Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ 'Do You Want to Live Forever?' ❯ Prologue ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: The new Epic by Kanzen ne Tsuki. This is A/U Rurouni Kenshin. The beginning takes place in 15th century Romania. The rest takes place in modern day New York City. No one will really be OOC to much... but I warn you all, there will be some new faces you haven't seen before... and a 'bad guy' you can really love to hate. *wink*. I am also warning that the rating is most definitely ( R ) for language... Lemon/Lime activity... blood/gore and graphic violence... but I also promise some humor, angst, and WAFF... gotta have WAFF.

Traditional pairings... no surprises there... possibility for a lot of hot and steamy stuff... I want to have fun with this, so no flames please. If you get reading this and you don't like it... just don't read it, Ok? I think that's fair. Don't you?

Otherwise, I'm a glutton for reviews... so give it to me baby... Kanzen ne Tsuki

Vampire Explanations-Author's creations- Quite possibly mostly non- tradional.

Pure Blood Vampires=Vampires that are able to reproduce their own kind through sexual intercourse just the same way as humans. And, just as humans do, the Pure Blood is graced with both a soul and a spirit... they do not live among the undead though they are as immortal as the next Vampire. They do not have to have blood solely to survive. They love fruit, fish, and fowl, but, of course, blood does remain the meal of choice. They are also warm to the touch, though not quite as warm as humans, and they have an affinity for classical music especially the piano. They are well mannered to a fault (usually) and demand only the finest in clothes, living arrangements, food and company. Falling in love is considered an art-form more than a way of life, but they are extremely devoted parents and mates once a family has been established. Blood means everything to them. However, they can also 'Make' Vampires the old traditional way we all used to... hunt, attack, bite, drink... bite themselves, have quarry drink their blood=New species of Vampire.

The Made Vampire=Made Vampire are sterile. They are also essentially dead in that they have no soul or spirit. They are not able to reproduce in the classical sense, but must rely on the same technique that created them. Their sub-species tends to be riddled with drugs and alcohol abuse, violent crime, syndicates, mobs, murder rings... and anything else that might even ring of the unsavory. They are unscrupulous, dishonest, perverse, and power hungry. In order to survive, each 'Made' Vampire must murder and drink the blood of no less than three adult human's every night. If they do not, they suffer great pain, psychosis, and even permanent brain damage if the pattern lasts for more than a month. They live wherever they can find a place... usually the apartment or home of a victim. They are always on the look out for a way to make money fast, and never seem to be able to stay faithful to anyone whether it be a 'mate' or an associate. They are as good at killing each other as they are at siring new members of the order, but it is well known all over the world that the one thing a 'Made' hates more than another 'Made' is a 'Pure Blood'.

Cast of Character's****At this Moment of Time

Crede Corban=Only surviving member of the Pure Blood Monarchy

Magdelana Kamiya=Pure Blood Survior

Kaoru Kamiya=Pure Blood survivor-daughter to Magdelana

Soujiro Seta Kamiy=Pure Blood Survivor-son to Magdelan, brother to Kaoru

Edo Gallion=Pure Blood -Master of the Horse to the Old King-Crede's right hand

Gustav Uriel=Leader of The Made

Mara=small child-Pure Blood survivor

Do You Want To Live Forever?

Prologue

The Beginning

Some Vampires are 'Made.' Some are 'Born'… Others are waiting to be set free. It is yet to be known which of the three sub-species are the strongest or the most dangerous, but the War for supremacy has been being fought since the beginning when there was but a handful of each.

Now there are hundreds and thousands of Pure Blood's and 'Made's' locked in the arms of a unholy Civil War, and the battlefield runs red with both the blood of the vanquished and the victorious. But as the Victors argue and clamor amongst themselves for right to claim their prize and name themselves the strongest and the Ruler's by that right, one of the Ancient One's, who is nearing the end of her life, rises up from the blood and ashes of defeat and cries out the chilling words of a prophecy. A prophecy spoken for the future yet to come naming an Enemy as yet unseen by the usurpers, but promising vengeance against their unrighteous mutiny and murder of their Monarchy. Vengeance upon them for their blasphemous jealousies and unclean acts of treason... Vengeance for their impurity of spirit and unholy insult against the God of the Dark World, Pythagoras. The Father of all Pure Blood's.

A prophecy ultimately resulting in a race against time as the two warring factions struggle to find The One before their enemy does for each has their own agenda concerning his existence, for it is foretold that he will rise up in the latter days to become the leader of the Pure Bloods, and that he will strike down all of those who stand against them and the rightful Rulers of the Dark World. The thunder of his voice will ring through the night, and he will show no mercy to those who have wrought chaos upon the Vampire world. He will bring the Fang of Justice and with it, he will restore balance to the world of chaos that has been created by the unclean hands of 'The Made.'

He will be The Blood of Justice.

He will be The Master of the Darkness.

He will be The Fang of Pythagoras

.

Bukarest, Romania

1411

The battle had raged for hours, almost an eternity it seemed, but with the beheading of the King the will to live and fight seemed to evaporate from those few Pure Blood's who remained alive. 'What was left to fight for if the King and his family were dead?' The world that they knew was lost, and the swarming infestation of the 'Unclean Made' was bearing down upon the City of Ameck in a murderous frenzy of delight. The air itself seemed to be heavy almost thick with the sickening sweet stench of freshly spilt blood, and the scent of it was making those who still lived dizzy with illness and grief.

"So many dead... so many..." One dark-haired woman with glistening dark blue eyes whimpered as she stumbled across the blood-soaked alley behind her small home. Picking her way through the bodies on trembling legs, she led what was left of her family behind her; a small girl with long ebony hair and round frightened blue eyes so much like her own, and a young boy with dark brown hair and blue-gray eyes filled with tears and grief who clung to each others hands with the ferocity of the young. "Come on, my dear ones..." She crooned as she pulled the two small children through another alley. "We must find the Prince... That is what your Father said we should do if everything went badly... find the young Prince by the stone pathway that leads down the mountain... and we shall... we shall."

"But Mamma, where is Papa?" The young boy's lower lip quivered in fear and sorrow as he waited for the answer he knew was coming. "Isn't he coming with us?"

"No, Soujiro... Your Papa is not coming with us... He... He can't." Grief cracked in the young Mother's voice as she continued to pull her children through the dark back alley's of the City refusing to meet her son's tearful gaze.

"Papa's dead... isn't he?"

"Nooooooo...." The terrible wailing cry of the little girl brought the Mother to stop, and she swiftly turned and gathered the two children up in her embrace tightly pressing their little faces against the warmth of her breasts as tears began to stream down her face.

"Shhhhhh, my little ones." Her hands patted their small backs and stroked the baby softness of their hair. "Hush now... I know how sad you are... I am sad too, but we must be ever so quiet... Please Kaoru, you must be quiet, my sweetling."

"B-but M-mamma..."

"Shhhhh, I know, I know.... but if you are noisy, Precious... The Made will find us, and.... and..." she could not continue as the lump of emotion in her throat cut off her speech.

"They'll make us dead too, won't they?" Soujiro was two years older than Kaoru, making him seven to her younger five, but sometimes he seemed much older than those simple baby years.

"Yes, my love... they will kill us if they find us. So we must be ever so quiet. You understand, no?"

"Y-yes Mamma." And then he turned to his whimpering younger sister and wrapped his little arms around her pulling her tightly against his thin chest. "Don't cry, Kao... You have to be quiet, Ok? If you're not, we'll all get into lots of trouble."

"But Sou... Papa's dead..." The round blue sapphires gazed painfully into Soujiro's kind blue-gray saucers and the small boy leaned over and kissed his sister's tear wet face.

"I know Papa's dead, but I don't want to be dead too, do you?"

"N-no,"

"Ok, then, you have to be quiet like Mamma says. I promise I'll be right here by you."

"Will you hold my hand?"

"Haven't I been holding your hand already, stupid?" He sighed in sad frustration. "Come on... we have to find the Prince like Papa said to. Mamma know's the way. Don't you, Mamma?"

"Yes, darling, I know the way..." Magdelana Kamiya reached out and wiped the tears from both of her children's faces before standing up and taking Soujiro's hand in hers. "It's this way." She said softly and began to lead them through the alley again. Looking back over her shoulder, she noticed that Soujiro had a firm grip on his little sisters hand and that Kaoru was sucking on her thumb again. It was a good thing her canine fangs had yet to grow in all the way or she would be puncturing that much favored thumb constantly. 'Oh well,' Maggie thought. 'I suppose that will be one way to eventually break her from that habit... she will do it herself.' A very small smile curved the mouth of her beautiful face as she gazed at her small daughter. 'I hope she doesn't grow up too soon.' The sounds of the screaming and the dying started to become louder just then, and Maggie forced her children down on the ground before they made the last turn that would have taken them out into the main City Square in front of the Royal Palace.

Creeping along the cold earth to the end of the alley, Maggie slowly peered around the corner to see what was going on in the main street. Rearing back in shocked horror she immediately turned away and vomited convulsively onto the ground.

"Oh God... Oh God... Oh God...." Vomiting again and again Maggie tried to mentally block out what she had just seen, but knew she would never be able to forget the carnage and gore that had stretched out before her. Blood, bodies, body-parts... the whole Square was dripping with blood, and there seemed to be a river of it flowing down the dusky pink stone steps of the Palace... it was a massacre, and then a sound rose above the din of shouting and screaming. The sound of a single strong, unforgiving, unyielding voice that demanded to be heard, and Maggie found her gazing shifting back of its own accord. What she saw then would stay with her for years and years yet to come... as it would for many others for it was a living vision sent to them from God.

"For One will come whose blood will be thick will the Power of the Old Ways. His fangs will long as shining swords and he shall wreck death and mayhem among the unclean that infest our world, and he will bring The Blood of Justice to the Pure of Heart. The One will make our World whole again... he will bring the Holy War and with it Vengeance for your blasphemies and treasonous murders. He is our Master… Our King… Our Savior of Life and Blood and he will avenge our defeat and bring once more to this Land the true ways of the Blood Born. This I swear upon the unrighteously spilt Blood of all those who have died trying to protect that which is Pure of Heart." And as the blood of her life poured from the mortal wound gapping in her slender swan-like throat, the woman of such regal bearing struggled to speak one last time before the life forever closed her brilliant crystalline emerald eyes. "Look for The One where the Dark World and the World of The Living cross over in the light of the darkness. Look for him far to the future in a time where mortal men fly like raven and paintings speak with the voices of the living." And then the shine of those beautiful emeralds faded to flat and the sinuous lithe body slumped to the blood soaked ground in a heap of red and black silk her glorious white hair blowing in the breeze like liquid mist.

"RUN!" The word was shouted by one of the few who remained alive. A young man with flaming red hair and dark blue eyes. The fallen woman had been his Mother. Tears pricked his eyes as he frantically waved the few remaining pure bloods to follow him as he disappeared down the rocky pathway that led away from the gore covered battlefield that was littered with the bodies of hundreds of dead, including his Father and two older brothers. They were all gone. His entire family.

His Father and Mother had been the Monarchs of the Dark World for over 2000 years, as had The King's Father before him and his Father before him and back to the beginning. But too many of the pure bloods who lived beneath their rule had become careless in recent centuries and had started to practice the blasphemy of 'creating' Vampires out of the lower species of Human's with whom the Vampires had co-existed with harmoniously for millennia. These 'created' or 'made' Vampires were a nuisance to the Monarchy, but they chose to ignore them because there were times they were useful. Many of them were trained to be servants, whores, and even guards to the upper class pure blood families which caused them to become a sort of lower class minority of sorts among the Vampire community. It became a strict Law that each household was allowed no more than three 'made' Vampires at a time because the Monarchy and the High Council wanted to keep the numbers of these 'impurities' under a strict control.

It was discovered that the 'Made' Vampire's were sterile and unable to reproduce which was of great concern to many of them, but a relief to the Ruling Government. However, their relief was short lived as it was soon discovered they were able to 'sire' more of their own kind by using the same technique used upon them when they were 'made', and this was very disturbing because the Government could not seem to control them from 'siring' as many more of themselves as they wished to. And suddenly, almost over night it seemed, there were hundreds of them, and then thousands, and then… they wanted to control the City of Ameck and all of her inhabitants, including the Monarchy. They wanted to be the ruling faction and have the Pure Bloods to serve them.

That was how it all started. A massive revolt, an attempt to take over the Monarchy and The High Council by force. The Pure Bloods had resisted, but it had been a poor attempt. They were out numbered by more than four to one, and the shear numbers had defeated them.

Entire families were slaughtered. Men, Women, Children… Babies. The 'Made' swept through the community like a plague destroying everything in its path as it went leaving nothing untouched until it reached the palace itself. The King, his Queen, and their three son's had stood their ground on the massive pale pink granite steps while the King rebuked the 'Made' for their mutiny and disgrace against their own kind.

"YOU ARE NOT OUR KIND!" Their chosen leader, Gustav Uriel, had shouted as he mounted the first of the 35 steps with his bloodied sword in hand. "AND WE ARE NOT YOURS! We are more than you will ever hope to be… we are the strongest… we are the Greatest… it is WE who shall rule over YOU!" And then they had rushed the Royal family and the dedicated staff and guards who stood with them. Soon, the ancient blood of the Vampire Kings bled red and flowed upon the ground to mix with that of the other Pure Bloods who had already perished beneath the treasonous blades of the 'Made', but as the Horde shouted victory swinging the severed head of the King high for all to see, the dying Queen rose and cried out The Prophecy of The One before giving up her soul to the land of the dead.

Now, her only surviving son led what was left of his Father's people down the stone steps of the mountain path toward the sea. He could hear it crashing against the cliffs as he and his small frightened group grew closer to the bottom, and soon they could feel the soft spray of the salt water on their faces.

"This way." Motioning with his hand, the young boy led the people across the moonlit beach until they reached the side of the steepest cliff and its jagged out croppings.

"Where are we going, Your Highness?" It was the frightened voice of a very small girl with large brown eyes and long golden hair. Her pretty face was splattered with blood and there were tiny rips in her lower lip where she had torn the tender flesh with her own fangs as she bitten herself in terror. She looked to be all of perhaps nine or ten years old.

"Just follow me, Sweetling. I promise we will be safe."

"You promise?" Her frightened eyes searched his lean handsome face.

"Aye. I promise." Trying to smile through his own grief, the boy took her small hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. "I promised my parents I would keep you all safe if I could."

"You did?" Her eyes grew wide and round as they filled with uncertainty. "B-but the King and Queen are dead… how could you p-promise them?"

"In my heart, little one… I promised them in my heart." The sheen of unshed tears glistened in his eyes as he locked gazes with her letting her see the truth that was in his heart. "And those are the most important promises anyone can make. So… do you trust me?"

"A-aye, I t-trust you, Your H-higness."

"Thank-you." His hand squeezed hers again and he nodded in affirmation of her acceptance. "What is your name?" He asked.

"Mara."

"Mara," He tested it on his tongue and then looked down into her face again. "Pretty name… Mara. My name is Crede… Crede Corban. I don't feel much like a 'your highness' anymore, so how about we all just stick to 'Crede', Ok?" He looked out into the shocked pale faces of the group that had followed him down the mountain path and finally took count.

43. 17 children; six under the age of 15. 26 adults; 14 men, 12 women. And himself. He was 16 his last bithyear. That made 44 survivors out of a community of over 8,000 people. 'Dear God,'Crede bowed his head in grieving sorrow as the magnitude of the loss of souls hit him. 'So many… so many gone… Mother, Father, Toben, Jaken… all gone…' Tears began to slide down his young face as the pain started to squeeze his heart. 'I can't…'

"Master Crede?" The touch of a warm hand on his shoulder brought Crede out of his grief-stricken thoughts and he looked up into the face of someone he did not know. It was an older man of perhaps middle aging… his hair had begun to turn white while the rest of him remained as youthful as a man of 30 human years.

"I… what?"

"Where are you taking us? You seemed to have stopped… Sunrise is not far off, and we must reach safety."

"Yes, yes… forgive me. This way." Crede stumbled away from the man and swiftly resumed the path he had originally been leading them on before Mara had captured his attention, and within only a few moments he had led them into the narrow opening of a natural cave carved into the base of the cliffs. "Here," He called and waved for everyone to enter ahead of him. "Come, quickly. The Sun will rise soon and we must be inside before it does." No sooner had the words left his mouth than the pale pink hues of the new dawn began to shimmer across the sky and the faint glow of gold stared to appear upon the horizon. "Hurry!" He shouted and everyone began to run.

The last soul raced through the narrow gap swiftly followed by Crede just as the first golden rays of morning sunlight slid across the pale white sand of the beach and fingered their way across and past the opening of the cave. The frightened Pure Bloods within sat safely several feet above the opening watching as the tendril of light snuck through and fluttered across the sandy floor of the cave where they had been standing only an instant before, but true to his word, Crede had led them all to safety and they were well out of the way of the deadly burning heat of those destroying rays.

"We are safe." The man who had spoken to Crede breathed in relief and he was echoed by several other relieved voices. "We are in your debt, Young Master. You have saved all our lives. Your Father would be proud."

"I…" Crede bowed his head and felt the great burden of being a leader weighing heavily upon his young shoulders, but with it came a small sense of self-pride. His Father would be proud. He had brought what remained of their people to safety, now all he had to do was find a way to keep them safe from the army of the murdering Horde of the 'made'. "Thank-you." His dark blue eyes rose to meet the clear gray eyes of the man in front of him. "Tell me your name."

"I am called Edo, Master Crede. I was your Father's Horse Master."

"Why don't I know you then?" Crede's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Because you never really cared for horses, Master Crede. You have not been to the stables

since you were but a youngling of five or six, and I had black hair and a beard back then."

"A beard… black hair… Ohhhhhh," Suddenly Crede's eyes lit up with recognition as he gazed at the man. "Horse Master Gallion!" He said in surprise as a smile curved his handsome mouth.

"Aye. That was my name. Now, it is just Edo." The man smiled in return. "However, I did serve your Father for many long years, Young Master. It would please me to serve you as well, because, I fear, whether you want it to be so or not… these people are going to look to you as theirLeader simply because you are the King's son."

"I am aware of that, Edo. And I do need someone who is wiser than myself that can help me. I fear I know little about leading people."

"I think you know more about Leading people than you think you do, Master Crede. It's in your Blood."

"My Blood…" Crede looked around the cave at the battle ravaged people as each struggled to find a place to sleep, and watched as many snuggled up against each other both for comfort and for warmth. "There are so many dead, Edo… so many…" With his large blue eyes filled with a determination that belied his young age, Crede turned and looked at the older man. "We cannot stay in Bukarest, Edo. I have to get what is left of my Father's people out of here… out of this World… out of this country. If I do not, the 'made' will find eventually find us and kill us all, and I cannot let that happen. You heard what my Mother said about the coming of 'The One'."

"I heard… But where will we go?"

"I do not know… but we must hide. We must hide like children and rats in the dark. Thereare not enough of us to fight, so we must hide. The day will come when we can avenge what happened today on this battlefield, but until then, we must hide."

"Yes, Master Crede. You are right. We must hide. All of us, and none of us together."

"Yes…" The boy-man's face took on the look of one in deepest thought as he considered the older man's suggestion. "None of us together… no more than two or four in each group. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

And so the decision was made to scatter the remnants of the Pure Blood colony to the four winds of the known world, and then let Fate rule the course of the Hand of Destiny. Only Fate knew when 'The One' would arise and where and the only sure way to preserve what remained of the Pure Blood was to hide it all over the World.

"Look for 'The One' where the Dark World and The World of the Living cross over. Look for him far to the future where men can fly and paintings speak."

The fight for survival had begun, and the clock of salvation was ticking.

**********************

There it is... the first installment of 'Do You Want to Live Forever?'

Remember, I'm a glutton for reviews... so make me fat... (~_*) Tsuki-san

Update August 11, 2004: I have transplanted this fiction from AFF.net because of server problems. However, this fiction will continue to appear on both websites irregardless, and it will be the same uncut-adult NC17 version. The rating is for lemon/sexual and street language/graphic and violent content. This is a very bloody and violent fiction and is not for the queasy of stomach. If you are not into horror, don't read it. If you don't like street talk or heavy sexual situations, don't read it. If you don't like dark fiction, don't read it. I do not accept flames on the grounds that someone did not 'like' what I wrote about. Otherwise, pull up a plastic bag and enjoy. :) The NC17 rating is not a joke. And consider yourself warned about the content.

Have a good time. And please leave me a review.