other designs that go well beyond self-improvement, and for him it's a matter of accumulating power so that he can one day return in triumph to the Demon Realm and conquer it as his own personal dominion."

"The Demon realm?" Kasumi asked.

"Well, actually, there are many realms that call themselves the Demon worlds, but in truth there is no one world that contains all of the demons who have access to the planes of Man," Talbain elaborated, "The one that Dimitri has his eye on is the realm of Makai, ruled by Beliol, the Demon of Lust and Madness. It's also the realm that the Succubus Queen, Morgan Anslat, hails from. She's King Beliol's rebellious daughter, and she's allied herself with Dimitri. Well, actually, they started out as enemies, but after several clashes they kind of found they had a lot in common and…well…they also kind of liked each other…"

"Oh," Kasumi nodded, "In other words they're boyfriend and girlfriend, right? Only…what is a Succubus again?"

Talbain knew that it was dangerous for him to be taking facefaults in such a high position, but he could not help himself. The way the girl asked him that question made it plain that she had only the vaguest idea of what the word meant, and-given everything else that he had been picking up off of her for the past five minutes-it sort of implied that she was…less than knowledgeable on other related subjects.

"Hooboy," Talbain winced, pulling himself back to his former position while feeling like the substitute math teacher who had just been asked to teach a course on sex education.

"Oh my, did I say something wrong?" Kasumi asked.

"I don't think that's even possible for you," Talbain said frankly, "Um…look…a Succubus is a type of demon that…er…well…preys on the energy that men and woman put out when they…that is…when a guy and a girl…um…they…kind of go together…"

"Oh," Kasumi said, "You mean when they make love? Like when they produce babies?"

"Huh?" Talbain blinked, "You…know what sex is?"

"I've read about it in some of Tofu-sensei's medical books," Kasumi paused to add, "It…sounded somewhat messy…but my sisters seem to like it a lot."

"Oh," Talbain briefly wondered how to follow that up and then just sighed and said bluntly, "When people make love it produces a kind of energy that Morgan can feed upon. She can draw it out of them when they make physical contact with her too…and for her it has the same effect as blood for a vampire. In fact, she likes to seduce people and drain them…only what she leaves in her wake can either be a spent and exhausted mortal or a withered up husk...depending on how much energy she feels like taking."

"Why, how awful!" Kasumi said, "She doesn't sound like a very nice person."

"Um…well…she does have a few good points," Talbain admitted, then added under his breath, "Two of 'em up front, as a matter of fact. I've sparred with her on more than one occasion and, well…she can be quite the charmer when she has a mind to be, or a real bit-er…a…a real she-wolf," he covered up lamely, half feeling as though his own mother were about to wash his muzzle out with soap and rub his nose in his own litter.

"Oh dear," Kasumi said, "But if she can do that to people when she makes love to them…how then can she carry on an affair with this Dimitri person?"

"Well, Vamps and Succubae are pretty much immune to one another, Toots," Talbain shrugged, "Kind of like two forms of the same polarity, they both suck the vitality our of their victims, so one power pretty much cancels out the other. Dimitri can taste Morgan's blood, and she can get a real charge out of having sex with him, but neither one takes any real damage from the other. At first they were a pretty hot item, but over the decades they've kind of gone through what most couples know as a period of troubles, falling in and out of love as regularly as a change in the seasons. I guess after so many times in the sack the magic's kind of gone out of the whole affair, leaving them unsatisfied and deeply frustrated, but for some strange reason they keep coming back to each other like a form of addiction."

"So why is she helping Dimitri?" Kasumi asked.

"She wants to take back the throne that she once held in Makai," Talbain explained, "And she sees Dimitri as her best ticket to overthrowing the rule of her father. Morgan and Beliol aren't much on speaking terms these days, and if you knew anything about the guy you'd understand why. Truth is, she hates her father only a little less than Dimitri does, a lot of bad blood owing to some friends of hers who got wasted by the paranoid old bast-er…demon."

"Oh dear," Kasumi thought a moment then said, "Is that why Dimitri wanted to fight with my sister? To learn her power and fighting techniques so that he would be strong enough to conquer this world of the demons?"

"Kinda," Talbain said, "Actually, Dimitri doesn't just fight with people, he tries to absorb them…kind of like what you did when you bit the doc."

Kasumi covered her mouth with her hands, "Oh my! You mean…he'll bite Nabiki? I…I can't let him do that!"

"If he does he'll become even more powerful than he is right now," Talbain informed her, "Adding her strength to the countless others whom he's defeated over the last century or so. Of course…I'm thinking he might also be after you, Missy."

"After me?" Kasumi asked, "Why?"

"Because he turned you into his servant, only Donovan reversed the spell and turned you into a Daywalker, and you've got powerful agents in your blood that have made you as strong, if not stronger, than Dimitri. He's also getting a spill-off effect from you that's driving him a little nuts. He's a nasty guy who's lived a hard and nasty life and he doesn't like being exposed to things that are as full of sweetness and light as you seem to embody."

"Oh my…am I hurting him?" Kasumi asked, "I certainly did not mean to…"

"Believe me, what he's suffering now is nothing compared to the suffering that he's inflicted on others," Talbain assured her, "What me and my friends know is that he's cunning and ruthless and he'll step over anyone's grave to get what he wants, and if that means sucking the life out of your sister, then he won't hesitate to do so. However…Morgan's also a pretty jealous witch, and if she thinks Dimitri is after her for other reasons then she may get it into her pretty head to eliminate the threat by absorbing Nabiki's essence into herself, thus thwarting Dimitri."

Kasumi gasped and put a hand to her mouth, "No! Not my Nabiki…"

"We'll do everything we can to prevent that, Tendo-san," Talbain assured her, "But we're going to need your help and cooperation…"

"Yes, of course," Kasumi said, "I'll do whatever I can to help out, just…don't let them hurt my sister."

"That's good," Talbain smiled, "So…mind coming with me? I promised Frank I'd look you up and get you to a safe house and…"

All at once a massive explosion shook the night, causing both werewolf and daywalking vampire to turn their heads to see a column of smoke and flames rising up from a kilometer away, which prompted Talbain to say, "Shit! That wasn't your average Ki surge I felt just now…that was Dimitri!"

On another occasion Kasumi would have frowned at the werewolf for using such language around her, but other concerns overrode her normal sense of propriety and she cried, "No! Nabiki was over there…playing with Natsume!"

"Playing?" Talbain shot her a puzzled look, "Felt more to me like they were trying to kill each other."

"Oh, they just play rough like that sometimes," Kasumi tried to reassure him as she rose to her feet, compelling him to do likewise, "I have to go to her now…I cannot allow anything bad to happen to my sister."

"Are you nuts?" Talbain asked, "If Dimitri's mixing it up with her, then he'd consider you to be the icing on the cake, and if he gets both of you…"

"But he won't get both of us, will he, Talbain-san?" Kasumi wanly smiled at him, "Can I count on you to protect me?"

For a minute Talbain felt his knees turn to jelly, so powerful was the effect of her soft smile in making him feel like he would wag his tail and bow to her like a faithful puppy, rubbing up against her leg seeking her affection. He had to swallow twice before he could say, "S-Sure…sure thing, Kid…you know I won't let anything happen to you, I swear it."

"That is good," Kasumi paused to give him another soft look before adding, "Do you mind if I ask you a question before we go?"

"Uh…what?" Talbain asked.

"Do you think that I am still a good person…even though I'm also a vampire?" Kasumi asked.

For a moment it was all Talbain could do not to howl at the moon and want to rub himself up and down against her leg, but with great effort he said, "Yeah…oh yeah…definitely you're good…or at least…if you ain't, then there's no hope at all for the rest of us…"

"Thank you," Kasumi's smile became genuine, "I just needed to hear that."

And with that she took off, levitating off of the roof, floating away from the Furinkan clock tower and towards the scene of carnage and battle, leaving Talbain to stare at her in amazement, wondering if it were a trick of the moonlight or did it seem to him as though she were sprouting…wings…and definitely NOT the bat-winged variety either.

"Oh man, I need a cold bath," he softly moaned, then at once charged up his battle aura and took off into the night like a comet soaring to catch up with a winged night angel…

Dimitri spread wide his arms and cape and suddenly the shadows congealed around him and suddenly those shadows took on solid dimensions and rained down on them in a shower of pain that caused the Tendo Posse to scatter.

"Keep close together and watch each others' backs!" Frank called out as he and Donovan braced themselves to meet the attack that each man knew was coming.

Nabiki somersaulted and tumbled into a fighting crouch, only to look up in alarm as she sensed that danger was coming at her from above. She dodged just as Morgan landed with a thrust of her lower legs wrapped in shadows, gouging a deep hole in the ground as Nabiki recovered in time to meet this new challenge. Nor did she have long to wait as Morgan launched a spinning attack that was backed by a savagery and a power far greater than human, followed by yet another attack of congealing darkness as spikes of concentrated darkness attempted to impale Nabiki for all her fluid defensive maneuvers.

Ranma called up his flames to banish the darkness but found himself confronted by Dimitri, who managed to avoid his flame attacks and got in close enough to deliver the first devastating blow of the encounter, and had Ranma not turned with the blow to lessen its impact he would have been in for a world of pain far greater than he imagined.

As for Raptor, his made his presence immediately felt by landing in the midst of the others before shooting out bony protrusions that forced the others to dodge to avoid them. In doing so, however, Natsume, Mousse and Tatewaki fell prey to the attack by Anakaris, who spread out bandages to ensnare them in a web of his own making.

"Not good!" Frank declared, "They're going after the kids!"

"A logical strategy," Donovan observed, "They are the least experienced in combating Darkstalkers and by removing them early they weaken our own defenses."

"Not quite!" cried Darkwulf, who attacked suddenly by moving from the shadows to launch a strike at Frank that the larger man barely saw coming in time to avoid.

"It's like I said," Anita sighed from a quiet corner of the street that was left unaffected by the battle, "They're all idiots…"

"Kurumi!" Natsume cried, "Tatewaki!"

She started to take a step forward when Keiko's arm slammed into her chest, preventing her forward action.

"What are you doing, Arigami-san?" Natsume demanded.

"Saving your life," Keiko replied, "Look there!"

"Eh?" Natsume looked down only to see something that looked like an oddly colored disk right where her foot would have been, a disk roughly a decameter wide and marked with an odd pattern in its center.

"What is that?" she asked.

"Something the Mistress told me about," Keiko said slyly, "A Hex disk, specially booby-trapped to ensnare the unwary, and you were almost the booby it trapped here…isn't that right, Hougan?"

Her foot moved rapidly to flip the disk up and kick it off to the side, only to see it bounce off an invisible shield before the shadows parted to reveal the figure that had been hidden within the shadows, the Voodoo priest named Jumaji, who held up the magical weapons of his trade and regarded the redhead with a malevolent expression.

"Very clever," the Hougan remarked, "Whoever your teacher is, they cautioned you well…but not well enough to prepare yourself for this!"

And with that the Voodoo priest unleashed a deadly salvo of bee-like pellets that swarmed at the Kickboxer and Novice slayer and threatened the exposed areas of their skin with their poisoned stingers.

Nabiki was dodging Morgan's attacks as fast as the latter could send them, but once she sensed the opening she needed she reversed course and hammered her way in, taking the Succubus Queen by surprise as Nabiki used the Amaguriken fist to hurl a thousand punches Morgan's way in the space of several seconds. The speed and suddenness of her attack threw off Morgan's timing and gave Nabiki the opening that she needed for powering up a Ki-backed punch that caught the Succubus napping. Morgan flew back several meters before whipping around and landing gracefully in a crouch, then she glared back Nabiki's way while nursing a slight bruise that stung far less than the blow to her ego.

"So…you do have some talent for the fight after all, Missy," the bat-winged Succubus remarked with a distinctly Scottish brogue, "But it takes more than that to fight a Darkstalker battle," and with that she unleashed yet another shadow-attack, hurling spiked tentacles Nabiki's way, which seemed to connect only to go right through her intended target.

"What?" Morgan gasped, only to feel the side of her opponent's foot slam against the back of her head ad Nabiki executed a perfect spinning axe-kick from a lateral position slightly off to the left and behind where the Succubus had placed her.

Dimitri found his own attacks blunted as Ranma called up both Fire and Water attacks to disperse his darkness and hold the self-proclaimed Master of the Night at bay. Try as he might the powerful Dimitri could neither lay a blow on his human opponent nor get close enough to even slightly wound him. Ranma kept disappearing and reappearing with unnerving regularity, and every time he counter-attacked it was with a new and different technique, some of which might well have been effective had not Dimitri blocked and deflected these blows by using his cape as a shield every time he sensed an attack coming.

"Not bad, Boy," Dimitri observed as he backed off to take the measure of this powerful human, "Elemental skills with martial arts…you've improved quite remarkably since our last battle."

"Heh, think so?" Ranma raised up his right arm again, "I've been taking lessons!"

This time he summoned up Latisha, his elemental familiar, and had her form into a dragon shape that reared high overhead and illuminated the battlefield with a terribly red glory that painted everything in the color of blood. Dimitri saw this and gaped, his own eyes registering dismay as he measured the extent of the boy's own potential.

"You have a pact with an elemental?" the Vampire Lord said, "I am actually impressed."

"Glad to hear it," Ranma said before gesturing with his hand, "Have fun!"

Instead of fleeing in terror, Dimitri resolved to hold his ground and raised his cape to deflect the onrush of the furious red dragon…

It was Jumaji's turn to be surprised as Natsume leaped forward and began whirling her rug-beater, kicking up a powerful wind that caught the swarming insects and sent them tumbling back towards their master. The Hougan barely had time to deflect his own attack sent back at him, then he summoned a string of beads that hung around his neck and cried, "Contain her!"

The beads expanded in size and flew from the Hougan's hand form an energy cage that surrounded Natsume. The novice Slayer was astonished to find her cold attacks could not penetrate this containment, but before Jumaji could press the advantage by constricting the cage upon her he belatedly had cause to wonder where her companion had went to…right up to the moment when she landed on his head with a downward spiral-kick that broke his concentration…

Raptor cast about for opponents to flay and saw that Anakaris was binding up three of the youths by his own magical wrapping, "'Ey, don't hog all of the action, Mate! Save a piece O'em for me!"

"Screw you," the Egyptian Mummy grated out from his dry, inflectionless voice, only to grunt in dismay when two of the cocooned forms he was holding at bay started shaking, and all at once sharp sheer blades appeared from the sides of one and slice the bandages open. The second formed a reddish line and split down the sides as Tatewaki's Ki-charged bokken was finally brought into play, and then the two men stood firm with weapons in hand, Tatewaki in a classic samurai pose and Mousse holding up an enormous pair of…Scissors?

"'Ey no, that ain't half bad," Raptor commented while Anakaris looked on in dismay, "Maybe these wimps'll be worth some entertainment after all…"

"Glad that you think so, Zombie," Tatewaki said coolly, "Because you have not even begun to take our measure."

"Kurumi?" Mousse turned to the third cocoon and gasped, "Kurumi-chan? Are you…?"

All at once the cocoon exploded, erupting in a wave of heat as Kurumi burst forward screaming out for breath and radiating Ki-force. Her eyes fairly blazed as she whipped out her hair ribbon, and all at once she swirled it into a blazing vortex that build up heat from friction and Ki that caused the Mummy to recoil, finding itself the zero-target of the young girl's righteous wrath…

"How's it going, Fur-face?" Frank asked as he landed a solid blow to the side of Darkwulf's head and sent the werewolf sprawling, "Long time no bash."

Darkwulf sprang to his feet once again and snarled, "You think a love-tap like that is going to affect me, Gargoyle? You have another thing coming!"

"Hey, watch the language!" Frank roared, "Some of my best friends are Gargoyles, and I won't have you insulting them by comparing them to me!"

"Interesting," Donovan said, "They are holding their own so far, but against the Dark Pack they are as yet overmatched."

"So, how long do we wait before bailing them out?" Anita asked.

"Not much longer, I suspect," Donovan replied, "This fight is barely even begun yet, but I…"

"Did you really believe that we had forgotten all about you, Damphyr?"

"Eh?" Donovan reacted.

All at once the tall and powerful Priest-Exorcist was subjected to a glaring light that hammered him with its radiance, causing Donovan to experience acute pain as though his flesh were being flash-fried, and to his amazement he found the source of his displeasure came from a slender girl only a few years older than Anita, one he vaguely recognized though she was much transformed from what he once remembered.

Anita herself reacted with a gasp, betraying the first real emotion of the day (other than mild annoyance), "Asuko?"

The fiery young girl straightened up and smiled at her, "Nihao, Anita…long time no see."

"What are you doing here?" Anita asked, then she raised her voice and said, "What did you just do to Donovan?"

"Merely gave him a taste of the new me," the other girl replied as she summoned up the flames that she had used against the Damphyr priest, "But don't worry, I haven't forgotten you, and you'll be joining him shortly…"

Meanwhile, Dimitri was wrestling with the fiery mouth of the elemental Dragon, bending his dark power to keeping its jaws fully parted as it sought to consume him, his heels dragging huge ruts in the asphalt of a previously undamaged stretch of roadway as he sought the leverage he would need to exert his full power.

"You are indeed quite formidable, Salamanth," Dimitri remarked with more than a bit of strain showing through in his voice, "But my power is the strongest of the Demon world, and I will not be consumed by the likes of you!"

With great effort he ground his momentum to a halt, then bunched his muscles and exerted his great demonic reserves, and all at once he overthrew Latisha, whipping her around on her huge coiled body and slamming it against the dirt, which disrupted her concentration upon her semi-physical form, and all at once she reverted to primal energy and was absorbed back into the arm of her ally, Ranma Saotome.

Undaunted by the defeat of the fire queen, Ranma called upon the dragon that resided in his left arm and hurled her towards Dimitri, who looked on in sheer amazement as the Undine serpent came crashing towards him with the fury of a tidal wave. Only by taking to the air at the last second was the Vampire able to avoid being swept away by the tidal power contained within this blue-white dragon, and then he stared with renewed respect at Ranma, murmuring faintly, "He controls both fire and water spirits…there is much more to this boy than I first had imagined…"

Meanwhile, Anakaris had just managed to extinguish the flames that had been consuming his own bandages and was able to meet the next attack of the swift-moving Kurumi, but try as he might he could not ensnare the girl, who seemed to be everywhere at once, moving too fast to be detected as more than a mere blur, and when she struck her fists were like the hammer blows of some hummingbird-swift demoness, which seemed to be coming at him from all directions and kept him too much off balance to call upon his other abilities in some hope of defending himself against her.

But as the ancient Egyptian saying once was told, "Sometimes the simplest methods are the best," and as he could not see the young girl bedeviling him so he knew that she had to be passing very near to him in order to physically strike him, and all he required was to stick out an arm in her most likely lateral path and wait, and-sure enough-Kurumi went slamming into the obstruction at full force and managed to double herself over while the Mummy merely grunted.

"Kurumi-chan!" Mousse cried as he saw an opening and fired off a new volley, "DUCK!"

"Eh?" Anakaris declared as he turned to see every manner of sharp object hurtling towards him with no prayer of his own to avoid them, and he barely managed to get out, "SET-!" before he was struck by javelins, throwing knives, shuriken, hooked blades, halberds and sharp-bladed hatchets which buried themselves into the bandaged dry tissues of his withered flesh, staggering him and leaving the mummy to look like nothing so much as a human-shaped pin-cushion.

"Duck?" Kurumi winced as she straightened out once again rubbing her abdomen, "What made you call out a lame warning like that?"

"I don't know," the Chinese boy said, "Just seemed like the right thing to say at the moment."

They both turned with matching looks of dismay as Anakaris's body dissolved, only to reform itself into the shape of an enormous bandage-wrapped serpent, which same flicked out a tongue and hissed at them in a most disconcerting manner…

Not far away from them yet another battle royal was ensuing as Raptor found himself being held off by a single human, Tatewaki striking with rapid thrusts of his ever-trusty bokken, shattering bone spears and rib-cage thrusts that the Zombie King kept hurling in his direction.

"'Ey mate…what's the deal with that bloody toothpick O' yourn?" Raptor taunted, "Can't you fight man-to-man without it?"

"Certainly," Tatewaki replied, "But you are not a man, Fiend of the Pits, just a thing that stands between me and the side of my beloved."

"Oh now, is that a heroic stance you're taking? How romantic," Raptor grinned like a rictus, "I'm, almost too choked up to cry, or I would if I had tear ducts…"

"Then by all means, permit me to send you back to the ground where you shall weep and gnash your teeth for all eternity," Tatewaki boasted while calmly charging his weapon with his Ki to make certain that it retained the force of his spirit behind it, which made the wooden blade far more deadly than a real sword in shattering and splintering Raptor's attempts to reach him.

Meanwhile, Natsume had hardly been idle in her peril and was drawing in her own Ki to resist the Hougan's attempt to crush her, her battle aura flaring so that she was able to repel the charge of its constriction. Jumaji staggered back as the effects of his spell rebounded back his way, but once more he recovered his bearings and raised his staff to conjure up his power…

And promptly went down from a powerful kick delivered to the back of his head as Keiko managed to get around behind him relatively unnoticed to execute a perfectly timed sneak blow.

"Y'know, they say it's wrong to kick a man when he's down," the Kickboxer remarked before delivering a second blow that earned a groan from the recumbent Hougan, "But frankly I can't think of a better time to kick him, can you?"

"Many thanks," Natsume nodded before going on to aid Tatewaki in his battles against Raptor.

Nabiki sensed a sudden surge in the power levels of her own opponent and took appropriate evasive action. The next instant she felt that power leap out from Morgan's hand as she cried out, "SOUL CRUSH!" and blasted the space where she had been standing just the instant before this.

Realizing that she could no longer indulge in taking the measure of her opponent, Nabiki called upon her Shadowskills and struck back with a surging wave of Ki-powered energy that connected against Morgan's hastily erected shields and cracked them like an eggshell, subjecting the Succubus to staggering power levels that actually drove the exiled Princess of Makai back a dozen paces, only to recover once again with a resilience that her human assailant found quite amazing.

"Now that one was a rude shot," Morgan said as she rubbed the back of her hand against her chin, "Looks like toying with you is no longer an option. Let's see how you deal with this attack!"

Again Nabiki felt a shift in power levels and braced herself to take evasive action, but instead of a directed attack what she felt come her way was a wave of absorbent energy that started sucking in her Ki and left her feeling considerably weaker than before. Nabiki braced herself and tried to resist as she felt a pull not unlike Miss Hinako's Battle-Aura draining Happo Setsu attack, but as she sought to withstand the effect something curious happened to her…and she felt as if a part of herself was being pulled loose from its moorings. To her amazement a ghostly shadow-form stretched out from her body to take shape in the air between herself and the Queen of Makai, and to her utter amazement she recognized this form as her masculine side, Kaneda.

Morgan saw the outline take form before her eyes and suddenly her power slackened as she stared at the handsome countenance in wonder. The curiously Bishonen allure of Kaneda hit her full-force like a potent wave of masculine attraction, and as she found herself distracted by the vision of indescribable male virtue she ceased to call upon her dark powers and instead looked on with the fascination of a woman suffering a mysterious enchantment.

The effect lasted just long enough for the male shadow to snap back into Nabiki, and with a start she felt her power renew itself as her cursed form somehow bolstered her female half to twice her normal level. The sudden disappearance of the male "god of lust" caused a groan of remorse to escape from Morgan, and then she blinked her eyes and stared at the woman whom she had been facing and said, "You…you have two souls overlapping in one body! You are two people, one masculine, one feminine, and the former is all male! Describe this!"

"Hey, it's a curse," Nabiki said warily, disliking the idea that her "Kaneda Fan Club" was about to grow by yet another member, "I sometimes switch genders…wanna make something of it?"

"You…call what you become a curse?" Morgan let her disbelief show frankly, "How can such a thing be? Curses are meant to afflict humanity, and yet you…you ennoble it in some strange, unfathomable way. I simply must have your energy! I must taste this masculine potency mixed with female virtue for myself!"

Nabiki thought that she was prepared for anything, but all at once Morgan's shadows congealed all around her and she found herself wrapped up in tendrils of solidified darkness, held fast beyond her ability to resist though Nabiki refused to cease attempting to free herself, especially as she saw Morgan's eyes glow with lust and an unnatural hunger.

All at once Ranma sensed the danger to his wife and instantly broke off his attack against Dimitri, vanishing right before the Vampire Lord's eyes and appearing once again behind Morgan, striking so fast that the Succubus was barely aware of him before she was struck a dozen times in a number of key places…and all at once her tendrils of darkness dissolved and Morgan folded like a card house, falling to her knees and clutching at her own body.

"What?" Dimitri had thought the human rash to turn his back on him, but seeing the effect of this new attack upon his most dangerous ally caused him to break off all thoughts of renewing the battle. Instead he watched in dumbfounded amazement as Morgan rolled upon the ground and writhed in moans of unmistakable pleasure. Morgan started to frig herself quite vigorous and pulled down her top (not such an amazing feat since the real question had long been what held it up in the first place) before playing with her breasts and nipples, her other hand rubbing her clit with much enthusiasm.

"Thanks, Ranma-kun," Nabiki smiled at her husband, "That was pretty good timing."

"Hey, no problem, Nab-chan," Ranma smiled, "Now, what say we team up and beat up the real bad guy?"

"Better yet, let's switch opponents," Nabiki said as she turned to face Dimitri, "You monitor the bat-winged chick there and keep her busy while I pay my respects to fang-face."

"But…!" Ranma started to protest when he saw Morgan attempt to claw him as though seeking to drain his energy, and without another pause he became a blur once again, striking her a dozen more times in areas that reduced the Succubus to helpless pleas for release and mercy…

"Hey, watch out!" Keiko cried out as she saw Anita standing in the path of an onrushing fireball being hurled by another youngster, then the Kickboxer cringed back as a wave of heat struck the place where the younger girl was standing, only to be dissipated as a globe of invisible force rose up to protect her.

"What are you doing this, Asuko?" Anita asked, "Why are you helping Dimitri?"

"Helping him?" the other girl scoffed, "Don't make me laugh! We're in a temporary alliance, nothing more! I serve a greater power than that Eurotrash has-been. He's just a tool in a larger aim, but you don't need to trouble yourself with the details, Anita old buddy…where you're going they don't even allow visitation…!"

All at once Keiko popped up behind the older adolescent and struck with both hands aimed for the nerves on both sides of her neck, and like that the girl named Asuko rolled up her eyes in her skull and collapsed like a puppet with her strings cut. Keiko shook her hands and felt a tingling along their edges as she stared down at her nominal "victim" and said, "Jeez, what is it with kids these days? Friend of yours, Anita-chan?"

"No…not exactly," Anita replied with just a hint of sadness in her voice, "But she might have been…once. Thank you for not hurting her too much."

"Hey, beating up on kids is the stuff of bad guys, not heroes," Keiko winked, "And I can't stand to see anybody pick on somebody weaker than themselves, even if it's another kid, know what I'm saying?"

Anita just blinked, but there was a trace of recognition in her eyes as she saw the redhead move off in search of other people in need of her assistance.

"Incredible," Dimitri averred as he stared down at the uneven battle between Ranma and the succubus queen, "How is he doing that? Morgan is in such exquisite torment…"

"Hey, Ranma-kun's good at that sort of stuff," Nabiki said as she cracked her knuckles and gave a confident smile at the vampire, "Me? I'm more the leg-breaker type myself…"

Dimitri eyed Nabiki levelly and said, "It is true that I wish nothing less than to do battle with you once again, Woman…but my interests have changed, as has my focus. As such I will permit you and your friends to continue to live for now, but I am taking your husband with me."

"What?" Nabiki blinked, "Ranma-kun? No way! I'll…!"

All at once Dimitri shifted to a fully demonic form and unleashed a new attack that caused Nabiki to leap back and erect a psychic barrier with her Ki. The energy kicked up loose dirk, gravel and asphalt and sent it hurtling towards her like a weapon, but she was able to deflect these bits with a hasty Amaguriken maneuver, yet when the air cleared once again she could no longer see Dimitri, who had moved so fast that she had barely tracked his movement.

Ranma was just starting to look up from his own attempt at blocking the gravel when he sensed something moving from directly behind him. He started to turn with the full intent on raising his defenses, but Dimitri gave him no chance whatsoever and all at once a fist that struck like a hammer delivered a crushing blow to the back of his head. As tough and Ki-reinforced as Ranma's constitution was, the blow knocked him instantly unconscious, and as he slumped Dimitri gathered him up into his brawny arms, much to the horror of Nabiki.

"Ranma-kun!" she cried as she started to lurch forward.

Dimitri was a bit faster, however, and took to the air, spreading leathery wings as he laughed to see the girl sail past in a helpless tackle that sent her sprawling into a conveniently placed pile of trash lining a nearby alley.

"Ey-no fair double-teamin'!" Raptor complained as he found himself hemmed in by Natsume and Tatewaki, "All right then…if that's the way ye wants it!"

All at once the Zombie-King rose up from the ground and caused his body to swirl as dark energies congealed around him. Natsume felt her hackles rise and automatically went on the defensive, but Tatewaki suddenly thrust himself into the space between her and the Zombie with sword raised up as he cried, "Watch out, my love!"

That was when a wave of darkness sucked out the light in the immediate surroundings about Raptor, and suddenly Tatewaki felt as if something were being ripped out of his body, causing him to stagger forward as the blue light surrounding his bokken was sucked out like the flame of a candle.

"Tachi-sama!" Natsume cried, sensing the draining of Ki energies in the space around her iinazuke.

"No…no…it won't…let you take me…!" Tatewaki grated out as he willed himself to resist the soul draining.

"Fight all ye like, Mate," Raptor gloated, "Makes the feast all the more delicious for me! I likes souls with some fight to 'em, knows what I means? And yours smells like it's teaming with virtues…the blood of a martyr, a rare kind I likes to savor!"

"Tachi-sama!" Natsume cried as she brought her rug-beater into play, only to feel her Ki energy get sucked out before she could create a freeze ray.

"Stay back…my love…" Tatewaki snarled, "I…will not…let him take you!"

"Ho, you're the real deal all right," Raptor mused, "A soul like yours is gonna be-WHAT???"

All at once something huge bit the air and shattered Raptor's bony body into a hundred pieces, scattering them in the vortex of his own dark creation.

Tatewaki staggered and fell to one knee as Natsume went to his side, one eye tracing the path of the humongously large blade that had come to their rescue and seeing it sail back to the outstretched palm of Donovan, who was just then recovering from the injuries that he had taken.

"Looks like your side's losing, Dark Wolfie!" Frank taunted as he slammed his foe into the side of a building, then energized his fists and unleashed a blast of electrical energy that caused the werewolf to howl in agony and dismay.

The effect was only temporary, however, and Darkwulf was on his feet again with a snarl, "You can't keep that up forever, Freak! You'll run out of juice a lot sooner than I will!"

"Oh, like I'm so scared about that," Frank snorted, "Why don't I just rip your head off and see if you can regenerate from that…"

All at once a figure fell into the space between Frank and Darkwulf, facing towards one and not the others as he growled, "Back off, Frank…this rat bastard is MINE!"

"John?" Frank paused, "About time you got here. What happened, sniff a fire hydrant?"

"Cute," Talbain replied, "But I got diverted seeking you guys out…and I wound up babysitting the assignment."

"What?" Frank exclaimed in shock, "You brought her here? But…"

"To me, my allies!" Dimitri cried out, "This battle is postponed until later…for now I have what I need from these fools! We will dispose of them later!"

"You might have to speak up a bit, guy!" Keiko called out, "I think most of them are taking a nap at the minute."

Dimitri curled a lip and smiled without humor, "You may have a point on that. As allies go…they leave something to be considered, but as they say in Romania, good help is hard to come by…"

"Wait!" a voice called out, startling everyone as heads turned to see a new player arriving on the scene, floating down on invisible lines to hover a short distance from Dimitri before saying, "I am the one you want…do not take Ranma-kun. Nabiki needs her husband."

"You?" Dimitri reacted in dismay, "You come to me…now… and of your own volition?"

"Kasumi!" Nabiki called out, "What are you doing here? Keep back from him!"

"I want to help, Nabiki," Kasumi said as she hovered in the air above the heads of the others, and like that all fighting stopped as heads turned to gaze up at her softly glowing presence, "I can't stand by while people are hurt because of me. All of you are trying so hard, but some of you were hurt, and all because of my problem."

"That ain't true, Miss Tendo!" Frank called up, "Dimitri's bad news and he likes to hurt people…"

"And he came here looking to fight me!" Nabiki added, "You were just a casualty, an afterthought that he used to get at me!"

"That might have been true at the beginning, Nabiki," Kasumi turned to regard Nabiki, "But it's no longer the case…is it, Mister Dimitri?"

"So…you are intelligent enough to figure that much out on your own, are you?" Dimitri mused darkly, "But you are still a fool if you think to dissuade me by appealing to me now for mercy."

"What if I offered you myself in place of my little brother?" Kasumi asked, "Will you let Ranma go if I agree to go along with you quietly?"

"What?" Nabiki reacted.

"No way!" Kurumi exclaimed.

"Oneechan?" Natsume asked in evident confusion.

"Don't do it, Miss Tendo!" Frank called out, "Dimitri doesn't make bargains, he breaks them, and his word is never to be trusted!"

"On the contrary, my word is my bond," Dimitri smiled, "It is the details of my agreements with which you take exception, old friend…"

"I'm not your friend!" Frank roared.

"On the contrary," Dimitri replied with an entirely serious expression, "All of my worthy enemies are my friends. Who else can give me battles to make the tedium of immortality seem worth the while? Only in the exchange of blood and violence can I find true companionship…but this youth has shown me something new to my experience, a better way of enlivening my hours, and that is why I will not give him up even for your delectable presence, Miss Tendo. I will come for you at another time, but for now, I will bid you a good evening."

"Dimitri!" Donovan called out, "Do you honestly believe that we will permit you to leave with an innocent youth as your captive?"

"Yeah," Talbain agreed, "And you're allies are washouts! These kids cleaned their clocks but good…"

"Merely a temporary setback, I assure you," Dimitri replied, "But don't concern yourself with such trifling matters, my poor misguided brother…soon enough you will know what my true plans are, and you will marvel at the intricacy of my schemes, especially when the blood begins to flow and my pawns make ready to raise the score. Fare you well, my dearest of friends, my enemies…and to you, Miss Tendo, we shall meet again very shortly."

And with that Dimitri called forth his dark power and was wreathed in a cocoon that surrounded both him and Ranma.

"Dhylec, come forth!" Donovan cried and once more the massive sword let his hand and sailed towards Dimitri's dark shadow, only to pass harmlessly through the vanishing black shadow with no sign at all that it had any effect upon the vampire and his passage.

"Ranma!" Nabiki cried out in dismay and horror.

"Ranma-kun?" Kasumi stared in abject disbelief.

"Damn, got away!" Talbain snarled, turning a harsh glare towards Darkwulf, "But you ain't going anywhere, Cuz-huh? Where'd he go?"

"What the hell?" Frank glanced around, "Anakaris and Jumaji are gone too…and the kid, Asuko, with 'em."

"They must have gone together," Donovan remarked, "But Morgan is still here…which is curious since you would think that Dimitri would value her above all of the others."

"There is one difference," Nabiki pointed out with a snarl, "They were all unconscious, and she's not."

"Then what say we give the lady something to cry about," Keiko said as she circled near to where the succubus was softly moaning, "If we can make her talk we can find out what that Dimitri creep is really up to."

"Wait a minute!" Mousse cautioned, "She's a succubus, right? That means her touch could be dangerous."

"More than you know, Kid," Frank warned, "So stay the hell away from her or-!"

All at once Morgan uncoiled from her fetal position and sprang to life with a speed that caught even the Kickboxer by surprise, and all at once Keiko was gripped in the hands of the powerful demoness, who smiled as she backed away to keep the others within the range of her vision, shouting out, "NOBODY MOVE! Especially you, my old comrades! This lady may be strong, but I could snap her neck before ye even bat an eyelash!"

"Keiko!" Nabiki snarled, "Let her go, or I'll-!"

"Ye'll mourn her loss?" Morgan smiled, "I'll do it, ye know…much though I'd rather do this…"

Keiko gasped and stiffened, and suddenly her eyes went round as she clearly felt something that made the others of the Tendo Posse realize that more than just her life was in immanent danger.

"Morgan!" Donovan spoke sharply, "You may be a killer, but even you know some small measure of honor! Do this and you will be no better than Dimitri!"

"Now there's a fair crop," Morgan smiled as her accent became more pronounced than before, "I be as bad as him? Ye fools! I need him to win back my kingdom from me father! Dimitri is my ally, nothing more than that, but I'd have to be a thousand times as rotten as ye know me to be before I'd stoop to the likes of him!"

"Kill that child and you make a good first step in that direction," Talbain snarled.

Morgan regarded the werewolf with a glance, her eyes glistening faintly in the moonlight before she said, "Ye make a fair point of that, John…but, ah…this lassie be a fine one! She's so full of life, and the smell…she's a real kick, that's for sure…"

"Let me go…or you'll find out how good I can…oooohhh!" Keiko slumped as her knees turned to water.

"Ah now…what be this?" Morgan smiled, "Such a strongly sensual nature…and the memories…oho! That explains why ye drew me interest! Ye're a lover O' yer own kind…well, I've tipped a few on that side meself on more'n one occasion…"

"Is it just me or does it seem like her Japanese is becoming more slurred?" Mousse murmured softly.

"Now that you mention it…she sounds almost as if she's…drunk…" Kurumi noted.

"Let her go now," Natsume demanded, "If you walk away and leave her alone we won't have to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Morgan sounded more drunk than before, "Tha's a laugh…as if ye could hurt me worse than I be hurtin'…very well…all done now…"

With that she released her hold upon Keiko and tossed her into the ruined street, where Keiko fell like a rag doll with her strings cut loose. The succubus staggered on her feet a bit while grinning like a maniac, much to the collectively appalled expressions of both Darkstalkers and the Posse.

"Keiko-san," Kasumi breathed softly as she lowered herself down to the ground to kneel to the side of the fallen Kickboxer.

"Ye!" Morgan spat the word, "Yer the…bitch who Dimitri wants…not me!"

Kasumi blinked, "I beg your pardon?"

"You're…dirty now…you've got his taint…" Morgan snarled, "He wants yer blood, not mine…he wants to dirty you…not me…ye…ye…harlot!"

"Excuse me?" Kasumi said, "I don't believe that we've been introduced. You're…Morgan Anslat-san?"

"So ye know me name," Morgan straightened up, "Well…mark me well, lil' Missy…afore I let ye take me place at his side…on the throne O' blood…I'll see that pretty face O' yers…"

Kasumi turned her full attention towards the succubus and said very firmly, "You're not being very coherent, and I do not believe you're accusations are warranted about me. I do not want to take your place on anything, but if you hurt my friends…I will not let you."

"Ye...not let…me?" Morgan put the full weight of her scorn and disbelief into her expression.

"Yes," Kasumi replied, "I can tell that you are sad, but that does not excuse your behavior. I think you had better leave now before my sister, Nabiki, does something we will both regret."

Morgan looked as if she were about to lunge for Kasumi, and Nabiki tensed, charging up a fist and preparing to unleash a Chi bolt when…something strange began to happen…a look of fear crossed the lovely face of the succubus from Makai and all at once Morgan backed away, her face draining of all other emotions.

"N-Nay…ye can't be…ye…yer not…but Dimitri said…" she gasped.

"Dimitri is a liar," Donovan said harshly, "You know that as well as anyone, Morgan. Don't be a fool and waste your life over him."

"Life?" Morgan gave them all a crooked smile, "What d'ye know about me life, Donny-boy? Ye gonna write a book about it? An' anyway…what I just found out about miss Perfect here be worth all the tea in China. Bye now."

All at once she drew upon shadow to surround herself, then she, too, vanished into the night as cleanly as if it folded up to receive her.

"How the hell…?" Frank said, "Donovan, did that feel like a teleport spell to you?"

"No," Donovan replied, "But…I sensed something else at work here. There is another power at work…and I think it may portend worse things than the usual schemes of Dimitri."

"No fooling about that," Kurumi remarked before turning to Nabiki, who was kneeling down over Keiko along with Natsume and Tatewaki, "How is Keiko-san?"

"Not good I fear," Tatewaki looked up, "She is dying…her breath is shallow and…her body…"

"It looks so withered, like a peach left to dry in the sun," Natsume said in horror.

"Kei-chan?" Nabiki's breath caught in her throat.

"It's as we feared," Donovan said, "Morgan's touch drains life, and she was sucking the vitality out of your friend even as we were speaking."

"Must have been quite a draw," Frank noted, "It even gave Morgan a high, like she was draining a gallon of scotch in one slurp."

"Kei-chan?" Nabiki cried again, seeing the redhead open her eyes, her breath as shadowy as her face was wan and wrinkled, and then her eyes rolled up in her head and her breathing halted altogether, to which the leader of the Tendo Posse cried out, "KEEEIIII-CHAAANNN…?!?!"

Continued

Comments/Criticisms/Soul Draining Exercises: Shadowmane@msn.com